John Curran

American-born screenwriter and director John Curran spent a large part of his life and career in Australia. He built a respectable career working primarily in low- to mid-budget films with a strong dramatic impetus. His films include "We Don't Live Here Anymore" (2004), starring Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern; the W. Somerset Maugham adaptation "The Painted Veil" (2006) starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts; and crime thriller "Stone" (2010), starring Robert De Niro. Born in Utica, New York, Curran studied illustration on a scholarship to Syracuse University, following his original ambition to be a children's illustrator. However, he moved quickly through the realms of graphic design, advertising and making short films. When he was 25, Curran moved to Sydney, Australia in an effort to start his new film-making career afresh; his feature debut came with an adaptation of Andrew McGahan's novel "Praise" (1998). His second feature, the dark relationship drama "We Don't Live Here Anymore," earned a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the Sundance Film Festival. Along with his own films, Curran adapted Jim Thompson's scabrous pulp novel for director Michael Winterbottom's controversial neo-noir drama "The Killer Inside Me" (2010). His next film was "Tracks" (2014), an adaptation of Robyn Davidson's memoir about traversing the Australian outback with four camels and her dog that starred rising young actors Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver.