Kirk Thatcher

Kirk Thatcher
Born Kirk R. Thatcher
(1962-02-14) February 14, 1962
Los Angeles, California
Occupation Writer, producer, director, production designer
Years active 1985–present

Kirk R. Thatcher (born February 14, 1962) is an American writer, producer, television and film director, an internet video director, and a production designer.[1][2]

Personal life

Thatcher was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In high school, he met Joe Johnston, a production designer for Star Wars. Johnston would later work with Thatcher on his first job in the industry, as a technical assistant on the ILM creature crew of Return of the Jedi.

Film

Kirk Thatcher began his career at eighteen, leaving UCLA Film School to work at George Lucas' special effects facility, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Thatcher was the production designer on David Fincher's first music videos and spent over a year creating the look for a number of Rick Springfield and The Motels videos.[3] Subsequently, Thatcher was hired by Leonard Nimoy to associate produce Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He also portrayed "Punk on the Bus", the character who was seen rocking out to the song "I Hate You" in the film, which Thatcher wrote and performed for the film, recording it with sound designer Mark Mangini.[4]

Thatcher's first directorial effort was in 2002, with It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie for NBC, which drew more than 11 million viewers.[5] Thatcher has co-written several Muppet films including Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and directed three television movies, including A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), which premiered at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival.[6]

In 2015, Thatcher directed Turkey Hollow, a Thanksgiving-themed TV movie for The Jim Henson Company which aired on Lifetime.[7][8] Thatcher is also credited as one of the three writers of the film, alongside Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl. Kirk Thatcher makes a cameo appearance as "Punk Rock Guy" in the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming, as a homage to his role as "Punk on Bus" in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Television

Kirk Thatcher was a supervising producer on the Emmy Award-winning ABC series, Muppets Tonight.[9]

Thatcher has also written episodes for the Cartoon Network series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and directed episodes of Nickelodeon's series LazyTown, PBS' Sid the Science Kid, and Comedy Central's Crank Yankers.

In 2014, Kirk Thatcher was seen on the SyFy Network’s series Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge where he appeared in each episode, filling the role of a judge for the competition.

Internet and commercials

Kirk Thatcher has also directed The Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was nominated for and won the "Viral Video" category in the 14th Annual Webby Awards.[10] He has also directed 2015 Muppet Music videos "Jungle Boogie" and "Kodachrome."

References

  1. ↑ "Overview for Kirk R Thatcher". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Team - Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge - Syfy". syfy.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ As he mentioned in a recent interview, he was once a competitive power lifter in high school and college, where known for his ability to lift cars. He has also learned to play the ukulele, which he can be seen holding in numerous interviews for Turkey Hollow. Plume, Kenneth (February 10, 2000). "Interview with Kirk Thatcher (Part 1 of 2)". IGN. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Mr. Know-It-All: Star Trek Teaches Us How Not to Confront Idiots With Loud Earbuds". WIRED. 23 December 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Kirk R. Thatcher". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/206197/Kirk-R-Thatcher
  7. ↑ "Turkey Hollow (2014) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow". myLifetime.com. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Kirk R. Thatcher". Television Academy. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Webby Awards honour Ebert, Twitter, Times". CBC. May 4, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
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