McG

Born Joseph McGinty Nichol, he broke into the industry directing music videos for major recording artists throughout the 1990s before moving into glossy studio action-comedies, an unusual career path toward a much darker science fiction franchise entry.

The music-video-turned-Charlie's Angels director pitched Terminator Salvation as a war film first, a robot film second — and shot the whole thing in dust-caked New Mexico. He came from a background directing music videos and glossy studio comedies before taking on the franchise's grittiest, most war-torn installment, a considerable tonal departure from his earlier work.

The film's practical, sand-blasted production design was a deliberate reaction against the sleeker chrome look of earlier sequels, and the production itself became notorious for a leaked on-set audio recording of the director's own frustrated outburst, which briefly overshadowed the film's release.