Gregory Jacobs

{{Infobox person

| name = Gregory Jacobs

| image = Gregory Jacobs 2015.jpg

| image_size = 200px

| caption = Jacobs in 2015

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|8|14}}

| birth_place = Harrington Park, New Jersey, US

| other_names = Greg Jacobs

| alma_mater = Tisch School of the Arts

| occupation = Film director, assistant director, producer, screenwriter

| years_active = 1987–present

| spouse = Heather Jacobs{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Strauss |title=In person; first take at directing for a film hand |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFDC1639F93AA2575AC0A9629C8B63 |work=The New York Times |date=September 19, 2004 |access-date=July 7, 2015}}

| children = 2

}}

Gregory Jacobs (born August 14, 1968) is an American film director, assistant director, producer, and screenwriter. He has frequently collaborated with several film directors, most notably Steven Soderbergh, as well as directing himself, having overseen projects such as Criminal (2004), Wind Chill (2007) and Magic Mike XXL (2015).

Early life

Jacobs was born and raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey, where he attended Harrington Park Elementary School and was first introduced to film making by 7th grade teacher, Eugene Kennedy. He was further educated at Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan.{{cite news |first=Neil |last=Amdur |title=Award-winning TV producer got start in Harrington Park Elementary film class |url=http://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/tv/award-winning-tv-producer-got-start-in-harrington-park-elementary-film-class-1.1063923?page=all |work=North Jersey Media Group |date=August 7, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} Jacobs is the son of Rafael Jacobs, who works as a lawyer, and Marti Jacobs. He has a brother, Douglas Jacobs, who is the president of Integrated Sports Media, a sports firm, located in Hoboken. Jacobs is also a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts.{{cite web |url=http://archive.mostra.org/exib_diretor_arquivo.php?filme=5412&language=en |title=Gregory Jacobs biography |work=São Paulo International Film Festival |access-date=July 5, 2015}} During a hiatus from the school in 1986, he worked as an assistant director to John Sayles on the independent film Matewan.{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Crust |title=Second banana to top dog |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-10-et-crust10-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 10, 2004 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}

Career

Jacobs has been active as an assistant director in his career for film directors such as the Coen brothers, Richard Linklater, Sayles, John Schlesinger and Steven Soderbergh. Jacobs first began cooperating with Soderbergh in 1993 on King of the Hill.{{cite news |first=Todd |last=McCarthy |title=Review: 'King of the Hill' |url=https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/king-of-the-hill-2-1200432207/ |work=Variety |date=May 20, 1993 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}{{cite news |first=Sarah |last=Salovaara |title='Magic Mike XXL' Director Gregory Jacobs steps out of Steven Soderbergh's shadow |url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/magic-mike-xxl-director-gregory-jacobs-steps-out-of-steven-soderberghs-shadow-20150630 |work=Indiewire |date=June 30, 2015 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} In 2004, Jacobs released Criminal, his first feature film as a director, which he also wrote the script and helped produce.{{cite news |first=Carina |last=Chocano |title='Criminal' pulls off a fresh caper drama |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-10-et-criminal10-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 10, 2004 |access-date=July 7, 2015}} His second project was Wind Chill, announced in October 2005. It premiered in 2007.{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Saney |title=Jacobs to direct 'Wind Chill' horror |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a25361/jacobs-to-direct-wind-chill-horror.html#~phpL900OiTDtp9 |work=Digital Spy |date=October 21, 2005 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Chang |title=Review: 'Wind Chill' |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/wind-chill-1200559846/ |work=Variety |date=April 27, 2007 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} In March 2014, it was reported that Jacobs would helm Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to the first film,{{cite news |title='Magic Mike' sequel will be called 'Magic Mike XXL,' directed by Steven Soderbergh's AD |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/29/magic-mike-sequel_n_5055133.html |work=The Huffington Post |date=March 29, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}{{cite news |first=James |last=White |title=Greg Jacobs directing Magic Mike sequel |url=https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=40605 |work=Empire |date=March 30, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} with Soderbergh acting instead as an executive producer, cinematographer and film editor.{{cite news |first=Ignatiy |last=Vishnevetsky |title="Retired" Steven Soderbergh will be lighting, shooting, and editing Magic Mike XXL |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/retired-steven-soderbergh-will-be-lighting-shootin-204873 |work=The A.V. Club |date=May 20, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}

Awards

For his involvement as one of the producers of Behind the Candelabra, Jacobs won an Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, which he shared along with Jerry Weintraub, Susan Ekins and Michael Polaire.{{cite news |title=Behind the Candelabra wins 11 Emmys; HBO picks up 27 in all |url=http://www.hbo.com/movies/news/behind-the-candelabra-wins-11-emmys-hbo-picks-up-27-in-all.html |work=Home Box Office (HBO) |date=September 23, 2013 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} The same year, he was also the recipient of the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series,{{cite news |title=DGA Awards: The winners |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dga-awards-winners-674067 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 25, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}} as well as the PGA Award, Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television.{{cite news |title=25th Annual PGA Awards: First-Ever Tie For Best Motion Picture – 'Gravity' And '12 Years A Slave'; 'Breaking Bad' & 'Modern Family' Take Top TV Awards; Winners List |url=https://deadline.com/2014/01/pga-awards-2014-producers-guild-award-winners-667429/ |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=January 19, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2015}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer
2004 \| Criminal \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}}
2007 \| Wind Chill \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}}
rowspan="2"\|2015 \| Magic Mike XXL \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{yes}}
Blackway \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}}

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

2004

| Criminal

| {{yes}}

2007

| Wind Chill

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan="2"|2015

| Magic Mike XXL

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

Blackway

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

Producer only

Full Frontal (2002)
Eros (2004) (Segment "Equilibrium")
Bubble (2005)
The Good German (2006)
The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
The Informant! (2009)
Contagion (2011)
Haywire (2011)
Magic Mike (2012)
Side Effects (2013)

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Logan Lucky (2017)
The Laundromat (2019)
Dog (2022)
Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)
Black Bag (2025)

Executive producer

Solaris (2002)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Che (2008)

First assistant director

Lonely Hearts (1991)
Under Cover of Darkness (1992)
Simple Men (1992)
Family Prayers (1993)
The Music of Chance (1993)
King of the Hill (1993)
Naked in New York (1993)
Amateur (1994)
The Underneath (1995)
Pie in the Sky (1995)
Eye for an Eye (1996)
A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
The Newton Boys (1998)
Out of Sight (1998)
I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
The Limey (1999)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Price of Glory (2000) (Second unit)
Traffic (2000)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Second assistant director

Tune in Tomorrow (1990)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
City of Hope (1991)
Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Little Man Tate (1991)

Assistant director

Elliot Fauman, Ph.D. (1990)
Foreign Student (1994)
Goodbye Lover (1998)

Other credits

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role
1989 \| Shag \| Additional second assistant director
1992 \| The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag \| Assistant production supervisor (Second unit)
1995 \| Before Sunrise \| Associate producer
2004 \| Ocean's Twelve \| Co-producer

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

1989

| Shag

| Additional second assistant director

1992

| The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag

| Assistant production supervisor (Second unit)

1995

| Before Sunrise

| Associate producer

2004

| Ocean's Twelve

| Co-producer

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes
2013 \| Behind the Candelabra \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| TV movie
2014–15 \| The Knick \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \| {{yes\|Executive}} \| 20 episodes
2014–17 \| Red Oaks \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes\|Executive}} \|
2023 \| Extrapolations \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes\|Executive}} \| Episode "2047: The Fifth Question"
2024 \| Apples Never Fall \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \| {{yes\|Executive}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

! Notes

2013

| Behind the Candelabra

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| TV movie