Brandon Trost

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Brandon Trost
Brandon Trost.png
Trost at the premiere of The FP , 2011 Fantasia Festival
Born
Brandon Scott Trost

(1981-08-29) August 29, 1981 (age 43)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Alma mater Los Angeles Film School
Occupation(s)Cinematographer, screenwriter, director, producer, actor
Years active1996present
Relatives Jason Trost (brother)

Brandon Scott Trost (born August 29, 1981) is an American cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director whose credits include writing and directing The FP (2011) with his brother Jason, as well as being the cinematographer of several films, including Crank: High Voltage , Halloween II , MacGruber , Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and That's My Boy . Trost is also a frequent collaborator with Seth Rogen, including the films This Is the End , Neighbors , The Interview , The Night Before and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising . Trost's first film as a solo director, An American Pickle , was released in 2020.

Contents

Trost was also the cinematographer of the films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and its 2024 sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , the sequels to the 2020 film adaptation of the video game, Sonic the Hedgehog .

Early life

Trost was born in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Karen (née French) [1] and Ron Trost, a special effects coordinator. His grandfather, Scott Maitland, was an assistant director, [2] and his great-grandfather was a stuntman. His uncle was actor Victor French. [3] He attended Frazier Mountain High School [4] and later graduated from Los Angeles Film School. [5] He grew up in Frazier Park, California with his brother Jason and sister Sarah. [6] [7]

Influences

Trost has cited Andrew Laszlo as one of his favorite cinematographers, calling Streets of Fire "one of the most amazing-looking movies from the 1980s." [8]

Filmography

Director

Short film

Feature film

Television

YearTitleEpisode
2017 Future Man "Pandora's Mailbox"
2024 Knuckles "The Shabbat Dinner"

Cinematographer

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2001DeucesMichael Winnick
2004 Lightning Bug Robert Green Hall
State's Evidence Benjamin Louis
2005 The Salon Mark Brown
Val/ValGustavo CamelotWith Tobias Datum
Chaos David DeFalco
2006Outside Sales Blayne Weaver
Special Ops: Delta ForceCole S. McKay
2007 He Was a Quiet Man Frank Cappello Jury Award for Best Cinematography
Broken GlassGustavo CamelotWith Tobias Datum and Alejandro Lalinde
One of Our OwnAbe Levy
Days of Darkness Jake Kennedy
The Last SeasonBryan Kramer
2008 Pulse 2: Afterlife Joel Soisson
Pulse 3
PresenceBrian Kramer
2009 Weather Girl Blayne Weaver
Crank: High Voltage Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor
Halloween II Rob Zombie
Karma KovaMichael BuechlerDocumentary film;
With Ted Gianopulos and Bradley Ragland
2010A Buddy StoryMarc Erlbaum
MacGruber Jorma Taccone
Mad WorldCory Cataldo
2011 The FP Himself
Jason Trost
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor
2012 That's My Boy Sean Anders
The Lords of Salem Rob Zombie
2013 This Is the End Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
2014 That Awkward Moment Tom Gormican
Neighbors Nicholas Stoller
The Interview Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
2015 The Diary of a Teenage Girl Marielle Heller Sundance: U.S. drama, special jury award for cinematography
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Christopher B. Landon
The Night Before Jonathan Levine
2016 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising Nicholas Stoller
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Akiva Schaffer
Jorma Taccone
2017 The Disaster Artist James Franco
2018 Can You Ever Forgive Me? Marielle Heller
2019 Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile Joe Berlinger
2021 Dear Evan Hansen Stephen Chbosky
2022 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Jeff Fowler
Bros Nicholas Stoller
2023 Coyote vs. Acme Dave Green Unreleased [9]
2024 Nightbitch Marielle HellerPost-production
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Jeff Fowler
2025 The Naked Gun Akiva SchafferFilming

Television

YearTitleDirector(s)Episode(s)
2012Dark Wall Toby Wilkins "6:14"
2017 Future Man Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
"Pilot"
2018 Barry Bill Hader "Chapter One: Make Your Mark"
2019 The Righteous Gemstones Danny McBride "The Righteous Gemstones"
2024 Knuckles Jeff Fowler
Ged Wright
Jorma Taccone
"The Warrior"
"Don't Ever Say I Wasn't There for You"
"The Flames of Disaster"

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 Kazaam StudentUncredited
1998 Rushmore Vietnamese soldier with rocket launcher
2004 Lightning Bug Seismograph drummer
2009 Crank: High Voltage White Slave Boy
2010 MacGruber Brick's boyfriend
2013 This Is the End CannibalUncredited
2019 Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile Interview Cameraman

Notes

  1. Co-written and co-directed with Jason Trost; credited as "Trost Bros."

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References

  1. "Brandon Scott Trost, Born 08/29/1981 in California". California Birth Index . Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  2. Reynolds, Rebecca (July 1, 2013). "All Indie Family". The Independent . Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  3. Gale, Wayne (April 18, 2013). "The Lords of Salem - Exclusive Interview with Cinematographer Brandon Trost". Dread Central . Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  4. Barrera, Brandon (August 15, 2008). "Filmmaking Brothers to Make Feature Of 'The FP'". Mountain Enterprise . Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  5. "Brandon Trost shoots 'This is the End'". British Cinematographer. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  6. Mancini, Vince (March 15, 2012). "Smiles Humped All up My Face". The Portland Mercury . Index Publishing. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  7. Carey, Anna (March 19, 2012). "Makers of 'The FP' discuss inspiration for their surreal film". The Daily Californian . Independent Berkeley Students Publishing Company.
  8. S., Iain (March 17, 2011). "SXSW/American Cinematographer: The FP's Brandon Trost". CHUD. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  9. Taylor, Drew (February 9, 2024). "The Final Days of 'Coyote vs. Acme': Offers, Rejections and a Roadrunner Race Against Time | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved February 9, 2024.