Angus MacLachlan

{{short description|American dramatist}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Angus MacLachlan

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1959|3}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)

| occupation = playwright, screenwriter

}}

Angus MacLachlan is a playwright and screenwriter known for writing the screenplay for the 2005 film Junebug.

Career

MacLachlan graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1980 and lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Tater Tomater is a short student film that was directed by Phil Morrison while he was a student at NYU. The short is based on MacLachlan's stage play Behold Zebulon.{{Cite book |last=Henderson |first=Jenny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMYtDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22tater+tomater%22&pg=PT585 |title=The North Carolina Filmography: Over 2000 Film and Television Works Made in the State, 1905 through 2000 |date=2017-07-21 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5545-4 |language=en}} It was first screened in 1989 at the Rialto Theater in Raleigh, North Carolina and in 1992, both screened at Sundance and aired on PBS's American Playhouse.{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Roger |date=July 14, 1992 |title=N.C. Director follows 'Tater Tomater' with Wheaties - and Jordan |work=The Charlotte Observer (Newspapers.com) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/627921638/?terms=%22tater%20tomater%22&match=1}}{{Cite news |last=Lindsey |first=Craig D |date=January 28, 2005 |title=Filmmaker scurries at Sundance |work=The News and Observer (Newspapers.com) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/654028708/?terms=%22tater%20tomater%22&match=1}} The short stars Beth Bostic and Mary Lucy Bivins as two servers working in a cafeteria; Bostic continually asks customers if they want "taters" or "tomaters" until she has a mental breakdown.{{Cite news |last=Morrison |first=Bill |date=July 21, 1989 |title=Great escape artists |work=The News and Observer (Newspapers.com) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/655861737/?terms=%22tater%20tomater%22&match=1}} Since its premiere the short has received praise and taken on cult film status.{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Tony |date=October 17, 1993 |title=MacLachlan offers one man guided tour |work=The Charlotte Observer (Newspaper.com) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/626583923/?terms=%22tater%20tomater%22&match=1}} A now-defunct website, tatertomater.com, was launched and allowed fans to take polls, sign a guestbook, or purchase a copy of the short film.{{Cite web |last=BALASSONE |first=MERRILL |date=2005-07-15 |title=They won't be long, but they may be captivating |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-15-et-short15-story.html |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

MacLachlan and Morrison, who grew up together in Winston-Salem, would later work together again on the film Junebug (2005).{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Roger |date=September 5, 2005 |title=13 years in the making |work=The Orlando Sentinel (Newspapers.com) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/268922766}}

He adapted one of his plays into the film Stone, directed by John Curran and starring Robert De Niro, Milla Jovovich, and Edward Norton. It was released in 2010.

Filmography

References

{{reflist}}