Bruce McDonald
Encyclopedia
Life and career
McDonald was born in Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. He graduated from the film program at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
. His first movie was The Plunge Murderer, followed by a feature-length zombie flick, Our Glorious Dead, made with his grandfather's super-8 camera and shot on location at his Rexdale, Ontario high school, North Albion Collegiate. The film premiered in the school cafeteria and made $100.
His more successful feature films have included Let Me See(...), Knock Knock, Roadkill (1989), Highway 61 (1991), for which he won Best Director at the highly regarded San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
, Dance Me Outside
Dance Me Outside
Dance Me Outside is a 1995 drama film directed and co-written by Bruce McDonald. It was based on a book by W.P. Kinsella,-Plot:Set on the Kidabanesee reserve in Northern Ontario. Silas Crow is a young man confused about his direction in life; he wants to take an automobile mechanic's course in...
(1994), Hard Core Logo
Hard Core Logo
Hard Core Logo is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. Director Bruce McDonald illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock...
(1996) and Picture Claire
Picture Claire
Picture Claire is a 2001 thriller film directed by Bruce McDonald of a screenplay by Semi Chellas. The film stars Juliette Lewis, Gina Gershon, Callum Keith Rennie, Kelly Harms, Camilla Rutherford, Peter Stebbings, and Mickey Rourke...
(2001). Roadkill won most Outstanding Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and Hard Core Logo has been frequently ranked amongst the greatest movies
Films that have been considered the greatest ever
While there is no general agreement upon the greatest film, many publications and organizations have tried to determine the films considered the best. The films mentioned in this article have all been mentioned in a notable survey – be it a popular poll or critics' poll...
ever to come out of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. McDonald earned some notoriety when he quipped, while accepting his $25,000 prize from TIFF for Roadkill, that he planned to spend the money on "a big chunk of hash
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
".
He has also directed episodes of many television series, including Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove is a 1985 Pulitzer Prize–winning western novel written by Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series, but the third installment in the series chronologically...
, Twitch City
Twitch City
Twitch City is a Canadian sitcom produced by CBC Television. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States on Bravo, and in Australia....
, Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
, Instant Star
Instant Star
Instant Star was a Canadian television program which aired from September 2004 to June 2008. The series starred Alexz Johnson as adolescent music competition winner Jude Harrison. The show chronicles Harrison's experience in the recording industry whilst focusing upon character development.Linda...
, Queer as Folk, ReGenesis
ReGenesis
ReGenesis is a Canadian television program produced by The Movie Network and Movie Central in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films. The series, which ran for four seasons, revolves around the scientists of NorBAC , a fictional organization with a lab based in Toronto...
and This Is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland was a Canadian television series which aired on CBC Television. The series is a legal drama with comedic elements, or a comedy-drama. It was created by playwright George F...
.
He completed shooting The Tracey Fragments
The Tracey Fragments (film)
The Tracey Fragments is a 2007 drama film directed by Canadian Bruce McDonald and written by Maureen Medved, based on her novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Page in the title role, is produced by Sarah Timmins and executive produced by Paul Barkin....
(2006) in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
. While shooting the scenes took him only two weeks, he spent nine months in post-production.
He directed the horror film Pontypool
Pontypool (film)
Pontypool is a 2009 Canadian horror film directed by Bruce McDonald and adapted by Tony Burgess from Burgess' novel Pontypool Changes Everything.- Plot :...
, which was selected as one of the best Canadian films of 2008 by the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and is set for release in March 2009.
He was formerly romantically linked with fellow Canadian director Valerie Buhagiar
Valerie Buhagiar
Valerie Buhagiar is a Maltese born Canadian actress, film director and television host.She studied acting at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1986...
. (McDonald, on the 15th anniversary DVD commentary of Roadkill, even said he had written the part of Ramona exclusively for Buhagiar, with the intention of making her his girlfriend.)
He currently resides in Toronto with his partner, cinematographer Dany Chiasson, and their young daughter, Charlie Yoko.
He recently completed shooting a video and documentary, entitled The Rawside of Die Mannequin with Canadian sleaze rock band Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin is a punk rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are fronted by 23-year-old guitar player and singer Care Failure . They played the "Next Big Thing" Stage at Edgefest 1 in 2006, have toured across Eastern Canada several times on their own as well as opening for Buckcherry on...
.
This Movie Is Broken
This Movie Is Broken
This Movie Is Broken is a film by Canadian director Bruce McDonald, released in 2010. A cross between a romantic comedy and a concert film, the film stars Greg Calderone as Bruno, a young man hoping to convince his longtime crush Caroline to become his girlfriend by taking her to a Broken Social...
, a concert film on Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
was released on June 25, 2010.
In 2009, McDonald directed three short films for the cross-platform project City Sonic
City Sonic
City Sonic is a documentary series about Toronto-based musicians and the places that influenced their music. The first five City Sonic films were previewed at Toronto's 2009 North by North East Music and Film Festival.-Films:...
. McDonald, along with six other directors, shot 20 short films about Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
musicians and the places where their musical lives were transformed. McDonald directed films starring Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin is a punk rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are fronted by 23-year-old guitar player and singer Care Failure . They played the "Next Big Thing" Stage at Edgefest 1 in 2006, have toured across Eastern Canada several times on their own as well as opening for Buckcherry on...
, the Cancer Bats
Cancer Bats
Cancer Bats are a hardcore punk/sludge metal band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Background:Cancer Bats originated in May 2004 with singer Liam Cormier and guitarist Scott Middleton, former member of Toronto heavy metal band At the Mercy of Inspiration...
and Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
of Rush. His 2010 film Trigger
Trigger (film)
Trigger is a Canadian comedy-drama film, released in 2010. Directed by Bruce McDonald, the film stars Molly Parker and Tracy Wright as Kat and Vic, former rock stars reuniting their band Trigger for the first time since their retirement....
was the first film ever screened at Toronto's new TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Hard Core Logo II premiered at the Whistler Film Festival on December 4, 2010 with the members of Die Mannequin and McDonald walking the red carpet. It had its second screening at the Victoria Film Festival on February 6, 2011 with Bruce and producer Rob Merilees present and is planning for a September release.
External links
- Bruce McDonald interview, MUBI
- Highways, Hash And Hardcore: An Interview With Bruce McDonald, Rock! Shock! Pop!
- Bruce McDonald Interview on The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
- Bruce McDonald Interview with ion magazine
- Bruce McDonald Interview With FEARnet