Jonathan Raymond is a novelist and screenwriter based in Portland, Oregon. In his work for screen, Jonathan is known for his creative collaborations with revered auteurs Kelly Reichardt and Todd Haynes.
As a writer, Jonathan Raymond is known for his novels including The Half-Life (2004) and Rain Dragon (2012). In 2008, Raymond published his first collection of short stories, entitled Livability, which won the Oregon Book Award’s Ken Kesey Award for Fiction in 2009. The collection was also a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writer’s” selection. Raymond’s writing has appeared in Tin House, the Village Voice, Bookforum, Artforum, and other publications. His latest novel, Freebird, released in January 2017.
Two of his short stories, Old Joy and Train Choir, caught director Kelly Reichardt’s attention, and together, based on these stories, they co-wrote the screenplays for two feature films, OLD JOY and WENDY AND LUCY, both of which she directed.
OLD JOY (2006) tells the tale of old friends reuniting for camping trip, and stars Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy). The film premiered at Sundance in 2006, and went on to win awards including the Tiger Award for Best Director at Rotterdam IFF, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Producer (Neil Kopp).
WENDY AND LUCY (2008) follows a broke girl travelling to Alaska in search of work, with her dog as her companion. It premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2008, and stars Michelle Williams, who received unanimous critical acclaim for her role (as well as her co-star, dog – Lucy, winning the Palm Dog for best performance by a dog). The film won AFI Award for Movie of the year amongst countless other awards and nominations in North America and world wide, and appeared on numerous ‘Top 10 Movies of the Year’ lists including the New York Times and The Village Voice.
Kelly and Jonathan’s next collaborations were Oregon-based western, MEEK’S CUTOFF (2010), which played in competition at Venice Film Festival, winning the SIGNIS Jury Prize, and then suspenseful drama, NIGHT MOVES (2013) starring Dakota Fanning and Jesse Eisenberg, which also played in competition in Venice.
Most recently, Jonathan collaborated with I’M NOT THERE director Todd Haynes, co-writing HBO’s 5 times Emmy Award-winning miniseries MILDRED PIERCE, starring Kate Winslet. Together they were nominated for an Emmy for Best Screenplay.
Jonathan appeared at the 2016 BSS in the following sessions:
Writing masterclass with Jonathan Raymond: Screenwriting as earth art – Sat 24th September 11:00 am
In conversation with Jonathan Raymond: Wildess, Control and Collaboration – Sun 25th September, 11:10 am.
Hear from Jonathan on Script to Screen podcasts in the following session:
In conversation with Jonathan Raymond: Wildess, Control and Collaboration
