Jon Turteltaub: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American film director, writer and producer}}

<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Jonturteltaub.jpg|thumb|John Turteltaub]] -->

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| image = JonTurteltaubHWOFJan2013.jpg

| caption = Turteltaub in 2013

| name = Jon Turteltaub

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|8|8}}

| birth_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.

| occupation = Film director, film writer, film producer

| years_active = 1989&ndash;present

| alma_mater = [[Wesleyan University]]<br>[[USC School of Cinematic Arts]]

| spouse = {{marriage|Amy Eldon|2006}}

| children = 3

| relatives = [[Saul Turteltaub]] (father)

}}

'''Jonathan Charles Turteltaub''' (born August 8, 1963) is an American filmmaker.

'''Jon Turteltaub''' (b. [[1964]], [[New York, New York]]) is an American film director. He is best known as a director of "popcorn" movies, including the [[John Candy]] Jamaican bobsled comedy [[Cool Runnings]], the [[Sandra Bullock]]-[[Bill Pullman]] romantic comedy [[While You Were Sleeping]], and the [[John Travolta]]-gets-smart daydream [[Phenomenon]]. Turteltaub has a lightly schmaltzy touch, with what one critic called "anti-panache," but given a good script he delivers the movie studios and audiences expect.

==Early life, family and education==

'''Gender''': [[Male]] <br>

Turteltaub was born on August 8, 1963, in [[New York City]], one of two children born to comedy writer [[Saul Turteltaub]] (best known for his work on ''[[Sanford and Son]]'') and his wife, Shirley Steinberg. His parents are both [[American Jews|Jewish]].<ref>{{cite interview |url= https://dvdizzy.com/jonturteltaub-interview.html | website= DVDizzy.com| first= Jon | last= Turteltaub| title= Jon Turteltaub Interview - The Director of the National Treasure Movies Discusses His 16 Years of 'Surprise Hits' at Disney| interviewer= | accessdate = August 25, 2015 | quote= You need to stop reading the internet. Tennessee? I'm a Jew from New York}}</ref> Turteltaub graduated from [[Wesleyan University]] and the [[USC School of Cinematic Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tribute.ca/people/Jon+Turteltaub/2728|title=Jon Turteltaub biography and filmography |publisher= | website = Tribute.ca |date=August 8, 1963 |access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref>

'''Religion''': [[Jewish]] <br>

'''Ethnicity''': [[White]]<br>

==BiographyCareer==

Jon Turteltaub has directed successful mainstream films for the [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]], including; ''[[3 Ninjas (film)|3 Ninjas]]'' (1992), ''[[Cool Runnings]]'' (1993), ''[[While You Were Sleeping (film)|While You Were Sleeping]]'' (1995), ''[[Phenomenon (film)|Phenomenon]]'' (1996), ''[[Instinct (1999 film)|Instinct]]'' (1999), ''[[Disney's The Kid]]'' (2000), ''[[National Treasure (film)|National Treasure]]'' (2004), as well as its 2007 sequel ''[[National Treasure: Book of Secrets]]'', and ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 film)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]'' (2010), as well as ''[[The Meg]]'' (2018) for [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nndb.com/people/263/000044131/|title=Jon Turteltaub profile|publisher= |website= nndb.com|access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fandango.com/jonturteltaub/filmography/p114769|title=Jon Turteltaub filmography| publisher= | website = Fandango.com|access-date=August 3, 2012| archive-date= June 4, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160604215609/http://www.fandango.com/jonturteltaub/filmography/p114769|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Patrci |date=July 5, 2000 |title=Company With Disney; By Hollywood standards, director Jon Turteltaub has remained remarkably loyal to one studio, from '3 Ninjas' to his latest, 'The Kid.' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-05-ca-47775-story.html |access-date=December 29, 2010 |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Turteltaub produced the [[CBS]] television series ''[[Jericho (2006 TV series)|Jericho]]''. He also directed the show's first three episodes. In 1996, his production company Junction Entertainment had a film deal with Disney, and in 2006, signed a deal with Paramount Television, which would soon become CBS Paramount Network Television.<ref>{{Cite web| last=Adalian|first=Josef|date= 2007-08-21|title=Turteltaub inks deal with CBS Par TV|url=https://variety.com/2007/tv/news/turteltaub-inks-deal-with-cbs-par-tv-1117970564/|access-date= 2021-06-04| website=Variety|language= en-US}}</ref>

In 2020, Turteltaub directed two episodes of [[NBC]]'s musical TV series ''[[Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist]]'' including the episode "Zoey's Extraordinary Glitch", which ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' listed as one of the 10 best episodes of television that year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hollywood Reporter TV Critics Pick the 10 Best Episodes of 2020 | work = The Hollywood Reporter| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/hollywood-reporter-tv-critics-pick-the-10-best-episodes-of-2020|access-date= 2020-12-19 |date=December 17, 2020 }}</ref>

Turteltaub is the son of veteran TV writer-producer Saul Turteltaub. He graduated from [[Beverly Hills High School]] in 1981. After receiving a B.A. from [[Wesleyan University]] in 1985 and a master's degree from the [[University of Southern California|USC]] School of Cinema-Television in 1988, Turteltaub gained some experience on the small screen. He worked on several [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] specials and pilots and was involved briefly with the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] sitcom, "Salute Your Shorts". In 1990 Turteltaub made his feature writing and directorial debut, "Think Big", and followed up with another minor action comedy, "Driving Me Crazy" (1991), which he also co-wrote.

Turteltaub began a successful collaboration with Disney Studios and had a surprisingly popular film on his hands with "[[3 Ninjas]]" (1992), a routine but harmless children's comedy adventure which marked a breakthrough collaboration between the US and South Korea in the production of a film. Action and comedy met once again for Turteltaub in his next film, the sleeper smash "Cool Runnings" (1992). Word of mouth helped sell this feel-good comedy about a Jamaican bobsled team, and the same audience response helped propel his Disney follow-up, the less boisterous romantic comedy, "While You Were Sleeping" (1995), which fully established Sandra Bullock as a film star and Bill Pullman as a romantic lead. While his first batch of films had been fun, but some might say frothy, Turteltaub took on a film with a slightly more substantial center with "Phenomenon" (1996), in which John Travolta played a man struck by lightning who not only becomes a genius because of it, but learns about humanity as well.

==Personal life==

Turteltaub is married to British television writer and producer Amy Eldon, co-founder of Creative Visions Foundation. Their family resides in [[Malibu, California]], next door to his in-laws.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.kathyeldon.com/my-daughter-amy-eldon-turteltaub/|title=My Daughter – Amy Eldon Turteltaub « Kathy eldON|last= onioneye| website=kathyeldon.com|language=en-US|access-date=April 12, 2018| archive-date=July 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727210803/https://kathyeldon.com/my-daughter-amy-eldon-turteltaub/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Amy's brother photojournalist [[Dan Eldon]] was stoned to death alongside several other journalists in [[Somalia]] in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://myhero.com/Dan_Amy_Eldon_bk06|title=Dan & Amy Eldon|website= my hero.com | publisher= The My Hero Project|access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-eldon-turteltaub/dan-eldon_b_3582633.html |title= Remembering My Brother Dan Eldon: A Journalist Who Died To Tell the Story|last=Turteltaub|first=Amy Eldon|date=July 12, 2013|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref>

Turteltaub serves on the Creative Council of [[Represent.Us]], a [[Nonpartisanism|nonpartisan]] anti-corruption organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://represent.us/about/| title=About | website= Represent.Us| date = |language=en-US| access-date=November 1, 2016}}</ref>

Ahead of the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. presidential election]], Turteltaub directed an anti-[[Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign|Trump]] video for the [[The Lincoln Project|Lincoln Project]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mazza|first=Ed|date=2020-07-31|title=Biting New Anti-Trump Video Imagines A Republican Waking Up From A Coma|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-coma-video_n_5f23bc23c5b68fbfc8815cdc|access-date=2020-07-31|website= Huffington Post | language=en}}</ref>

==Filmography==

'''Film'''

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Title

! width="65"|Director

! width="65"|Producer

! width="65"|Writer

|-

|1990

|''[[Think Big (film)|Think Big]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|-

|1991

|''[[Trabbi Goes to Hollywood|Driving Me Crazy]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|-

|1992

|''[[3 Ninjas (film)|3 Ninjas]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|1993

|''[[Cool Runnings]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|1995

|''[[While You Were Sleeping (film)|While You Were Sleeping]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|1996

|''[[Phenomenon (film)|Phenomenon]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|1999

|''[[Instinct (1999 film)|Instinct]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2000

|''[[Disney's The Kid]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2004

|''[[National Treasure (film)|National Treasure]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2007

|''[[National Treasure: Book of Secrets]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2010

|''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 film)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2013

|''[[Last Vegas]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|-

|2018

|''[[The Meg]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{no}}

|}

'''Television'''

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Title

! width="65"|Director

! width="65"|Executive<br>Producer

!Notes

|-

|1998

|''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Episode "That's All There Is"

|-

|2006

|''[[Jericho (2006 TV series)|Jericho]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|3 episodes

|-

|2009

|''[[Harper's Island]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|Episode "Whap"

|-

|2012

|''[[Common Law (2012 TV series)|Common Law]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|Episode "Pilot"

|-

|2016

|''[[Rush Hour (American TV series)|Rush Hour]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Episode "Pilot"

|-

|2020

|''[[Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist]]''

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|2 episodes

|-

|2022

|''[[National Treasure: Edge of History]]''

|{{no}}

|{{Yes}}

|

|}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

* [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dan-eldon_b_3582633]

==External links==

'''[[Binstead's Safari]]''' - ( Producer / / In-Development / ) <br>

{{Commons category}}

'''[[Fraternity Brother]]''' - ( Director / / In-Development / ) <br>

{{wikiquote}}

'''[[Fraternity Brother]]''' - ( Producer / / In-Development / ) <br>

* {{IMDb name|0005509}}

'''[[National Treasure 2]]''' - ( Director / / In-Development / Buena Vista Pictures Distribution ) <br>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090330000230/http://www.miptalk.com/?p=28 Jon Turteltaub – MIPtalk.com Interview]

'''[[The Man Who Ate The 747]]''' - ( Producer / / In-Development / Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution ) <br>

'''[[The Princess and the Pauper]]''' - ( Producer / / In-Development / ) <br>

'''[[Tucker Ames, As Himself]]''' - ( Producer / / In-Development / 20th Century Fox ) <br>

'''[[National Treasure]]''' - ( Director / 2004 / Released / Buena Vista Home Entertainment ) <br>

'''[[National Treasure]]''' - ( Producer / 2004 / Released / Buena Vista Home Entertainment ) <br>

'''[[Disney's The Kid]]''' - ( Director / 2000 / Released / Walt Disney Home Video ) <br>

'''[[Disney's The Kid]]''' - ( Producer / 2000 / Released / Walt Disney Home Video ) <br>

'''[[Instinct]]''' - ( Director / 1999 / Released / Buena Vista Home Entertainment ) <br>

'''[[Rocketman]]''' - ( Executive Producer / 1997 / Released / Walt Disney Home Video ) <br>

'''[[Twenty Five to Life]]''' - ( Producer / 1997 / Released / Buena Vista International ) <br>

'''[[Phenomenon]]''' - ( Director / 1996 / Released / Touchstone Pictures Home Video )<br>

'''[[While You Were Sleeping]]''' - ( Director / 1995 / Released / Hollywood Pictures Home Video ) <br>

'''[[3 Ninjas]]''' - ( Director / / Released / Touchstone Pictures Home Video ) <br>

'''[[Cool Runnings]]''' - ( Director / / Released / Walt Disney Home Video ) <br>

'''[[Driving Me Crazy]]''' - ( Director / / Released / Motion Picture Corporation of America )<br>

'''[[Driving Me Crazy]]''' - ( Screenplay / / Released / Motion Picture Corporation of America ) <br>

'''[[Think Big]]''' - ( Director / / Released / Aquarius Releasing Inc ) <br>

'''[[Think Big]]''' - ( Screenplay / / Released / Aquarius Releasing Inc )

<br>

[[Category:American{{Jon film directors|Turteltaub, Jon]]}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Living people|Turteltaub, Jon]]

[[fr{{DEFAULTSORT:Jon Turteltaub]], Jon}}

[[Category:1963 births]]

[[ja:ジョン・タートルトーブ]]

[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]

[[Category:American television directors]]

[[Category:German-language film directors]]

[[Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni]]

[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]

[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Film directors from New York City]]

[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]