Center Stage

McG

The Hollywood director overcame an intense fear of flying and now has his own Hawker 800

Interview by Matt Thurber - August 1, 2010

“I realized I was more at home behind the camera than just about anywhere else.”

When he introduces himself in a hangar at TWC Aviation in Van Nuys, Calif., film and television director and producer McG is so friendly and engaging that you can’t help wishing he were a neighbor who might come over for the occasional beer or Monday Night Football get-together. 

Football, in fact, played a major role in We Are Marshall, one of the most important movies directed by McG, who was born Joseph McGinty Nichol. (McG, pronounced muk-jee, is an appellation his mother gave him.) But while football provided the movie with its framework, what inspired McG to direct it was the 1970 crash of a chartered Boeing 727, which killed all 75 people on board, including most of the Marshall University football team and its coach. The film chronicles how the town of Huntington, W.Va., a rebuilt team and new coach Jack Lengyel (convincingly played by Matthew McConaughey) overcame the crash and returned the squad to glory.

Dealing with issues surrounding the crash forced the now 42-year-old McG to face his fear of flying–a fear so strong it kept him from going to Australia to direct Superman Returns. Having since overcome that fear, he now travels all over in his own Hawker 800 and is even thinking about learning to fly.

When we met, McG told us his career began when he and friend Mark McGrath started the rock band Sugar Ray. McG produced its albums and shot photos of the band, then transitioned into shooting music videos and directing and producing television shows and movies. 

Known for his iconic music videos and an ever multiplying series of television shows that he executive produces (Chuck, Human Target, Super Natural), and films he directed and/or produced that include Charlie’s Angles, Charlie’s Angles: Full Throttle, the 2006 horror film Stay Alive and Terminator Salvation, the prolific and creative McG has several interesting projects up his sleeve.

What gets your creative juices flowing? 

Being the best director I can possibly be. I’m trying to continue to develop my voice as a filmmaker, but I love music and film. That’s why I called my company Wonderland Sound and Vision. It’s the marriage of my two favorite mediums. My life was very humdrum growing up, and I dreamed about a world bigger than mine. Therefore, my expression in film and music is always about a world bigger than my own. 

One of your first efforts was cofounding the band Sugar Ray. 

I was surrounded by a great deal of musical talent and I thought I’d put together a bunch of recording sessions. I ended up producing all those records. Because I was a still photographer it was organic for me to start shooting the videos in the great age of MTV. I realized I was more at home behind the camera than just about anywhere else.

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