Phil Lord and Christopher Miller | |
|---|---|
| File:Phil Lord & Christopher Miller by Gage Skidmore.jpg Lord (left) and Miller (right) at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation | Filmmakers, actors, animators |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse(s) | Robyn Murgio (Miller) |
| Children | 2 (Miller) |
Philip Anderson Lord (born July 12, 1975) and Christopher Robert Miller (born September 23, 1975) are an American filmmaking duo. Having met at Dartmouth College, they are best known for directing and writing the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as directing the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014). Lord and Miller also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as producers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which was co-written by Lord, and co-produced the television series The Last Man on Earth (2015–2018) for Fox and Unikitty! (2017–2020) for Cartoon Network.
Early life[]
According to The New York Times, Lord is from Miami; his mother is a Cuban-born psychologist, and his father retired from the aviation business and before that directed a dance company, Fusion, for 10 years. Miller is from the Seattle area, where his father runs a lumber mill.[1]
Lord and Miller both grew up making short films with an affinity for animation. On campus, the two had separate columns in the school newspaper, The Dartmouth. Lord was a member of Amarna, a co-ed undergraduate society while Miller was a brother at Alpha Chi Alpha. During his time in college, Christopher met his girlfriend, now wife.
During their time at Dartmouth, the school paper published a profile on Miller, which caught the attention of then chairman of Disney, Michael Eisner. According to Lord, Eisner brought the profile to the attention of his fellow Disney executives who then offered to set up a meeting with Miller. Miller agreed to the meeting as long as he could bring Lord. After three months, the two moved to Los Angeles and after one meeting were offered a two-year development deal at Walt Disney Television Animation.[2]
Career[]
Though nothing they pitched made it to air, they produced the pilot to Clone High, which was subsequently dropped by Fox. After they wrote and produced on a series of sitcoms, MTV informed the duo that they were interested in purchasing a 13-episode season of Clone High. Although the show was met with acclaim, MTV canceled the series after hunger strike protests occurred in India over the show's portrayal of Gandhi as a motor-mouthed partier.[3]
In 2003, the two were tapped to write a screenplay for what would become their first feature film, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. After a year working on the script, they were fired for story issues and replaced with new writers, who after a year were also fired. Lord and Miller were then re-hired in 2006. The two completely redid the script, this time with the creative input of their crew. The new draft had the protagonist as a failed inventor who wanted to prove himself to his town. The two were almost fired again after Amy Pascal, the head of Sony Pictures at the time, criticized the film for a lack of story. Although the film succeeded on the comedic front in the animatic stage, Pascal cited the lack of an anchoring relationship in the film as a failure in the story telling. Unable to create new characters and environments to suit the new story demands, the two elevated the character of the tackle shop extra to be the protagonist's father, thereby creating the relationship Pascal had requested. The pair's experience on Cloudy taught them two valuable lessons: the power of creative collaboration and the importance of emotion in a story.[4]
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was released in 2009 to positive reviews. After the film was released, the two sought to try to make something different from Cloudy and pitched themselves as possible directors for the 21 Jump Street script that Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill had written. The studio agreed and the two directed their first live-action R-rated film, released to critical and popular acclaim, which led to the production of a sequel titled 22 Jump Street.
In an interview with Robert K. Elder for his book The Best Film You've Never Seen, Lord stated that "in an animated feature, you remake the movie three or four times, and it's really easy to get bummed out that the way you did it before didn't get greenlit, didn't get paid, and you're making a totally different version of that movie."[5]
During the production of 21 Jump Street, they pitched a take on a possible Lego film to Dan Lin. Lin and Warner Bros. loved the take, so Lord and Miller wrote and eventually directed their third feature film together, The Lego Movie. The duo were picked by Warner Bros. to write the script for the upcoming superhero film The Flash.[6] The duo were also picked by Sony Pictures Animation in 2015 to create an animated Spider-Man film, with the option to direct. The film was eventually made as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which the duo produced and which Lord co-wrote.[7]
The duo have recently developed a live-action/animated series, Son of Zorn, for Fox, with Jason Sudeikis voicing the lead role of animated character Zorn, and Johnny Pemberton and Cheryl Hines playing the live-action roles.[8] They are also producing a cable-TV drama based on the popular NPR/This American Life spinoff podcast Serial.[9]
Also, they will produce an R-rated animated Netflix original film called America: The Motion Picture alongside Will Allegra, Matt Thompson, Adam Reed, Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan from a screenplay by David Callaham and directed by Thompson.[10][11]
In January 2017, Lord and Miller began directing the then-untitled film Solo: A Star Wars Story, a standalone Star Wars movie based on the Han Solo character. On June 20, 2017 it was reported that they had been fired from the project by Lucasfilm, after over four-and-a-half months of filming, about three-quarters through principal photography.[12] Lucasfilm announced that "creative differences" were the reason, with Entertainment Weekly reporting that Lord and Miller were going off-script and trying to make the film into more of a comedy. They were unwilling to compromise with Lucasfilm and writer Lawrence Kasdan on the direction of the film, preferring their vision. Two days later, Ron Howard was announced as the replacement, to complete the film and reshoots.[13][14] Lord and Miller received executive-producer credits on Solo: A Star Wars Story.[15]
In November 2017, Lord and Miller commented on their departure from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lord stated "The experience of shooting the movie was wonderful. We had the most incredible cast and crew and collaborators. [...] We're really proud of the work we did on the movie and we wish everybody the best." Miller added "As Phil said, we had such a great relationship with cast and crew, we were really rooting for them. After we took a much-needed vacation, we got back into it and now we're writing and producing a sequel to The Lego Movie and producing a Miles Morales animated Spider-Man."[16]
Lord and Miller are now set to direct two projects following their departure from Solo: Artemis, an adaptation of Andy Weir's novel of the same name for 20th Century Fox, and The Last Human for Sony's TriStar Pictures. They also made a five-year deal with Sony Pictures Television to develop animated Marvel series, including a possible Into the Spider-Verse series,[17] as well as a first-look deal with Universal Pictures.[18] Lord co-wrote the comic Spider-Man Annual #1, marking his first involvement on a comic book;[19] he and Miller also co-wrote a Marvel comic celebrating the company's 80th anniversary, marking Miller's first time writing a comic book.[20][21] Lord and Miller are also set to produce The Mitchells vs. the Machines for Sony Pictures Animation.[22] On November 1, 2019, it was announced that Lord and Miller would be returning as producers and writers for the Untitled Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel, which is set to be released on October 7, 2022.[23][24][25] On May 15, 2020, Variety reported that Lord and Miller are attached to direct a film adaptation of Andy Weir's next novel Project Hail Marry for MGM, with Ryan Gosling attached to star in the leading role and Amy Pascal producing.[26] In June 2020, it was reported that Lord and Miller would be developing an eight episode television series titled The Afterparty for Apple TV+. The series is a murder mystery comedy set at a high school reunion where each episode features a retelling of the same night told through a different character's POV .[27] On July 2, 2020, it was announced that MTV Studios was developing a reboot of Clone High, and that original series creators, Lord, Miller, and Bill Lawrence would be involved with the project.[28] In September 2020, it was announced that a live-action television series based on the character of Silk was in development, with both Lord and Miller serving as executive producers alongside Amy Pascal.[29]
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Extreme Movie | No | Yes | Executive (uncredited) |
| 2009 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Yes | Yes | Executive (uncredited) |
| 2012 | 21 Jump Street | Yes | No | No |
| 2013 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | No | Story | Executive |
| 2014 | The Lego Movie | Yes | Yes | Co-Executive (uncredited) |
| 22 Jump Street | Yes | No | Executive | |
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Uncredited | No | Executive |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | No | Phil Lord | Yes | |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2022 | Untitled Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Producers only
|
Executive producers only
|
Television[]
| Year | Title | Directors | Writers | Producers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Crossing the Line" |
| 2000 | Go Fish | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Go Wrestling" |
| 2002–03 | Clone High | Yes | Yes | Executive | 13 episodes; also co-creators and supervising directors |
| 2003 | Luis | No | No | Supervising | 5 episodes |
| 2004 | Method & Red | No | Yes | Consulting | 9 episodes Episodes: "Well Well Well," "Da Shootout" and "A House Apart" |
| Cracking Up | No | No | Consulting | 6 episodes | |
| 2005–06 | How I Met Your Mother | No | Yes | Executive | 17 episodes Episodes: "Sweet Taste of Liberty" & "Belly Full of Turkey" |
| 2013 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Yes | No | Executive | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015–18 | The Last Man on Earth | Yes | No | Executive | 67 episodes Episodes: "Alive in Tucson" & "The Elephant in the Room" |
| TBA | The Afterparty[30] | Christopher Miller | Christopher Miller | Executive | Filming |
Executive producers only
- Son of Zorn (2016–17)
- Making History (2017)
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: The Series (2017–18) (Executive consultants)
- Unikitty! (2017–20)
- Bless the Harts (2019–present)
- Hoops (2020)
Acting credits[]
| Year | Title | Role as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Lord | Christopher Miller | |||
| 1998–99 | Caroline in the City | Bill | Cliff | 3 episodes |
| 2002–03 | Clone High | Principal Dr. Cinnamon J. Scudworth / Genghis Khan | JFK / Vice Principal Mr. Butlertron | Voice roles, 13 episodes |
| 2007 | How I Met Your Mother | Too Much Tongue Guy | N/A | Episode "How I Met Everyone Else" |
| 2020 | Lego Masters | Himself | Himself | Episode "Movie Genes" |
Recurring (acting) collaborators[]
The following contains a list of recurring actors in films and TV shows directed, produced, and/or written by Lord and Miller.
| Clone High | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | 21 Jump Street | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | The Lego Movie | 22 Jump Street | The Last Man on Earth | Son of Zorn | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Forte | 
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| Bill Hader |
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| Anna Faris |
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| Jake Johnson |
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| Jonah Hill |
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| Nick Offerman |
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| Channing Tatum |
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| Jason Sudeikis |
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| Kristen Schaal |
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| Johnny Pemberton |
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| Jorma Taccone |
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| Rob Riggle |
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Accolades[]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Nominated |
| 2010 | Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature | Nominated | ||
| Annie Award for Best Animated Feature | Nominated | ||
| Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production | Nominated | ||
| Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Comedy | 21 Jump Street | Won |
| 2013 | People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Movie | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Empire Award for Best Comedy | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie[31] | 22 Jump Street | Won |
| National Board of Review: Top Ten Films[32] | The Lego Movie | Won | |
| National Board of Review Award for Best Original Screenplay[32] | Won | ||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature | Won | ||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||
| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film[33] | Won | ||
| New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Film | Nominated | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Feature | Won | ||
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| 2015 | People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie[34] | 22 Jump Street | Nominated |
| People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedic Movie[34] | Won | ||
| People's Choice Award for Favorite Family Movie[34] | The Lego Movie | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film[35] | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature | Won | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy | 22 Jump Street | Nominated | |
| Annie Award for Best Animated Feature[36] | The Lego Movie | Nominated | |
| Annie Award for Directing in an Animated Feature Production[36] | Nominated | ||
| Annie Award for Writing in an Animated Feature Production[36] | Won | ||
| Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature[37] | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay[37] | Nominated | ||
| BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| Saturn Award for Best Animated Film | Won | ||
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | The Last Man on Earth | Nominated | |
| Monmouth Award for Communication Excellence (MACE)[38] | Lifetime contributions in the field of communications | Won | |
| 2018 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture[39] (With Dan Lin) | The Lego Batman Movie | Nominated |
| 2019 | Annie Award for Best Animated Feature | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Won |
| Best Animated Motion Picture (With Avi Arad, Amy Pascal and Christina Steinberg) | Won | ||
| Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production (Only Phil Lord) with Rodney Rothman | Won | ||
| BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film (Only Phil Lord) | Won | ||
| Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film | Won | ||
| Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (With Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman) |
Won | ||
| 2020 | Chicago Indie Critics for Best Animated Film (With Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Jinko Gotoh) | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | Nominated |
See also[]
- Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's unrealized projects
References[]
- ↑ Buckley, Cara (6 June 2014). "Lord and Miller, Directors With a Golden Touch". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/movies/lord-and-miller-directors-with-a-golden-touch.html.
- ↑ Phil Lord (21 Jumpstreet, Clone High, Cloudy ...) - Breaking In To Hollywood With Chris Miller. Justin Dean. March 14, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOQl8ZXcBqQ.
- ↑ Phil Lord & Christopher Miller on the Very Long Hiatus of 'Clone High'. hollywoodoutbreak. September 12, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Rf-8bBSJI.
- ↑ Rewriting Collective Insights: Phil Lord at TEDxCoconutGrove. TEDx Talks. October 11, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeP9fSlmgjc.
- ↑ Elder, Robert K. The Best Film You've Never Seen: 35 Directors Champion the Forgotten or Critically Savaged Movies They Love. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2013. Print.
- ↑ Busch, Anita (April 9, 2015). "'The Flash' Movie: 'Lego' Guys Phil Lord & Christopher Miller Building Warner Bros Pic". Deadline.com. https://deadline.com/2015/04/the-flash-superhero-movie-lord-miller-warner-bros-1201407459/.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike, Jr. "Sony Spins Animated Spider-Man With 'Lego' Filmmakers, Sets' Equalizer' Sequel And Dates Next Spidey". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (November 10, 2015). "Fox Gives Series Order To 'Son Of Zorn' Live-Action/Animated Comedy From 'Wilfred' Duo, Chris Miller & Phil Lord". https://deadline.com/2015/11/son-of-zorn-live-action-animated-comedy-series-fox-chris-miller-phil-lord-wilfred-1201617307/.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (September 30, 2015). "'Serial' TV Series Based On Podcast Set At Fox 21 With Christopher Miller & Phil Lord". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Fleming, Mike, Jr. (March 3, 2017). "Netflix Sets First Animated Film 'America'; Channing Tatum Voicing George Washington" (in en-US). Deadline. https://deadline.com/2017/03/netflix-animated-film-america-channing-tatum-voicing-george-washington-1202056188/.
- ↑ "Netflix's first animated film will star Channing Tatum as George Washington". The Verge. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Kit, Borys (June 22, 2017). "Ron Howard Steps in to Direct Han Solo Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-han-solo-movie-ron-howard-steps-direct-1015674.
- ↑ Stedman, Alex. "'Star Wars' Han Solo Film Loses Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller". https://variety.com/2017/film/news/star-wars-han-solo-movie-directors-phil-lord-christopher-miller-exit-1202473743/.
- ↑ "How the Han Solo film broke apart — with Ron Howard picking up the pieces". Entertainment Weekly. June 22, 2017. https://ew.com/movies/2017/06/22/ron-howard-takes-over-directing-duties-on-han-solo-film/. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ↑ Roettgers, Janko (March 23, 2018). "'Solo: A Star Wars Story': Phil Lord and Chris Miller Reveal Their Credit". https://www.variety.com/2018/film/news/star-wars-han-solo-phil-lord-chris-miller-credit-1202734151/.
- ↑ "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Talk About Their Han Solo Firing" (in en-US). ComingSoon.net. November 20, 2017. https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/904647-phil-lord-and-chris-miller-talk-about-their-han-solo-firing#/slide/1.
- ↑ "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Developing Marvel TV Universe With Nine-Figure Sony Overall Deal". https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/phil-lord-chris-miller-eye-marvel-tv-series-nine-figure-sony-deal-1205614.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (August 2, 2019). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Sign First-Look Deal With Universal Pictures" (in en). Variety. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/phil-lord-chris-miller-universal-pictures-first-look-deal-1203289760/.
- ↑ https://www.cbr.com/phil-lord-spider-man-annual/
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/phil-lord-chris-miller-contributing-mystery-marvel-comics-project-1209260
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/10/18564573/marvel-comics-80th-anniversary-1000-book
- ↑ Coggan, Devan (February 20, 2020). "First look: A family battles a robot uprising in Phil Lord and Chris Miller's 'Connected'" (in en). Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/movies/2020/02/20/connected-first-look-phil-lord-chris-miller-animated-comedy/.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (2019-11-01). "'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Sequel Gets Release Date". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "'Spider-Man' Sequel Delays Release to November 2021 Amid Sony Date Shuffle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "https://twitter.com/chrizmillr/status/1365036017942585345". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Kroll, Justin (2020-05-15). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller to Direct Ryan Gosling Astronaut Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Otterson, Joe (2020-06-24). "Chris Miller, Phil Lord Set Murder Mystery Comedy Series at Apple (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Chitwood, Adam (2020-07-02). "'Clone High' Reboot Coming to MTV from Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Bill Lawrence". Collider. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Otterson, Joe (2020-09-03). "Silk Live-Action Marvel Series in the Works at Sony Pictures Television". Variety. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHdnWKvJYA0/?igshid=18eax5v47fd45
- ↑ Malec, Brett (June 17, 2014). "Teen Choice 2014 Nominees: Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars Lead, Catching Fire Comes in Second". E! Online. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 32.0 32.1 "National Board of Review selects 'A Most Violent Year' as Best Film". Entertainment Weekly. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/12/02/national-board-of-review-most-violent-year/. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ↑ "New York Film Critics Give 'Boyhood' Best Picture, Director & Supporting Actress". Deadline. https://deadline.com/2014/12/new-york-film-critics-circle-awards-winners-2014-full-list-1201304163/. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 "People's Choice Awards 2015: Full List Of Nominees". Blog.peopleschoice.com. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 72nd Annual Golden Globe® Awards Nominees Announced. Dickclark.com, Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 "42nd Annual Annie Awards Winners". Annie Awards. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Birdman Leads Satellite Awards Nominations". The Wrap. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "'Lego Movie' filmmakers visit Monmouth U". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Dave McNary (January 5, 2018). "Producers Guild Awards: 'Get Out,' 'Wonder Woman' Among Film Nominees". Variety. https://variety.com/2018/film/awards/producers-guild-awards-movie-nominations-2018-1202654307/. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
External links[]
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