Joe Barton (screenwriter)

Joe Barton
Born1985 (age 39–40)
NationalityBritish
OccupationScreenwriter
Known forGiri/Haji
The Lazarus Project
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself
Black Doves

Joe Barton (born 1985) is a British screenwriter of film and television, best known for the crime series Giri/Haji, the science-fiction thriller The Lazarus Project, and the spy thriller Black Doves.

Early life

Barton was born in London. He studied Film and Television Production at the University of Westminster. One of his first jobs was as a driver during production of the film Cass (2008).[citation needed]

Career

His writing career began in film. He has written the screenplay for such films as The Ritual,[1] My Days of Mercy[2] and IBoy. In 2020, it was announced he had written Encounter, a sci-fi thriller starring Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer.[3] Amazon Studios will distribute.[4] He is tapped to write a sequel to Cloverfield.[5]

Barton has also written extensively in television, beginning with Beaver Falls.[6] He later wrote for Humans, Our World War, and the epic miniseries Troy: Fall of a City.

In 2019, BBC Two broadcast Barton's crime thriller Giri/Haji (Japanese: 義理/恥, "Duty/Shame"). The series is set in London and Tokyo, with dialogue in English and Japanese.[7][8] On 13 December 2020, it was announced Barton would be showrunner on Netflix's Half Bad, based on the trilogy of books by author Sally Green, with Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish as executive producers.[9] The series was later renamed to The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.

In January 2021, it was announced that Barton would be replacing Terence Winter as showrunner on an untitled Gotham City Police Department spinoff series based on The Batman.[10] This was canceled in March 2022, due to "creative differences".[11] Barton revealed that he had pitched a potential fourth season of True Detective. HBO, however, turned it down in favour of Night Country.[12]

In November 2022, it was announced that Barton would be adapting the Peter Shaffer play Amadeus as a television series.[13]

In February 2023, it was announced Barton would write and executive produce an untitled bounty hunter drama series, to be directed by Michael Bay.[14] On 26 April 2023, it was announced that Barton would write the Netflix thriller series Black Doves, starring Keira Knightley as a British spy.[15]

Personal life

Barton lives in Brighton with his partner Alice and their two sons.[16]

Filmography

Short film

Year Title Director
2010 Nowhere Left to Run Julian Gibbs

Feature film

Year Title Director
2017 iBoy Adam Randall
The Ritual David Bruckner
My Days of Mercy Tali Shalom Ezer
2021 Encounter Michael Pearce
2024 The Union Julian Farino
TBA Untitled Cloverfield sequel Babak Anvari

Television

TV series

Year Title Writer Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
2009 Freak Yes No No 4 episodes, web series
2012 Beaver Falls Yes No No Episode #2.5
2014 Our World War Yes No Yes
2015–2016 Humans Yes No No 3 episodes
2015 Cuffs Yes No No Episode: "Shakedowns and Stakeouts"
2018 Troy: Fall of a City Yes No No Episode: "Battle on the Beach"
2019 Giri/Haji Yes Yes Yes
2022 The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself Yes Yes Yes
2022–2023 The Lazarus Project Yes Yes Yes
2024 Black Doves Yes Yes Yes
TBA Amadeus Yes Yes Yes

TV movies

  • Blackout (2013)
  • Glasgow Girls (2014)

References

  1. ^ "Toronto: Horror Film 'The Ritual' Sells to Netflix for $4.75 Million (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. ^ McNary, Dave (18 August 2016). "Tali Shalom Ezer Directing Elliot Page and Kate Mara in Romantic Drama 'Mercy'". Variety. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  3. ^ Grater, Tom (25 October 2018). "'Beast' director Michael Pearce boards 'Invasion' for Raw, Film4 (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. ^ Grater, Tom (29 July 2020). "Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer & Amazon Board Sci-Fi Thriller 'Invasion' From Raw, Film4, Rising UK Director Michael Pearce". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  5. ^ Kit, Borys (29 January 2021). "'Cloverfield' Sequel in the Works With Batman TV Spinoff Showrunner (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Speakers | Joe Barton". London Screenwriters' Festival. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Casting announced as filming begins on new drama thriller Giri/Haji – Media Centre". BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Butterfly effect". Drama Quarterly. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. ^ Ravindran, Manori (13 December 2020). "Netflix Unveils New U.K. Projects With Sam Mendes, Rowan Atkinson, Andy Serkis".
  10. ^ Otterson, Joe (11 January 2021). "Gotham PD Series at HBO Max Enlists Joe Barton as New Showrunner". Variety. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  11. ^ Sharf, Zack (7 March 2022). "Matt Reeves: 'The Batman' TV Series Changed From Gotham PD to Arkham After "Creative Differences"". Variety. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  12. ^ "x.com post".
  13. ^ "'Amadeus': Sky Developing Mozart Drama Series from 'Giri/Haji' Writer Joe Barton & 'Patrick Melrose' Producer Two Cities". 2 November 2022.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (7 February 2023). "Joe Barton & Michael Bay Bounty Hunter Drama In Works At Amazon From A+E Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Keira Knightley to Star in Netflix Series 'Black Doves' as Streamer Unveils New U.K. Productions". 26 April 2023.
  16. ^ Dougary, Ginny. "Keira Knightley: 'Black Doves is a Christmas series – like Love Actually, but we kill everyone!'". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 December 2024.