Craig Gillespie
Birthdate: Sep 1, 1967
Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Craig Gillespie graduated from the ranks of commercial directing (16 years’ worth) to direct his debut feature film, Mr. Woodcock (2007), co-starring Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott and Susan Sarandon, with Amy Poehler and Ethan Suplee, produced by Bob Cooper and David Dobkin (who took over as director when Gillespie left the movie during post-production), and released by New Line Cinema to a $33.6 million return.
Gillespie directed the acclaimed comedy-drama, Lars and the Real Girl (2007), written by Nancy Oliver (Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay), starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson, and which grossed $11.3 million for MGM Distribution Co. (which also produced with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment).
Gillespie directed his first supernatural horror movie, the remake of Fright Night (2011), starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant and Toni Collette, written by Marti Noxon, produced by Michael De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig, and grossing $41 million for distributor Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Gillespie switched genres once again to direct Disney’s baseball biopic, Million Dollar Arm (2014), with Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell and Alan Arkin, written by Tom McCarthy, produced (in part) by Joe Roth and earning an underwhelming $38.4 million take for Disney (based on estimated costs).
Craig Gillespie was director of another true story, while shifting toward the action thriller mode, with the seaborne The Finest Hours (2016), co-starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster and Eric Bana, and nevertheless delivering mixed reviews and box office ($52 million) for Disney, which was lead producer and distributor. Gillespie directed and took an executive producer credit on another fact-based sports drama with I, Tonya (2017), starring Margot Robbie (as ice skater Tonya Harding, and who also produced and was nominated for Best Actress), Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney (Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress), Bobby Cannavale and Paul Walter Hauser, and proving to be one of Gillespie’s best critical and commercial successes with a $54 million gross for distributors Neon and 30West.
Gillespie returned to the Disney fold as director of the third live-action version of Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel, 101 Dalmations, titled Cruella (2021), starring Emma Stone in the title role of Cruella de Vil, with supporting players Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beccham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Mark Strong, adapted by Tony McNamara and Dana Fox, produced (in part) by Mark Platt and Andrew Gunn, and earning Disney a good $233.5 million return (based on estimated costs).
Gillespie switched to comedy-drama with another true story as director/producer of Dumb Money (2023), based on Ben Mezrich’s 2021 chronicle, The Antisocial Network, and which co-starred the colorful ensemble of Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley and Seth Rogen, produced by Black Bear Pictures/Ryder Picture Company/Winklevoss Pictures and released by Columbia Pictures and Stage 6 Films (via Sony Pictures Releasing) for a disappointing $20.7 million global gross (based on estimated costs).
Craig Gillespie directed his first DC Comics Universe movie, Supergirl (2026), the second entry in the DC Universe’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters starring Milly Alcock in the title role, with Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet and Jason Momoa, written by Ana Nogueira, produced by James Gunn and Peter Safran and released wide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Personal life
Craig Gillespie was born and raised in Sydney, Australia by his parents. Gillespie relocated to New York City where he studied illustration, advertising and graphic design at the Manhattan-based School of Visual Arts.
Known For
Craig Gillespie Movies
director
Upcoming (1)
Previous (6)
- 2023 |
Dumb Money
David vs. Goliath tale about everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video-game store) into the world's hottest company.
- 2021 |
- 2017 |
- 2016 |
The Finest Hours
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
- 2014 |
Million Dollar Arm
A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.
- 2007 |
Lars and the Real Girl
A delusional young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.
actor
Previous (4)
- 2019 |
- 2011 | Fright Night
- 2007 | Lars and the Real Girl
- 2007 | Mr. Woodcock
Facts About Craig Gillespie
Unfortunate Debut: Craig Gillespie’s feature directorial debut, Mr. Woodcock, had an unfortunate conclusion for Gillespie, who left the project after multiple poorly received test screenings, leading to considerable rewriting and reshooting.
Museum Pieces: Gillespie directed two commercials which are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
People Also Searched For
