Happy 67th Birthday, James Foley! Born today in 1953, this American actor, screenwriter and film director has been making notable, critically acclaimed films since the mid 1980s.
Born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Foley was the son of a lawyer. Years later, Foley graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a flagship school of the SUNY system, in 1978.
It was at Buffalo that he studied pre-med and psychoanalysis. Foley had planned for a career in psychology, but instead, ended up studying filmmaking.
He then continued his education, eventually earning an M.F.A in film study and production from the University of Southern California.
While there, he made two short films called 'Silent Night' and 'November' that came to the attention of the Hollywood community.
Shortly after, Foley made his feature film directorial debut when Hal Ashby ('Harold and Maude', 'Being There') recommended him to direct his directorial debut feature.
This was with the 1984 American romantic drama film 'Reckless', starring American/Irish actor Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah.
Later that same year, Foley was offered the chance to direct the 1984 American musical/romance film 'Purple Rain' starring Prince. However, Foley declined.
The following year, Foley served as best man at the wedding of Sean Penn ('Into the Wild') and Madonna in August 1985.
One year later, Foley directed the 1986 American neo-noir crime/drama film 'At Close Range'.
It starred Sean Penn, Chris Penn (and their mother Eileen Ryan Penn), Christopher Walken, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kiefer Sutherland and Candy Clark. Foley appeared in a cameo, credited as Assistant D.A.
In February that same year, 'At Close Range' was nominated a Golden Bear Award. However, it didn't win. This occurred at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.
When not directing film, Foley directed music videos for the "Queen of Pop" that same year.
This included the following (under the pseudonym "Peter Percher"): "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "True Blue" for Madonna's third studio album of the same name in late June 1986.
One year later, Foley directed her in the 1987 American screwball comedy/romance film 'Who's That Girl'.
Upon release, critics were highly disappointed with the film, and Foley's direction. The picture was also a box office bomb.
On a budget of $17–20 million ($38.26 million in 2019), the film only grossed $7.3 million ($16.43 million in 2019) at the box office.
As for Madonna's accompanying, Who's That Girl World Tour went on to be a critical and commercial success, grossing a total of $25 million, and playing in front of audiences totaling 1.5 million people.
The soundtrack also enjoyed commercial success, with the title track becoming Madonna's sixth number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 record chart.
The following year, 'Who's That Girl' would be Foley's first of two Razzie Nominations for Worst Director. He was nominated, but did not win. This occurred at the 8th Golden Razzie Awards in mid-April 1988.
Three years later, Foley tried his hand at television, where he wrote and directed an episode of Twin Peaks (1990–1991). This was the episode "Wounds and Scars" (S02E17), airing in late March 1991.
One year later, Foley directed the film for which he is best known. This was the 1992 American drama/independent film 'Glengarry Glen Ross'.
It was based off of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by American playwright, film director, screenwriter and author David Mamet.
When an office full of New York City real estate salesmen are given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up.
Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), but to no avail.
When his coworker Dave Moss (Ed Harris) comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen.
Like the play, the film is notorious for its use of biting, pungent and obscenity-laden dialogue, leading the cast to jokingly refer to it as "Death of a Fu**in' Salesman."
The title of the film comes from the names of two of the real estate developments being peddled by the salesmen characters: Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms.
Though the film performed modestly at the box office, grossing $10.7 million in North America on a $12.5 million budget, 'Glengarry Glen Ross' was lauded by critics and is considered a classic film.
The world premiere of the film was held at the 49th Venice Film Festival in September of that same year. It was here where Lemmon was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
The following year, Al Pacino was nominated an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, he won neither. This occurred at the 65th Academy Awards and the 50th Golden Globe Awards, respectfully.
Although Pacino was nominated for his role as real estate salesman Richard "Ricky" Roma, he won his first and only Oscar that year for his touching performance as the cantankerous, blind alcoholic Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade.
This was for Martin Brest's ('Beverly Hills Cop') 1992 American drama/coming of age film 'Scent of a Woman' at the 65th Academy Awards.
Two years later, Foley worked with Pacino again on his next project. This was with the 1995 American drama/historical drama film 'Two Bits'. However, it was largely ignored by the movie-going public.
One year later, Foley directed the 1996 American crime thriller trial drama film 'The Chamber'. It starred Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway and Chris O'Donnell. However, the picture didn't fare well at the box office.
It later earning a Razzie nomination for Faye Dunaway as Worst Supporting Actress. This occurred at the 16th Golden Raspberry Awards in late March.
In the early 2000s, Foley directed the 2003 American crime/drama film 'Confidence' starring Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia and Luis Guzmán.
Upon release, critics favorably compared the film to George Roy Hill's ('Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid') 1973 American caper crime/drama film 'The Sting.'
It was a full three decades until Foley's second Razzie Nomination for Worst Director was up for grabs.
This was in being hired to direct the second installment for the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy: the 2017 American erotic romantic drama film 'Fifty Shades Darker'.
Post release, Foley was nominated for a Razzie one year after at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards in early March. It had been a thirty-year hiatus, but alas, he did not win again.
Later that same year, Foley then went on to direct the third and final installment of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. This was with the 2018 American erotic romantic drama/thriller film 'Fifty Shades Freed'.
The series had been based off of the 2011 erotic romance novel of the same name by British author Erika Leonard (known by her pen name E. L. James).
Prior in getting involved with the Grey franchise, Foley had not directed a feature since the 2007 American neo-noir psychological thriller drama/mystery film 'Perfect Stranger'.
Still, Foley was an obvious choice to direct Northern Irish actor, model, and musician Jamie Dornan and American actress and model Dakota Johnson as lovers Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the sequels.
This was according to American media executive, film producer, entrepreneur and Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Cavalry Media Dana Brunetti, of which Foley had directed twelve episodes for him for House of Cards (2013–2018) on and off from 2013-2015.
Foley's other well-known television credits as director include one episode of Hannibal (2013–2015) one episode of Sorbet (S01E07) in 2013 and two episodes of Billions (2016–present), both in 2016.
Foley was also the original choice to be lead producer and director on the first season of 24 (2001–2014) due to his visual style. However, this was before being replaced.
Foley currently resides in California. His younger brother is American television director and producer Jerry Foley, and was formerly with the producer/director of Late Show with David Letterman (1993–2015) for CBS.
Taken as a whole, the films of director Foley have expertly examined the dark, conflicting edges of human morality and the dubious characters that occupy our world.
As a reliable and stylish visionary of distinctly American films, Foley has impressed audiences with his mastery of character betrayals.
Nicknamed Jamie, Foley has been active from 1984–present.
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