- Michael Cuesta
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Michael Cuesta Born July 8, 1963
New York City, New York,
Occupation Film/television director Years active 2001 – present Michael Cuesta (Born July 8, 1963 in New York) 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 and Blue Bloods.
Contents
Biography
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 features Six Feet Under star Michael C. Hall in the lead role. 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. Ball was the 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.[1]
Cuesta directed and executive produced the pilot episode for CBS drama Blue Bloods in 2010.[2] 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".[3]
Filmography
Television
Producer
Year Show Role Notes 2010 Blue Bloods Executive producer Pilot only 2008 The Oaks Executive producer Pilot only 2007 Babylon Fields Executive producer Pilot only 2006 Dexter Co-executive producer Season 1 Director
Year Show Season Episode title Episode Original airdate Notes 2010 Blue Bloods 1 "Chinatown" 8 12 November 2010 "Pilot" 1 24 September 2010 2009 True Blood 2 "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" 12 13 September 2009 Season finale 2008 The Oaks 1 "Amelia" 1 October 2008 Pilot episode 2007 Babylon Fields 1 "Pilot" 1 Unaired 2006 Dexter 1 "Born Free" 12 17 December 2006 Season finale "Seeing Red" 10 3 December 2006 "Popping Cherry" 3 15 October 2006 "Crocodile" 2 8 October 2006 "Dexter" 1 1 October 2006 Pilot episode 2005 Six Feet Under 5 "Static" 11 14 August 2005 2004 4 "Falling into Place" 1 13 June 2004 2003 3 "You Never Know" 2 9 March 2003 2002 2 "Someone Else's Eyes" 9 28 April 2002 "Driving Mr. Mossback" 4 24 March 2002 Film
- L.I.E. (2001)
- 12 and Holding (2006)
- Tell-Tale (2009)
References
- ^ Hibberd, James. "'Babylon Fields'—CBS' Buried Zombie Necrophilia Pilot Unearthed." TVWeek.com. October 15, 2007. Accessed August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Pilot". Michael Cuesta, Writ. Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess. Blue Bloods. CBS. 9/24/2010. No. 1, season 1.
- ^ "Chinatown". Michael Cuesta, Writ. Diana Son. Blue Bloods. CBS. 11/12/2010. No. 8, season 1.
External links
Categories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- American film directors
- American television directors
- American screenwriters
- English-language film directors
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