Jon Turteltaub

Jon Turteltaub is an American film and television director and producer whose career has moved between broad comedy, family adventure, and high-concept entertainment. Born on August 8, 1963, in New York City, he studied at Wesleyan University and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California. His father, Saul Turteltaub, was a television writer and producer, including work on Sanford and Son. Turteltaub began directing features with Think Big (1989), a comedy starring the wrestling duo the Barbarian Brothers, and followed it with the children's adventure 3 Ninjas (1992), which became a franchise for young audiences. His breakthrough came with Cool Runnings (1993), inspired by the Jamaican bobsled team's debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics. The film, starring John Candy as coach Irv Blitzer, turned an unlikely sports story into a Disney hit. Turteltaub then directed While You Were Sleeping (1995), a romantic comedy led by Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher; its mistaken-identity premise helped make it a mid-1990s studio success. He pursued dramatic material in Phenomenon (1996), starring John Travolta as an ordinary mechanic who develops extraordinary mental abilities, and in Instinct (1999), a psychological drama featuring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. After The Kid (2000), a fantasy drama pairing Bruce Willis with a younger version of his character, Turteltaub made National Treasure (2004). The Nicolas Cage adventure follows historian and cryptographer Benjamin Franklin Gates as he searches for a hidden national treasure, using clues connected to the Declaration of Independence. Its mixture of historical symbols, puzzles, and chase sequences became a major commercial success. Turteltaub returned for National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), in which Gates investigates the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and attempts to clear an ancestor's name. The sequel featured Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, and Helen Mirren. His later work included The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), a fantasy adventure built around an apprentice recruited by a wizard played by Nicolas Cage, and Last Vegas (2013), a comedy about four longtime friends traveling to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. In 2018, Turteltaub directed The Meg, adapting Steve Alten's novel about a prehistoric megalodon attacking a research station and waters. Jason Statham starred as diver Jonas Taylor, with Li Bingbing and Ruby Rose in supporting roles. Turteltaub has worked in television, directing episodes and serving as an executive producer on projects including Jericho, Harper's Island, and the CBS series Rush.