Film Directors Graduated at CalArts
A list of the most remarkable Alumni of the School of Film and Video, Directing program, Character Animation
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- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Timothy Walter Burton was born in Burbank, California, to Jean Rae (Erickson), who owned a cat-themed gift shop, and William Reed Burton, who worked for the Burbank Park and Recreation Department. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons, and watching old movies (he was especially fond of films with Vincent Price). When he was in the ninth grade, his artistic talent was recognized by a local garbage company, when he won a prize for an anti-litter poster he designed. The company placed this poster on all of their garbage trucks for a year. After graduating from high school, he attended California Institute of the Arts. Like so many others who graduated from that school, Burton's first job was as an animator for Disney.
His early film career was fueled by almost unbelievable good luck, but it's his talent and originality that have kept him at the top of the Hollywood tree. He worked on such films as The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985), but had some creative differences with his colleagues. Nevertheless, Disney recognized his talent, and gave him the green light to make Vincent (1982), an animated short about a boy who wanted to be just like Vincent Price. Narrated by Price himself, the short was a critical success and won several awards. Burton made a few other short films, including his first live-action film, Frankenweenie (1984). A half-hour long twist on the tale of Frankenstein, it was deemed inappropriate for children and wasn't released. But actor Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) saw Frankenweenie (1984), and believed that Burton would be the right man to direct him in his first full-length feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The film was a surprise success, and Burton instantly became popular. However, many of the scripts that were offered to him after this were essentially just spin-offs of the film, and Burton wanted to do something new.
For three years, he made no more films, until he was presented with the script for Beetlejuice (1988). The script was wild and wasn't really about anything, but was filled with such artistic and quirky opportunities, Burton couldn't say no. Beetlejuice (1988) was another big hit, and Burton's name in Hollywood was solidified. It was also his first film with actor Michael Keaton. Warner Bros. then entrusted him with Batman (1989), a film based on the immensely popular comic book series of the same name. Starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, the film was the most financially successful film of the year and Burton's biggest box-office hit to date. Due to the fantastic success of his first three films, he was given the green light to make his next film, any kind of film he wanted. That film was Edward Scissorhands (1990), one of his most emotional, esteemed and artistic films to date. Edward Scissorhands (1990) was also Burton's first film with actor Johnny Depp. Burton's next film was Batman Returns (1992), and was darker and quirkier than the first one, and, while by no means a financial flop, many people felt somewhat disappointed by it. While working on Batman Returns (1992), he also produced the popular The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), directed by former fellow Disney Animator Henry Selick. Burton reunited with Johnny Depp on the film Ed Wood (1994), a film showered with critical acclaim, Martin Landau won an academy award for his performance in it, and it is very popular now, but flopped during its initial release. Burton's subsequent film, Mars Attacks! (1996), had much more vibrant colors than his other films. Despite being directed by Burton and featuring all-star actors including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan and Michael J. Fox, it received mediocre reviews and wasn't immensely popular at the box office, either.
Burton returned to his darker and more artistic form with the film Sleepy Hollow (1999), starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Casper Van Dien. The film was praised for its art direction and was financially successful, redeeming Burton of the disappointment many had felt by Mars Attacks! (1996). His next film was Planet of the Apes (2001), a remake of the classic of the same name. The film was panned by many critics but was still financially successful. While on the set of Planet of the Apes (2001), Burton met Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he has two children. Burton directed the film Big Fish (2003) - a much more conventional film than most of his others, it received a good deal of critical praise, although it disappointed some of his long-time fans who preferred the quirkiness of his other, earlier films. Despite the fluctuations in his career, Burton proved himself to be one of the most popular directors of the late 20th century. He directed Johnny Depp once again in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), a film as quirky anything he's ever done.- Producer
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James Mangold is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Films he has directed include Girl, Interrupted (1999), Walk the Line (2005), which he also co-wrote, the 2007 remake 3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Wolverine (2013), and Logan (2017).
Mangold also wrote and directed Cop Land (1997), starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Liotta.- Art Department
- Director
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Mark Andrews was born on 12 September 1968 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Brave (2012), John Carter (2012) and Circle of Stone (2020).- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Although born in Hollywood, John and his twin sister Johanna were raised in Whittier near Los Angeles. His parents were Jewell Mae (Risley), an art teacher, and Paul Eual Lasseter, a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership. His mother's profession contributed to his interest in animation and particularly the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons which he would watch on television. It was when he was in High School that he realized that he could have a career in animation and he wrote to the Walt Disney Studios but nothing happened then In 1975 the Disney company started an animation course at Calarts - The California Institute of the Arts- and John, with encouragement from his mother, was one of the first to sign up. He and his class mates, who included the future animators and directors Brad Bird, and Tim Burton were taught by some of Disney's veteran animators such as Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. During his time there John produced two animated shorts - Lady and the Lamp (1979) and Nitemare (1980) - which both won the Student Academy Award for Animation. On graduating in 1979 John was taken on as an animator at the Disney Studios. In 1983, while working on Mickey's Christmas Carol some friends invited him to see some footage of Tron that they were working on using CGI and he immediately saw the potential of it to enhance animated films. John and a colleague made a short test film and satisfied with the result and full of enthusiasm started work on a feature without consulting their superiors who when they found out about it canceled it and sacked John. Having made contacts in the computer industry he was quickly taken on by Lucasfilm which was bought by Steve Jobs for $5 million with a further $5 million invested as working capital and the company renamed Pixar. John soon convinced Steve that the future lay in computer animation by bringing his desk lamp to life in the short 'Luxor Jr' which was shown at a computer graphics conference and got a standing ovation. The first computer animated feature soon followed in the form of 'Toy Story' winning John an Oscar for Special Achievement to go with one he got for Animated Short Film - Tin Toy. He's also had Oscar nominations for Animated Feature - Monster Inc and Cars, Original Screenplay -Toy Story, Animated Short Story - Luxor Jr while the short Knick Knack was selected by Terry Gilliam as one of the best 10 animated films of all time. In 2008, he was honored with the Winsor McCay Award, - the lifetime achievement award for animators. He oversees 3 animation studios - Pixar, Disney Animation and DisneyToon He spent 9 year (2005 - 2014) on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, only relinquishing his seat due to term limits. He was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood in November 2011.- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and Cosima. She was previously married to Spike Jonze.- Animation Department
- Director
- Visual Effects
Kyle Balda is a BAFTA nominated feature animation director working in the industry for 30 years, most notably with Illumination Entertainment and Pixar Animation Studios. He began his career in early 90s after studying at Calarts to join the crew of Industrial Light and Magic where he animated on such films as The Mask, Mars Attacks! and as supervising animator on Jumanji.
After animating the Grim Reaper for Peter Jackson's The Frighteners at Weta Digital in New Zealand, Kyle returned to California to work at Pixar on A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc and as directing animator of Toy Story 2. Following a number of years conducting Masterclasses at renowned film schools worldwide and directing short form animation projects, Balda returned to feature production in Paris as the head of layout for Illumination's Despicable Me followed by a co-directing position on The Lorax and directing roles (with directing partner Pierre Coffin) on Minions and Despicable Me 3.
Kyle's latest film is Minions: The Rise of Gru.- Bruce Berman is Chairman and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures. The company has a successful joint partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures to co-produce a wide range of motion pictures, with all films distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Under the Village Roadshow Pictures banner, Berman has executive produced such wide-ranging successes as Clint Eastwood's Oscar® nominated "American Sniper," starring Bradley Cooper; the animated adventure "The Lego Movie," directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller; director Baz Luhrmann's box office hit "The Great Gatsby," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire; director Guy Ritchie's hit action-adventure "Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law and its sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,"; the "Ocean's," series starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney; the acclaimed drama "Gran Torino," directed by and starring Clint Eastwood; the blockbuster "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith; and George Miller's Oscar® winning animated adventure "Happy Feet."
Berman's upcoming credits include George Miller's post-apocalyptic action-adventure "Mad Max: Fury Road," starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron; Brad Peyton's action-thriller "San Andreas," and starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; Ron Howard's action-adventure "In the Heart of the Sea," based on the Nathaniel Philbrick's bestseller about the dramatic true journey of the whaling ship Essex starring Chris Hemsworth; and "Concussion," a National Football League sports drama starring Will Smith.
Berman was named Chairman and CEO of VRP in February 1998. Previously, he spent 14 years at Warner Bros., joining the company in 1984 as Production Vice President and then serving as Senior Vice President of Production. In September 1989, he was named President of Theatrical Production and two years later, Worldwide President of Theatrical Production. During his tenure at Warner Bros. he produced and distributed numerous films including "Twister," "A Time to Kill," "Batman Forever," "The Fugitive," "The Client," "Outbreak," "Disclosure," "Dave," "The Bodyguard," "Under Siege," "Malcolm X," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Goodfellas," "Presumed Innocent," and the Oscar®-winning Best Picture "Driving Miss Daisy." In May of 1996, Berman started Plan B Entertainment, an independent motion picture company based at Warner Bros.
Berman graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 1975 with a degree in United States History. He also attended Cal Arts Film School and Bennington College. Berman got his start in the motion picture business working with Jack Valenti at the MPAA while attending Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C. After earning his law degree, he landed a job at Casablanca Films in 1978. Moving to Universal, he worked his way up to a production vice president in 1982. - Actor
- Animation Department
- Director
Chris Miller is an American film director, storyboard artist, and voice actor best known for his work with DreamWorks Animation. Following a stint working with Ralph Bakshi on his film Cool World (1992), he would begin his career at DreamWorks as a storyboard artist on films Antz (1998) and Shrek (2001) before being promoted to head of story on Shrek 2 (2004). This led to him becoming the director of two subsequent entries in the franchise, those being Shrek the Third (2007) and Puss in Boots (2011). Miller is also known for his role as Kowalski in the Madagascar film series (except for The Penguins of Madagascar (2008), where he was voiced by Jeff Bennett instead), and has voiced numerous characters in other DreamWorks movies.- Additional Crew
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- Animation Department
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an American director, screenwriter, animator, producer and occasional voice actor, known for both animated and live-action films. Bird was born in Kalispell, Montana, the youngest of four children of Marjorie A. (née Cross) and Philip Cullen Bird. His father worked in the propane business, and his grandfather, Francis Wesley "Frank" Bird, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, was a president and chief executive of the Montana Power Company. On a tour of the Walt Disney Studios at age 11, he announced that someday he would become part of its animation team, and soon afterward began work on his own 15-minute animated short. Within two years, Bird had completed his animation, which impressed the cartoon company. By age 14, barely in high school, Bird was mentored by the animator Milt Kahl, one of Disney's legendary Nine Old Men. Bird recalls Kahl's criticisms as ideal: Kahl would point out shortcomings by gently delivering thoughts on where Bird could improve. After graduating from Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon in 1975, Bird took a three-year break. He was then awarded a scholarship by Disney to attend California Institute of the Arts, where he met and befriended another future animator, Pixar co-founder and director John Lasseter.- Director
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Graduated in Architecture in Rome he gained a Fulbright scholarship and took up studies in film at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. After several short experimental films and documentaries, he made his feature film debut in 2002 with "What you're looking for" (Quello Che Cerchi). "Shelter me" (Riparo) his second feature film opened at the Berlin film festival in 2007 and toured the world afterward in over 100 festivals. The feature documentary "The Color of words" (Il Colore delle Parole) was in competition Orizzonti at the Venice film festival in 2009. "Like the Wind" (Come il Vento), his third feature had its premiere at the Rome Film Festival in 2013. In recent years he directed several documentaries and co-produced young filmmakers first features. He then wrote and directed "The Invisible Thread" (Il filo invisibile) a Netflix Original dramedy widely appreciated by both critics and the public. President of the filmmakers association "Ring" and co-founder of the writers and director guild "100 autori", Puccioni is also an experienced teacher having taught at Fine arts Academy in Perugia and teaching directing at the Volonté film school in Rome.- Director
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- Costume Designer
Anna Biller is a writer and director who creates unique, female-focused, highly visual films. She has a BA from UCLA in art and an MFA from CalArts in art and film. Her first feature Viva played in film festivals all over the world and gained minor cult status, and her second feature The Love Witch won acclaim for its elaborate visual style and feminist themes, and has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide.
The New York Times called The Love Witch "a hothouse filled with deadly and seductive blooms;" The New Yorker called it "a metaphysical astonishment;" Film Comment said, "Biller's sharp film stands in stark contrast to the complacency and crushing safeness of the vast majority of independent films made in the US. Shot in 35mm, her film displays a technical mastery that is glorious to behold;" and The Austin Chronicle said, "Anna Biller has quickly established herself as one of the most exciting filmmakers of the past decade."
In 2017 she won the Trailblazer Award and Best Costume Design at the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards for The Love Witch, and in 2019 she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is listed in a Rotten Tomatoes article as one of "The 21 Masters Of Horror Shaping The Genre Right Now." The Love Witch appeared on many 2016 best-of-year lists, and on Rotten Tomatoes it's ranked as the #40 horror film of all time.- Animation Department
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Chris Buck is an animation film director from Wichita, Kansas. He directed the Disney animated films Tarzan, Frozen, Frozen Fever and Frozen II and Sony Pictures Animation's Surf's Up. He was a supervising animator for Percy, Grandmother Willow and Wiggins for Pocahontas. He won Best Animated Feature for Frozen. He had three children with Shelley Rae Hinton.- Director
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- Producer
Rich Moore was born on 10 May 1963 in Oxnard, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Zootopia (2016) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Q. Allan Brocka's work as a director and screenwriter spans a range of genres in television, animation, live action, documentary, commercial, and feature film. He is best known as the creator, director and showrunner of Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, a prime time animated series starring that ran two seasons on MTV's Logo Network. He has also directed 5 independent feature films, screened at Sundance, Tribeca, and more than 100 film festivals.
Allan was born in Guam and raised all over the world. He earned his master's degree in film at California Institute of the Arts. Since graduating, he has volunteered with the Outfest Los Angeles LGBT film festival as filmmaker, fundraiser, mentor, and even served on its Board of Directors.- Director
- Producer
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Andrew Ahn was born on 10 March 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Spa Night (2016), Andy (2010) and Dol (First Birthday) (2011).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Antonio was born in Sydney, Australia but spent most of his formative years in Europe. He has worked as writer/director in the film industries of Europe, Australia and North America since 1992, when he co-wrote (with Gill Dennis) and directed "On My Own" which screened at Sundance 1993 and was nominated for 6 AFI awards (Australian Oscar Equivalent) and 1 Genie award (Canada's Oscar equivalent). His films have been presented at festivals such as Berlin, Sundance, San Sebastian, Rotterdam, IDFA; and released by companies such as Miramax, Warner Bros., and Lion's Gate. Right after 9-11 Antonio shot a series of documentaries for RAI (Italian TV). That experience led to an on-going collaboration with UNTV (United Nations TV) making documentaries to shed light on under-reported realities in South and Central America, Africa, and Asia. His projects have received the support of IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project), TFI (Tribeca Film Institute),FIND (Film Independent), WEMW (When East Meets West). Antonio is a current member of WGA, East. He is based in NYC.- Director
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- Producer
Kirby Dick is a two time Emmy-award winning and two-time Academy award-nominated documentary film director. His most recent film, The Hunting Ground (2015), a monumental exposé about sexual assault on college campuses, premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, was released by Radius/The Weinstein Company and CNN, is the 2016 recipient of the Producer Guild of America's Stanley Kramer award, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. His previous film, The Invisible War (2012), a groundbreaking investigation into the epidemic of rape within the US military, won two Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the 2012 Independent Spirit Award 2012 for Best Documentary, a Peabody Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He also directed Twist of Faith (2004), the story of a man confronting the trauma of his past sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Other films include Outrage (2009), nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006), a breakthrough investigation of the MPAA's secretive film ratings system, and Derrida (2002), a complex portrait of the world-renowned French philosopher Jacques Derrida. He is the 2012 recipient of the Nestor Almendros Prize for Courage and Filmmaking and the 2013 Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize.- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Production Designer
Ralph Eggleston was born on 18 October 1965 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He was a production designer, known for Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and Inside Out (2015). He died on 28 August 2022 in California, USA.- Producer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rhys Ernst was born on 14 October 1982 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Adam (2019), The Thing (2011) and Transparent (2014).- Director
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- Actor
Michael "Mike" Rianda is an American cartoonist, director, and writer. He is known for his work on the Disney Channel animated series "Gravity Falls (2012)" as a creative director and writer for season 1, and creative consultant for season 2. He is also known for directing, co-writing, and co-starring his feature directorial debut "The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)".- Director
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- Production Manager
David Frankel was born on 2 April 1959 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and producer, known for The Devil Wears Prada (2006), One Chance (2013) and Band of Brothers (2001).- Director
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- Editor
Andrea Pallaoro was born on 6 February 1982 in Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Monica (2022), Medeas (2013) and Hannah (2017).- Animation Department
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- Actor
Doug Sweetland is an American animator/director who helped define Pixar animation on early hits like "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", and "Cars". He is a back-to-back Annie Award winner and his Pixar short, "Presto", was nominated for an Annie and an Oscar. His pitch, "Windy Day", launched Google's highly acclaimed VR series, "Spotlight Stories", and was granted a patent for its advances in virtual storytelling. Doug subsequently directed alongside Nick Stoller ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "The Muppets") to create the highly improvised, alt-comedy cult hit, "Storks". Doug continues his work as a creator in emerging tech. For freelance inquiries, please visit dougsweetland.com.- Director
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Eliza Hittman was born on 1 January 1979 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020), Beach Rats (2017) and It Felt Like Love (2013).- Director
- Production Manager
- Writer
David Irving was born on 25 September 1949 in Santa Clara County, California, USA. He is a director and production manager, known for Rumpelstiltskin (1987), Night of the Cyclone (1990) and The Emperor's New Clothes (1987).