John (Thomas) Sayles

Writer, film scriptwriter, director, and actor, born in Schenectady, New York, USA. After graduating from Williams College, he wrote fiction, publishing prize-winning short stories and the novels Pride of Bimbos (1975) and Union Dues (1977). These led him to Hollywood and scriptwriting, and he spent several years working on low-rate films until he was able to write, direct, and act in The Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980), filmed in only 27 days and on a budget of about $60 000. He continued to struggle to make his own films until he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation grant (1983) which allowed him to continue scripting and directing critically acclaimed independent feature films, such as Matewan (1987) and Eight Men Out (1988), while also writing novels.

John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films.

Career

Like Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, among others, Sayles got his start in film working with Roger Corman. Sayles went on to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus 7, with $30,000 he had in the bank from writing scripts for Corman;

In 1983, after Sayles's films Baby It's You (starring Rosanna Arquette) and Lianna (a sympathetic story in which a married woman becomes discontented with her marriage after falling in love with another woman), Sayles received a MacArthur Fellowship for $40,000 a year for a five-year term. Sayles used the money to fund The Brother from Another Planet, a film about a black, three-toed slave who escapes from another planet and finds himself at home among the people of New York City, largely because he is incapable of speaking.

Sayles has funded most of his films by writing genre scripts such as Piranha, The Howling and The Challenge. Some of his more well-known films include Lone Star, Passion Fish, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Matewan.

In November 1997, the National Film Preservation Board of the United States 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, bringing the total at the time to 225.

Several actors frequently work with Sayles, most notably Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, and Gordon Clapp, each of whom have appeared in at least four Sayles films.

His films include:

Honeydripper (currently shooting in Alabama) Silver City (2004) Casa de los Babys (2003) Sunshine State (2002) Limbo (1999) Men with Guns (1997/II) Lone Star (1996) The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) Passion Fish (1992) City of Hope (1991) Eight Men Out (1988) Matewan (1987) The Brother from Another Planet (1984) Baby It's You (1983) Lianna (1983) Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)

His books include:

Dillinger in Hollywood (2004) (short story anthology) Los Gusanos (1991) (novel) Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie "Matewan" (1987) (non-fiction) The Anarchists Convention (1979) (short story anthology) Pride of the Bimbos (1975) Union Dues (1977) (novel)