Mark Christopher (born July 8, 1963, in Fort Dodge, Iowa) is a screenwriter and director most known for directing 54 (1998).[1]
Mark Christopher | |
|---|---|
 Christopher in 2015 | |
| Born | July 8, 1963 Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Within the film community, he is better known for the success of the director's cut of the film that premiered at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.[2] With over 30 minutes of re-shoots cut out of the 1998 version, and over 40 minutes re-instated, the film was universally lauded by critics and hailed as a "jubilant resurrection" and "a lost gay classic."[3][4] The story of the films destruction and resurrection was featured on New York magazine's Vulture.com website.[5] and The Guardian[6] and Elvis Mitchell's interview with Mark Christopher on KCRW's The Treatment.[7]
Christopher also directed three short films, all of them theatrically distributed: The Dead Boys Club (1992), an influential short of the New Queer Cinema wave as cited by B. Ruby Rich in her Sight & Sound article that defined the genre; Alkali, Iowa (1995), winner of the Teddy at the Berlin International Film Festival (1996); and Heartland, Strand Releasing (2007). He is also known for his television writing and creation of musical programming, including Real Life: The Musical that premiered on OWN in 2012.[8] [9]
Filmography edit
- Mid-Century Moderns live stage juke box musical (2022, Desert Rose Playhouse, Palm Springs) (Writer/Director)
- Berlin TV series (2022, Stampede Ventures and Leonine Studios, American/German co-production)(Writer/Creator)
- Mark Christopher Shorts Retrospective collection of short films (2021, Here TV) (Writer/Director)
- Sara feature (2018, Bionaut) (Writer)
- Berlin pilot (2016, Warner Bros) (Writer)
- Cleopatra VII series (2015) (Writer/Creator)
- 8.3 short (2014) (Executive Producer)
- Real Life: The Musical series (2013, OWN/ITV)(Creator, Executive Producer)
- Heartland pilot (2007, Strand Releasing) (Writer/Director)
- Pizza feature (2005, IFC) (Writer/Director)
- 54 feature (1998, Miramax) (Writer/Director)
- Boys Life 6 featured short Heartland (2007, Strand Releasing/2021 Frameline)
- Boys Life 2 featured short film Alkali Iowa (1997, Strand Releasing/2021 Frameline) (writer, director)
- Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema featured short film The Dead Boys' Club (1993, Frameline/2021 Frameline) (Writer/Director)
- The Dead Boys' Club (1992, Frameline) (Writer/Director)
References edit
- ^ "Mark Christopher". Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Foundas, Peter Debruge,Scott (16 February 2015). "Critics Look Back on Berlin, Where Kink and Quality Collide". Retrieved 12 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Gilbey, Ryan (12 February 2015). "Berlin 2015 review: 54: The Director's Cut – a disco-era Cabaret thrusting its way to delirium". the Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "54 Bombed in 1998. Now It's Been Resurrected as a Cult Gay Classic". 16 February 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Jordan, Louis (February 16, 2015). "54 Bombed in 1998. Now It's Been Resurrected as a Cult Gay Classic". Vulture.
- ^ Gilbey, Ray (February 12, 2015). "Berlin 2015 review: 54: The Director's Cut – a disco-era Cabaret thrusting its way to delirium". The Guardian.
- ^ "Mark Christopher: 54: The Director's Cut". 14 July 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Desk, TV News. "OWN to Premiere REAL LIFE: THE MUSICAL, 8/3". Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (August 28, 1998). "FILM REVIEW; Sex, Drugs and Disco As a Hustler Gains A Suspect Celebrity". The New York Times.