June 1 - Gareth Edwards

Happy 45th Birthday, Gareth Edwards! Born today in 1975 as Gareth James Edwards, this British production designer, visual effects artist, cinematographer, screenwriter, film producer and film director first gained widespread recognition from his feature film directorial debut. 

  

This was the 2010 British/Mexican/Guatemalan sci-fi/horror film 'Monsters'; an independent creature feature in which he served as visual effects artist, co-editor, cinematographer, screenwriter and director. 

  

The film tells of how, a few years ago, NASA discovered the real possibility of alien life. Consequently, a probe was set up and launched in order to collect sample.  

  

After crashing during the re-entry over Central America, new life forms began to appear and spread rapidly. Half of Mexico is quarantined as an infected zone.  

  

In this context, we follow the story of American journalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) escorting his bosses's daughter, Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), through this hazardous area to the United States. 

  

The film received generally positive reviews and was a box office success. On a budget of $500,000, the film went on to gross $4.24 million.

Offscreen, McNairy and Able were married later that same year. 

  

Four years later, Edwards subsequently directed the reboot of the Godzilla franchise. This was with the 2014 American sci-fi/monster film 'Godzilla',  

  

Later that same year, a sequel to 'Monsters' was released at the 58th London Film Festival. 

This was the 2014 British sci-fi/war monster film 'Monsters: Dark Continent' (also known as 'Monsters 2: Dark Continent' or simply 'Monsters 2'). 

The following year, it was released in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2015.  

  

Even with Edwards serving as one of the executive producers, the film still failed poorly at the box office in grossing only $52,000 plus. 

  

One year later, Edwards directed the 2016 American space opera sci-fi/action film and 'Rouge One: A Star Wars Story' (or simply 'Rogue One'). This was the first installment of the Star Wars Anthology Series. 

  

The following year, Edwards appeared as a brief cameo in the 2017 American epic space opera sci-fi/adventure film 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (also known as 'Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi'). He was credited as Resistance Trench Soldier.

Two years later, McNairy and Able were divorced. Able had announced this on Instagram Tuesday, November 19, 2019 that they had officially divorced after nine years of marriage.  

  

Edwards has been active from 2002–present. 

  

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