Joe Cornish
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Cornish in 2011
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| Born | Joseph Murray Cornish (1968-12-20) 20 December 1968 (age 55)
London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Education | Bournemouth Film School |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, screenwriter, director, producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | Film, television, radio, screenwriting, acting |
Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut Attack the Block. He also co-wrote The Adventures of Tintin with Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright, and Ant-Man, with Wright, Adam McKay, and Paul Rudd.
Cornish was educated at the independent Westminster Schoolincentral London, where he became friends with both Adam Buxton and Louis Theroux.[1] At age 18, he went on to study at the Bournemouth Film School.[2]
The Adam and Joe Show was an ironic pop culture sketch show written, presented and directed by the duo. The show found cult success during its four series between 1996 and 2001. The best-known segments featured hit feature films recreated with stuffed toys, British television shows parodied using Star Wars action figures, and Vinyl Justice, in which the pair invaded rock stars' homes and searched their record collections for embarrassing records.[3]
Since the end of The Adam and Joe Show, Cornish has continued to work in British television and radio as a presenter, writer and director, both with and without Buxton. He wrote and presented the BBC Radio 4 film programme Back Row between 2002 and 2003.[citation needed]
In 2001, he fronted the topical discussion show This Week Only, alongside Nick Frost and Lauren Laverne.
In 2007, he and Buxton began presenting Adam and Joe, a radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music. This was put on hold during 2010 while Cornish directed Attack the Block; a new series began on Saturday 2 April 2011.
Cornish has made a number of behind the scenes documentaries/video diaries. They include Cornish following the making of Little Britain series 2, which was screened on BBC Three and is included on the Little Britain Series 2 DVD; a video diary of his brief cameo as a zombie, which appears on the UK Shaun of the Dead DVD; and Hot Fuzz: The Fuzzball Rally, where he followed his friends and collaborators, Edgar Wright, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg on the US press tour for their film Hot Fuzz. There have been two cuts of the Fuzzball Rally: a 28-minute version was included on the Hot Fuzz HD DVD (UK/US) and a 71-minute version was included on both the 3-Disc Collectors Edition DVD (US) and the Blu-ray Disc (US/UK) of Fuzz. The documentary caused the latter's certification to be changed from a 15 certificate to an 18 certificate, due to the very strong language the documentary contains.
He made a brief appearance in Hot Fuzz as a white suited and bemasked Scenes-of-Crime Officer named "Bob". In 2017, he made a cameo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi alongside Wright, where both played Resistance fighters.[4]
In 2006, he was announced as co-writer on a feature film adaptation of the Marvel Comics comic book character Ant-Man, with Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright. Both Wright and Cornish received story by and screenplay credit on the finished film, after Wright's departure from the project in 2014. Wright and Cornish also rewrote Steven Moffat's script for The Adventures of Tintin co-starring Simon Pegg, for Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.[5] In November 2013, Cornish was tipped to be J. J. Abrams' lead choice for director of the upcoming Star Trek Beyond.[6] However, Roberto Orci was ultimately chosen to direct, before leaving the project in late 2014.[7]
In December 2020, the popular middle grade thriller series Lockwood & Co. was announced to be going to Netflix, adapted by Cornish.[8]
Cornish has continued his work in television comedy, directing parts of the pilot of Modern Toss, and the pilot to Channel 4's Blunder. According to an interview in Word Magazine, he pulled out of directing the series of Blunder due to creative differences with Channel 4 and the production company. In early 2007, he directed the video for Charlotte Hatherley's single "I Want You to Know".
On 13 May 2011, Optimum Releasing released Attack the Block, Cornish's directorial debut, which was executive produced by his friend and collaborator, Edgar Wright, and produced by Film4, Big Talk Pictures, the UK Film Council and Optimum's French parent company StudioCanal (which would later rebrand Optimum under their name four months after the film's British release). The film is a science fiction action horror comedy set in South London that pitches a gang of youths against an alien invasion. The film initially had no US distributor, but after the reaction of the press and attendees at the SXSW premiere,[9] the US rights were purchased by Screen Gems for theatrical release on 29 July 2011.[10]
Cornish's second film was the fantasy adventure The Kid Who Would Be King, starring Louis Ashbourne Serkis. Filming took place in Tintagel. The film, also featuring Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Ferguson,[11] was released on 25 January 2019.
In June 2012, it was announced that Cornish had been signed as director of a future film adaptation of Neal Stephenson's classic 1992 novel Snow Crash for Paramount Pictures.[12] In May 2020, it was announced that Cornish would direct and write the TV series adaptation of Lockwood & Co. for Netflix.[13][14] In April 2021, it was announced that Cornish would direct and write an adaptation of Starlight for 20th Century Studios.[15] In May 2021, it was announced that Cornish would write, direct, and produce the sequel to Attack the Block.[16]
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Adventures of Tintin | No | Yes | No |
| Attack the Block | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | Ant-Man | No | Yes | No |
| 2019 | The Kid Who Would Be King | Yes | Yes | No |
Cameo roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Notting Hill | Fan Receiving Anna's Autograph | Uncredited |
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | Zombie Shot by Soldiers | |
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | Bob | |
| 2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Resistance Trooper | Uncredited |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Lockwood & Co. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| Adam and Joe |
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| Adam Buxton |
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| Joe Cornish |
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