Jon Turteltaub Biography

Fast Facts

• Was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television for "From the Earth to the Moon" in 1999
• Attended both Wesleyan University and the University of Southern California
• Began his directing career working on several low-budget films, including "Think Big," "Driving Me Crazy," and "3 Ninjas․"
• Started out as an actor, but switched to behind-the-scenes work because he found himself worrying more about lighting and the pace of the production than his acting while on stage
• Quote: "(Regarding his preference to shoot on location) "It felt like if we're going to celebrate these aspects of American history, I want the movie to look real, not fake․""
• Quote: "There is something more literary about adventure films․ That quality may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it․"
• After developing numerous series while under contract with CBS that included fan-favorite "Jericho", he signed with ABC in 2011 under a two-year development deal
• Best known as the director of "Cool Runnings" and the "National Treasure" series
• Has also served as executive producer on TV series like "Jericho," "Harper's Island," and "Common Law․"
• Beat out high school classmate Nicolas Cage for a role in the school's stage production of "Our Town"