James Foley (director)

James Foley was an American director of film, television and music videos. His notable works included At Close Range, After Dark, My Sweet, Glengarry Glen Ross, Fear, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. He was a regular collaborator of Madonna during the 1980s, directing her in the film Who's That Girl and in several music videos.

Early life and education

Foley was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, on December 28, 1953, but grew up in Staten Island, New York, the son of a lawyer. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a flagship school of the SUNY system, in 1974, with a degree in psychology. While he initially planned to become a doctor, he decided to pursue filmmaking instead, and went on to earn an MFA in film study and production from the University of Southern California in 1979. During his final year there, director Hal Ashby noticed his student film when it was projected on the wall during a film-school projection party and urged him to write something for Ashby's newly formed production company. The company went broke before Foley finished writing, but the stamp of approval was enough to get his career started with his first directing gig on the low budget 1984 teen drama Reckless. In his own assessment, Foley said: “Because Hal Ashby had hired me, I became viable in that weird calculus of Hollywood just because someone else who was respected thought that I was viable”.

Career

In 1984, Foley made his directorial debut with Reckless, which starred Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. His 1986 film At Close Range was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1990, he wrote and directed After Dark, My Sweet, an adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel of the same name. Film critic Roger Ebert included the film as part of his Great Movies list saying, "After Dark, My Sweet is the movie that eluded audiences; it grossed less than $3 million, has been almost forgotten, and remains one of the purest and most uncompromising of modern film noir. It captures above all the lonely, exhausted lives of its characters." He directed Glengarry Glen Ross, based on the play of the same name by David Mamet, in 1992. The Chamber was based on the novel of the same name by author John Grisham. The Corruptor, his action film starring Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg, was released in 1999.
His 2003 film, Confidence, starred Edward Burns. He directed Perfect Stranger, a thriller film starring Halle Berry, in 2007. His last films were the two sequels to Fifty Shades of Grey: Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
Foley also directed for television, including 12 episodes of the Netflix series House of Cards.
He often collaborated with cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchía, having made five films with him, as well as Madonna's "Live to Tell" music video.

Death

Foley died from brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles, on May 6, 2025, at the age of 71.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Notes
1984	Reckless
1986	At Close Range
1987	Who's That Girl
1990	After Dark, My Sweet	Also writer
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross
1995	Two Bits
1996	Fear
1996	The Chamber
1999	The Corruptor
2003	Confidence
2007	Perfect Stranger
2017	Fifty Shades Darker
2018	Fifty Shades Freed

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1991	Twin Peaks	Episode "Wounds and Scars"
1997	Gun	Episode "The Shot"
2004	Hollywood Division	TV movie
2013	Hannibal	Episode "Sorbet"
2013–2015	House of Cards	12 episodes
2014	Red Zone	TV movie
2015	Wayward Pines	Episode "The Truth"
2016	Billions	Episodes "Short Squeeze" and "The Deal"

Music videos

Besides the film Who's That Girl, Foley directed the following music videos for Madonna :

Foley was also the best man at Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn, although as of 2025, they were not on speaking terms.

Awards and nominations

;Berlin Film Festival

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
1986	At Close Range	Golden Bear Award	Nomitated

;Deauville American Film Festival

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross	Critics Award	Nomitated

;Golden Raspberry Awards

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
1988	Who's That Girl	Worst Director	Nomitated
2018	Fifty Shades Darker	Worst Director	Nomitated
2019	Fifty Shades Freed	Worst Director	Nomitated

;Phoenix Film Festival

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
2003	Career as director and screenwriter	Copper Wing Tribute	Won

;Venice Film Festival

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross	Golden Lion	Nomitated