Justin Kelly (director)

Not to be confused with From Justin to Kelly.

Justin Kelly
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Director, screenwriter, editor

Justin Kelly[1] is an American film director, screenwriter and film editor. He came to prominence as director and writer of Sundance Film Festival 2015 select I Am Michael, starring James Franco and Zachary Quinto.[2][3] He then wrote and directed King Cobra, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival starring Christian Slater and James Franco,[4] followed by Sony Pictures 2018 release Welcome the Stranger starring Riley Keough and Caleb Landry Jones,[5] and most recently JT LeRoy (2018) starring Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern.[6]

Career

After a stream of directing short films[7] as well as directing and editing music videos for artists such as Gossip, Hunx and his Punx and Tiny Hearts, Kelly worked as an editor[8] before making the transition to feature film writer-director.[9] Under the wing of film legend Gus Van Sant,[10] he began shooting his first feature-length film I Am Michael in summer of 2014. Starring actors James Franco, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto and Charlie Carver, the controversial[11][12][13] film's premiere was announced as a premiere select at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[14] It was released theatrically January 27, 2017.[15]

Kelly's second feature-length film, King Cobra, starring James Franco and Christian Slater, shot in the fall of 2015 and premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.[16][17] It was released theatrically via IFC Films on October 21, 2016.[18] His third film Welcome the Stranger starring Abbey Lee, Riley Keough and Caleb Landry Jones, shot in the summer of 2016 and was released via Sony Pictures on March 13, 2018.[19] Kelly's fourth feature-length film, JT LeRoy, based on the lives of Savannah Knoop and Laura Albert, a.k.a. JT LeRoy, and starring Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern, had its world premiere as the closing night film of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released April 26, 2019, by Universal Pictures.[20] [21][22]

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Screenwriter	Editor
2018	JT LeRoy	N	N
2018	Welcome the Stranger	N	N
2016	King Cobra	N	N
2015	I Am Michael	N	N
2014	Tiny Hearts "Stay" Music Video	N		N
2009	Gossip "Men In Love" Music Video	N		N
2009	"Girl"	N	N	N
2006	"Debris"	N	N	N
2007	"Front"	N	N	N

References

1. Fleming, Mike (April 11, 2014). "Justin Kelly Teams With James Franco & Gus Van Sant For 'Michael'". Deadline. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
2. Chang, Justin (December 8, 2014). "Sundance Film Festival Announces 2015 Premieres Lineup". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
3. "Sundance Premieres: James Franco returns to Park City - Inside Movies - EW.com". EW.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
4. Lee, Ashley (2016-03-02). "Tribeca Film Festival Sets 'Hologram for the King,' 'Elvis & Nixon' World Premieres". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
5. Erbland, Kate (2018-02-06). "'Welcome the Stranger' Trailer: Riley Keough and Caleb Landry Jones Are Twisted Lovers in Justin Kelly's Creepy New Thriller". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
6. Sandberg, Patrik. "Exclusive: See the First Pictures of Kristen Stewart as 'JT Leroy'". W Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
7. "Justin Kelly". Vimeo. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
8. "Justin Kelly". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
9. "CATCH FIRE: Archive: Justin Kelly". Catch-fire.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
10. Mike Fleming Jr. "Justin Kelly Teams With James Franco & Gus Van Sant For 'Michael'". Deadline. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
11. Eliza Berman (November 26, 2014). "James Franco Zachary Quinto Charlie Carver threesome scene". Time. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
12. "Here's Your First Look At James Franco & Zachary Quinto As Gay Lovers In Michael! Don't They Look Cute Together??". Perezhilton.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
13. "James Franco, Zachary Quinto and Charlie Carver Set for Steamy Ménage à Trois in Gay Drama 'Michael'". TheWrap. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
14. Chang, Justin (December 8, 2014). "Sundance Film Festival Announces 2015 Premiers Lineup". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
15. "James Franco Starrer 'I Am Michael' to Be Released by Brainstorm Media". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
16. Lee, Ashley (2016-03-02). "Tribeca Film Festival Sets 'Hologram for the King,' 'Elvis & Nixon' World Premieres". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
17. Ehrlich, David (2016-04-17). "'King Cobra' Is the 'Boogie Nights' of Gay Porn (Tribeca Review)". Indiewire. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
18. "James Franco's 'King Cobra' Sells U.S. Rights to IFC". TheWrap. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
19. Ford, Rebecca (July 7, 2016). "Riley Keough, Caleb Landry Jones, Abbey Lee Join Justin Kelly's Next Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
20. N'Duka, Amanda (2017-08-01). "Kelvin Harrison Jr., Courtney Love, and James Jagger Board 'JT' Biopic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
21. "Movie stars pose for photos before premiere of closing film "Jeremiah Terminator Leroy" in Toronto". XinhuaNet. 2018-09-16. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
22. Erbland, Kate (August 14, 2018). "TIFF Announces Chris Pine-Starring 'Outlaw King' Will Open Festival and Kristen Stewart's 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy' to Close". IndieWire. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

External links

• Justin Kelly at IMDb