American screenwriter
Chris Sparling
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Born
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1977-03-21
)
March 21, 1977
(age 47)
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Occupations
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Spouse
| Kerri Morrone Sparling
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Chris Sparling
(born March 21, 1977) is an American filmmaker from Providence, Rhode Island.
Career
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Upon graduating from
Roger Williams University
and
Bridgewater State University
with degrees in Criminal Justice, and after writing, directing, and producing several low-budget independent films,
[1]
Sparling found mainstream success when his feature length screenplay
Buried
was purchased by producer
Peter Safran
. Spanish director
Rodrigo Cortes
and actor
Ryan Reynolds
worked on the project. The film premiered at the
2010 Sundance Film Festival
to high critical praise
[2]
[3]
and was eventually sold to
Lionsgate Films
.
[4]
After later playing additional film festivals worldwide?including the
Toronto International Film Festival
, as well as winning the Melies d'Or Award
[5]
at the
Sitges Film Festival
?it received a limited theatrical release in September 2010, earning over $18 million worldwide.
[6]
The film was later released on DVD in January 2011. Sparling was awarded Best Original Screenplay by the
2010 National Board of Review
for
Buried
and the film was selected as on the 10 Best Independent Films of 2010. He also won a
Goya Award
in 2011 for Best Original Screenplay,
[7]
and he was nominated for a Gaudi Award
[8]
as well in the same category.
Sparling later wrote the script
ATM
,
[9]
a suspense thriller produced by Peter Safran and shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the fall of 2010
[10]
and released in 2012 by IFC Films. He also wrote
Reincarnate
for producer
M. Night Shyamalan
, the second film of a three-part series known as
The Night Chronicles
.
[11]
[12]
In 2014, Sparling was hired by Warner Brothers and
Leonardo DiCaprio
to adapt the crime novel
Blood on Snow
, written by author
Jo Nesbø
. This same year, his original screenplay,
The Sea of Trees
, went into production, starring
Matthew McConaughey
,
Naomi Watts
, and
Ken Watanabe
, and directed by
Gus Van Sant
.
[13]
Variety
named Sparling one of "10 Screenwriters to Watch" in its November 2014 issue.
[14]
[15]
Two months later, Sparling's horror-thriller film
The Atticus Institute
, which he both wrote and directed, was released by Anchor Bay Films. Universal Pictures distributed the film internationally. His directorial follow-up,
Mercy
, was released by Netflix in 2016.
He later wrote the 2020 film
Greenland
, which opened at number one at the box office in 26 countries and earned positive reviews from critics. The film stars
Gerard Butler
and
Morena Baccarin
, and was directed by
Ric Roman Waugh
. He will also write its sequel, titled
Greenland: Migration
, which was announced at the 2021
Cannes Film Market
. 2021 also saw the release of two films he both wrote and produced:
The Desperate Hour
, starring
Naomi Watts
and directed by
Phillip Noyce
, and
Intrusion
, a Netflix Original starring
Frieda Pinto
.
Filmography
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Awards for Chris Sparling
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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International
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National
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Other
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