Derrick Borte

Last updated
Derrick Borte
Born (1967-12-07) December 7, 1967 (age 56)
Frankfurt, Germany
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
Years active2010–present

Derrick Stacey Borte (born December 7, 1967) is a German-born American filmmaker known for the dark comedy The Joneses (2010), which he wrote, directed, and produced. The film was his directorial debut.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Borte was born on December 7, 1967, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Donald and Susan Borte. [1] When Borte was less than a year old, the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia. Borte later moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he graduated in 1985 from First Colonial High School. [2] He graduated from Old Dominion University (ODU) with a BFA in painting, [3] and moved to Los Angeles in 1991, where he started selling his work in a prominent art gallery. [2] He also did graphic design work for surf companies, [2] such as Billabong, Gotcha, and Rip Curl. [1]

In 1992, Borte moved back east to New York, where he attended Parsons School of Design, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in media studies. [2] He joined the production staff at Sony Music Studios, where his fine arts background evolved with his indoctrination to film and video, working on MTV Unplugged and music videos. [3] [2] In 1996, after graduating from Parsons, he landed a job at WAVY-TV 10, returning to Virginia Beach. He worked as a TV reporter, focusing mainly on human-interest features. [2]

In 1998, he quit the station and started his own business making commercials. [2] [4] Borte started writing film scripts over the years in his spare time, writing a lot of bad ones, before finally writing one, that according to Borte, "everybody wanted...[a]nd I mean everybody." [2] Borte wanted to direct the movie, so he contacted Scott Lochmus to help produce the film. Lochmus had hired Borte at Sony back in the '90s, and they had become friends. The two eventually started their own production company, Storyland Pictures. [2]

Career

In 2010, he wrote, produced, and directed the dark comedy The Joneses, which starred Demi Moore and David Duchovny. [3] Borte said he got the idea for the movie from watching a news magazine show that had focused on stealth marketing. [5] He chose the location for the film, Alpharetta, Georgia, while on a layover at Hartsfield–Jackson Airport, vacationing with his family. [5]

In 2013, Borte directed Dark Around the Stars starring Mark Kassen, who portrays a mysterious and troubled alcoholic on a road trip to New Mexico, where he plans to take his life on his birthday. [6] [7]

In 2015, he co-wrote and directed the suspense-thriller film H8RZ starring Abigail Spencer, Eliza Bennett and Israel Broussard. [8] The film had a pre-release screening at his alma mater, Old Dominion University. [9]

London Town , released in 2016, was Borte's fourth film as director. [10] The film is a coming-of-age story starring Daniel Huttlestone and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who portrays Joe Strummer, co-founder of British punk rock band The Clash. [11] In an interview with The Spill Magazine, Borte said he had been given a copy of the first Clash album when he was in junior high school, and that "within the first few minutes I just had a realization that was the music that I was supposed to listen to." He went on to say that the "movie itself is really about the power of music to change your life" as it did for the lead character in the movie. [10]

In 2019, he co-wrote and directed American Dreamer, a thriller starring Jim Gaffigan and Robbie Jones. [3] The film was shot in his hometown of Virginia Beach, where he partnered with ODU and the Virginia Film Office in a workforce initiative to let 25 students intern on the film. [12]

Borte directed Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, and Gabriel Bateman, in the 2020 film Unhinged , a road rage thriller filmed on location in New Orleans, [13] [14] and released in late summer. [15] [13] The film received mixed reviews.

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2009 The Joneses YesYesYes
2013Dark Around the StarsYesNoExecutive
2015 H8RZ YesYesNo
2016 London Town YesNoNo
2019 American Dreamer YesYesNo
2020 Unhinged YesNoNo
TBD The Black Kaiser YesNoNo

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Crowe</span> New Zealand-born actor (born 1964)

Russell Ira Crowe is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent 10 years of his childhood in Australia, and resided there permanently by age 21. He has earned various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award. Crowe is considered by many to be one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Weir</span> Australian filmmaker (born 1944)

Peter Lindsay Weir is an Australian retired film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Witness (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989), Fearless (1993), The Truman Show (1998), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and The Way Back (2010). He has received six Academy Award nominations, ultimately being awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 2022 for his lifetime achievement career.

<i>The Insider</i> (film) 1999 drama film by Michael Mann

The Insider is a 1999 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Mann, from a screenplay adapted by Eric Roth and Mann based on Marie Brenner's 1996 Vanity Fair article "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The film stars Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Bruce McGill, Diane Venora, and Michael Gambon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Crowe</span> American filmmaker

Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career as a contributing editor and writer at Rolling Stone magazine in 1973 where he covered numerous rock bands on tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Macfadyen</span> Scottish actor (born 1963)

Angus Macfadyen is a Scottish actor. His roles include Robert the Bruce, both in Braveheart and Robert the Bruce, Komodo in Warriors of Virtue, Vice-Counsel Dupont in Equilibrium, Jeff Denlon in the Saw franchise, Robert Rogers in the AMC historical drama Turn: Washington's Spies, McCreedy in Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo, and biologist James Murray in The Lost City of Z. He has made appearances on several television series such as Californication, Criminal Minds, Chuck and Superman & Lois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Mangold</span> American filmmaker (born 1963)

James Allen Mangold is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Noted for his versatility in tackling a range of genres, Mangold made his debut as a film director with Heavy (1995), and is best known for the films Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Identity (2003), Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and two films in the X-Men franchise with The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017), the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He then directed the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari (2019), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and directed and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones series.

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

Shane Black is an American filmmaker and actor who has written such films as Lethal Weapon, The Monster Squad, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He is also known as the original creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise. As an actor, Black is best known for his role as Rick Hawkins in Predator (1987).

Michael Petroni is an Australian screenwriter and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball</span> Basketball team in Virginia

The Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Connelly</span> American actress (born 1970)

Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. After a few more years of modeling, she began to concentrate on acting, starring in a variety of films including the horror film Phenomena (1985), the musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986), the romantic comedy Career Opportunities (1991), and the period superhero film The Rocketeer (1991). She received praise for her performance in the science fiction film Dark City (1998) and playing a drug addict in Darren Aronofsky's drama film Requiem for a Dream (2000).

<i>The Joneses</i> 2009 American film directed by Derrick Borte

The Joneses is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Derrick Borte, in his directorial debut. It stars Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard, and Ben Hollingsworth. It premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2009. Roadside Attractions later purchased the United States theatrical distribution rights. It had a limited release on April 16, 2010 and was released on DVD & Blu-ray On August 10, 2010. It received a theatrical release in Mexico on August 20, 2010.

<i>H8RZ</i> 2015 American mystery film

H8RZ is an American mystery drama-thriller film, directed by Derrick Borte, and co-written by Borte and Daniel Forte. It stars Israel Broussard, Abigail Spencer, Jeremy Sisto, Eliza Bennett, Malcolm Mays, and Cary Elwes. The film was released on July 17, 2015 through video on demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caren Pistorius</span> South African-New Zealand actress

Caren Pistorius is a South African and New Zealand actress. She is best known for her role as Rose in the 2015 film Slow West.

Gabriel Michael Bateman is an American actor. He is best known for starring in numerous horror films, including as Robert in Annabelle (2014), Martin Wells in Lights Out (2016), Andy Barclay in Child's Play (2019), and Kyle Flynn in Unhinged (2020).

<i>Polar</i> (film) 2019 action film directed by Jonas Åkerlund

Polar is a 2019 neo-noir action thriller film directed by Jonas Åkerlund and written by Jayson Rothwell, based on Víctor Santos's 2013 graphic novel Polar: Came From the Cold. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, and Matt Lucas. It revolves around an aging assassin on the verge of retirement who becomes targeted by an employer wanting to cash in on his pension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Avery</span> Australian film director

Julius Avery is an Australian filmmaker. His credits include Son of a Gun (2014), Overlord (2018) and The Pope's Exorcist (2023).

<i>American Dreamer</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Derrick Borte

American Dreamer is a 2018 American neo-noir thriller film directed by Derrick Borte and written by Derrick Borte and Daniel Forte. The film stars Jim Gaffigan, Robbie Jones, Isabel Arraiza, Tammy Blanchard, Alejandro Hernandez and Brian K. Landis. The film was released on September 20, 2019, by Saban Films.

The Georgetown Project is an upcoming American horror film written and directed by M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. It stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, Sam Worthington, David Hyde Pierce, and Samantha Mathis.

Solstice Studios is a Los Angeles–based entertainment company, founded on October 2, 2018. The studio developed, fully financed, produced, sold internationally and distributed feature films in the United States on a wide-release basis.

<i>Unhinged</i> (2020 film) 2020 film by Derrick Borte

Unhinged is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Derrick Borte, from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth. The film stars Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson and Austin P. McKenzie. It tells the story of a young woman who is terrorized by a seemingly mentally ill stranger following a road rage incident.

References

  1. 1 2 Vincent, Mal (April 16, 2010). "Beach-based film buff writes his own script and directs it too". The Virginian-Pilot.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Barbour, Clay (July 24, 2019). "Virginia Beach native, movie director set to release fifth feature-length film". Distinction Magazine. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Blair, Iain (2019). "Director's Chair: Derrick Borte — American Dreamer". Post Magazine.
  4. ↑ "Meet the Brite Team". Brite.
  5. 1 2 Townsend, Bob (April 16, 2010). "Director Derrick Borte filmed "The Joneses" in Alpharetta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Adam (May 12, 2016). "Exclusive: Here's a New Clip From Derrick Borte's Dark Around The Stars". Film Pulse.
  7. ↑ "Dark Around the Stars (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  8. ↑ "H8RZ (2015)". FilmAffinity .
  9. ↑ "Pre-Release Screening of H8RZ in University Theatre". Old Dominion University.
  10. 1 2 Dean, Mark (October 18, 2016). "Spill Feature: London Town - An Interview With Director Derric Borte". The Spill Magazine.
  11. ↑ Linden, Sheri (October 6, 2016). "'London Town': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ↑ Kidd, Beverly (September 20, 2019). "Virginia Beach native directs feature film shot in Norfolk". WTKR.
  13. 1 2 "Russell Crowe Stars as an Angry Driver in First Look at 'Unhinged'". Variety. August 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ Scott, Mike (June 17, 2019). "Russell Crowe to film road-rage thriller 'Unhinged' in New Orleans". NOLA.
  15. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (July 17, 2019). "Gabriel Bateman Joins Russell Crowe in Psychological Thriller 'Unhinged'". The Hollywood Reporter.
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.