MCG

With over 50 music video credentials to his name before he joined Spike Jonze and David Fincher among the ranks of music video directors turned ultra-hip, flamboyant feature helmers, MTV-era filmmaker McG seemed the ideal choice to direct the flashy, big-budget adaptation of the girl-powered 1970s television series Charlie's Angels. Born Joseph McGinty Mitchell and raised in Newport Beach, CA, the future director was merely six-years-old when the television series from which he would launch his career aired. Though his earliest memories related to Charlie's Angels were of his parents pleading with him to turn off the television and go to bed, McG eventually turned to his studies and graduated from the University of California-Irvine with a degree in psychology. Moving on to direct videos for such artists as Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray, McG viewed music videos as a perfect training ground to move into feature-film territory. Developing an imprint of his own with his flashy and infectiously energetic videos, the future feature helmer was later approached by actress/producer Drew Barrymore to step behind the camera for Charlie's Angels (2000). Pitching the movie to studio execs by mapping it out on index cards and acting it out scene-for-scene, his energy for the project proved effective and he was given the green light to begin pre-production. Though it took him some time to adjust to feature-length pacing as opposed to the visceral visual assault of music videos, McG soon worked out his initial concerns and dove into the process head-on. After re-acquainting himself with the series by watching all 109 episodes, the Hong Kong film fanatic decided to infuse the high-octane energy of the genre with a distinctly colorful Western flavor. The result was one of the biggest action draws of the year, and plans for the inevitable sequel were soon being pitched. - Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide