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Scott McGehee and David Siegel

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Scott McGehee and David Siegel
McGehee (right) and Siegel in 2024
BornDavid Siegel
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA), Rhode Island School of Design (MFA)
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1993–present
BornScott McGehee
Garden Grove, California, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA), University of California, Berkeley (MA)
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1993–present

Scott McGehee and David Siegel are an American filmmaking duo. They have made films across different genres and styles, often focusing on emotional stories within a familial structure. They have shared a directing credit on every film since their 1993 debut feature Suture, making their ongoing co-directing collaboration one of the longest in American film.

Background

Siegel was born in Brooklyn, New York, McGehee in Garden Grove, California. Both were raised in Orange County, California, but they didn’t meet until much later. Neither attended film school. Siegel has a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. McGehee has a bachelor's degree in English from Columbia University and an MA in Rhetoric from Berkeley, where he studied Film Theory and Japanese Film History. The two were introduced by McGehee’s sister, production designer Kelly McGehee, with whom they have also shared an ongoing collaboration.

Career

Suture

Working out of San Francisco, California, McGehee and Siegel made a pair of short films before focusing on their first feature, Suture. They went into production on Suture without enough funding to complete the project. Steven Soderbergh saw an incomplete rough cut, and helped them raise financing to complete post production. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival before screening at Toronto, Sundance, and Cannes (Un Certain Regard). Suture was distributed theatrically in 1994 by The Samuel Goldwyn Company.

i5 Films

After a multi-year period of struggle trying to make films within the studio system, McGehee and Siegel formed independent production company i5 Films with producer Robert Nathan. Based in San Francisco, i5 Films produced four films during its short history. The first, Lush (2000), was the first feature of screenwriter Mark Gibson. The next year, i5 produced both Patrick Stettner’s first feature, The Business of Strangers, and McGehee and Siegel’s second film, The Deep End. Both premiered in competition at Sundance in 2001.

The Deep End was picked up by Fox Searchlight for theatrical distribution. It had its international premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, and later earned its lead actor, Tilda Swinton, a Golden Globe nomination.

McGehee and Siegel’s next film, Bee Season (2004), financed by Fox Searchlight, was the last of their films to be made under the i5 banner. Scripted by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, based on Myla Goldberg’s novel, Bee Season was the first time the duo directed a script penned by another writer. Bee Season premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, but was a disappointment theatrically.

Move to New York

In 2004, Siegel and McGehee relocated to New York City to complete post production on Bee Season. Their first film after returning to New York, a low-budget indie called Uncertainty (2008), was a return to the more experimental style of their first feature, Suture. The actors worked from a treatment written by McGehee and Siegel, but improvised their own dialogue after a long rehearsal process. Uncertainty premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was released by IFC Films.

Their next film, also set in New York, What Maisie Knew (2012), was from a screenplay written by Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne, based on Henry James’ novel. McGehee and Siegel have said they were attracted to the challenge of telling the story from the point of view of the six-year-old main character, Maisie. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Millennium Films.

Big Creek Projects

After several projects failed to get off the ground, McGehee and Siegel once again raised equity financing to produce their next film, Montana Story. They have described writing the screenplay quickly, during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, and then gathering a small group of actors and crew in a remote Montana location to shoot in a safe and controlled environment during the early days of the pandemic. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2021, and was released theatrically by Bleecker Street.

Around the same time, the filmmakers formed a new production company, Big Creek Projects, along with producing partner Mike Spreter. Montana Story is the first film produced under the Big Creek Projects banner.

In February 2024, it was announced that Big Creek Projects' next film would be McGehee and Siegel's The Friend, an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’ National Book Award-winning novel.

Frequent collaborators

McGehee and Siegel have worked frequently with English director of photography Giles Nuttgens (five films), and production designer Kelly McGehee (six films).

Personal life

McGehee and Siegel both live in New York, NY. Siegel is straight, McGehee is gay.

Filmography

Year Title Directors Producers Writers
1994 Suture Yes Yes Yes
2000 Lush No Yes No
2001 The Deep End Yes Yes Yes
2005 Bee Season Yes No No
2008 Uncertainty Yes Yes Yes
2012 What Maisie Knew Yes No No
2021 Montana Story Yes Yes Yes
2024 The Friend Yes Yes Yes

Executive producers

References

  1. Greenwood, Josie (July 3, 2023). "Best Movie Director Duos of All Time, Ranked". MovieWeb.
  2. Mohan, Marc. "'Montana Story' directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel discuss their first film in 9 years | Oregon ArtsWatch".
  3. ^ Rowlands, Paul. "AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID SIEGEL AND SCOTT McGEHEE (PART 1 OF 2)".
  4. Jahn, Pam (July 3, 2016). "Suture: Interview with Scott McGehee and David Siegel".
  5. "Suture". criterionforum.org.
  6. Roush, Matt (May 4, 2001). "Robert Nathan".
  7. Brown2001-01-29T06:49:00+00:00, Colin. "Fox Searchlight, Key Films dive into Deep End". Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. Sims, David (April 9, 2014). "'The Deep End' Gave Us Tilda Swinton at Her Tightly-Wound Best". The Atlantic.
  9. "'Bee Season' casts a spell". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 2005.
  10. Brodesser, Claude (March 27, 2003). "Directors are Searchlight's 'Bee' keepers".
  11. Harris, Brandon (November 11, 2009). "David Siegel And Scott McGehee, Uncertainty - Filmmaker Magazine".
  12. "Interview: The Uncertainty of independent filmmaking". HuffPost. November 11, 2009.
  13. "What Maisie Knew: Experiencing Dysfunction Through the Eyes of a Child". May 27, 2024.
  14. Roberts, Sheila (May 21, 2013). "Onata Aprile, Scott McGehee and David Siegel Talk WHAT MAISIE KNEW". Collider.
  15. Fox, Audrey (May 12, 2022). "Montana Story Directors And Cast Talk Fighting With Nature And Building A Family [Interview]". SlashFilm.
  16. Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 16, 2020). "Scott McGehee & David Siegel Quietly Shot Drama 'Montana Story' Through Pandemic".
  17. Grobar, Matt (February 26, 2024). "Naomi Watts & Bill Murray To Topline Dramedy 'The Friend' From Scott McGehee & David Siegel; Constance Wu, Ann Dowd Among Others Set".
  18. "GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.

External links

Films directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel
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