Editing John Sayles (section)

==Career==
{{BLP sources section|date=April 2022}}
After college, Sayles moved to Boston where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs while writing short stories for ''[[The Atlantic]]''.<ref name=britannica/> These writings culminated in his first novel, ''[[Pride of the Bimbos|The Pride of the Bimbos]]'', published in 1975.

Sayles began his film career working with [[Roger Corman]], along with [[Martin Scorsese]], [[Francis Ford Coppola]] and [[Ron Howard]] who also had stints with Corman early in their careers. Sayles was discovered by [[Frances Doel]], who worked in the script department for Corman's [[New World Pictures]]. Sayles has been called "the greatest screenwriter to ever work at New World."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/top-ten-corman-part-two-top-ten-screenwriters/ |first=Sephen |last=Vagg |website=[[FilmInk]] |date=13 May 2024 |title=Top Ten Corman – Part Two: Top Ten Screenwriters |access-date=May 17, 2024 |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515190813/https://www.filmink.com.au/top-ten-corman-part-two-top-ten-screenwriters/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Directorial debut===
In 1979, Sayles used $30,000 he earned writing scripts for Corman to fund his first film, ''[[Return of the Secaucus 7]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/23528/8-hollywood-directors-from-the-roger-corman-film-school|title=8 Hollywood directors from the Roger Corman film school|website=Den of Geek|date=November 21, 2012|language=en|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010084350/http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/23528/8-hollywood-directors-from-the-roger-corman-film-school|url-status=live}}</ref> To make the film on a limited budget, he set the film in a large house so that he did not have to travel to or get permits for different locations, set the story over a three-day weekend to limit costume changes, and wrote about people his age so he could cast his friends in it. The film received near-unanimous critical acclaim at the time and has held its reputation. In November 1997, the [[National Film Preservation Board]] announced that ''Return of the Secaucus 7'' would be one of the 25 films selected that year for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] at the [[Library of Congress]].

In 1983, after the films ''[[Baby It's You (film)|Baby It's You]]'' (starring [[Rosanna Arquette]]) and ''[[Lianna]]'' (a story in which a married woman becomes discontented with her marriage and falls in love with another woman), Sayles received a [[MacArthur Fellowship]]. He put the money into the science fiction feature ''[[The Brother from Another Planet]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,954425,00.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912043507/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,954425,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 12, 2012 | title=Blues for Black Actors | author=Richard Corliss | date=October 1, 1984 | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date=August 13, 2010| author-link=Richard Corliss }}</ref> a film about a three-toed humanoid who escapes bondage on another world and crash-lands in New York harbor; because he is Africanoid in appearance, he finds himself at home among the people of [[Harlem]], being pursued by European-looking alien enslavers [[men in black]].

[[File:Sayles, John IMGP2516-A.jpg|thumb|left|Sayles at the [[Miami Book Fair International]], 2011]]

In 1989, Sayles created and wrote the pilot episode for the short-lived television show ''[[Shannon's Deal]]'' about a down-and-out [[Philadelphia]] lawyer played by [[Jamey Sheridan]]. Sayles received a 1990 [[Edgar Award]] for his [[screenplay|teleplay]] for the pilot. The show ran for 16 episodes before being cancelled in 1991.

Sayles has funded most of his films by writing genre scripts, such as ''[[Piranha (1978 film)|Piranha]]'', ''[[Alligator (film)|Alligator]]'', ''[[The Howling (film)|The Howling]]'', and ''[[The Challenge (1982 film)|The Challenge]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/dancing-with-werewolves-john-sayles-in-roger-cormans-hollywood/|title=Dancing with Werewolves: John Sayles in Roger Corman's Hollywood|date=2003-08-01|website=Bright Lights Film Journal|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-10}}</ref> Having collaborated with [[Joe Dante]] on ''Piranha'' and ''The Howling'', Sayles acted in Dante's movie, ''[[Matinee (1993 film)|Matinee]]''. Sayles gets the rest of his funding by working as a script doctor; he did rewrites for ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]''<ref name="Sayles">{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Mary|last2=Neff|first2=Renfreu|last3=Mercurio|first3=Jim|last4=Goldsmith|first4=David F.|title=John Sayles on Screenwriting|url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/john-sayles-on-screenwriting/|access-date=2 October 2017|work=Creative Screenwriting|date=April 15, 2016|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413190715/https://creativescreenwriting.com/john-sayles-on-screenwriting/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Mimic (film)|Mimic]]''.

A genre script, called ''[[Night Skies]]'', inspired what would eventually become the film ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screencraft.org/2018/12/10/where-the-script-could-have-gone-wrong-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/|title=Where the Script Could Have Gone Wrong: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|last=Miyamoto|first=Ken|date=2018-12-10|website=ScreenCraft|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522093427/https://screencraft.org/2018/12/10/where-the-script-could-have-gone-wrong-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/|url-status=live}}</ref> That film's director, [[Steven Spielberg]], later commissioned Sayles to write a script (unused) for the [[Development of Jurassic World|fourth ''Jurassic Park'' film]].

He has written and directed his own films, including ''[[Lone Star (1996 film)|Lone Star]]'', ''[[Passion Fish]]'', ''[[Eight Men Out]]'', ''[[The Secret of Roan Inish]],'' and ''[[Matewan]]''. He serves on the advisory board for the [[Austin Film Society]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Austin Film Society Board of Directors |url=https://www.austinfilm.org/board-of-directors/ |website=austinfilm.org |publisher=Austin Film Society |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114063453/https://www.austinfilm.org/board-of-directors/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[Maggie Renzi]] has been John Sayles's long-time companion (and [[Collaboration|collaborator]]), but they have not married. Renzi has produced most of his films since ''Lianna''. They met as students at Williams College.

Sayles works with a regular repertory of actors, most notably [[Chris Cooper]], [[David Strathairn]], and [[Gordon Clapp]], each of whom has appeared in at least four of his films.

In early 2003, Sayles signed the Not In Our Name "Statement of Conscience" (along with [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Steve Earle]], [[Brian Eno]], [[Jesse Jackson]], [[Viggo Mortensen]], [[Bonnie Raitt]], [[Oliver Stone]], [[Marisa Tomei]], [[Susan Sarandon]] and others) which opposed the invasion of [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://picclick.com/PRIDE-OF-THE-BIMBOS-John-Sayles-1975-163535124439.html|title=PRIDE OF THE BIMBOS - John Sayles 1975 1st edition 1st printing with dust jacket • $24.99|website=PicClick|language=en|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522093427/https://picclick.com/PRIDE-OF-THE-BIMBOS-John-Sayles-1975-163535124439.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2009, Sayles was reported to be writing an [[HBO]] series based on the early life of [[Anthony Kiedis]] of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]]. The drama, tentatively titled ''[[Scar Tissue]]''{{update inline|date=November 2022}}, centers on Kiedis's early years living in [[West Hollywood]] with his father. At that time, Kiedis's father, known as Spider, sold drugs (according to legend, his clients included [[The Who]] and [[Led Zeppelin]]) and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into show business.<ref>[https://variety.com/2009/music/markets-festivals/sayles-red-hot-for-hbo-s-scar-1118000444/ Sayles red hot for HBO's 'Scar'] from ''Variety''</ref>

In February 2010, Sayles began shooting his 17th feature film, the historical war drama ''[[Amigo (film)|Amigo]]'', in the Philippines. The film is a fictional account of events during the [[Philippine–American War]], with a cast that includes Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, and [[Garret Dillahunt]].<ref>[http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/238469/joel-torre-believes-baryo-may-stir-controversy Joel Torre believes 'Baryo' may stir controversy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118161256/http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/238469/joel-torre-believes-baryo-may-stir-controversy |date=January 18, 2010 }} from www.mb.com.ph</ref>

His novel ''A Moment in the Sun'', set during the same period as ''Amigo'', in the Philippines, Cuba, and the U.S., was released in 2011 by [[McSweeney's]]. It includes an account of the [[Wilmington Insurrection of 1898]] in North Carolina, the only [[coup d'état]] in United States history in which a duly elected government was overthrown.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.johnsayles.com/body-bio.html | title=BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN SAYLES | publisher=johnsayles.com | access-date=August 13, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713115631/http://www.johnsayles.com/body-bio.html | archive-date=July 13, 2011 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>