Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Michael Cuesta is a Director, Writer and Producer American born on 8 july 1963 at New York City (USA)

Michael Cuesta

Michael Cuesta
If you like this person, let us know!
Nationality USA
Birth 8 july 1963 (60 years) at New York City (USA)

Michael Cuesta (born July 8, 1963) is an American film and television director. Cuesta co-wrote and directed the 2001 independent film, L.I.E.. He has directed and produced television series including Six Feet Under, Dexter, Blue Bloods and Homeland.

Biography

Cuesta was born in New York. He received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 1985. Cuesta co-wrote (with Stephen Ryder and Gerald Cuesta) and directed the 2001 independent film, L.I.E. which starred Paul Dano, Brian Cox, Billy Kay, and Bruce Altman. L.I.E. received critical acclaim and two Independent Spirit Awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

His film L.I.E. led him to become a regular director for the HBO original series, Six Feet Under which aired from 2001–05. According to executive producer Alan Poul, "During the second season, we had hired a director for the fourth episode, but he fell out one week before the start of pre-production. Alan Ball and I were alarmed, but that night we went to see L.I.E., and it was a revelation. The next morning we booked Michael. He's a fantastic fit for the show." Michael Cuesta became a regular director during the 2002 season of Six Feet Under and directed five episodes of the series including the fourth season premiere, "Falling into Place".

In addition to Six Feet Under and L.I.E., Cuesta has also directed the film, 12 and Holding, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005 and was released by IFC Films theatrically in 2006. Other projects include an adaptation of the novel, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint.

In 2006 Cuesta directed the pilot episode of the Showtime series, Dexter. The show reunited him with former Six Feet Under star Michael C. Hall in the lead role, Dexter Morgan. Cuesta joined the production staff for the first season and also directed further episodes including the season finale. He left the crew at the end of the first season.

He also directed the second season finale for the HBO series True Blood which was created and executive produced by Alan Ball, creator and show runner of Six Feet Under.

Cuesta would have executive produced Babylon Fields, a television series about zombies proposed for the 2007–2008 season. The show was not picked up.

Cuesta directed and executive produced the pilot episode for CBS drama Blue Bloods in 2010. The series was created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess and focuses on a family of New York police officers. He returned to direct the eighth episode of the first season "Chinatown".

He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for directing Homeland's Pilot episode.

In 2011, he directed the film "Roadie" starring Ron Eldard as a man who returns home to Queens, NY after twenty years on the road with Blue Öyster Cult. Co-written with his brother Gerald Cuesta and featuring supporting roles by Jill Hennessy, Bobby Cannavale, Lois Smith and David Margulies, the film was screened at the Stony Brook Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival and Austin Film Festival in 2011. It was released by Magnolia Pictures on January 6, 2012.

In February 2013 Cuesta was set up to direct the film Kill the Messenger for 2014 release date, Jeremy Renner will be leading the film. Filming will start in the summer of 2013 in Atlanta.

Usually with

Romeo Tirone
Romeo Tirone
(2 films)
Bruce Altman
Bruce Altman
(2 films)
Adam LeFevre
Adam LeFevre
(2 films)
Brian Cox
Brian Cox
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Michael Cuesta (5 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

American Assassin, 1h45
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action
Themes Films about terrorism, Arme nucléaire
Actors Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch, Scott Adkins, Sanaa Lathan, David Suchet
Rating62% 3.1030553.1030553.1030553.1030553.103055
Mitch Rapp est une nouvelle recrue de la CIA. Dévasté par la mort de sa petite amie lors d'un attentat, il est pris sous l'aile d'un vétéran de la Guerre froide qui lui fait subir un rude entraînement pour contrecarrer les attaques terroristes et traquer les criminels. Les deux hommes vont devoir collaborer avec un agent turc afin d'arrêter un dangereux terroriste qui souhaite déclencher une guerre au Moyen-Orient.
Kill the Messenger, 1h52
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Biography, Crime
Themes Films about writers, Spy films, Films about journalists, Medical-themed films, Films about drugs
Actors Jeremy Lee Renner, Barry Pepper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ray Liotta, Paz Vega
Rating68% 3.44743.44743.44743.44743.4474
Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb, the film takes place in the mid-1990s. Webb uncovered the CIA's alleged role in importing crack cocaine into the U.S. to secretly fund the Nicaraguan contra rebels. Despite enormous pressure to stay away, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series called "Dark Alliance". He then experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA, during which he found himself defending his integrity, his family and his life.
Tell-Tale
Tell-Tale (2009)
, 1h33
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Josh Lucas, Lena Headey, Brian Cox, Bea Miller, Dallas Roberts, Ulrich Thomsen
Rating54% 2.7012052.7012052.7012052.7012052.701205
In Providence, a husband and his wife die in a botched robbery; we see flickers of his last memories. His heart goes to Terry Bernard, a single father raising a girl with a rare degenerative disease. After the operation, Terry has flashes of memory from the last moments of the dead donor's life. Then, he recognizes one of the donor's killers and follows him into an alley. Within days, Terry becomes an unwilling avenger, with a police detective on his trail. Meanwhile, he begins a romance with his daughter's doctor, his moods complicated by memory flashes, the donor's deepening presence in both Terry's mind and body, and the unexplained bond among the donor's killers. Can this end well?
12 and Holding, 1h35
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about children, Jumeaux ou jumelles
Actors Conor Donovan, Zoë Weizenbaum, Jeremy Lee Renner, Jesse Camacho, Annabella Sciorra, Linus Roache
Rating73% 3.695373.695373.695373.695373.69537
The film explores adolescent issues through the minds of three friends and their reactions after a boy named Rudy Carges (Conor Donovan) is killed in a tree house set on fire by local bullies Jeff and Kenny, who carelessly didn't find out he was inside until too late.
L.I.E.
L.I.E. (2003)
, 1h37
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, La sexualité des mineurs, Films about pedophilia, Films about prostitution, Erotic thriller films, Teen LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman, Adam LeFevre, Raymond J. Barry
Rating70% 3.5471153.5471153.5471153.5471153.547115
Howie Blitzer is deeply affected by the death of his mother in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. His situation is exacerbated by his acrimonious relationship with his distant father Marty, who brought a trophy girlfriend into the house less than a month after his wife's death. Howie's only solace is the company of his best friend Gary, a juvenile delinquent and hustler. Although Gary is attracted to Howie, Howie is unsure of his own sexuality. They have two other friends their age, one of whom has an incestuous relationship with his sister. The four boys routinely break into neighborhood houses.

Scriptwriter

L.I.E.
L.I.E. (2003)
, 1h37
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, La sexualité des mineurs, Films about pedophilia, Films about prostitution, Erotic thriller films, Teen LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman, Adam LeFevre, Raymond J. Barry
Roles Writer
Rating70% 3.5471153.5471153.5471153.5471153.547115
Howie Blitzer is deeply affected by the death of his mother in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. His situation is exacerbated by his acrimonious relationship with his distant father Marty, who brought a trophy girlfriend into the house less than a month after his wife's death. Howie's only solace is the company of his best friend Gary, a juvenile delinquent and hustler. Although Gary is attracted to Howie, Howie is unsure of his own sexuality. They have two other friends their age, one of whom has an incestuous relationship with his sister. The four boys routinely break into neighborhood houses.

Producer

12 and Holding, 1h35
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about children, Jumeaux ou jumelles
Actors Conor Donovan, Zoë Weizenbaum, Jeremy Lee Renner, Jesse Camacho, Annabella Sciorra, Linus Roache
Roles Producer
Rating73% 3.695373.695373.695373.695373.69537
The film explores adolescent issues through the minds of three friends and their reactions after a boy named Rudy Carges (Conor Donovan) is killed in a tree house set on fire by local bullies Jeff and Kenny, who carelessly didn't find out he was inside until too late.
L.I.E.
L.I.E. (2003)
, 1h37
Directed by Michael Cuesta
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, La sexualité des mineurs, Films about pedophilia, Films about prostitution, Erotic thriller films, Teen LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman, Adam LeFevre, Raymond J. Barry
Roles Producer
Rating70% 3.5471153.5471153.5471153.5471153.547115
Howie Blitzer is deeply affected by the death of his mother in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. His situation is exacerbated by his acrimonious relationship with his distant father Marty, who brought a trophy girlfriend into the house less than a month after his wife's death. Howie's only solace is the company of his best friend Gary, a juvenile delinquent and hustler. Although Gary is attracted to Howie, Howie is unsure of his own sexuality. They have two other friends their age, one of whom has an incestuous relationship with his sister. The four boys routinely break into neighborhood houses.