One of the youngest directors accepted in the Discovery Program sponsored by Columbia Pictures, British-born Rupert Wainwright established his reputation as an award-winning maker of commercial spots (i.e., Reebok Shoes' "Blacktop" ads) and music videos (more than a dozen for M.C. Hammer). A former actor who appeared in two British films ("Another Country" 1984 and "Dreamchild" 1985), he directed the very stylish ABC TV-movie "Dillinger" (1991), starring Mark Harmon, before making his feature debut at the helm of the Disney programmer "Blank Check" (1994), a "Home Alone" clone which wallowed so exuberantly in conspicuous consumption that its ultimate "money can't buy happiness" message rang hollow. Wainwright followed with the original and often provocative "The Sadness of Sex" (1995), a collaboration with actor-writer Barry Yourgrau comprising 15 vignettes on the cyclical phases of courtship, romance, passion and breakup, each directed in a distinct visual style and accompanied by a different kind of music. Unfortunately, the excessive MTV-like parade of images and sounds and consciously disjointed narrative undercut the emotional impact of the elaborately mounted multimedia performance piece. Wainwright's next feature entry was "Stigmata" (1999), an "Exorcist" clone starring Patricia Arquette as a woman who may or may not be possessed by demons and Gabriel Byrne as the priest dispatched by the Vatican to uncover the truth.
Family
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Son: Peter Glynn Alexander Wainwright. born on March 3, 1999
Significant Others
Education
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University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, film
Milestones
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1984 Film acting debut in "Another Country"
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1985 Had last acting role (to date) in "Dreamchild"
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1988 Worked as a production assistant on the Oscar-winning short film, "Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall"
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1991 Directed first TV-movie, "Dillinger" (ABC); first association with Patricia Arquette
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1991 Short "The Open Window" aired as segment of "Showtime 30-Minute Movie"
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1994 Directed the theatrical trailer for Michael Jackson's "HIStory" album
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1994 Feature film directorial debut, "Blank Check", Disney's "Home Alone" clone
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1995 Helmed original and often provocative (but ultimately unsatisfying) "The Sadness of Sex", a multimedia performance piece about the mysteries of love; also collaborated with Barry Yourgrau on screeenplay, based on Yourgrau's book
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1996 With Sony Pictures Entertainment, created Pavlov Pictures, a commercial production division
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1999 Directed "Stigmata", a thriller in the "Exorcist" mold starring Arquette, Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Pryce
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2005 Directed the remake of John Carpenter's "The Fog" starring Tom Welling and Maggie Grace
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Began career as a ballet dancer
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Helmed every music video featuring M.C. Hammer; 14 of them aired as part of 1992 CBS primetime music special "Hammer from the Heart"
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Moved to Southern California to study film at UCLA
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Was one of the youngest directors accepted in the Discovery Program sponsored by Columbia Pictures; made the short film, "The Open Window" (1989) while there
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Worked as a commercials director for products like Reebok (featuring tennis pro Michael Chang), Frito Lay (featuring Reba McEntire), McDonald's, Sprint and Converse, among others