Jonathan Mostow (born November 28, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed films such as Breakdown, U-571, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Surrogates.^[2]

Mostow was born in Woodbridge, Connecticut.^[3] His father George Daniel Mostow was a mathematician, and his mother is a social worker.^[1] He graduated from Harvard University.^[4] He also trained at the American Repertory Company and the Lee Strasberg Institute.^[5] He grew up in a Conservative Jewish household.^[6]

In 1989, Mostow directed a direct-to-video horror comedy, Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers.^[4]

He was originally attached to direct The Game (1997), with Kyle MacLachlan and Bridget Fonda for the lead roles.^[7] However, he ended up being an executive producer of the David Fincher-directed film.^[7] In 1997, he directed Breakdown, a thriller film starring Kurt Russell.^[8] Around the same time, he signed a deal with Universal Pictures.^[9] Both Mostow and Lieberman received a TV deal, via his Mostow/Lieberman Productions company to Studios USA.^[10]

In 2000, Mostow directed a World War II-era submarine film, U-571.^[11] He assembled a cast including Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, TC Carson, and Jon Bon Jovi.^[12] The film topped the U.S. box office chart.^[13]

In 2003, he directed the third installment of The Terminator film series, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[14][15]

Mostow co-wrote a comic book series, The Megas, with John Harrison.^[16] Illustrated by Peter Rubin, it was published on Virgin Comics in 2008.^[16]

He returned to direct another film, Surrogates, in 2009.^[17] Based on the comic book series, it starred Bruce Willis.^[18]

In 2017, he directed The Hunter's Prayer, an action thriller film starring Sam Worthington.^[19]

On October 7, 2018, Mostow married writer Laurie Sandell.^[1] The two met through JDate in 2014.^[1]