# Joseph Kosinski

Joseph Kosinski (born May 3, 1974) is an American film director, best known for his computer graphics and computer-generated imagery (CGI) work, and for his work in action films. He has directed the films Tron: Legacy (2010), Oblivion (2013), Only the Brave (2017), Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Spiderhead (2022). His previous work has primarily been with CGI-related television commercials including the "Starry Night" commercial for Halo 3 and the award-winning "Mad World" commercial for Gears of War.

## Life and career

Kosinski grew up in Marshalltown, Iowa, the son of Patricia (née Provost) of French-Canadian (Québec) descent, and Joel Kosinski, a doctor of Polish descent.
His first major film was the special effects-heavy Tron: Legacy. The film was in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D, with a release of December 2010 and grossed $400 million worldwide.
After moving to Los Angeles in 2005, he began writing a film treatment which would eventually develop into an unpublished graphic novel by the title Oblivion for Radical Comics. In August 2010, Walt Disney Pictures acquired the rights to the work. William Monahan worked on the screenplay for a film adaptation. In March 2011, it was reported that Karl Gajdusek would rewrite the screenplay. Attempts to keep the film with a PG rating were unsuccessful, leading to Disney giving up the rights which were acquired by Universal Pictures, and agreed to a PG-13 rating. The $120-million-budgeted Oblivion began filming in March 2012, with Tom Cruise in the lead role, and was released in April 2013 to mixed reviews and grossed $286 million worldwide.
In 2017, he directed Only the Brave, originally titled Granite Mountain, based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (wildland firefighters). In June 2017, it was announced he was set to direct the sequel to Top Gun, titled Top Gun: Maverick, reuniting with Oblivion star Tom Cruise. The film was released in theatres on May 27, 2022, by Paramount Pictures and grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, becoming Cruise's highest-grossing film at the box office.
Kosinski is also directing a Formula One racing film named F1, reteaming with Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, with racing driver Lewis Hamilton also serving as producer. The project, acquired by Apple Studios in June 2022, stars Brad Pitt and will receive an exclusive theatrical run "of at least 30 days" starting internationally on June 25, 2025, and in North America on June 27, 2025, before streaming on Apple TV+.

### Unrealized projects

Kosinski has been attached to several as-of-now-unmade projects, including remakes of '70s science-fiction films Logan's Run and The Black Hole, the science-fiction film Archangels, an untitled action-thriller from Halt and Catch Fire writers Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers, and The Twilight Zone.
Kosinski was confirmed to direct the third Tron film in March 2015, but in May of the same year it was announced that Disney had canceled the project.
Kosinski also signed on to direct a film adaptation of the Gran Turismo video game series for Sony Pictures in March 2015, but in February 2018, it was reported the project was no longer moving forward. The project would eventually be directed by Neill Blomkamp and released in theatres on August 25, 2023.
In June 2020, he was hired to direct the remake of Twister, which was announced by Universal Pictures, the original film's international distributor, but in October 2022, Kosinski stepped down after the project was repurposed into a legacy-sequel, Twisters, and replaced by Lee Isaac Chung as director.

### Academia

Kosinski is an alumnus of Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), and was an adjunct assistant professor of architecture helping students in 3D modeling and graphics. In 2008, he spoke in detail about his education in architecture, pushing the technological envelope in commercials and his eventual progression to feature films.

## Awards

* 2007 AICP Show – Best Visual Effects for the Gears of War commercial "Mad World" – Nominated
* AICP Best Visual Effects Award for his Assassin's Creed "Unity" and Destiny "Become Legend" commercials – Nominated
* Saturn Award for Best Film Director for Top Gun: Maverick – Nominated
* Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for Top Gun: Maverick – Nominated

## Filmography
### Feature film

| Year | Title | Director | Producer |
| 2010 | Tron: Legacy | Yes | No |
| 2013 | Oblivion | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Only the Brave | Yes | No |
| 2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | Yes | No |
| 2022 | Spiderhead | Yes | No |
| 2025 | F1 | Yes | Yes |
Writer
* Oblivion (2013) (Source material)
* Twisters (2024) (Story only)
* F1 (2025) (Story)

### Short film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2008 | TR2N | Yes | No | Teaser for Tron: Legacy |
| 2017 | The Dig | Yes | Yes | Made to demonstrate Sony's CineAlta Venice camera |

### Music video

* "Hold My Hand" – Lady Gaga (2022)

### Commercials

* Nintendo DS – Touch (2004)
* Gears of War – Mad World (2006)
* Halo 3 – Starry Night (2007)
* Saab Aero-X – Blackbird (2007)
* Hummer – Selector (2007)
* Chevrolet – Baby (2008)
* Halo 4 – Awakening (2011)
* Assassin's Creed Unity – Unity (2014)
* Destiny – Become Legend (2014)
* Destiny – Evil's Most Wanted (2015)
* Doom – cinematic trailer (2016)
* Taco Bell – Web of Fries (2018)
* BMW i7 M70 – The Calm (2023)
* Chanel – Who Are You Coco Mademoiselle? (2023)

## Frequent collaborators

* Actor
* Jeff Bridges
* Tom Cruise
* Taylor Kitsch
* Jennifer Connelly
* Jake Picking
* Miles Teller
* Charles Parnell