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John Harrison (director)

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John Harrison
Born
John S. Harrison Jr.

1948 (75-76 years)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materEmerson College (B.S.)
Carnegie Mellon University (MFA)
Occupations
  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
  • Composer
  • Actor
Websitewww.officialjohnharrison.com

John S. Harrison Jr. (born 1948) is an American television and film director, screenwriter, musician, composer and actor.[1] He is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker George A. Romero, and for writing-directing the 2000 television miniseries adaptation of Dune.

Early years

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Harrison was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a BS[2] in Theater Arts and is an MFA graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama.[2] For several years after that, he performed on the road with his band Homebrew before moving back to Pittsburgh to take a master's degree in film and television from Carnegie Mellon University.

At the same time, he joined blues guitarist Roy Buchanan, with whom he toured across the US and internationally for four years. He was also featured on several of Buchanan's albums, including That's What I'm Here For (1974), Live Stock (1975), and A Street Called Straight (1976).

Career

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In 1973, Harrison and his friends, Dusty Nelson and Pasquale Buba, formed a film production company eventually named The Image Works to produce commercials and industrials in the Pittsburgh area. This partnership eventually led to the production of the film Effects (1980), which Harrison produced and performed in[3] as the character Lacey Bickel.[4] In 1974, Harrison began a long collaboration and friendship with filmmaker George A. Romero. Harrison performed as Sir Pelinore in Romero's Knightriders, then became his 1st Assistant Director for both Romero films Creepshow (1982) and Day of the Dead (1985).

Harrison also composed the scores for Creepshow and Day of the Dead (1985).[5] He also played the "Screwdriver Zombie" in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead (1978). The music that was composed for the score of Creepshow was also featured in the fake trailer for Thanksgiving in the film Grindhouse (2007), and the South Park episode "Tegridy Farms Halloween Special" (2019). Music from Harrison's Day of the Dead score was also featured in the premiere Stranger Things Season 3, "Suzie, Do You Copy" (2019).

After Creepshow, Harrison moved to Los Angeles to continue his writing and directing career. He wrote, directed and composed the music for multiple episodes of the Tales from the Darkside TV show. He was then tapped by producer Richard P. Rubinstein to direct Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) for Paramount,[6] which won the Gran Prix du Festival at Avoriaz, France (1991).[2] Harrison's collaboration with Rubinstein culminated in the Emmy-winning TV miniseries, Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), which Harrison wrote and directed,[1] and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003), which Harrison wrote and executive produced.

In 2001, Harrison receives a co-song writing credit, for the Gorillaz's track "M1 A1", from the album Gorillaz, which samples music (along with dialogue), from the film Day of the Dead. Gorillaz used samples from the same film for another song, "Hip Albatross", a B-side on the international hit "19-2000".

In 2006, Harrison reunited with mentor Romero to co-produce Romero's film Diary of the Dead (2007).[7] His action suspense thriller Blank Slate for producer Dean Devlin, which Harrison wrote and directed, aired as a twenty episode mini-series on TNT in the fall of 2008. In 2009, Harrison completed his adaptation of acclaimed horror novelist Clive Barker's Book of Blood, which Harrison co-wrote and directed.

His paranormal thriller miniseries Residue (2015), which he created and wrote, was released on Netflix in April 2015.[8]

Harrison has written and directed episodes of Creepshow on Shudder.[6]

He has also written two novels. Destiny Gardens which was published in 2013, and Passing Through Veils, published in 2023.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Writer Producer Composer Actor
1978 Dawn of the Dead Uncredited Role; as Screwdriver Zombie
1979 Effects Executive Yes Yes Role; as Lacey Bickel
1981 Knightriders Yes Role; as Pellinore
1982 Creepshow Yes Also first assistant director
1985 Day of the Dead Yes Also first assistant director
1988 Jack's Back Yes Role; as Chooch
1990 Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Yes Yes
2000 Dinosaur Yes
2007 Diary of the Dead Executive
2009 Book of Blood Yes Yes
2015 Residue Yes Executive
2021 Dune Executive
2024 Dune: Part Two Executive

Television

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Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Writer Producer Composer Actor
1984-87 Tales from the Darkside Yes Yes Yes Director (8 episodes), writer (5 episodes), composer (4 episodes)
1987 Night Rose: Akhbar’s Daughter Yes Yes Yes TV movie
1988 Scary Tales: Night Elevator Yes Yes Yes TV movie
1988 Monsters Yes Episode "The Legacy"
1990 Memories of Murder Yes TV movie
1991-96 Tales from the Crypt Yes Yes Director (2 episodes), writer (3 episodes)
1992 Nightmare Cafe Yes Episode "The Heart of the Mystery"
1995 Earth 2 Yes Yes Director (3 episodes), writer (1 episode)
1995 Donor Unknown Yes Yes TV movie
1996 The Assassination File Yes
1996 Profiler Yes Episode "I'll Be Watching You"
1996 Kindred: The Embraced Yes Episode "Nightstalker"
2000 Frank Herbert's Dune Yes Yes Miniseries (3 episodes)
2003 Frank Herbert's Children of Dune Yes Co-Producer Miniseries (3 episodes)
2005 Supernova Yes TV movie
2005 Painkiller Jane Yes Executive
2008 Blank Slate Yes Yes Yes TV movie
Role; as Thomas Hale
2009 Mental Yes Episode "Bad Moon Rising"
2010-12 Leverage Yes 5 episodes
2015 The Librarians Yes Episode "And the Heart of Darkness"
2015 Residue Yes Executive Miniseries (3 episodes)
2017-18 Superstition Yes 2 episodes
2019-21 Creepshow Yes Yes Director (4 segments), writer (1 segment)

Soundtracks

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  • Effects – LaLa Land Records (LLLCD1040), Los Angeles
  • Creepshow – LaLa Land Records (LLLCD1007), Los Angeles
  • Day of the Dead – Taurus Entertainment/Numenorean Music, Los Angeles
  • Tales from the Darkside: The Movie – GNP Crescendo (GNPD 8021), Los Angeles
  • Creepshow – Waxwork Records LP, New Orleans
  • Day of the Dead – Waxwork Records LP, New Orleans
  • Tales from the Darkside: The Movie – Waxwork Records LP, New Orleans

Awards and nominations

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Ceremony Year Category Work Result
Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival 1991 Grand Prize Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Won
Hugo Award 2001 Best Dramatic Presentation Frank Herbert's Dune Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award 1988 Best Anthology Episode/Single Program Tales from the Darkside ("Everybody Needs a Little Love") Nominated

Further reading

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  • Carson, Phil. Roy Buchanan, American Axe (San Francisco: Backbeat Books 2001)
  • Larson, Randall D. Musique Fantastique (London: The Scarecrow Press 1985)
  • Gagne, Paul R. The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: the Films of George A. Romero (New York: Dodd, Mead 1987)
  • Newman, Kim. Nightmare Movies: A Critical History of the Horror Film 1968–1988 (1988)
  • Harrison, John. Destiny Gardens, A Novel (Los Angeles: House Bean Boy 2013)
  • Fischera, J. Blake. Scored to Death 2; More Conversations With Some of Horror's Greatest Composers (Los Angeles: Silman-James Press 2020)
  • Harrison, John. Passing Through Veils (Los Angeles: WordFire Press 2023)
  • Kennedy, Kara. "Adaptations of Dune" (Phoenix: Blue Key Books 2024)
  • Britt, Ryan. "The Spice Must Flow" (New York: Plume/Penguin Random House 2023)

References

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  1. ^ a b Wertheimer, Ron (December 2, 2000). "TELEVISION REVIEW; For the Spice of Life, Literally". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c "John Harrison". Heinz College. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Alexander, Chris (August 9, 2017). "John Harrison on Effects and George A. Romero". comingsoon.net. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "EFFECTS (DVD)". Film Threat. November 22, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Williams, Tony (2015). The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead. Columbia University Press. pp. 274–275. ISBN 9780231850759.
  6. ^ a b Szpirglas, Jeff (October 1, 2019). "Interview: Getting Creeped Out With John Harrison". Rue Morgue. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  7. ^ Karr, Lee (February 28, 2008). "Interview with John Harrison, Executive Producer of Diary of the Dead". Homepage of the Dead. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  8. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (April 1, 2015). "How to Sell a TV Show to Netflix". IndieWire.
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