John McKay (director)
Encyclopedia
John McKay is a Scottish film
and television director
. His initial career was as a playwright
, before he began his film career by directing the short films
Doom and Gloom (1996) and Wet and Dry (1997).
These short films gained McKay some notable acclaim — Wet and Dry was nominated in the "Best Short Fiction" category at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev
in 1997. Doom and Gloom was also critically recognised, winning a "Special Mention" in the "Youth on Youth Award" category at the 1998 Locarno International Film Festival
, and the "Best European Short Film" prize at the 1999 Brussels International Film Festival.
After working on the television series Psychos
for Kudos
and Channel 4
in 1999, he directed his first full-length feature film, Crush, starring Andie MacDowell
, Imelda Staunton
, Anna Chancellor
, and Kenny Doughty
for which he also wrote the screenplay. Released in 2001, Crush was originally to have been titled The Sad Fuckers Club, but this was changed after resistance from the producers and distributors and uneasiness on the part of test audiences. Crush met with a generally negative critical reaction, and a second feature that McKay had written and was planning to direct at the time, the World War II
-set Knickers, never eventually saw production.
Following Crush McKay returned to television work, in 2003 directing "The Miller's Tale" and "The Sea Captain's Tale" for BBC One
's updated versions of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
, where the events of the stories were transposed to contemporary settings. "The Miller's Tale", which opened the series, proved to be a particular success, with an audience of 7.6 million viewers and a mixed but generally favourable critical reaction. In 2004 McKay returned to the cinema with his second full-length feature, directing Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes
's adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse
's novel Piccadilly Jim
.
McKay then returned once more to television work, and in 2006 directed episodes of two of BBC One's highest-profile new drama series. He helmed the third and fourth instalments of the time travel / police drama series Life on Mars
, and later in the year directed the opening two episodes of the channel's new Robin Hood series. Life on Mars gained particular critical and popular acclaim, with reviewer Nancy Banks-Smith
of The Guardian
describing McKay's second episode, the series' fourth, as "an inspired take on the usual formula of Gruff Copper of the old school."
His most recent work has been directing Reichenbach Falls
, a 75-minute one-off drama for digital television
channel BBC Four
, adapted by James Mavor
from a short story by Ian Rankin
. This was transmitted in March 2007.
McKay is married, with children.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. His initial career was as a playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, before he began his film career by directing the short films
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
Doom and Gloom (1996) and Wet and Dry (1997).
These short films gained McKay some notable acclaim — Wet and Dry was nominated in the "Best Short Fiction" category at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 1997. Doom and Gloom was also critically recognised, winning a "Special Mention" in the "Youth on Youth Award" category at the 1998 Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
, and the "Best European Short Film" prize at the 1999 Brussels International Film Festival.
After working on the television series Psychos
Psychos (TV series)
Psychos is a six-part British television drama series focusing upon a young medical team and their patients. First broadcast on Channel 4 in 1999, it was written by David Wolstencroft and directed by John McKay and Andy Wilson. It starred Douglas Henshall as Dr...
for Kudos
Kudos (production company)
Kudos Film and Television is a British independent film and television production company. It has produced television series for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and its productions include Spooks , Hustle, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and M.I. High...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1999, he directed his first full-length feature film, Crush, starring Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell
Rosalie Anderson "Andie" MacDowell is an American model and actress. She has received the Golden Camera and an Honorary César.-Early life:...
, Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
, Anna Chancellor
Anna Chancellor
-Family:Chancellor was born in Richmond, London, England, the daughter of the Hon. Mary Alice Jolliffe and John Paget Chancellor. Through her mother's mother, Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, Chancellor is the great-granddaughter of The Hon. Raymond Aquith and the great-great-granddaughter of Prime...
, and Kenny Doughty
Kenny Doughty
Kenny Doughty is an English actor who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Married to the actress Caroline Carver.-Filmography as Director:-Filmography as Actor:...
for which he also wrote the screenplay. Released in 2001, Crush was originally to have been titled The Sad Fuckers Club, but this was changed after resistance from the producers and distributors and uneasiness on the part of test audiences. Crush met with a generally negative critical reaction, and a second feature that McKay had written and was planning to direct at the time, the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-set Knickers, never eventually saw production.
Following Crush McKay returned to television work, in 2003 directing "The Miller's Tale" and "The Sea Captain's Tale" for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's updated versions of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales (TV Series)
The Canterbury Tales is a series of six single dramas that originally aired on BBC One in 2003. Each story is an adaptation of one of Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th century Canterbury Tales which are transferred to a modern, 21st century setting, but still set along the traditional Pilgrims' route to...
, where the events of the stories were transposed to contemporary settings. "The Miller's Tale", which opened the series, proved to be a particular success, with an audience of 7.6 million viewers and a mixed but generally favourable critical reaction. In 2004 McKay returned to the cinema with his second full-length feature, directing Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes
Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, DL , known as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, as well as a Conservative peer.-Early life:...
's adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
's novel Piccadilly Jim
Piccadilly Jim
Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
.
McKay then returned once more to television work, and in 2006 directed episodes of two of BBC One's highest-profile new drama series. He helmed the third and fourth instalments of the time travel / police drama series Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, and later in the year directed the opening two episodes of the channel's new Robin Hood series. Life on Mars gained particular critical and popular acclaim, with reviewer Nancy Banks-Smith
Nancy Banks-Smith
Nancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she declined.*1951- 1955: Northern Daily Telegraph, reporter...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
describing McKay's second episode, the series' fourth, as "an inspired take on the usual formula of Gruff Copper of the old school."
His most recent work has been directing Reichenbach Falls
Reichenbach Falls
The Reichenbach Falls are a series of waterfalls on the River Aar near Meiringen in Bern canton in central Switzerland. They have a total drop of 250 m . At 90 m , the Upper Reichenbach Falls is one of the highest cataracts in the Alps...
, a 75-minute one-off drama for digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
channel BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, adapted by James Mavor
James Mavor
James Mavor was a major Canadian economist of late 19th – early 20th centuries. He served as a Professor of Political Economy of the University of Toronto from 1892 to 1923. His influence upon Canadian economic thought is traced to as late as the 1970s...
from a short story by Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
. This was transmitted in March 2007.
McKay is married, with children.
External links
- Crush-related interview from 2001 at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...