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John Sayles

{{short description|American film director}}

{{BLP sources|date=January 2014}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}

{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}

{{Infobox person

| name = John Sayles

| image = John Sayles.jpg

| imagesize = 200px

| caption = Sayles in March 2008

| birth_name = John Thomas Sayles

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|9|28}}

| birth_place = Schenectady, New York, United States

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Williams College

| occupation = {{hlist|Director|screenwriter|editor|actor|novelist}}

| years_active = 1971–present

}}

John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), Passion Fish (1992), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Lone Star (1996), and Men with Guns (1997).

For Eight Men Out, Sayles was nominated for the USC Scripter Award. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Passion Fish and Lone Star. At the 56th Golden Globe Awards, Men with Guns was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His directorial debut, Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), as well as Matewan were added to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1997 and 2023, respectively.

Early life

Sayles was born on September 28, 1950, in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary (née Rausch), a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator.{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=Diane |title=John Sayles: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series) |date=1999 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |page=xix |isbn=9781578061389 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cGjdRbHCyYC}} Both of Sayles's parents were Catholic and of half-Irish descent. Sayles has referred to himself as a "Catholic atheist".{{Cite web |url=http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/Interview_John%20Sayles.html |title=John Sayles Interview |access-date=September 27, 2006 |archive-date=August 29, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829073130/http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/Interview_John%20Sayles.html |url-status=live }} He attended Williams College with frequent collaborators Gordon Clapp and David Strathairn, as well as his longtime partner, Maggie Renzi. Sayles earned a B.A. in psychology in 1972.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Sayles|title=John Sayles {{!}} Biography, Movies, Books, Assessment, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-01-23|archive-date=April 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412071557/https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Sayles|url-status=live}}

Career

{{BLP sources section|date=April 2022}}

After college, Sayles moved to Boston where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs while writing short stories for The Atlantic. These writings culminated in his first novel, The Pride of the Bimbos, published in 1975.

Sayles began his film career working with Roger Corman, along with Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Ron Howard who also had stints with Corman early in their careers. Sayles was discovered by Frances Doel, who worked in the script department for Corman's New World Pictures. Sayles has been called "the greatest screenwriter to ever work at New World."{{cite web |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/top-ten-corman-part-two-top-ten-screenwriters/ |first=Sephen |last=Vagg |website=FilmInk |date=13 May 2024 |title=Top Ten Corman – Part Two: Top Ten Screenwriters |access-date=May 17, 2024 |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515190813/https://www.filmink.com.au/top-ten-corman-part-two-top-ten-screenwriters/ |url-status=live }}

=Directorial debut=

In 1979, Sayles used $30,000 he earned writing scripts for Corman to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus 7.{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/23528/8-hollywood-directors-from-the-roger-corman-film-school|title=8 Hollywood directors from the Roger Corman film school|website=Den of Geek|date=November 21, 2012|language=en|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010084350/http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/23528/8-hollywood-directors-from-the-roger-corman-film-school|url-status=live}} To make the film on a limited budget, he set the film in a large house so that he did not have to travel to or get permits for different locations, set the story over a three-day weekend to limit costume changes, and wrote about people his age so he could cast his friends in it. The film received near-unanimous critical acclaim at the time and has held its reputation. In November 1997, the National Film Preservation Board announced that Return of the Secaucus 7 would be one of the 25 films selected that year for preservation in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

In 1983, after the films Baby It's You (starring Rosanna Arquette) and Lianna (a story in which a married woman becomes discontented with her marriage and falls in love with another woman), Sayles received a MacArthur Fellowship. He put the money into the science fiction feature The Brother from Another Planet,{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,954425,00.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912043507/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,954425,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 12, 2012 | title=Blues for Black Actors | author=Richard Corliss | date=October 1, 1984 | magazine=Time | access-date=August 13, 2010| author-link=Richard Corliss }} a film about a three-toed humanoid who escapes bondage on another world and crash-lands in New York harbor; because he is Africanoid in appearance, he finds himself at home among the people of Harlem, being pursued by European-looking alien enslavers men in black.

File:Sayles, John IMGP2516-A.jpg, 2011]]

In 1989, Sayles created and wrote the pilot episode for the short-lived television show Shannon's Deal about a down-and-out Philadelphia lawyer played by Jamey Sheridan. Sayles received a 1990 Edgar Award for his teleplay for the pilot. The show ran for 16 episodes before being cancelled in 1991.

Sayles has funded most of his films by writing genre scripts, such as Piranha, Alligator, The Howling, and The Challenge.{{Cite web|url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/dancing-with-werewolves-john-sayles-in-roger-cormans-hollywood/|title=Dancing with Werewolves: John Sayles in Roger Corman's Hollywood|date=2003-08-01|website=Bright Lights Film Journal|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-10}} Having collaborated with Joe Dante on Piranha and The Howling, Sayles acted in Dante's movie, Matinee. Sayles gets the rest of his funding by working as a script doctor; he did rewrites for Apollo 13{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Mary|last2=Neff|first2=Renfreu|last3=Mercurio|first3=Jim|last4=Goldsmith|first4=David F.|title=John Sayles on Screenwriting|url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/john-sayles-on-screenwriting/|access-date=2 October 2017|work=Creative Screenwriting|date=April 15, 2016|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413190715/https://creativescreenwriting.com/john-sayles-on-screenwriting/|url-status=live}} and Mimic.

A genre script, called Night Skies, inspired what would eventually become the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.{{Cite web|url=https://screencraft.org/2018/12/10/where-the-script-could-have-gone-wrong-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/|title=Where the Script Could Have Gone Wrong: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|last=Miyamoto|first=Ken|date=2018-12-10|website=ScreenCraft|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522093427/https://screencraft.org/2018/12/10/where-the-script-could-have-gone-wrong-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/|url-status=live}} That film's director, Steven Spielberg, later commissioned Sayles to write a script (unused) for the fourth Jurassic Park film.

He has written and directed his own films, including Lone Star, Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Matewan. He serves on the advisory board for the Austin Film Society.{{cite web |title=Austin Film Society Board of Directors |url=https://www.austinfilm.org/board-of-directors/ |website=austinfilm.org |publisher=Austin Film Society |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114063453/https://www.austinfilm.org/board-of-directors/ |url-status=live }}

Maggie Renzi has been John Sayles's long-time companion (and collaborator), but they have not married. Renzi has produced most of his films since Lianna. They met as students at Williams College.

Sayles works with a regular repertory of actors, most notably Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, and Gordon Clapp, each of whom has appeared in at least four of his films.

In early 2003, Sayles signed the Not In Our Name "Statement of Conscience" (along with Noam Chomsky, Steve Earle, Brian Eno, Jesse Jackson, Viggo Mortensen, Bonnie Raitt, Oliver Stone, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon and others) which opposed the invasion of Iraq.{{Cite web|url=https://picclick.com/PRIDE-OF-THE-BIMBOS-John-Sayles-1975-163535124439.html|title=PRIDE OF THE BIMBOS - John Sayles 1975 1st edition 1st printing with dust jacket • $24.99|website=PicClick|language=en|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522093427/https://picclick.com/PRIDE-OF-THE-BIMBOS-John-Sayles-1975-163535124439.html|url-status=live}}

In February 2009, Sayles was reported to be writing an HBO series based on the early life of Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The drama, tentatively titled Scar Tissue{{update inline|date=November 2022}}, centers on Kiedis's early years living in West Hollywood with his father. At that time, Kiedis's father, known as Spider, sold drugs (according to legend, his clients included The Who and Led Zeppelin) and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into show business.[https://variety.com/2009/music/markets-festivals/sayles-red-hot-for-hbo-s-scar-1118000444/ Sayles red hot for HBO's 'Scar'] from Variety

In February 2010, Sayles began shooting his 17th feature film, the historical war drama Amigo, in the Philippines. The film is a fictional account of events during the Philippine–American War, with a cast that includes Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, and Garret Dillahunt.[http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/238469/joel-torre-believes-baryo-may-stir-controversy Joel Torre believes 'Baryo' may stir controversy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118161256/http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/238469/joel-torre-believes-baryo-may-stir-controversy |date=January 18, 2010 }} from www.mb.com.ph

His novel A Moment in the Sun, set during the same period as Amigo, in the Philippines, Cuba, and the U.S., was released in 2011 by McSweeney's. It includes an account of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 in North Carolina, the only coup d'état in United States history in which a duly elected government was overthrown.{{cite web | url=http://www.johnsayles.com/body-bio.html | title=BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN SAYLES | publisher=johnsayles.com | access-date=August 13, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713115631/http://www.johnsayles.com/body-bio.html | archive-date=July 13, 2011 | df=mdy-all }}

Legacy and honors

  • 1983 MacArthur Fellowship
  • 1990 Edgar Award, for teleplay for pilot of Shannon's Deal
  • In June 2014, Sayles donated his non-film archive to the University of Michigan. It will be accessible at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. Sayles's film archive is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.{{Cite web |url=https://news.umich.edu/u-michigan-acquires-archive-of-filmmaker-john-sayles/ |title=University of Michigan Acquires Archive of John Sayles |date=October 8, 2013 |access-date=October 22, 2019 |archive-date=October 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022200527/https://news.umich.edu/u-michigan-acquires-archive-of-filmmaker-john-sayles/ |url-status=live }}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Editor

1978

| Piranha

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1979

| The Lady in Red

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan=3| 1980

| Return of the Secaucus 7

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

Battle Beyond the Stars

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Alligator

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1981

| The Howling

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1982

| The Challenge

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan=3| 1983

| Lianna

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

Baby It's You

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1984

| The Brother from Another Planet

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

1986

| The Clan of the Cave Bear

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan=2| 1987

| Wild Thing

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Matewan

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1988

| Eight Men Out

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1989

| Breaking In

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1991

| City of Hope

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

1992

| Passion Fish

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

rowspan=2| 1994

| The Secret of Roan Inish

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

Men of War

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1995

| Apollo 13

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Uncredited}}

| {{no}}

1996

| Lone Star

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

1997

| Men with Guns

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

1999

| Limbo

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2002

| Sunshine State

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2003

| Casa de los babys

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2004

| Silver City

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2007

| Honeydripper

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2008

| The Spiderwick Chronicles

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2010

| Amigo

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2013

| Go for Sisters

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

2018

| The Devil's Highway

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

=Executive producer=

=Acting roles=

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Role

1978

| Piranha

| Soldier

1980

| Return of the Secaucus 7

| Howie

1983

| Lianna

| Jerry

1984

| The Brother from Another Planet

| Man in Black #2

1986

| Something Wild

| Motorcycle Cop

1987

| Matewan

| Hardshell Preacher

1988

| Eight Men Out

| Ring Lardner

1991

| City of Hope

| Carl

1992

| Malcolm X

| FBI Agent

1992

| Passion Fish

| Soap Doctor

1993

| Matinee

| Bob

1996

| Gridlock'd

| Cop

2009

| In the Electric Mist

| Michael Goldman

2012

| The Normals

| Dr. Marx

=Television=

Bibliography

=Novels=

  • Pride of the Bimbos (1975) (novel)
  • Union Dues (1977) (novel)
  • Los Gusanos (1991) (novel)
  • A Moment in the Sun (2011) (novel)
  • Yellow Earth (2020) (novel){{Cite web|url=https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1380-yellow-earth|title=Yellow Earth|website=haymarketbooks.org|access-date=2020-01-23|archive-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304064745/https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1380-yellow-earth|url-status=live}}
  • Jamie MacGillivray (2023) (novel){{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/books/review/john-sayles-jamie-macgillivray.html |title=Book Review: 'Jamie MacGillivray' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2023-02-28 |access-date=2023-10-31}}
  • To Save the Man (2025) (novel)

=Collections and non-fiction=

  • The Anarchists' Convention (1979) (short story collection)
  • Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie "Matewan" (1987) (non-fiction)
  • Dillinger in Hollywood (2004) (short story collection)

Music videos

  • Bruce Springsteen – "Born in the U.S.A."{{cite book|last1=Tannenbaum|first1=Rob|last2=Marks|first2=Craig|title=I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrBolXPYq40C&q=%22hooked+up+with+john%22&pg=RA3-PA16-IA12|access-date=25 August 2019|year=2012|publisher=Plume|isbn=978-0-452-29856-9|page=181|archive-date=August 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823172714/https://books.google.com/books?id=zrBolXPYq40C&q=%22hooked+up+with+john%22&pg=RA3-PA16-IA12|url-status=live}}
  • Bruce Springsteen – "I'm on Fire"{{cite book|last=Carlin|first=Peter Ames|title=Bruce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvdUWA30lw4C&pg=PT353|access-date=25 August 2019|date=30 October 2012|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4711-1235-5|page=353}}
  • Bruce Springsteen – "Glory Days"

Awards/nominations

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2010}}

=Films=

Awards for Honeydripper:

  • Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film (Win) – 2008 NAACP Image Award{{Cite news|url=https://www.naacp.org/latest/list-of-naacp-image-awards-winners/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413080441/http://www.naacp.org/latest/list-of-naacp-image-awards-winners/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 13, 2017|title=NAACP {{!}} List of NAACP Image Awards Winners|date=2008-02-14|work=NAACP|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en-US}}
  • Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television) (Nominated) – John Sayles – 2008 NAACP Image Awards
  • Top 10 Independent Films of 2007 – National Board of Review of Motion Pictures{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/2007/|title=2007 Archives - National Board of Review|website=National Board of Review|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=September 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923065025/https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/2007/|url-status=live}}
  • Best Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 2007 San Sebastián International Film Festival (Tied with Gracia Querejeta and David Planell for Siete mesas de billar francés (2007)){{Cite web|url=https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2007/awards_and_jury_members/awards/1/102/in|title=San Sebastian Film Festival|website=sansebastianfestival|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193853/https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2007/awards_and_jury_members/awards/1/102/in|url-status=live}}

Award for Silver City:

  • Golden Seashell Award for Best Film (Nominated) – John Sayles – 2004 San Sebastián International Film Festival{{Cite web|url=https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/sections_and_films/7/520571/in|title=San Sebastian Film Festival|website=sansebastianfestival|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193811/https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/sections_and_films/7/520571/in|url-status=live}}

Awards for Sunshine State:

  • Golden Orange Award (Win) – John Sayles – 2002 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards{{Cite news|url=http://www.floridafilmcritics.com/2013/11/16/2002-ffcc-award-winners/|title=2002 FFCC Award Winners|work=Florida Film Critics Circle|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en-US|archive-date=December 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227214402/http://www.floridafilmcritics.com/2013/11/16/2002-ffcc-award-winners/|url-status=live}}
  • Special Mention For Excellence In Filmmaking (Win) – 2002 National Board of Review{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/2002/|title=2002 Archives - National Board of Review|website=National Board of Review|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=January 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107190644/http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/2002/|url-status=live}}

Awards for Limbo:

  • Best Director Golden Space Needle Award (Win) – John Sayles −1999 Seattle International Film Festival{{Cite web|url=https://www.siff.net/the-golden-space-needle-awards/golden-space-needle-history-1990-1999|title=Golden Space Needle History 1990-1999|website=www.siff.net|language=en|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222025738/https://www.siff.net/the-golden-space-needle-awards/golden-space-needle-history-1990-1999|url-status=live}}
  • Outstanding Indies (Win) – 1999 National Board of Review{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1999/|title=1999 Archives - National Board of Review|website=National Board of Review|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=September 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917112153/http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1999/|url-status=live}}

Awards for Men with Guns/Hombres armados:

  • Best Foreign Independent Film (Nominated) – 1998 British Independent Film Awards{{Cite news|url=https://www.bifa.film/awards/1998/winners-nominations/|title=Winners Nominations · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|date=1998-10-24|work=BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en-GB|archive-date=March 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325171939/https://www.bifa.film/awards/1998/winners-nominations/|url-status=live}}
  • Best Foreign Film (Nominated) – 1999 Golden Globes{{Cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1999|title=Winners & Nominees 1999|website=www.goldenglobes.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220160012/http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1999|url-status=dead}}
  • Peace Award (Nominated) – 1998 Political Film Society{{Cite web|url=https://polfilms.com/previous.html|title=Previous Awards – Political Film Society|website=polfilms.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193519/https://polfilms.com/previous.html|url-status=dead}}
  • FIPRESCI Prize (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
  • OCIC Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
  • Solidarity Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
  • Golden Seashell Award for Best Film (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival

Awards for Lone Star:

  • Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Academy Awards{{Cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1997|title=The 69th Academy Awards {{!}} 1997|work=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009125122/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1997|url-status=live}}
  • Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 BAFTA Awards{{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1997/film/original-screenplay|title=1997 Film Original Screenplay {{!}} BAFTA Awards|website=awards.bafta.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193700/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1997/film/original-screenplay|url-status=live}}
  • Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Golden Globes
  • Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Writers Guild of America Award
  • Best Picture (Nominated) – 1997 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Motion Picture Original Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 Golden Satellite Awards
  • Best Motion Picture – Drama (Nominated) – Maggie Renzi & R. Paul Miller – 1997 Golden Satellite Awards
  • Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Independent Spirit Awards
  • Best Film (Win) – Lone Star – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
  • Best Director (Win) – John Sayles – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
  • Best Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
  • Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Feature Film (Win) – 1996 NCLR Bravo Awards
  • Best Director (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

Awards for The Secret of Roan Inish:

Awards for Passion Fish:

  • Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1993 Academy Awards{{Cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993|title=The 65th Academy Awards {{!}} 1993|work=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=2018-11-27|language=en|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509075825/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993|url-status=live}}
  • Golden Spur Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1993 Flanders International Film Festival
  • Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1993 Writers Guild of America

Awards for City of Hope:

Awards for Matewan:

  • Critics Award (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1987 Deauville American Film Festival
  • Best Director (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1988 Independent Spirit Awards
  • Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1988 Independent Spirit Award
  • Human Rights Award (Win) – 1988 Political Film Society

Awards for The Brother from Another Planet:

Awards for Return of the Secaucus 7:

=Other recognition=

Sayles's first published story, "I-80 Nebraska", won an O. Henry Award; his novel, Union Dues, was nominated for a National Book Award as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award.

In 1983,{{cite web|last=Sayles|first=John|url=http://www.macfound.org/fellows/search/?page=2&fellow_class=30|title=MacArthur Foundation|access-date=August 20, 2013|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522093430/https://www.macfound.org/fellows/search/?page=2&fellow_class=30|url-status=live}} Sayles received the John D. MacArthur Award, given to 20 Americans in diverse fields each year for their innovative work. He has also been the recipient of the Eugene V. Debs Award, the John Steinbeck Award and the John Cassavetes Award. He was honored with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Writers Guild of America (1999).

Recurring collaborators

Actors who have regularly worked with Sayles include Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn, Joe Morton, Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell, Vincent Spano, Kevin Tighe, Josh Mostel, Tom Wright, Gordon Clapp and Angela Bassett.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0RaiTE-QusC&q=john+sayles+collaborators&pg=PA6|last=Ryan|first=Jack|title=John Sayles, Filmmaker: A Critical Study of the Independent Writer-director : with a Filmography and a Bibliography|year=1998|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786405299}}page 6

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Jesse Borrego

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Bill Cobbs

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Chris Cooper

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Liane Alexandra Curtis

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Richard Edson

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Miguel Ferrer

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Kathryn Grody

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Lisa Gay Hamilton

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Daryl Hannah

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Clifton James

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Kris Kristofferson

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Perry Lang

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Susan Lynch

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Vanessa Martinez

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Mary McDonnell

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Sam McMurray

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Joe Morton

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Josh Mostel

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Bill Raymond

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Maggie Renzi

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John Sayles

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Vincent Spano

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Mary Steenburgen

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Fisher Stevens

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David Strathairn

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Kevin Tighe

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Ralph Waite

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Tom Wright

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See also

Further reading

  • Diane Carson and Heidi Kenaga, eds., Sayles Talk: New Perspectives on Independent Filmmaker John Sayles, Wayne State University Press, 2006
  • John Sayles, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan, Da Capo Press, 2003

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{sister project links|d=Q2141212|c=category:John Sayles|n=no|b=no|q=no|s=no|wikt=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no}}

  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20230204093051/http://johnsaylesblog.com/ Official site]}} (via archive.org)
  • {{IMDb name|626}}
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100402105203/http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/04/sayles.html Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]}}
  • [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/features/article2494608.ece Interview April 2007 by Cathy Pryor in the London Independent]{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
  • [http://therumpus.net/2011/05/the-rumpus-interview-with-john-sayles/ The Rumpus interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523064837/http://therumpus.net/2011/05/the-rumpus-interview-with-john-sayles/ |date=May 23, 2011 }}
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070909072404/http://www.siffblog.com/other/return_of_the_independent_sayles_on_sayles_003909.html Return of the Independent: Sayles on Sayles (5-part interview)]}} from siffblog.com
  • [https://filmmakermagazine.com/123934-interview-maggie-renzi-john-sayles/ Cinema of Bread and Roses: An Interview with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220040915/https://filmmakermagazine.com/123934-interview-maggie-renzi-john-sayles/ |date=December 20, 2023 }}, Filmmaker, December 18, 2023

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