My Top Favorite Breakthrough Director of 2017
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Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. His second feature, "Us," broke numerous box-office records, becoming the biggest opening for an R-rated original film in history when released in March of 2019 to widespread critical praise. Peele's third feature, the original horror epic, "Nope," opened in the summer of 2022 to rave reviews, the No. 1 slot at the box office, and once again becoming a widely discussed cultural phenomenon. Five years in the making, Peele produced and co-wrote Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature, "Wendell & Wild," to which he also lent his voice as one of the title characters. Under the Monkeypaw banner, Peele co-wrote and produced Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" which made history as the first film helmed by a Black woman director to open at No. 1 at the box office. He also produced Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which earned a nomination for Best Picture and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also served as executive producer for numerous television series, including "Hunters" (Amazon), "Lovecraft Country" (HBO), and "The Twilight Zone" (CBS). Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Peele was a celebrated comedian who was the co-star and co-creator of "Key & Peele" on Comedy Central.Get Out- Actress
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- Director
Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut with the critically acclaimed comedy-drama film Lady Bird (2017), which she also wrote, and has also had starring roles in the films Damsels in Distress (2011), Jackie (2016), and 20th Century Women (2016).
Greta Celeste Gerwig was born in Sacramento, California, to Christine Gerwig (née Sauer), a nurse, and Gordon Gerwig, a financial consultant and computer programmer. She has German, Irish, and English ancestry. Gerwig was raised as a Unitarian Universalist, but also attended an all-girls Catholic school. She has described herself as "an intense child". With an early interest in dance, she intended to get a degree in musical theatre in New York. She graduated from Barnard College in NY, where she studied English and philosophy, instead. Originally intending to become a playwright, after meeting young film director Joe Swanberg, she became the star of a series of intellectual low budget movies made by first-time filmmakers, a trend dubbed "mumblecore".
Gerwig was cast in a minor role in Swanberg's LOL (2006) in 2006, while still studying at Barnard. She then appeared in many of Swanberg's films, and personally co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced one entitled Nights and Weekends (2008). She has worked with good quality directors such as Ti West (The House of the Devil (2009)), Whit Stillman (Damsels in Distress (2011)), or Woody Allen (To Rome with Love (2012)) but success and (international) recognition did not come until Frances Ha (2012), directed by Noah Baumbach, a film she also co-wrote. Both tall and immature, awkward and graceful, blundering and candid, annoying and engaging, Greta has won all hearts in the title role of Frances Ha(liday).
In 2017, she wrote and directed the highly acclaimed, semi-autobiographical teen movie Lady Bird (2017), set in 2002-2003, and starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Timothée Chalamet.
In 2011, Gerwig received an award for Acting from the Athena Film Festival for her artistry as one of Hollywood's definitive screen actresses of her generation.Lady Bird- Visual Effects
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- Producer
With an exceptional background in VFX and a fluency in music production, Gracey has consistently brought a fresh - often viral - approach to his projects that seizes the audience's imagination. He credits this specific combination to an early exposure to musical theatre at home and a gap year spent working at Animal Logic. As the youngest animator and visual effects compositors at the company, Michael has always been on the pulse of emerging technology and their potential influence on the creative industry.
His first decade in the industry demonstrated an incredible pivot from VFX to the director for many music videos and commercials. He has received almost every major commercial award for his vision behind spots like Evian "Roller Babies", Cillit Bang's "The Mechanic" and the flashmob phenomenon "Dance" for T-Mobile.
Most notably, Michael Gracey made his feature film debut in 2017 with worldwide success, The Greatest Showman starring, Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya. He followed this great achievement as executive producer on Elton John's biopic Rocketman and is due to release his sophomore film, Better Man - the musical biopic on Robbie Williams.The Greatest Showman- Producer
- Director
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Matt Spicer was born on 10 June 1984 in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Ingrid Goes West (2017), It's Not You It's Me (2013) and The Adventurer's Handbook. He has been married to Sarah Ramos since 25 October 2020.Ingrid Goes West- Director
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- Composer
Geremy Jasper was born on 9 November 1975 in New Jersey, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Patti Cake$ (2017), Shortbus (2006) and O'Dessa.Patti Cake$- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Jay Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the son of Robyne (Ropell), a freelance writer, and Serge Victor Baruchel, an antiques dealer. He has a younger sister who also acts. He started acting in 1995 when he made his first of three appearances on the hit show Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990). He was also in more localized shows such as My Hometown (1996) and Popular Mechanics for Kids (1997).
Baruchel had spent some downtime and finally got a chance to be in a classic film called Almost Famous (2000) in 2000. He played "Vic", a devout fan of Led Zeppelin. Judd Apatow soon had a show in the works and Baruchel played "Steven Karp" on Undeclared (2001). He also had the chance to star alongside actors such as Ian Somerhalder and James Van Der Beek as "Harry" in The Rules of Attraction (2002). Things began to slow down a bit after a couple more failed shows. He came back as the courageous "Danger Barch" in Million Dollar Baby (2004). He has also appeared in many independent films, such as Fetching Cody (2005), Just Buried (2007) and Real Time (2008).
He was also in many successful American comedy films. He was the lead in She's Out of My League (2010) and played one of Seth Rogen's best friends (which he really is) in the movie Knocked Up (2007). He also made his mark in family-friendly films such as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), playing the unlikely "Viking Hiccup" and also played the title role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) alongside his newly-found kindred spirit, actor Nicolas Cage.
Baruchel lived his dream as he worked on the hockey comedy Goon (2011), and is working on many other films that are what he considers to be passion projects.Goon: Last of the Enforcers- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Chris McKay was born on 11 November 1973 in Winter Park, Florida, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Renfield (2023), The Tomorrow War (2021) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017).The Lego Batman Movie- Actor
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- Director
Since graduating from the National Institute Of Dramatic Art in 1998 he has played lead roles in film, television and on stage. His feature films include 'Looking For Alibrandi', 'My Mother Frank', 'The Bet', 'Bitter and Twisted', 'Blurred', 'The Great Raid' and 'Queen Of The Damned'. He has worked extensively on television including the critically acclaimed mini-series 'Changi' (for which he was nominated for the Silver Logie Award). His theatre roles include Tony in 'Boy Gets Girl' (opposite Miranda Otto), Marcello in 'The White Devil' (opposite Hugo Weaving and Philip Quast), Mosca in 'Volpone' (opposite Barry Otto), Irwin in 'The History Boys' (for which he was nominated for a Helpmann Award) and Jan in the Australian premiere of Tom Stoppard's 'Rock N Roll'.
Matthew was one of the most popular guests on the ground breaking improvisational television show 'Thank God You're Here' and reprized his role as Nick Driscoll in the second season of the cult comedy series 'Stupid, Stupid Man'.
As a singer he has performed on many national broadcasts including 'Carols By Candlelight', 'Studio A' and 'The Big Night In', and put himself through drama school working in the Sydney jazz scene.
Matthew's directorial debut, the underground feature 'right here right now', won Best Film at the Rebelfest International Film Festival in 2006 and his second feature 'three blind mice' (which he also wrote) won the prestigious FIPRESCI Critic's Award at the London Film Festival in 2008.From Nowhere- Actor
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Taran Killam was born on April 1, 1982 in Culver City, California, USA as Taran Hourie Killam. He is an actor, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), The Heat (2013) and 12 Years a Slave (2013). He has been married to Cobie Smulders, since September 8, 2012. They have two children.Killing Gunther- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jason Hall was born on 28 April 1972 in Lake Arrowhead, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for American Sniper (2014), Gran Turismo (2023) and Thank You for Your Service (2017).Thank You For Your Service- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
Lawrence Sher was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Joker (2019), The Hangover (2009) and Garden State (2004).Father Figures- Director
- Art Department
- Writer
Satoshi Kuwabara is known for Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions (2016), Mahoutsukai Reimeiki (2022) and The Quintessential Quintuplets (2019).Yugioh: Dark Side of Dimensions- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Andrew Jay Cohen was born on 6 June 1977 in Scarsdale, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), The House (2017) and Neighbors (2014).The House- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Susan Johnson is a distinguished figure in the world of cinema, known for her multifaceted role as a Film Producer, Writer, and Director. With an impressive portfolio, she has produced 15 independent and studio films and directed over 40 music videos. Susan's feature directorial debut was the award-winning film "Carrie Pilby," starring Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne, and Vanessa Bayer. Her second feature as a director was the critically-acclaimed film "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Jenny Han, which quickly became a Netflix Original sensation and the "most watched film of 2018", according to Netflix.
Susan's contributions to the film industry have been acknowledged with prestigious awards, including an Independent Spirit Award and The Humanitas Award. Her music video work has been recognized by nominations from Billboard, MTV, VH-1, CMT, and the Grammys. Her films have competed at esteemed festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Deauville, Helsinki, London and Toronto, as well as domestic festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, Palm Springs, New York and Los Angeles, among others.
A graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory, where she attended on a full scholarship, Susan is an active member of the DGA, Women in Film, and Film Independent. Susan Johnson's contributions to the world of film continue to make a lasting impact, enriching the industry with her creativity, unwavering dedication, and visionary storytelling.Carrie Pilby- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Mark (DJ Pooh) Jordan has produced records for LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and many others. In the mid-1980's, DJ Pooh co-produced LL Cool J's "Bigger and Deffer" album with his producing partner DJ Bobcat. In 1992, Pooh founded the Bomb Record label, and in only two shot years went on to become an in-demand producer.
Pooh then transitioned into writing, directing, and acting. Utilizing his relationships within the Hip Hop community, Pooh was able to seamlessly integrate the Hip Hop culture into film by writing the hit film "Friday," "3 Strikes," and "The Wash." Pooh was also co-writer and producer on the video game phenomenon "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," and most recently served as the creative consultant on "Grand Theft Auto V" and co-writer of "Grand Theft Auto Online."
Pooh will be writing and directing the film "The Grow House" -- a full-length Urban comedy based on the world of Marijuana.Growing House- Director
- Producer
- Actress
Alethea Jones is known for Mrs. Davis (2023), Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (2023) and Evil (2019).Fun Mom Dinner- Additional Crew
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- Producer
Morgan Dameron is known for Different Flowers (2017), Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).Different Flowers- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Lawrence "Dave" McCary was born on July 2, 1985 in San Diego, California to Diane Lee McCary (née Phillips) & Gary Lee McCary. He works as a segment director for Saturday Night Live (1975). During college he formed a sketch comedy group, Good Neighbor. In 2007, McCary came together with Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Nick Rutherford to form the sketch comedy group, Good Neighbor. The group received personal acknowledgments from Steven Spielberg and comedian Louis C.K. Prior to landing on SNL, Good Neighbor had just finished filming a Comedy Central pilot, The Good Neighbor Show, that was produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay via their company Gary Sanchez. SNL reportedly had to work with Comedy Central to get them out of their contract so they could join the long-running sketch show. During this time, McCary directed the first two seasons of Epic Rap Battles of History. McCary joined Saturday Night Live for its thirty-ninth season as a segment director along with Good Neighbor co-founders, Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett, who joined as featured players, and Nick Rutherford, who joined as a staff writer.Brigsby Bear- Actor
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- Writer
Ken Marino was born on 19 December 1968 in Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Wanderlust (2012), The State (1993) and The Ten (2007). He has been married to Erica Oyama since 8 October 2005. They have two children.How To Be a Latin Lover- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Pat Healy was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Better Call Saul (2015) and George & Tammy (2022). He has been married to Maggie Mull since March 2024.Take Me- Director
- Writer
- Composer
Miles Joris-Peyrafitte was born on 2 September 1992 in Albany, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for As You Are (2016), The Good Mother (2023) and Gaslight (2019).As You Are- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Marti Noxon was born on 25 August 1964 in California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Sharp Objects (2018) and To the Bone (2017).To The Bone- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Frank Lotito is an award-winning international Director and Producer. His Directing credits include the feature film Growing up Smith starring Jason Lee and the 3rd instalment of the Australian box office hit, The Wog Boy - Wog Boys Forever.
Frank has worked in Australia, Europe, and the US with production credits, including The Phone, an 8 part series for Fox, and numerous cooking shows for Lifestyle foods. He has also produced American feature films, The Lookalike, starring Justin Long and Jerry O'Connell and Broken Ghost with Scottie Thompson.Growing up Smith- Director
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter. She attended film school at La Fémis in Paris, where she studied screenwriting. In 2011, her short film JUNIOR won the Petit Rail d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature, the horror movie Raw (2016), won the coveted FIPRESCI prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.Raw- Actor
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- Director
English film actor, director and author Andy Serkis is known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for such computer-generated characters as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), the eponymous King Kong in the 2005 film, Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), Captain Haddock / Sir Francis Haddock in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). Serkis earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for his portrayal of serial killer Ian Brady in the British television film Longford (2006), and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of new wave and punk rock musician Ian Dury in the biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010). In 2015, he had a small role in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Serkis has his own motion capture workshop, The Imaginarium Studios in London, which he will use for his directorial debut, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018).
Andrew Clement G. Serkis was born April 20, 1964, in Ruislip Manor, West London, England. He has three sisters and a brother. His father, Clement Serkis, an ethnic Armenian whose original family surname was Serkissian, was a medical doctor working abroad, in Iraq; the Serkis family spent time around the Middle East, and for the first ten years of his life, Andy traveled between Baghdad and London. His mother, Lylie (Weech), who is British-born, was busy working as a special education teacher of handicapped children, so Andy and his four siblings were raised with au pairs in the house. Young Serkis wanted to be an artist; he was fond of painting and drawing, and visualized himself working behind the scenes. He attended St. Benedict's School, a Roman Catholic School for boys at the Benedictine Abbey in London. Serkis studied visual arts at Lancaster University in the north-west of England. There, he became involved in mechanical aspects of the theatre and did stage design and set building for theatrical productions. Then, Serkis was asked to play a role in a student production, and made his stage debut in Barrie Keeffe's play, "Gotcha"; thereafter, he switched from stage design to acting, which was a real calling that transformed his life.
Instead of going to an acting college, Serkis, in 1985, began his professional acting career at the Duke's Playhouse in Lancaster, where he was given an Equity card and performed in fourteen plays, one after another, as an apprentice of Jonathan Petherbridge. After that, he worked in touring theatre companies, doing it for no money, fueled by a sense of enthusiasm, moving to a new town every week. He has thus appeared in a host of popular plays and on almost every renowned British stage. In 1989, he appeared in a stage production of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", so beginning his long association with the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, where he would return many times, to appear in "She Stoops to Conquer", "Your Home in the West" and the "True Nature of Love", among other plays. In the 1990s, Serkis began to make his mark on the London stage, appearing at the Royal Court Theatre as "The Fool" in "King Lear", making his interpretation of "The Fool" as the woman that "Lear", a widower, could relate to - a man, in drag, as a Victorian musician. He also appeared as "Potts" in the hit play, "Mojo", playing in front of full houses and earning huge critical success. In 1987, Serkis made his debut on television, and he acted in several major British TV miniseries throughout the 1990s.
In 1999, Andy Serkis landed the prize role of "Gollum" in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's saga, "The Lord of the Rings". He spent four years in the part and received awards and nominations for his performance as "Gollum", a computer-generated character in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), which won 11 Oscars. "Gollum" was the collaborative team's effort around Serkis's work in performance capture - an art form based on CGI-assisted acting. Serkis's work was an interactive performance in a skin-tight CGI suit with markers allowing cameras to track and register 3D position for each marker. Serkis' every nuance was picked up by several cameras positioned at precisely calculated angles to allow for the software to see enough information to process the image. The images of Serkis' performances were translated into the digital format by animators at Weta Digital studio in New Zealand. There, his image was key-frame animated and then edited into the movie, Serkis did have one scene in "The Return of the King" showing how he originally had the ring, killing another hobbit to posses it after they found it during a fishing trip. He drew from his three cats clearing fur balls out of their throats to develop the constricted voice he produced for "Gollum" and "Sméagol", and it was also enhanced by sound editing in post-production.
Serkis spent almost two years in New Zealand and away from his family, and much of 2002 and 2003 in post-production studios for large periods of time, due to complexity of the creative process of bringing the character of "Gollum" to the screen. Serkis had to shoot two versions for every scene; one version was with him on camera, acting with (chiefly) Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, which served both to show Wood and Astin the moves so that they could precisely interact with the movements of "Gollum", and to provide the CGI artists the subtleties of Gollum's physical movements and facial expressions for their manual finishing of the animated images. In the other version, he'd go the voice off-camera, as Wood and Astin repeated their movements as though "Gollum" were there with them; that take would be the basis for inserting the CGI Gollum used in the released movie. In post-production, Serkis was doing motion-capture wearing a skintight motion capture suit with CGI gear while acting as a virtual puppeteer redoing every single scene in the studio. Additional CGI rotomation was done by animators using the human eye instead of the computer to capture the subtleties of Serkis' performance. Serkis also used this art form in his performance as "Kong" in King Kong (2005), which won him a Toronto Film Critics Association Award (2005) for his unprecedented work helping to realize the main character in "King Kong", and a Visual Effects Society Award (2006) for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture.
Apart from his line of CGI-driven characters, Serkis continued with traditional acting in several leading and supporting roles, such as his appearances as "Richard Kneeland" opposite Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30 (2004), and "Alley" opposite David Bowie in The Prestige (2006), among other film performances. On television, he starred as 'Vincent Van Gogh' in the sixth episode of Simon Schama's Power of Art (2006), the BBC2 series about artists. Serkis is billed as "Capricorn" in the upcoming adventure film, Inkheart (2008). At the same time, he continued the development of performance capture while expanding his career into computer games. He starred as "King Bothan" in the martial arts drama, Heavenly Sword (2007), a Playstation 3 title, for which he provided a basis for his in-game face and also acts as a dramatic director on the project.
Andy Serkis married actress and singer Lorraine Ashbourne, and the couple have three children: daughter Ruby Serkis (born in 1998), and two sons Sonny Serkis (born in 2000) and Louis Ashbourne Serkis (born on 19 June 2004), who is now also a movie star. Away from acting, Andy Serkis is an accomplished amateur painter. Since his school years at Lancaster, being so close to the Lake District, Serkis developed his other passion in life: mountaineering. He is a pescetarian. Serkis has been active in charitable causes, such as The Hope Foundation, which provides essential life-saving medical aid for children suffering from Leukemia and children from countries devastated by war. In October 2006, he was a presenter at the first annual British Academy Video Games Awards at the Roundhouse, London. Andy Serkis lives with his family in North London, England.Breathe- Actress
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- Producer
Alexi Pappas was born on 28 March 1990 in Alameda, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Tracktown (2016), Olympic Dreams (2019) and Not an Artist (2023).Tracktown- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Aaron Sorkin grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City where he was very involved in his high school drama and theater club. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, Sorkin intended to pursue a career in acting. It took him only a short time to realize that his true love, and his true talent, lay in writing. His first play, "Removing All Doubt", was not an immediate success, but his second play, "Hidden in This Picture", debuted in 1988 at the West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar. A longer version of "Hidden in This Picture", called "Making Movies", opened at the Promenade Theater in 1990. Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Sorkin was about to break into the spotlight. In 1989, he received the prestigious Outer Critics Circle award as Outstanding American Playwright for the stage version of A Few Good Men (1992), which was later nominated for a Golden Globe. The idea for the plot of "A Few Good Men" came from a conversation with his older sister, Deborah. Deborah was a Navy Judge Advocate General lawyer sent to Guantanamo Bay on a case involving Marines accused of killing a fellow Marine. Deborah told Aaron of the case and he spent the next year and a half writing a Broadway play, which later led to the movie. Sorkin has gone on to write for many movies and TV shows. Besides A Few Good Men (1992), he has written The American President (1995) and Malice (1993), as well as cooperating on Enemy of the State (1998), The Rock (1996) and Excess Baggage (1997). In addition, he was invited by Steven Spielberg to "polish" the script of Schindler's List (1993). Sorkin's TV credits include the Golden Globe-nominated The West Wing (1999) and Sports Night (1998).Molly's Game- Director
- Art Department
- Writer
Charlie Bean was born on 10 August 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Lady and the Tramp (2019), The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) and Tron: Uprising (2012).The Lego Ninjago Movie- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Lima, Peru de Montreuil is a feature film and commercial director currently residing in Los Angeles. In his youth, he studied painting at the Trujillo Fine Arts School and later he was trained by the renowned Peruvian painter, Pedro Azabache. De Montreuil graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BA in Graphic Design, an MA in Graphic Design and a minor in Film and Art History. He later studied directing under Judith Weston in Los Angeles. For his first short film, Amiga, de Montreuil received a Creative Achievement Award at the Festival du Film de Paris and was the recipient of a Jury Selection prize at the Biarritz Film Festival. His debut feature film, La Mujer de mi Hermano (My Brother's Wife), based on a novel by the controversial Peruvian author, Jaime Bayly, was acquired by distributors Twentieth Century Fox for distribution in Latin America, and by Lionsgate for US theatrical distribution. My Brother's Wife is one of the most successful films in the history of Latin American exhibition and enjoyed both the largest release and biggest opening weekend box-office for a Latin film in the US at the time. His next film, Mancora was selected for competition in the World Drama category at the Sundance Film Festival 2008 and screened at SXSW at Edinburgh International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival and Bergen International Film Festival. De Montreuil recently directed the feature film, Lowriders for Universal Pictures, produced by Brian Grazer and Jason Blum, starring academy award nominee Demian Bichir. He has in development a feature version of his short film, The Raven with Mark Wahlberg producing, The Omega with One Race's Samantha Vincent, Eon with Zucker Productions, Daniel with genre producer, Steven Schneider and the TV series, Aztlan with Michael Connolly, Cartoon, Estevan Oriol and George Lopez.Lowriders- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Brian Fee was born on 29 January 1975 in Siskiyou County, California, USA. He is known for Cars 3 (2017), WALL·E (2008) and Lightyear (2022).Cars 3- Composer
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- Director
David Singer is a Filmmaker and Composer based in Chicago, IL. His first feature, Imperfections, will have its World Premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2016. Previously, he wrote and directed his first short film, Advantage: Weinberg, which was selected for the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
David is also a celebrated musician and composer, known for his score for August: Osage County (Winner of 5 Tony Awards) and Of Mice And Men (starring James Franco) on Broadway. His albums are available worldwide.Imperfections- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Gerard McMurray is known for The First Purge (2018), Burning Sands (2017) and Fruitvale Station (2013).Burning Sands- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Eric Summer starts his career in Brittany, France, directing shorts, advertising spots and corporate videos. He produces and directs « Phenomena », a four season series of documentaries. The series, filmed in the USA, have been sold in over 50 countries.
In 1998, he starts directing international TV series (« The New Adventures of Robin Hood », « 25 South », « Dark Realm »...) To this day, Eric has directed 19 TV movies and more than 150 episodes of numerous series, altering genres from thriller to comedy through fantasy and action.
He moves to Montreal, Canada, in 2001 and focuses on screenwriting. He writes his first English speaking script, « Angeline », a feminist thriller with a touch of humor. A French comic books publisher offers him to adapt the story as a graphic novel. « Angeline » becomes a series of four books published from 2004 to 2007. It wins the award for "best comics series" at a main comics Festival in France in December 2006. In 2008, he is called to direct a new TV series for French channel TF1, « Profilage » (« Profiling »). His artistic choices for cast and visual style make this show one of the most innovative for the audience and the press.
After meeting graphic designer Eric Warin in Montreal, Eric Summer writes the story of « Ballerina » (« Leap ! »), an animated movie that he co-directs. The movie is produced by Quad (France) and Caramel Films (Quebec). Released in December 2016 in France, the movie gathers 2 million spectators. In the same time, it starts a very successful international career, be it in Spain, China, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Japan or England,... The movie has been released through The Weinstein Company in the USA, on August 25, 2017.
Settling down in Nashville, TN in 2014, Eric Summer now spares his time between directing and writing. He is developing an new animation movie set in Ireland and just finished the post-production of « Crystal Inferno », an action TV movie starring Claire Forlani & Jamie Bamber...and Eric Warin
Leap- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Scott Zabielski was born in Illinois, USA. Scott is a director and producer, known for Tosh.0 (2009), The Jim Jefferies Show (2017) and Where's the Money (2017). Scott is married to Genevieve Younce Zabielski.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Danny Strong started his career as an actor in numerous classic films and TV shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls, then transitioned into screenwriting, exploding onto the scene with his 2007 script Recount which was #1 on the Hollywood Blacklist and became an award winning HBO Film. Since then he has become a prolific film and TV writer, director and producer, garnering numerous awards for various projects, including two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two WGA awards, a PGA Award, and the Peabody Award.
Through out his career he has shown a wide range and versatility moving between mediums and genres with films like the political docudramas Recount and Game Change, the civil rights epic The Butler and the big budget action blockbusters Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part I and II). He co-created the smash hit TV show Empire which won him the NAACP Image Award and he produced the civil rights drama The Best of Enemies starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell. He has also written numerous theater projects having made his theatrical debut with a new book to the musical Chess that premiered at the Kennedy Center.
Strong transitioned into directing with several episodes of Empire. He made his feature directorial debut with Rebel in the Rye that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by IFC Films. Over the years he has continued his acting career with recurring roles in many highly acclaimed TV shows including Mad Men, Girls, Justified, Billions and The Right Stuff. He grew up in Manhattan Beach, California and attended the USC School of Dramatic Arts.Rebel in the Rye- Actress
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- Director
Hallie Meyers-Shyer was born on 26 July 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Home Again (2017).Home Again- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Xavier Manrique is known for Who Invited Charlie? (2022), Chronically Metropolitan (2016) and Collateral Beauty (2016).Chronically Metropolitan- Director
- Producer
William Oldroyd is known for Lady Macbeth (2016), Eileen (2023) and Best (2014). He has been married to Romana Londi since October 2023.Lady Macbeth- Producer
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- Director
Michael Carney is known for Same Kind of Different as Me (2017).Same Kind of Different As Me- Director
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- Producer
Maggie Betts is an American screenwriter and film director. Born and raised in New York City, she attended Princeton University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She is the daughter of Roland Betts (a real estate developer) and Lois Betts. In 2017, Maggie won the Breakthrough Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival for her feature debut, "Novitiate".Novitiate