Aaron Wolf (director)

Last updated

Aaron Wolf
Occupation(s)Director, writer, actor
Website www.howlingwolfproductions.com

Aaron Wolf is an American actor, writer and director best known for the feature documentary Restoring Tomorrow . [1] He is the co-founder and President of Howling Wolf Productions based in Los Angeles, CA.

Contents

Education

Wolf attended New York University. [2] He expanded his acting and improv education later while studying with The Groundlings. [3]

Career

In 2012, Wolf wrote the film Guest House starring Michael Gross, Heather Lind and Mark Gessner. [4] The film is based around real events in Wolf's life, and premiered at the historic TCL Chinese Theater for the HollyShorts Film Festival. [5] [6] In 2014, Wolf's production company, Howling Wolf Productions, produced The Quitter, an indie drama about a former baseball player who attempts to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. [7] In 2014, Wolf wrote, directed and co-starred in The Walk alongside Peter Riegert. [8] The film was adapted from an anecdote written in Rabbi David Wolpe's book "Why Faith Matters." [9]

Restoring Tomorrow

In 2016, Wolf completed Restoring Tomorrow , a documentary on the history and $150 million restoration of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, where Wolf's grandfather Rabbi Alfred Wolf served for 50 years and where Aaron himself attended and was bar mitzvahed. [10] The temple was built in 1929 and was designed in part by designers from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., much like a Hollywood set. [11] Its "false facades" wore over time and the building became in danger of collapsing. In 2011, Rabbi Steven Leder began a campaign to raise money for the temple's restoration and in 2013 the restoration was completed. [12] The documentary includes archival footage as well as interviews with notable public figures such as founder and former CEO of Relativity Media Ryan Kavanaugh. [13] Intertwined in the story of the restoration is Wolf's own rediscovery and reconnection to his temple, his family and to his Jewish faith. [12]

The film premiered in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival on 3 May 2017. [14] Since its premiere, Restoring Tomorrow has been acquired by 7th Art Releasing for sales and distribution. [15] It has received extensive coverage in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, [16] Variety, [15] Guideposts [17] and The Times of Israel. [12]

TAR

Wolf is working on the creature feature TAR. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle Mile, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA

Miracle Mile is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canter's</span> Delicatessen in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Canter's Deli is a Jewish-style delicatessen, opened in 1931 in Boyle Heights, and later moved to the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood. It has been frequented by many movie stars and celebrities.

Leonard J. Goldberg was an American film and television producer. He had his own production company, Panda Productions. He served as head of programming for ABC, and was president of 20th Century Fox. Goldberg was also the executive producer of the CBS series Blue Bloods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilshire Boulevard</span> Major thoroughfare in the United States

Wilshire Boulevard (['wɪɫ.ʃɚ]) is a prominent 15.83 mi (25.48 km) boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal east–west arterial roads of Los Angeles, it is also one of the major city streets through the city of Beverly Hills. Wilshire Boulevard runs roughly parallel to Santa Monica Boulevard from Santa Monica to the west boundary of Beverly Hills. From the east boundary, it runs a block south of Sixth Street to its terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saban Theatre</span> Historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California

The Saban Theatre is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Lee and is considered a classic Los Angeles landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wolpe</span> American rabbi

David J. Wolpe is an American rabbi. He is Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity School and the Max Webb Emeritus Rabbi of Sinai Temple. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA. Wolpe was named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek in 2012, and among the 500 most influential Angelinos in 2016 and 2018. Wolpe now serves as the Inaugural rabbinic fellow for the ADL, and a Senior Advisor for the Maimonides Fund. Wolpe resigned from an advisory group on antisemitism assembled by Harvard President Claudine Gay in December 2023 in response to what Wolpe characterized as a hostile environment to Jews at Harvard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Brea Avenue</span> Thoroughfare in Los Angeles, USA

La Brea Avenue is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles and in Los Angeles County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gindling Hilltop Camp</span> Camp

Gindling Hilltop Camp is a Jewish summer camp administered by Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Malibu, California in Little Sycamore Canyon between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean on a coastal ridge, 750 feet above sea level. The camp serves approximately 120 campers, ages 7–15, and has a staff of about 40. Gindling Hilltop has been described as "the prototype for the American Jewish youth camping movement".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilshire Boulevard Temple</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles, California, US

The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Magnin</span> Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Edgar Magnin was rabbi and spiritual leader of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Magnin served at the temple for 69 years and was considered one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in the United States, sometimes called the "Rabbi to the Stars" because of his close connections to the Hollywood film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinai Temple (Los Angeles)</span> Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue

The Sinai Temple is a Conservative synagogue located at 10400 Wilshire Boulevard, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The Sinai Temple congregation is the oldest and largest Conservative congregation in the greater Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saban Building</span> Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

The Saban Building, formerly the May Company Building, on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles, is a celebrated example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The building's architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., also designed the Million Dollar Theater and Los Angeles City Hall. The May Company Building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The building was operated as a May Company department store from 1939 until the store's closure in 1992, when May merged with J. W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May. The building has been the home of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Emanuel (Beverly Hills, California)</span> Reform Judaism synagogue in Beverly Hills, California, US

Temple Emanuel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 300 North Clark Drive, in Beverly Hills, California, in the United States.

Abram Wolf Edelman (1832-1907) was a Polish-born American rabbi. He was the first rabbi in Los Angeles, California, serving as the first rabbi of Congregation B'nai B'rith, from 1862 to 1885. It is now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey J. Fields</span> American Reform rabbi

Harvey J. Fields (1935–2014) was an American Reform rabbi. He served as the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, the largest synagogue in Canada, from 1978 to 1982. He then served as the rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles, from 1985 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Newmark</span>

Joseph Newmark (1799–1881) was a Prussian-American businessman in New York City and Los Angeles and a member of the Newmark family of Southern California. He helped found Jewish congregations in both cities and later became an ordained rabbi.

Max Webb was a Polish-born American real estate developer and philanthropist from Los Angeles, California. A Holocaust survivor born to a Jewish family, he was the co-founder of one of the largest real estate development companies in Southern California. He supported charitable causes in the United States and Israel.

Alfred Wolf (1915–2004) was a German-born American rabbi.

<i>Restoring Tomorrow</i> 2017 American film

Restoring Tomorrow is a 2017 documentary film directed by Aaron Wolf that recounts the history and the restoration of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, California.

Steve Leder is an American rabbi, scholar, author and Jewish community leader. Twice-named in Newsweek Magazine's list of the ten most influential rabbis in America, Steve Leder is the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, which serves approximately 2,400 families at three campuses. Rabbi Leder joined Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 1987, and succeeded Rabbi Harvey J. Fields as Senior Rabbi in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "MBIFF 12 Results". Myrtle Beach Film Festival. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Groves, Martha (29 November 2015). "Documentary-maker rediscovers Judaism, family, self". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Allen, Tracy. "Interview With 'Tar' Writer/Director Aaron Wolf". Pop Horror. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Pace, Terry (28 February 2014). "UNA Screens Award-Winning GUEST HOUSE, Welcomes Director and Star for 17th Annual Lindsey Festivities". University of North Alabama. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Nash, Rebecca (5 October 2013). "Landmark Alumni Visit to Discuss Careers in Film Industry". Landmark College. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Aaron Wolf "Guest House" @ Opening Night 9th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival #HSFF @HowlingWolfProd" (Video). Youtube. Red Carpet Report. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Scheck, Frank (11 September 2014). "'The Quitter': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Lightening, S.M. (11 August 2014). "Peter Riegert Stars in Rabbi David Wolpe's 'The Walk'". Jewish Business News. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Henerson, Evan (19 November 2013). "'Walk' changes a life". Jewish Journal.
  10. ↑ Artsy, Avishay (27 January 2016). "A filmmaker with an eye for Wilshire Boulevard Synagogue's transformation". Jewish Journal.
  11. ↑ Cutler, Tess (30 November 2015). "Restoration of L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard Temple Gets—What Else?—a Movie Treatment". Tablet Mag. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 Ghert-Zand, Renee (30 December 2015). "Filmmaker chronicles synagogue restoration, ends up rebuilding own Jewish identity". Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Lowe, Justin (24 August 2018). "'Restoring Tomorrow': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Murrian, Samuel R. (7 May 2017). "12th Annual Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Closes With Documentary Restoring Tomorrow". Parade Magazine. Parade. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  15. 1 2 McNary, Dave (14 June 2017). "Wilshire Boulevard Temple Documentary 'Restoring Tomorrow' Acquired by Seventh Art (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Crust, Kevin. "Review: 'Restoring Tomorrow' engagingly chronicles Wilshire Boulevard Temple's revival – Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Restoring Tomorrow: A Tour of the Historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple". Guideposts. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  18. ↑ Gelmini, David (13 June 2016). "Exclusive: Aaron Wolf Talks TAR". Dread Central. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Marchman, Kelli (3 June 2017). "Actor-Writer-Director Aaron Wolf Talks About His Upcoming Film 'TAR' In An Interview". HorrorFuel. Retrieved 15 August 2017.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.