Dan Mirvish

Last updated
Dan Mirvish
Born
Madison, Wisconsin, [1] United States
Other namesMartin Eisenstadt
Alma mater Washington University in St. Louis
University of Southern California
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, author
Known forSlamdance Film Festival, Eisenstadt hoax
Website www.danmirvish.com

Dan Mirvish is an American filmmaker and author, best known as the co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival [2] [3] and co-creator of the Martin Eisenstadt hoax during the 2008 Presidential election. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Mirvish was born to a Jewish family in Omaha, [6] the son of Linda and Sidney Mirvish. [6] His father was a prominent cancer researcher at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. [7] [8] In 1985, Mirvish graduated from Omaha Central High School. [6] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University in St. Louis. [6] After school, he worked as a freelance journalist and as a speechwriter for Tom Harkin, U.S. Senator from Iowa before taking a sabbatical to travel around the world. [6] He then returned to California to complete his education in film at the University of Southern California film school. [6]

Career

In 1994, while still in school, he released his first feature film entitled Omaha as his master’s thesis for and then founded the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah after the film was not accepted at the Sundance Film Festival. [6]

In 2004, Mirvish spearheaded the effort to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to reactivate their Best Original Musical Oscar category. In a controversial move, the Academy canceled the category after Mirvish and others submitted the requisite number of films, including two by Mirvish. [9]

In 2009, he co-authored the satirical novel I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man's (Wildly Inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN   978-0-86547-914-2. [10]

Mirvish directed the film Between Us , based on the play of the same name by Joe Hortua. The four-person drama stars Taye Diggs, Melissa George, David Harbour and Julia Stiles. The original play premiered at Manhattan Theatre Club, and Hortua and Mirvish co-wrote the screenplay adaptation. The film version won the grand jury prize at the 2012 Bahamas International Film Festival, [11] and was the Closing Night Film at the 50th Annual Gijón International Film Festival in Spain. [12] The film had its world premiere at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, and also screened at such festivals as Athens International Film Festival, the Hamptons, Woodstock Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival, and Whistler Film Festival. [13]

In 2016, Mirvish wrote the nonfiction book The Cheerful Subversive's Guide to Independent Filmmaking. [14] The phrase "cheerful subversive" comes from a New York Times article describing the original Slamdance filmmakers. [15] [16]

In 2016, Mirvish directed the feature film Bernard and Huey written by Oscar/Pulitzer/Obie-winner Jules Feiffer. [17]

Mirvish directed the feature film 18½ which had its world premiere at the 2021 Woodstock Film Festival. [18] The film had its international premiere at the São Paulo International Film Festival [19] The film had its European premiere at the Gijón International Film Festival [20] The film won the Stubbornly Independent Award at the Tallgrass Film Festival in 2021 [21]

Mirvish is widely credited as the discoverer of the Hathaway effect, which indicates that when actress Anne Hathaway is in the news, the share price for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increases. [22]

He was also a speechwriter for Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. [23]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film festival</span> Event with films being shown

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and depending upon the festival's focus, can include International and Domestic releases. Some film festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film, or subject matter. Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slamdance Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Utah, USA

The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under US$1 million.

Open House is a 2004 real estate musical film starring Hedy Burress, Ann Magnuson, Anthony Rapp, Sally Kellerman, Jenna Leigh Green and Kellie Martin, and directed by Dan Mirvish, a co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival. It played on the film festival circuit in 2004–05 and was released on DVD through Wellspring Media. All the actors sang live on set, rather than lip synching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Fessenden</span> American actor and filmmaker

Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gijón International Film Festival</span>

The Gijón International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain.

Henry-Alex Rubin is an Academy Award-nominated American filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning commercial director.

The Martin Eisenstadt hoax is an elaborate scheme of filmmakers Dan Mirvish and Eitan Gorlin that involved the creation of a fictional "talking head", Martin Eisenstadt, who was quoted by numerous major news outlets, as well as countless blogs, all of which failed to verify his actual existence. "Eisenstadt" claimed to be the source of commentary about Sarah Palin in the wake of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Mirvish and Gorlin have since written a satirical novel called I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man's Adventures with the Last Republicans for Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-86547-914-2. The book was written under Eisenstadt's pseudonym and purports to be a first-person memoir of Eisenstadt's experience with the McCain/Palin campaign, including buying Palin's wardrobe. In the book, the Eisenstadt character denies rumors that he does not exist.

Eitan Gorlin is a filmmaker, author and actor. He is known for his portrayal of Martin Eisenstadt, a satirical depiction of a McCain campaign adviser. Even though Eisenstadt was said to be part of the "Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy", named for one of the United States' less beloved presidents, he was quoted by several national news sources, who failed to document his existence.

Shih-Ching Tsou is a Taiwan-born film producer, director, and actress. She co-directed the film Take Out (2004) with Sean Baker. She also produced Baker's other films Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017) and Red Rocket (2021).

Nebraska Medicine, is a private not-for-profit American healthcare company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was created as Nebraska Health System (NHS) in 1997, when Bishop Clarkson Hospital merged with the adjacent University Hospital in midtown Omaha. Renamed The Nebraska Medical Center in 2003, in 2014 the company merged with UNMC Physicians and Bellevue Medical Center to become Nebraska Medicine. The company has full ownership of two hospitals and 39 specialty and primary care clinics in and around Omaha, with partial ownership in two rural hospitals and a specialty hospital. Nebraska Medicine's main campus, Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center, has 718 beds, while its Bellevue Medical Center campus has 91 beds.

Luke Eberl is an American actor and director best known for his role as Birn in the 2001 film Planet of the Apes and for his film Choose Connor. In 2008, Eberl was described by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the "10 Young Americans to Watch". He is currently in production on his second feature film, You Above All.

<i>Between Us</i> (2012 film) 2012 American film

Between Us is a 2012 American drama film directed by Dan Mirvish, based on the play by Joe Hortua, with a screenplay adaptation by Hortua and Mirvish. It stars Taye Diggs, Melissa George, David Harbour, and Julia Stiles.

<i>Driftwood</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

Driftwood is an American independent film written and directed by Paul Taylor. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival where it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature.

<i>Be My Cat: A Film for Anne</i> 2015 English-language Romanian found footage horror feature film directed by Adrian Țofei

Be My Cat: A Film for Anne is a 2015 Romanian found footage psychological horror feature film directed, produced, written by, and starring Adrian Țofei, about an aspiring filmmaker who goes to extremes to convince actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film. It is the first entry in Adrian Țofei's planned indie trilogy which includes We Put the World to Sleep and Pure. It is also Adrian Țofei's first film and Romania's first found footage horror movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Conrad</span> French-American model and filmmaker

Marjorie Conrad is a French-American filmmaker and model. She is known for being the eleventh eliminated America's Next Top Model , and for her narrative feature films Chemical Cut (2016) and Desire Path (2020).

Bernard and Huey is a 2017 American drama/comedy film directed by Dan Mirvish, that was written by Jules Feiffer based on characters Feiffer created for his eponymous comic strip in The Village Voice. Feiffer originally wrote the screenplay in 1986, and it was nearly lost for close to three decades. The film stars David Koechner, Jim Rash, Sasha Alexander, Eka Darville, Richard Kind, Lauren Miller Rogen, Nancy Travis, Bellamy Young, and Mae Whitman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrs. Kasha Davis</span> American drag performer

Mrs. Kasha Davis is the stage name of Edward Paul Popil Jr., an American drag queen, actor and television personality from Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is best known for competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. After appearing on the reality television show, Mrs. Kasha Davis toured internationally, released several musical singles, and performed in film, television and theatre.

<i>Tapeworm</i> (film) 2019 Canadian film

Tapeworm is a 2019 dark comedy directed by Milos Mitrovic and Fabian Velasco. It had its world premiere in the Future//Present section of the Vancouver International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Markle</span> Canadian filmmaker

Steve Markle is a Canadian filmmaker, actor, writer, editor and producer best known for Shoot To Marry (2020), Testees (2008), and Camp Hollywood (2004).

<i>18½</i> 2021 American film

18½ is a 2021 American comedy-thriller film directed by Dan Mirvish, written by Daniel Moya, with a story by Dan Mirvish and Daniel Moya. The film stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Catherine Curtin, Richard Kind, Sullivan Jones and the voices of Jon Cryer as H. R. Haldeman, Ted Raimi as Alexander Haig and Bruce Campbell as President Richard Nixon.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Rob (June 1, 2022). "Filmmaker Dan Mirvish goes from Madison (briefly) to Watergate". The Cap Times. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Slamdance company profile Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Lyons, Charles (1999-02-07). "FILM; Is Success Seducing the Rebel Festival?". The New York Times (February 7). Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  4. ↑ Pérez-Peña, Richard (2008-11-13). "A Senior Fellow at the Institute of Nonexistence". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  5. ↑ "How Sarah Palin was Hoaxed" (BBC audio). BBC News. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Jewish Press (Omaha): "Hollywood insiders return Home for Jewish Reunion" by Sherrie Saag Archived 2017-08-04 at the Wayback Machine July 30, 2014
  7. ↑ UNMC.edu Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Services today for Sidney Mirvish, Ph.D. | UNMC". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  9. ↑ Welkos, Robert W. (2004-12-16). "No '04 Oscar for original musicals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
  10. ↑ Joshua Green. "True Lies". The Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  11. ↑ "Interview of the BIFF Winner: Dan Mirvish". Filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  12. ↑ "Dan Mirvish le da un tono oscuro de comedia a la obra 'Between Us'". ElCommercio.es. Retrieved 2013-02-19.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. 1 2 "Between Us" (IMDB Movie page). IMDb . Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  14. ↑ Nordine, Michael (2016-06-23). "Watch the Trailer for Slamdance Co-Founder's Book 'The Cheerful Subversive's Guide to Independent Filmmaking'" . Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  15. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (1995-01-19). "Film Festival Finds Itself Swimming Near the Mainstream". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  16. ↑ "20 Life-Saving Tips for Indie Filmmaking from the Co-Founder of Slamdance". 27 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  17. ↑ "Long-Lost Script by Pulitzer-Winning Writer Finally Headed to Screen After 29 Years". The Hollywood Reporter . 4 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  18. ↑ "Woodstock Film Festival Announces Slate For This Fall's 22nd Edition". September 2021. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  19. ↑ "Mostra Internacional de Cinema em São Paulo exibirá mais de 131 filmes online". 16 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  20. ↑ "Gijón 59th FICX Edition Brings Back Audiences To Theaters". 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  21. ↑ "IMDB (Awards)". IMDb . Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  22. ↑ Alexis Madrigal (18 March 2011). "Does Anne Hathaway News Drive Berkshire Hathaway's Stock?". The Atlantic . Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  23. ↑ Argetsinger, Amy and Roxanne Roberts (2006-01-27). "On a Roll at Wendy's Window". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  24. ↑ Fraley, Jason (2022-05-20). "New movie '18 1/2′ explores gap in Nixon tapes on 50th anniversary of Watergate". WTOP News. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  25. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (2011). "Omaha (The Movie)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original (New York Times movie summary) on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
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.