John Byrum
John Byrum ( born March 14, 1947 in Winnetka, Illinois ) is an American film director and screenwriter.
The boy from the Midwest went to New York and studied at the film school. There Byrum could participate as an assistant to Jim Henson on The Muppets. At the same time he wrote the script for the American version of the children's show Sesame Street. He started his film career in 1975 as a writer for the flop Have a Nice Weekend. In the same year he also got the chance to work as a director. For his directorial debut, close-ups he could work with Richard Dreyfuss. The film Harry and Walter Go to New York in 1976, for which he wrote the screenplay after one of his own stories, was very successful. In 1980, he acted Heartbeat both as a director and as an author. The two main actors Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek were praised for their work. Byrum equipped his productions very lush from, but compared with the original pieces they remained pale. The criticisms of his work was rough nature, the audience stayed away. In 1986, The Whoopee Boys was equally unsuccessful, to Byrum decided to go to watch TV.
His television reports were not very numerous: After debuting in 1985 staged at the NBC Byrum 1991 movie murder from above with Hunter S. Thompson in the lead role. Designed as a pilot for a series, the film was still not very successful. But with his next project, he came at least for the critics to better, even if the audience in 1992 by Middle Ages were not particularly impressed. As a screenwriter for serial Byrum was very much in demand. The Watcher of 1995 and especially the TV movie Dream Couples - a star overnight were successful series. Actually, the TV movie, at whose production he was involved in 1995 planned with Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt. However, the couple separated and the project could be completed with Scott Speedman in 1999.
With his second wife Karin and their two children John Byrum now lives in Connecticut.