J. A. Bayona

Bayona was born in Barcelona, Spain. The first movie he ever saw was Richard Donner's Superman (1978) which inspired him to be a director.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5me68u/comment/dc2vqah|title=J.A. Bayona here, director of a Monster Calls. AMA!|date=6 January 2017}} He studied at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC). At age 19 he met Guillermo del Toro at the Sitges Film Festival presenting Cronos (1993) and Bayona recognized him as a mentor there.{{cite web |url=http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/the-orphanage-juan-antonio-bayona-interview |title=The Orphanage – Juan Antonio Bayona interview |website=IndieLondon |access-date=27 October 2008}} After their initial conversations, del Toro promised to aid Bayona in the future if he were ever in the position to do so.

After graduating from ESCAC he began his career directing commercials and music videos. At the age of 20, he signed his first contract as audiovisual producer for the Spanish band OBK. After three years working with them, he was awarded the Premios Ondas for the music video "Tú sigue así".{{Cite web |url=http://www.oeff.jp/article1805.html |title=Honorary Chairman & Guests > Juan Antonio Bayona |website=Osaka European Film Festival |year=2008 |access-date=13 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316150018/http://www.oeff.jp/article1805.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 March 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.donmusica.com/noticias/juan-antonio-bayona-dirige-el-nuevo-videoclip-de-obk/ |title=Juan Antonio Bayona dirige el nuevo videoclip de OBK |website=Don Musica |language=es |access-date=13 January 2009 |archive-date=23 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123155014/http://www.donmusica.com/noticias/juan-antonio-bayona-dirige-el-nuevo-videoclip-de-obk/ |url-status=dead }} Since then, he has become the principal director of the group Camela and was commissioned to illustrate the piece "Cómo repartimos los amigos", in which the duo Ella Baila Sola bid farewell to their audience.

He has also directed music videos for Pastora Soler ("En mi soledad"), Fangoria, Nena Daconte ("El Aleph"), Enrique Bunbury and Miren Iza ("Frente a frente"), in which the original singer Jeanette appears at the end of the video. In 2012 he created the music video for "Disconnected" by the British band Keane.

In 1999 he directed the short film My Holidays and in 2002 The Spongeman.

File:Bayona-Rueda-del-Toro-L'Orphelinat.JPG and Guillermo del Toro presenting The Orphanage in Paris in 2008]]

In 2004 Bayona met writer Sergio G. Sánchez, who was working on the short 7337. Sánchez offered Bayona the script for The Orphanage.{{cite web |url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/34414 |title=Quint interviews Juan Antonio Bayona and Sergio Sanchez about the nifty horror flick The Orphanage |website=Aintitcoolnews |date=12 October 2007 |access-date=28 October 2008}} In order to create the film he wanted, Bayona had to double both the film's budget and its runtime. He was assisted by Guillermo del Toro, who offered to co-produce it. The Orphanage premiered on 20 May 2007, at the Cannes International Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation lasting more than ten minutes. Months later, on 11 October 2007, it premiered in Spanish cinemas and grossed $8.3 million.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed2205746180/ |title=Around the World Roundup: 'Ratatouille' Squashes Competitors |first=Conor |last=Bresnan |website=Box Office Mojo |date=17 October 2007 |access-date=19 January 2022}}

Bayona was awarded the Goya Award for Best New Director in 2008. The film was nominated for 14 categories of Goyas, and won 7.{{cite web |url=http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/13815/el-orfanato-left-off-oscar-shortlist |title='El Orfanato' left off Oscar shortlist |website=thinkSPAIN |date=16 January 2008 |access-date=27 October 2008}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:389195~T4 |title=The Orphanage Awards |website=AllMovie |access-date=27 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426195934/http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg |archive-date=26 April 2006 }} In October of that same year, Variety announced that Universal Studios had signed a contract with Bayona to adapt the film Hater by David Moody, written by Glen Mazzara and produced by Guillermo del Toro.

Bayona was one of the many candidates considered to direct The Twilight Saga: Eclipse but was not interested in making the film.{{cite news |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/04/toldya-nikki-finke-rewrites-history.html |last=Goldstein |first=Patrick |title=TOLDJA! Nikki Finke rewrites history |date=27 April 2009 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=24 June 2010}}

In August 2010 he began filming The Impossible, based on the experiences of a Spanish family that lived through the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2010/05/summit-adds-to-cannes-slate-with-the-impossible-37486/ |last=Fleming |first=Mike |title=Summit Acquires Naomi Watts-Ewan McGregor Drama 'The Impossible' |date=2 May 2010 |website=Deadline |access-date=24 June 2010}} Filmed in English and starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Tom Holland, the film was released on 11 October 2012, to positive critical response. In its first weekend it grossed $8.6 million, breaking the record for the best opening in the history of the Spanish box office. The Impossible was nominated for the Oscar and Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Actress for the interpretation of Naomi Watts. The film was also nominated in 14 categories at the Goya Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor (Tom Holland), of which it won five awards. In 2013 The Impossible received a National Film Award in the framework of the 61st International Festival of San Sebastián.

In March 2012 Bayona directed the music video "Disconnected", the second single from the album Strangeland by the British band Keane. The band has stated that it admires Bayona's film work, and Bayona has said he follows the music of Keane. On 11 September 2016, Keane released a music video for an exclusive new song, "Tear Up This Town", written and recorded for the fantasy drama film A Monster Calls, directed by Bayona. The single was made available for digital download on 23 September 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.keanemusic.com/new-keane-song-for-a-monster-calls-film/ |title=New Keane song for 'A Monster Calls' film |date=16 September 2016 |website=KeaneMusic.com |access-date=20 June 2018}}

Bayona was responsible for directing the first two episodes of the Penny Dreadful series, created by John Logan and originally released on Showtime. Filmed in Dublin, the series tells the story of a group consisting of a rich man, a medium, a gunman and a young doctor, all looking for the rich man's missing daughter. To do this, they must cope with strange beings and Victorian era literary characters like Frankenstein, Dracula and Dorian Gray. The series has a lot of its creator, according to Bayona.

In 2014, Bayona began shooting the film A Monster Calls, an adaptation of the novel by Patrick Ness, starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, and Liam Neeson. The film, which was released in 2016, tells the story of a young boy (MacDougall) who cares for his mother (Jones), ill with cancer, while befriending a monster (Neeson). With this film, Bayona closed his personal trilogy about mother-child relationships.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/04/felicity-jones-to-star-in-juan-antonio-bayonas-a-monster-calls-717960/ |title=Felicity Jones To Star In Juan Antonio Bayona's 'A Monster Calls' |first=Mike Jr. |last=Fleming |date=23 April 2014 |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=20 June 2018}}

In 2018, Bayona next directed the science fiction sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Justice Smith, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones and James Cromwell.{{cite web |url=https://collider.com/jurassic-world-2-ja-bayona/ |title='Jurassic World 2': J.A. Bayona Confirmed to Direct |first=Matt |last=Goldberg |date=18 April 2016 |website=Collider |access-date=20 June 2018}} The film received mixed reviews from critics but Bayona's direction received praise.{{cite magazine |title=Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom reviews are mixed, but praise director J.A. Bayona |url=https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/05/jurassic-world-fallen-kingdom-reviews-chris-pratt-ja-bayona/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=June 5, 2018}} It was also a major commercial success, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2018 and the 12th-highest-grossing film of all time.

In November 2021, it was announced Bayona would direct the disaster drama Society of the Snow for Netflix, based on the true story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes in October 1972.{{cite news|last=Ritman|first=Alex|date=29 November 2021|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/j-a-bayona-sets-real-life-disaster-drama-society-of-the-snow-with-netflix-1235053786/|title=J. A. Bayona Sets Netflix Real-Life Disaster Drama 'Society of the Snow'|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=22 May 2022}} The film was released theatrically to Spanish-speaking audiences in December 2023 before its arrival to Netflix on 4 January 2024. It received positive reviews with some critics calling it Bayona's best work.

Bayona directed the first two episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, filmed in New Zealand from 3 February 2020 and premiered on 2 September 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-lord-of-the-rings-j-a-bayona-direct-amazon-series-juan-antonio-bayona-1202640048/|title='The Lord Of The Rings': J.A. Bayona To Direct Amazon Series|date=2019-07-03|website=Deadline|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/lord-of-the-rings-series-amazon-j-a-bayona-1203258995/|title='Lord of the Rings' Series at Amazon Enlists J.A. Bayona to Direct|date=2019-07-03|website=Variety|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-03}}

Back in October 2008, Variety announced that Universal Studios had signed Bayona to direct Hater, an adaptation of British author David Moody's thriller novel about an epidemic of violence caused by regular people. The film will be written by Glen Mazzara and produced by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson.{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/orphanage-duo-to-reunite-1118003632/ |title='Orphanage' duo to reunite |magazine=Variety |date=14 May 2009 |first=John |last=Hopewell |access-date=25 May 2009}}{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/features/bayona-to-direct-universal-s-hater-1117993720/ |title=Bayona to direct Universal's 'Hater' |magazine=Variety |date=9 October 2008 |first=Michael |last=Fleming |access-date=13 January 2009}}

In November 2022, at the Seville European Film Festival, Bayona announced that he was working together with Agustín Díaz Yanes in the adaptation of Manuel Chaves Nogales' book A sangre y fuego.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fotogramas.es/noticias-cine/a41881274/juan-antonio-bayona-guerra-civil-adaptacion-sangre-fuego/|website=Fotogramas|date=7 November 2022|title=Juan Antonio Bayona adaptará al cine 'A sangre y fuego', de Chaves Nogales}}

File:Bayona en la alfombra roja de los Premios Goya 2017.jpg in 2017]]

Executive producer

• Marrowbone (2017)
• I Hate New York (2018) (Documentary)

File:Goyas 2024 - J.A.Bayona.jpg

Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Goya Awards

Other awards

{{Reflist}}

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• {{IMDb name|1291105}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes person|1181007-juan_antonio_bayona}}

{{Juan Antonio Bayona}}

{{Goya Award for Best Director}}

{{Goya Award for Best New Director}}

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Category:1975 births

Category:Living people

Category:Spanish horror film directors

Category:Best Director Goya Award winners

Category:Film directors from Catalonia

Category:Film directors from Barcelona