Jim McKay (director)
Encyclopedia
Jim McKay is an American
film and television director, producer and writer.
He has directed episodes of The Wire
, Treme
, Big Love
, and Criminal Intent
as well as writing and directing Everyday People
and Angel Rodriguez.
McKay co-wrote, directed, and co-produced Girls Town, which was his first feature film. Girls Town received the Filmmakers Trophy and a Special Jury Prize for Collaboration at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in August, 1996 in the U.S. by October Films. His second feature as a director was Our Song (1999), which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, played at New Directors/New Films in 2000, and was distributed theatrically in the U.S. by IFC Films. McKay's third feature, Everyday People (2004), was selected as the Opening Night Film of New Directors/New Films 2004 and played at numerous festivals around the U.S. before showing on HBO. His fourth feature, Angel Rodriguez, which he co-wrote with Hannah Weyer, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September, 2005, had its U.S. premiere at MoMA and on HBO in Fall, 2006.
McKay was a co-writer of Nelson George's Golden Globe Award-winning HBO Film, Life Support, starring Queen Latifah.
McKay served as a producer on American Movie, (Chris Smith and Sarah Price), Spring Forward (Tom Gilroy), Scars (James Herbert), Stranger Inside (Cheryl Dunye), Backward Looks, Far Corners (Christopher Munch), Tree Shade (Lisa Collins), La Boda and Escuela (Hannah Weyer), Brother to Brother (Rodney Evans), Room (Kyle Henry) and Memorial Day (Josh Fox). He is currently in development on Mosquita Y Mari ("Aurora Guerrero") and in post-production on Fourplay (Kyle Henry).
McKay was a Rockefeller Fellow in 2003 and a Guggenheim Fellow in 2004.
His haiku have been published in The Haiku Year (Soft Skull Press, NY, 1998); Snapshots 12 (Snapshots Press, Liverpool, 2006); Noon - Journal of the Short Poem (Noon Press, Tokyo, 2006); and Haiku, Not Bombs (Booklyn Press, NY 2008).
For The Wire McKay directed the fourth episode of the fourth season, "Refugees
". Show runner
David Simon had seen McKay's HBO films and describes them as "masterful, ordinary-life movies" and thought that McKay would be perfect for the series based on their shared characteristics of accumulating drama in small moments. McKay has worked with several cast members of the show on other projects including Reg E. Cathey
and Jamie Hector
on Everyday People and Wendell Pierce
on Life Support
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and television director, producer and writer.
He has directed episodes of The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, Treme
Treme (TV series)
Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that premiered on April 11, 2010 on HBO. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans...
, Big Love
Big Love
Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
, and Criminal Intent
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
as well as writing and directing Everyday People
Everyday People (film)
Everyday People is a 2004 drama film written and directed by Jim McKay. The storyline revolves around the lives of the employees working at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York City, which is to be closed down due to economic shortfall.-Plot summary:...
and Angel Rodriguez.
Career
McKay is a great filmmaker and co-founder, along with Michael Stipe, of C-Hundred Film Corp. He has produced and directed a full-length documentary, Lighthearted Nation; a feature-length concert film, R.E.M.'s Tourfilm; numerous music videos; and an award-winning series of public service announcements called Direct Effect.McKay co-wrote, directed, and co-produced Girls Town, which was his first feature film. Girls Town received the Filmmakers Trophy and a Special Jury Prize for Collaboration at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in August, 1996 in the U.S. by October Films. His second feature as a director was Our Song (1999), which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, played at New Directors/New Films in 2000, and was distributed theatrically in the U.S. by IFC Films. McKay's third feature, Everyday People (2004), was selected as the Opening Night Film of New Directors/New Films 2004 and played at numerous festivals around the U.S. before showing on HBO. His fourth feature, Angel Rodriguez, which he co-wrote with Hannah Weyer, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September, 2005, had its U.S. premiere at MoMA and on HBO in Fall, 2006.
McKay was a co-writer of Nelson George's Golden Globe Award-winning HBO Film, Life Support, starring Queen Latifah.
McKay served as a producer on American Movie, (Chris Smith and Sarah Price), Spring Forward (Tom Gilroy), Scars (James Herbert), Stranger Inside (Cheryl Dunye), Backward Looks, Far Corners (Christopher Munch), Tree Shade (Lisa Collins), La Boda and Escuela (Hannah Weyer), Brother to Brother (Rodney Evans), Room (Kyle Henry) and Memorial Day (Josh Fox). He is currently in development on Mosquita Y Mari ("Aurora Guerrero") and in post-production on Fourplay (Kyle Henry).
McKay was a Rockefeller Fellow in 2003 and a Guggenheim Fellow in 2004.
His haiku have been published in The Haiku Year (Soft Skull Press, NY, 1998); Snapshots 12 (Snapshots Press, Liverpool, 2006); Noon - Journal of the Short Poem (Noon Press, Tokyo, 2006); and Haiku, Not Bombs (Booklyn Press, NY 2008).
For The Wire McKay directed the fourth episode of the fourth season, "Refugees
Refugees (The Wire episode)
"Refugees" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by Dennis Lehane from a story by Ed Burns & Dennis Lehane, and directed by Jim McKay, it originally aired on October 1, 2006.-Production:...
". Show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
David Simon had seen McKay's HBO films and describes them as "masterful, ordinary-life movies" and thought that McKay would be perfect for the series based on their shared characteristics of accumulating drama in small moments. McKay has worked with several cast members of the show on other projects including Reg E. Cathey
Reg E. Cathey
Reginald "Reg" E. Cathey is an American stage, film and television actor.Cathey is a native of Huntsville, Alabama and a graduate of J.O. Johnson High School. He spent his childhood in West Germany. His favourite band is Blur....
and Jamie Hector
Jamie Hector
Jamie Hector is an Haitian-American actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire.- Biography :...
on Everyday People and Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
on Life Support
Life Support (film)
Life Support is a 2007 American film starring Queen Latifah. It is loosely based on the real life story of Andrea Williams, an HIV-positive woman....
.
Filmography
| Year | Show | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Boss Boss (TV series) Boss is an American-Canadian political drama television series created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder.... |
"Reflex" | Season 1, episode 2 |
| 2010 | Treme Treme (TV series) Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that premiered on April 11, 2010 on HBO. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans... |
"Meet De Boys on the Battlefront" | Season 1, episode 2 |
| Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
"Four Cops Shot" | Season 20, episode 17 | |
| 2009 | The Good Wife | "Threesome" | Season 1, episode 9 |
| Law & Order | "Dignity" | Season 20, episode 5 | |
| "Take-Out" | Season 19, episode 16 | ||
| "Chattel" | Season 19, episode 8 | ||
| Hung Hung (TV series) Hung is a comedy-drama series, which premiered on HBO on June 28, 2009. The series was created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson and stars Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker, a struggling suburban Detroit high school baseball coach who resorts to male prostitution. The second season premiered on June 27,... |
"The Rita Flower or the Indelible Stench" | Season 1, episode 7 | |
| In Treatment In Treatment In Treatment is an American HBO drama, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, about a psychologist, 50-something Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients, as well as those with his own therapist at the end of the week. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on... |
"April: Week Seven" | Season 2, episode 32 | |
| "April: Week Five" | Season 2, episode 22 | ||
| "April: Week Four" | Season 2, episode 17 | ||
| Big Love Big Love Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy... |
"Empire" | Season 3, episode 2 | |
| 2008 | Law & Order | "Excalibur" | Season 18, episode 18 |
| "Quit Claim" | Season 18, episode 7 | ||
| Gossip Girl Gossip Girl (TV series) Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007... |
"The Ex-Files" | Season 2, episode 4 | |
| New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (TV series) New Amsterdam is an American television drama, which premiered March 4, 2008 on Fox, and ended after its eighth episode.-Premise and plot:... |
"Keep the Change" | Season 1, episode 5 | |
| Breaking Bad Breaking Bad Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series... |
"Cancer Man" | Season 1, episode 4 | |
| 2007 | Big Love | "Take Me As I Am" | Season 2, episode 11 |
| "Dating Game" | Season 2, episode 6 | ||
| Life Support Life Support (film) Life Support is a 2007 American film starring Queen Latifah. It is loosely based on the real life story of Andrea Williams, an HIV-positive woman.... |
Television movie | ||
| Law & Order Criminal Intent | "Flipped" | Season 6, episode 14 | |
| 2006 | "Maltese Cross" | Season 6, episode 4 | |
| The Wire The Wire (TV series) The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States... |
"Refugees Refugees (The Wire episode) "Refugees" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by Dennis Lehane from a story by Ed Burns & Dennis Lehane, and directed by Jim McKay, it originally aired on October 1, 2006.-Production:... " |
Season 4, episode 4 | |
| 2005 | Angel Rodriguez | Television movie, Producer, Writer and Director | |
| 2004 | Everyday People Everyday People (film) Everyday People is a 2004 drama film written and directed by Jim McKay. The storyline revolves around the lives of the employees working at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York City, which is to be closed down due to economic shortfall.-Plot summary:... |
Television movie, Writer and Director | |
| 2000 | Our Song | Producer, Writer and Director | |
| 1996 | Girls Town Girls Town (1996 film) Girls Town is a 1996 movie debut by Jim Mckay that centers on the lives of three high-school aged women after the suicide of a friend. The Girls Town soundtrack was released on August 20, 1996 by Mercury Records.-Synopsis:... |
Writer and Director | |