John D. Hancock

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John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939 in Kansas City (Missouri) ) is an American theater , television and film director . Among other things, he was nominated for an Oscar in 1971 .

Youth and education

John D. Hancock grew up in the Midwest and was primarily interested in music. As an adolescent, he successfully played the violin and was a member of the Chicago Youth Orchestra . He spent the weekends and summer holidays on his parents' farm near LaPorte (Indiana) , otherwise he grew up in Chicago . In Chicago, his father played as a jazz musician in the NBC Orchestra .

He began studying at Harvard University and during this time discovered his interest in directing through his participation in student theater. During this time he received a scholarship to study theater in Europe. Hancock used this time to study Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble .

plant

Theater work in the 1960s

Hancock began his career in 1962 with the successful off-Broadway production of Brecht's Mann ist Mann . He left New York first . He was Artistic Director at the San Francisco Actors Workshop in 1965/1966 and at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in 1966/1967 . In 1967 he staged William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream again in New York at the Lucille Lortel Theater . In 1968 he was awarded the Obie Award as Distinguished Director for his direction . In 1968 he directed the performance of Robert Lowell's Endicott and The Red Cross at the off-Broadway American Place Theater .

1970s

Hancock began working as a film director with the short film Sticky My Fingers ... Fleet My Feet in 1970. Hancock funded the film with a grant from the American Film Institute . This film was nominated for an Oscar in 1971 for best short film . It followed in 1971 with the horror film Grauen um Jessica ( Let's Scare Jessica to Death ), the long film debut. In addition to directing the low budget film , Hancock co-wrote the script . The horror film was included in the Chicago Film Critics Association 's 2006 list of the scariest films. This was followed by the 1973 film The Last Game ( Bang the Drum Slowly ) about baseball . The film was a breakthrough for Robert De Niro , who developed the character portrayal for this film for which he became famous. Vincent Gardenia was nominated for an Oscar in 1974 as a supporting actor. 1976 Hancock's film was released soldier without order ( Baby Blue Marine ).

John D. Hancock was commissioned Director for Jaws 2 ( Jaws 2 to guide). Due to artistic differences, he was fired in 1977 after several weeks of shooting. The film was completely changed. After losing this job, Hancock took his wife on a trip to Europe. On his return he refused the director of The China Syndrome ( The China Syndrome ab). This was followed by the surf film California Dreaming , released in 1979 .

Film and television in the 1980s

1985 to 1986 John D. Hancock made episodes of television series . He directed episodes of Lady with the Gun ( Lady Blue ), The Twilight Zone , Hill Street Police Station ( Hill Street Blues ) and Fashion, Models and Intrigue ( Cover Up ). In 1987 the prison film The Steel Curtain ( Weeds ) with Nick Nolte came out. In the film, Hancock processed, among other things, personal experience of working with the theater company of the San Quentin State Prison . In 1988 he directed for by HBO / Paramount -produced TV movie Open Season ( Steal the Sky ). He then directed the 1989 Christmas film Jessica and the Reindeer ( Prancer ). The film was shot in Indiana , where Hancock grew up. Kastalia Medrano classified this 2017 Christmas film as a classic.

1990s and 21st centuries

After Jessica and the Reindeer , there was a break of over ten years. During this time he was working on a project The Klansman , which was not well received in Hollywood because of the issue of racism . Hancock only directed a few episodes of the television series Dellaventura and Immer wieder Fitz ( Cracker: Mind Over Murder ) as well as commercials in the last decade of the 20th century . During this time he moved from California to LaPorte and founded the production company AcreFilms there with his wife.

The cinematic break was interrupted by the 2000 film Piece of Eden based on a script by Hancock's wife Dorothy Tristan . The film has autobiographical references. Hancock's wife also wrote the screenplay for the 2001 thriller Mayhem ( Suspended Animation ). The film was shot on a budget. For Hancock's 2015 film The Looking Glass (also: Swan Song ), Tristan not only wrote the script, but also played the lead role of an old ex-film star.

Private

John D Hancock married the author Ann Arensberg in 1967 as their first marriage. This marriage ended in divorce in 1975.

He married the actress and screenwriter Dorothy Tristan in 1975 . In 1996, John D. Hancock and his wife moved back to LaPorte, Indiana after fires destroyed their home in Malibu . Here the couple founded the film production company FilmAcres in 1998 .

Awards

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c John D. Hancock on FilmAcres
  2. ↑ a b Jeremy D. Bonfiglio, Celebrating 'Prancer' in Three Oaks , Harbor Country News, December 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b c Jeremy D. Bonfiglio, Celebrating 'Prancer' in Three Oaks , Harbor Country News, December 4, 2014.
  4. ^ John Hancock in the Off-Broadway Database
  5. ↑ Biography on Filmreference.com
  6. ^ Entry of the production in the Off-Broadway Database
  7. ↑ 1968 winner of the Obie Award
  8. ↑ Clive Barnes, Endicott and The Red Cross , The New York Times, May 7, 1968. (PDF)
  9. ^ A b c Filmography by John D. Hancock in the IMDb
  10. ↑ Sticky My Fingers ... Fleet My Feet in the IMDb .
  11. ↑ Roger Greenspun, Screen: Hippie Vampire: 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death' Arrives , The New York Times, August 28, 1971.
  12. ↑ a b Michael Doyle: Hancock on Hancock , BearManor Media, Albany (Georgia) 2018, ISBN 978-1-62933-243-7 .
  13. ↑ List of the top 100 horror films on Alt Movie Guide
  14. ↑ a b The Last Game in the Lexicon of International Films .
  15. ↑ Rob Nixon, Bang the Drum Slowly on Turner Classic Movies (English)
  16. ^ Baby Blue Marine in the IMDb .
  17. ↑ Soldier without an order in TV Movie .
  18. ^ Gary Arnold, Shark Bites Men - Again , Washington Post, June 18, 1978.
  19. ↑ California Dreaming in the IMDb .
  20. ^ Gary Arnold, 'California Dreaming': Mostly a Case of Touch and Gauche , The Washington Post, May 15, 1979.
  21. ↑ Kevin Thomas, MOVIE REVIEWS: 'Weeds' Makes Full Use of Nick Nolte's Versatile Presence , Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1987.
  22. ^ Jagdfieber in the Lexicon of International Films
  23. ↑ Kastalia Medrano, CULT CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 'PRANCER' DESERVES TO BE A HOLIDAY TRADITION , Newsweek of December 21, 2017.
  24. ^ A b c d The Price of Eden , Chicago Reader, April 27, 2000.
  25. ↑ Dave Kehr, Film in Review: A Piece of Eden , The New York Times, September 15, 2000.
  26. ↑ Ellen Fox, Dull `Suspended Animation 'fails to thrill, draw in viewers , Chicago Tribune, October 31, 2003.
  27. ↑ The Looking Glass in the IMDb
  28. ↑ Glenn Kenny, Review: In ´The Looking Glass´ an aging Actress mentors a troubled Granddaughter , The New York Times, October 23, 2015.
  29. ↑ Pamela Dear: Contemporary Authors New Revision Volume 85, Gale Research Company Gale / Cengage Learning, 2000, ISBN 978-0-7876-3095-9 . Article: Arensberg, Ann.
  30. ↑ Interview with John D. Hancock on lukeford.net
  31. ^ Luke Ford, The Producers: Profiles in Frustration iUniverse Publishing, New York 2004, ISBN 0-595-32016-3 . P. 191.
personal data
SURNAME Hancock, John D.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hancock, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American director
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Kansas City (Missouri)