Aaron Woodley

Last updated
Aaron Woodley
Born1971 (age 5253)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1997–present
Parent
Relatives David Cronenberg (uncle)
Brandon Cronenberg (cousin)
Caitlin Cronenberg (cousin)

Aaron Woodley (born 1971) [1] is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.

Contents

Early life

Woodley was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of costume designer Denise Cronenberg and nephew of filmmaker David Cronenberg. [2] He studied animations at Art Gallery of Ontario and later graduate at York University. [3]

Career

Woodley's 1998 short film The Wager won Short Film Award at Austin Film Festival. In 2003, he directed Rhinoceros Eyes in which Michael Pitt starred. [2] A year later, he directed Lee Daniels-produced film Tennessee which starred singer and actress Mariah Carey. [4]

In 2015, Variety announced that Woodley would direct the animated film Spark featuring the voices of Jessica Biel and Susan Sarandon. [5]

In 2019, Woodley was appointed as the director of network brands of Knowledge Network. [6]

Filmography

As director
YearTitleNotes
1998 The Wager Also writer and producer
2003 Rhinoceros Eyes Writer and director; also acted in the role of "Betty Bumcakes"
2008 Tennessee
Toronto Stories Segment: "Shoelaces" [7]
2010 Glenn Martin, DDS TV series (5 episodes)
2011 The Entitled
2012Curious and Unusual DeathsTV series (13 episodes)
2016 Spark Also writer, editor, and voice of Floyd
2019 Arctic Dogs Also writer and voice of Puffins

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cronenberg</span> Canadian filmmaker and film director (born 1943)

David Paul Cronenberg is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, physical, and technological. Cronenberg is best known for exploring these themes through sci-fi horror films such as Shivers (1975), Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986), though he has also directed dramas, psychological thrillers and gangster films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Sarandon</span> American actor (born 1946)

Susan Abigail Sarandon is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards. In 2002, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<i>Naked Lunch</i> (film) 1991 film by David Cronenberg

Naked Lunch is a 1991 surrealist science fiction drama film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Roy Scheider. It is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs's 1959 novel of the same name, and an international co-production of Canada, Britain, and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Watson</span> Canadian actress (1955–2015)

Faith Susan Alberta Watson, better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress.

Denise Cronenberg was a Canadian costume designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shailene Woodley</span> American actress and activist (born 1991)

Shailene Diann Woodley is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Born in San Bernardino, California, she was raised in Simi Valley, and started modeling at the age of five and began acting professionally in minor television roles. She first gained prominence for her starring role as Amy Juergens in the ABC Family teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013). She subsequently starred in the films The Descendants (2011) and The Spectacular Now (2013), receiving a nomination for her first Golden Globe Award for the former.

Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He has appeared in films such as Breaking Away (1979), Terror Train (1980), Rich and Famous (1981), The Wild Life (1984), Making Mr. Right (1987), Die Hard (1988), Apartment Zero (1988), Mr. Destiny (1990), Mad at the Moon (1992), Break Up (1998), Liberty Stands Still (2002) and Spread (2009). On television, he has starred in War and Remembrance (1988–89), Children of the Dust (1995), Baby for Sale (2004), The Starter Wife (2008) and Scandal (2015).

Alexander Mackenzie Gray is a Canadian film, television, and stage actor. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Canada. He divides his time between Toronto and Vancouver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Gadon</span> Canadian actress (born 1987)

Sarah Lynn Gadon is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999), Mutant X (2002), and Dark Oracle (2004). She also worked as a voice actress on various television productions. Gadon gained recognition for her roles in David Cronenberg's films A Dangerous Method (2011), Cosmopolis (2012), and Maps to the Stars (2014). She also starred in Denis Villeneuve's thriller Enemy (2013), the period drama Belle (2013), and the action horror film Dracula Untold (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Hampshire</span> Canadian actress

Emily Hampshire is a Canadian-American actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl, Vivienne in the 2006 film Snow Cake, Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series 12 Monkeys (2015–2018), and Stevie Budd in the CBC comedy series Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), as well as the voice role of Misery in the YTV animated series Ruby Gloom (2006–2008). Hampshire has held leading roles in the series Chapelwaite (2021) and The Rig (2023–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Daniels</span> American filmmaker and television producer (born 1959)

Lee Daniels is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was Monster's Ball (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels the first African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film. He made his directorial debut with Shadowboxer in 2005 and has since then directed the films Precious (2009), The Paperboy, The Butler (2013) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021). Of these, Precious was the most critically acclaimed, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including two nominations for Daniels, for Best Director and Best Picture. Other films he has produced include The Woodsman (2004), Tennessee (2008), Pimp (2018) and Concrete Cowboy (2020).

Toronto Stories is a 2008 Canadian anthology film. It has four segments that are bound together by a young boy, lost in an unknown city. After the prologue, the four segments are directed by different people: "Shoelaces" by Aaron Woodley, "The Brazilian" by Sook-Yin Lee, "Windows" by David "Sudz" Sutherland, and "Lost Boys" by David Weaver.

<i>Rhinoceros Eyes</i> 2003 American film

Rhinoceros Eyes is a 2003 American-Canadian drama film written and directed by Aaron Woodley. It was awarded the Discovery Award at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival.

Vertical is a global independent film distributor founded by producers Rich Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. Vertical releases films across all mediums, including theatrical, On Demand, physical media and streaming. The company's combination of full-service marketing and sales services provides collaborative solutions for filmmakers.

<i>Animal Crackers</i> (2017 film) 2017 animated film

Animal Crackers is a 2017 animated comedy-fantasy film directed by Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft, written by Sava and Dean Lorey and based on the animal-shaped cookie. The film stars the voices of Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Warburton, Raven-Symoné, Harvey Fierstein, Wallace Shawn, Gilbert Gottfried, Tara Strong, James Arnold Taylor, Kevin Grevioux and Lydia Rose Taylor in her film debut. It tells the story of a family who comes across a box of magical animal crackers that turns anyone that consumes a cracker into the animal that the cracker represents and this animal handily saves the circus that the family was associated with.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Cowan</span> Canadian executive director (1967–2023)

Noah Cowan was a Canadian artistic director, who served as the executive director of SFFILM from March 2014 to May 2019. He oversaw the organization's exhibition, education, and filmmaker services. Before joining SFFILM, Cowan was the artistic director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, and also worked as the co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival from 2004 to 2008.

<i>Spark</i> (2016 film) 2016 animated 3D science fiction film

Spark is a 2016 animated science fiction adventure comedy film written and directed by Aaron Woodley, and featuring the voices of Jessica Biel, Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Stewart, Jace Norman and Alan C. Peterson. The film premiered on April 22, 2016, at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International. It was released on April 14, 2017, in the United States by Open Road Films with distribution sold by Double Dutch International in all international markets except China and South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jace Norman</span> American actor

Jace Lee Norman is an American actor. He starred as Henry Hart in the Nickelodeon television series Henry Danger from 2014 to 2020.

<i>The Meddler</i> 2015 American film directed by Lorene Scafaria

The Meddler is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. The film stars Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and J. K. Simmons. Principal photography began on March 30, 2015 in Los Angeles. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on April 22, 2016, by Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films.

<i>Blue Beetle</i> (film) 2023 superhero film by Ángel Manuel Soto

Blue Beetle is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle. Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, it is the 14th film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Xolo Maridueña stars as Reyes, a recent college graduate who is bestowed with armor that grants him superpowers after being accidentally chosen by an ancient alien relic known as the Scarab. Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez also star in the film.

References

  1. "Aaron Woodley". Northern Stars. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (24 April 2004). "Rhinoceros Eyes (2003)". The New York Times . Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  3. "Aaron Woodley Biography". Aaron Woodley Official Website. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  4. Grierson, Tim (3 June 2009). "Tennessee Tunes in to its Beaten-Down Character". The Village Voice . Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. Dave McNary (January 29, 2015). "Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon Join Animated 'Spark'". Variety . Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  6. "Aaron Woodley joins Knowledge Network as director, network brands". Realscreen. February 14, 2019.
  7. Erin Oke (December 11, 2008). "Toronto Stories: Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver, Aaron Woodley". Exclaim!. Retrieved 27 March 2015.