J. C. Chandor

Early life and education

Chandor grew up in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, New Jersey. He is the son of Mary (McDonald) and Jeff Chandor, an investment banker. After graduating in 1992 from Ridge High School in Bernards Township, he received his bachelor's degree in 1996 from The College of Wooster. During the 15 years leading up to Margin Call, Chandor directed commercials.

Film career

Margin Call was Chandor's first feature-length film. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; it also played In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear. Margin Call was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and won two of them: for Best First Feature and the Robert Altman Award for Best Cast. Chandor was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

His second feature film All Is Lost was screened Out of Competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It received critical acclaim, especially for Robert Redford's solo performance which featured almost no dialogue, for which Redford won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Award. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.

In 2014, Chandor directed Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year, which was nominated for a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award and which won three National Board of Review awards: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Picture for Chandor and his producing partners Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb.

In 2015, Chandor replaced Kathryn Bigelow as director for the crime film Triple Frontier. The film was released on Netflix in March 2019 to generally favorable reviews. In 2017, he signed a first look deal with Gaumont.

In 2020, it was announced that Chandor would direct Kraven the Hunter for Sony's Spider-Man Universe. In August 2023, it was revealed that he also provided "additional literary material" for the film.

In 2024, Deadline reported that Chandor had closed a deal with Sony Pictures to direct an original contemporary drama he has written, which will likely be his next film as a director. This came after Sony was impressed with Chandor's latest cut of Kraven the Hunter.

Chandor runs the production company CounterNarrative Films with producers Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb in New York City.

Filmography

Short film

Feature film

Producer

• Viper Club (2018)

Executive producer

• So Good to See You (2016) (short film)
• The Con Is On (2018)
• Monos (2019)
• Run This Town (2019)

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (December 2013). "Cinema at the Margins". Anthem Press.
2. (May 24, 2004). "Countdown to Bliss". [[New York Observer]].
3. Murphy, Mekado. (January 8, 2015). "Anatomy of a Scene {{!}} A Most Violent Year". The New York Times.
4. Elstein, Aaron. [http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111106/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/111109924 "Capturing Wall Street on the silver screen; One reason Margin Call expertly captures how investment bankers and traders look, sound and see the world is that its writer and director, J.C. Chandor, is a son of Wall Street. He was also inspired by other movies about business."], ''[[Crain's New York Business]]'', November 6, 2011. Accessed June 19, 2013. "As a youth growing up in Basking Ridge, N.J., Mr. Chandor hung out on the Merrill Lynch's trading floor in lower Manhattan while his father, an investment banker, worked the phones making deals."
5. (September 30, 2011). "Ridge High grad directs new Hollywood thriller". Bernardsville News.
6. (March 19, 2009). "ONTARIO - Ottawa - Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Funeral Homes Obituaries - 4".
7. [http://newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/news/film-by-ridge-high-alum-j-c-chandor-critically-accclaimed/article_7aa82554-c474-11e2-b2bb-001a4bcf887a.html "Film by Ridge High alum, J.C. Chandor, critically accclaimed at Cannes"], ''The Bernardsville News'', May 24, 2013. Accessed June 19, 2013. "Chandor, a 1992 Ridge High School graduate, wrote and directed his first feature-length film released in 2011, the critically acclaimed ''Margin Call,'' for which he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Screenplay category."
8. McCarthy, Todd. (May 22, 2013). "''All Is Lost'' Cannes review". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
9. (21 April 2013). "2013 Official Selection". Cannes.
10. (22 January 2014). "Sundance: A24 Acquiring J.C. Chandor-Helmed 'A Most Violent Year' With Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain".
11. (June 29, 2015). "JC Chandor Circling Mark Boal-Scripted Hot-Button Drama 'Triple Frontier'".
12. Keslassy, Elsa. (2017-10-03). "Gaumont Inks First-Look TV Deal With J.C. Chandor (EXCLUSIVE)".
13. Kroll, Justin. (2020-08-20). "Marvel's 'Kraven The Hunter' Movie At Sony Eyes 'Triple Frontier's J.C. Chandor As Director".
14. (August 15, 2023). "Kraven the Hunter – WGA Directory". [[Writers Guild of America West]].
15. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (2024-08-13). "Sony Pictures Acquires New Script By 'Kraven The Hunter' Helmer J.C. Chandor As SPC Readies Next 'Spider-Man' Universe Pic With Aaron Taylor-Johnson".
16. "About".
17. [http://movieline.com/2011/10/17/director-jc-chandor-on-his-15-year-journey-to-make-margin-call/ "Filmmaker J.C. Chandor on His 15-Year Journey to Make Margin Call"], S.T. VanAirsdale, ''movieline'', October 17, 2011
18. Fleming, Mike. (September 13, 2010). "'Margin Call' Director J.C. Chandor Snags Big Warner Bros Writing Gig From DiCaprio". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
19. Dash, Eric. (June 22, 2010). "Citi Goes Hollywood for Spacey and Crew". [[The New York Times]].
20. "The Competition of the 61st Berlinale". Berlinale.
21. "Spacey, Moore and 3D in focus at Berlin film fest". Yahoo News.