Craig Zobel

Last updated

Craig Zobel
Craig Zobel Deauville 2012.jpg
Born
Roger Craig Zobel

Alma mater North Carolina School of the Arts
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active2000present

Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films Compliance (2012), Z for Zachariah (2015), and The Hunt (2020). On TV he has directed episodes of The Leftovers , American Gods , and Westworld . In 2021, he directed the miniseries Mare of Easttown on HBO. He also helped to co-create the online Flash animation series Homestar Runner with Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps.

Contents

Early life

Zobel was born in New York and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, later studying film at the North Carolina School of the Arts alongside David Gordon Green and other future collaborators. He is of Jewish background. [1]

Career

After graduation, Zobel worked on Green's first three films — George Washington (2000), All the Real Girls , (2003) and Undertow (2003), as either co-producer, production manager or second unit director. [2] He also directed The Hunt (2020).

More recently, he reupped his deal with HBO, which was served for three more years. [3]

Homestar Runner

Homestar Runner is a Flash animated internet cartoon which mixes surreal humor with references to pop culture. Zobel co-created the initial concept and some characters for a book with Mike Chapman using the name "Homestar Runner", coined by their mutual friend James Huggins, which later went on to become the flash animated cartoon by Mike and Matt Chapman. On a day off while Zobel and Chapman were working summer jobs surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympics, a visit to a bookstore prompted them to parody the state of children's books, leading to the creation of the cartoon. [4]

Film career

Zobel has directed, written, and produced several films, including Great World of Sound and Compliance . [5] In August 2019, the release of Zobel's horror thriller film The Hunt was postponed by distributor Universal in response to the 2019 El Paso shooting, [6] with the studio cancelling the film's original September 27, 2019, date, and moving it to March 13, 2020. [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
2001A Letter from My FatherYesNoNo
2007 Great World of Sound YesYesYes
2012 Compliance YesYesYes
2013 Prince Avalanche NoYesNo
2015 Z for Zachariah YesNoNo
2020 The Hunt YesNoNo

Television

YearTitleDirectorExecutive producerNotes
2015 The Leftovers YesNoEpisodes: "Lens", "International Assassin"
2016 Outcast YesNoEpisodes: "The Road Before Us"
2017 American Gods YesNoEpisodes: "Git Gone"
The Leftovers YesNoEpisodes: "The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)"
2018 Westworld YesNoEpisodes: "Akane no Mai"
One Dollar YesYes10 episodes
2021 Mare of Easttown YesYes7 episodes
TBA The Penguin YesYesUpcoming miniseries

Related Research Articles

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Homestar Runner is an American comedy animated web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by the titular character, Homestar Runner. It uses a blend of surreal humor, self-parody, satire, and references to popular culture, in particular video games, classic television, and popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strong Bad</span> Fictional character from Homestar Runner

Strong Bad is a fictional character from Homestar Runner, a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game Tag Team Wrestling. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-creator of the series. Strong Bad enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his ever-diligent lackey pet named "The Cheat" and his older brother Strong Mad. The main segment that Strong Bad is a part of is Strong Bad Email, in which he answers emails sent to him by fans. The Strong Bad Email series grew to be so popular that six DVDs featuring the emails have been released, as well as a podcast where emails could be downloaded to digital media players, since its first episode in 2001.

<i>Strong Bad Sings (and Other Type Hits)</i> 2003 studio album by homestarrunner.com and Y-O-U

Strong Bad Sings (and Other Type Hits) is a compilation album featuring songs by Strong Bad and other characters from the Homestar Runner web cartoon series. Strong Bad Sings is the sole audio CD spinoff from the online cartoon world of homestarrunner.com. The songs represent various pastiches of popular music, such as glam metal, folk, hip hop, techno and indie rock.

"Experimental Film" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It is the lead single from their 2004 album The Spine. The song has been seen by some critics as a return to the band's earlier sound. An animated music video was made for the song by internet animators The Brothers Chaps and featured characters from the animators' internet series Homestar Runner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Brothers Chaps</span> American writers, voice actors, directors, producers, and composers

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<i>Strong Bads Cool Game for Attractive People</i> 2008 video game

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<i>Woody Woodpecker</i> (2017 film) 2017 film by Alex Zamm

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<i>Mare of Easttown</i> 2021 American crime drama television miniseries

Mare of Easttown is an American crime drama television miniseries created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. Directed by Craig Zobel, the series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021, consisting of seven episodes. It stars Kate Winslet as the titular detective, who investigates a murder in a small town outside Philadelphia. Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Sosie Bacon, David Denman, Neal Huff, James McArdle, Guy Pearce, Cailee Spaeny, John Douglas Thompson, and Joe Tippett appear in supporting roles.

<i>The Hunt</i> (2020 film) 2020 film directed by Craig Zobel

The Hunt is a 2020 American satirical action horror film directed by Craig Zobel and written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof. The film stars Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, and Emma Roberts. Jason Blum was a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner, along with Lindelof. Zobel and Lindelof have said that the film is intended as a satire on the profound political divide between the American left and right. It is about a group of elites who kidnap working class people to hunt them.

<i>Looney Tunes Cartoons</i> American animated television series

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Brad Ingelsby is an American screenwriter and film producer.

References

  1. Bloom, Nate (March 12, 2020). "Jewz in the Newz". The American Israelite .
  2. Interview at Filmmakermagazine.com Accessed May 14, 2009
  3. Petski, Denise (December 7, 2021). "'Mare Of Easttown' Director Craig Zobel Extends Overall Deal With HBO". Deadline. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  4. Interview at Wired.com Accessed May 15, 2009
  5. Craig Zobel at IMDb Accessed May 10, 2009
  6. Nate Nickolai (August 10, 2019). "Universal Cancels The Hunt release". Variety.
  7. Masters, Kim (February 11, 2020). "'The Hunt' Is Back On: Universal Sets Release for Controversial Elites vs. "Deplorables" Satire (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2020.