Danny Buday (born February 8, 1977) is filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced the feature film Five Star Day, starring Cam Gigandet and Jena Malone. Five Star Day won the Jury Award for 'Best Feature' at the 2010 Stony Brook Film Festival and was honored as the Opening Night Gala Film at the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival.
As an alumnus of the American Film Institute (AFI) masters directing program, Danny Buday wrote, directed, and composed the score for the AFI award-winning thesis film Dependency, which was recognized as an official selection of the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, the Plus Camerimage International Film Festival, an official nominee of the A.S.C. Heritage Cinematography Award, and voted 'Best Student Film' of the Dallas Deep Ellum Film Festival. Danny also directed a second thesis film for AFI, a 1940s musical entitled The Name of the Game.
After graduating from AFI, Danny was hired to write the teen action/thriller Kennedy High for Barry Josephson’s company Josephson Entertainment (Enchanted, Bones) and wrote an early draft of the highly acclaimed adaptation ‘Veronika Decides To Die’ for author Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist) and producer Sriram Das. Danny was subsequently hired to write for producer Michael O’Hoven (Capote). Buday has an MFA in directing from the American Film Institute (AFI) and a bachelor's degree in Business Marketing from California State University at Long Beach.
Kennedy High - Feature Film - Action/Thriller - Virtu* Entertainment - 2010/2011 [Also "Bad Cop" released 2010 -info unavailable]
Five Star Day - Feature Film - Drama - Inferno Distribution - 2009/2010
The Name of the Game - AFI Thesis Film - 2006
Dependency - AFI Thesis Film - 2005
A&E Biography - Segment Producer - A&E Network - 6 episodes - Sean Penn, Mötley Crüe, New Kids on the Block, Sean Cassidy, Amy Hecklering, James Foley (2005–2008)
The Making of...'The Beginning' - Segment Producer/Camera - Fuel TV/Birdhouse Skateboards - Sean White/Tony Hawk skateboard video (2007)
Jury Award 'Best Feature' - Five Star Day - 2010 Stony Brook Film Festival
Best Student Film' - Dependency - 2005 Dallas Deep Ellum Film Festival
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Jena Laine Malone is an American actress. Her accolades include a nomination for a Golden Globe Award. Born in Sparks, Nevada, Malone spent her early life there and in Las Vegas, while her mother acted in local theater productions. Inspired to become an actress herself, Malone convinced her mother to relocate to Los Angeles. After auditioning for several projects, Malone was cast by Anjelica Huston in her television film Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), for which she earned acclaim. She subsequently obtained roles in the major studio productions Contact (1997), Hope (1997) and Stepmom (1998).
Barry Lee Levinson is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. His best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as Diner (1982), The Natural (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bugsy (1991), and Wag the Dog (1997). Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for Rain Man (1988). In 2021, he co-executive produced the Hulu miniseries Dopesick and directed the first two episodes.
The Stony Brook Film Festival, presented by Island Federal Credit Union and produced by Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, presents a program of new, independent films every summer since 1995. Features and short films from the U.S. and around the world are screened over ten days at Staller Center, which has been the venue since the festival's beginning. The festival is the brain child of the Staller Center's current director Alan Inkles. The festival continues to gain momentum and has gathered a faithful following, drawing a crowd of over 15,000 people.
The AFI Conservatory is a private non-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling. The Conservatory is a program of the American Film Institute founded in 1969.
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Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Kelly Steven Blatz is an American actor, director, writer, producer, editor and musician. He is best known for playing the lead role in Aaron Stone.
NOVEM is a 2006 American independent film, produced and directed by Brad Kimmel, a filmmaker from Evansville, Indiana. Kimmel is also the creator and producer of My Classic Car. The film tells the story of the fictional band NOVEM's epic six-day recording session in May 1973 and chronicles the modern-day discovery of their lost tapes and who they were.
Tamar Simon Hoffs is an American filmmaker, best known for directing the indie films Red Roses and Petrol (2003) and Pound of Flesh (2009), both starring Malcolm McDowell. She is the mother of Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles.
Christian Filippella is an Emmy Award Nominated and winning producer, cinematographer and director, current active member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS/NATAS).
Shaimus was an alternative rock band that formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. They are best known for their songs "All of This" and "Like a Fool," which appeared in Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2, respectively. The band made an appearance in the 2010 film The Roommate, which features the songs "Let Go" and "Tie You Down" and includes on-screen performances by Brousseau, Brown and Raassina as members of actor Cam Gigandet's fictional band. As of 2010, Shaimus resided in Los Angeles.
Carl Weyant is an American actor, writer, producer, model and musician who has appeared in Karma: Crime, Passion and Reincarnation, Elle: A Modern Cinderella TaleThe Young and the Restless and recently worked with Danny Glover, Michael Rooker, and famed actor Martin Landau in the psychological thriller Mysteria
These Amazing Shadows is a 2011 documentary film which tells the history and importance of the National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.
Plush is a 2013 American erotic thriller film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Catherine Hardwicke and co-written by Arty Nelson with music by Nick Launay and Ming Vauz. The film stars Emily Browning, Xavier Samuel, Cam Gigandet, Dawn Olivieri, Thomas Dekker, and Frances Fisher.
The Wait is a 2013 American independent drama film written and directed by M. Blash, and starring Jena Malone, Chloë Sevigny, Luke Grimes, Devon Gearhart, Michael O'Keefe, and Josh Hamilton. It follows two young women who are instructed by a phone call from a psychic to keep their recently-deceased mother in their home so that she can be resurrected. The film was shot in several locations in the state of Oregon.
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Brian Savelson is an American writer, director, and producer who works in film, theater, and television.
Consecration is a 2023 supernatural horror-thriller film directed by Christopher Smith from a script he co-wrote with Laurie Cook, and starring Jena Malone, Danny Huston and Janet Suzman. Shot in Scotland on the Isle of Skye, the film was released in the United Kingdom and United States on February 10, 2023.
Nigel M Smith (August 2, 2010) - “Five Star Day” Tops Stony Brook Film Festival - IndieWire Magazine
Aileen Jacobson (July 16, 2010) - 33 Select Films Over 10 Days - New York Times
Pat Saperstein (March 31, 2010) - 'Five Star Day' to Open Beach Film Festival - Variety
Staff Report, AP (March 31, 2010) - 'Five Star Day' to Open Newport Beach Fest - Hollywood Reporter
Franck Tabouring (November 17, 2008) - Gigandet, Malone Gear Up for 'Five Star Day' - Internet Movie Database News (IMDb News)
Brian Brooks (April 1, 2010) - “Star" & “Juliet” Bookend 11th Newport Beach Fest - IndieWire Magazine
Elisabeth Rappe (November 17, 2008) - 'Twilight' Star Cam Gigandet Is Having A 'Five Star Day' - MTV Movie News
Darren Amner (August 22, 2009) - Five Star Filmmaking - Eye for Film Interview