Most directors with few movies to their credit might well be daunted by the challenge of bringing an awards-laden Broadway musical to the screen, not least when it addresses teen sexuality, rape, abortion, masturbation and death by suicide. But the film-maker known as McG (full name Joseph McGinty Nichol) is rising to the task, taking on the movie of Spring Awakening, the rock opera set in 19th-century Germany and based on the controversial play by Frank Wedekind.

Then again, it might seem like a breeze to McG after directing Terminator: Salvation, which opens here on June 3rd, and dealing with the widely publicised on-set tantrums of its star, Christian Bale.

A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, McG has directed award-winning music videos for Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth, along with the two Charlie's Angelsmovies and We Are Marshall,featuring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox, which went directly to DVD here.

mdwyer@irishtimes.com