Matthew A. Cherry

Last updated

Matthew A. Cherry
Born (1981-12-14) December 14, 1981 (age 42)
Occupations
Years active
  • 2007–present (film career)
Notable work Hair Love
SpouseCandice Wilson (m. 2020)
American football career
No. 2, 13, 14, 18
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
College: Akron
Undrafted: 2004
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

Matthew A. Cherry (born December 14, [1] 1981) [2] [3] is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall (2012), and 9 Rides (2016). He is best known for the 2019 Academy Award-winning animated short film, Hair Love . The Kickstarter campaign for Hair Love raised nearly $300,000 and broke the record for the highest amount raised for any short film on the platform. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Early life

Cherry was raised in the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois, [3] and graduated from Loyola Academy in nearby Wilmette [7] in 1999. [8] He attended the University of Akron, where he played on the football team and earned a bachelor's degree in media. [9] [ better source needed ]

Cherry played college football for four seasons with the Akron Zips under head coach Lee Owens and was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference wide receiver. [10] He finished his career as the all-time leading receiver in school history [11] and ended his senior season with records for total receptions, [12] yards, touchdowns, punt return yards and punt return touchdowns.[ citation needed ]

Professional football career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight 40-yard dash
6 ft 0+5⁄8 in
(1.84 m)		202 lb
(92 kg)		4.56 s
All values from Pro Day [13] [14]

Cherry signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2004 NFL draft. [15] He was waived during final roster cuts on August 29, 2004, [16] and re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 6. [17] The Cincinnati Bengals signed him off of the Jaguars' practice squad to their active roster on December 29, 2004, before the final game of the season. [15]

Cherry was waived by the Bengals during final roster cuts on August 29, 2005. [18] He worked out for the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League on September 9, 2005, [19] but left the team by September 21 without having played in a game. The Renegades franchise folded shortly after due to financial instability. [20]

Cherry signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2006, and was allocated to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe. He was waived by Hamburg during final roster cuts on March 5, 2006. [21] He returned to the Panthers, but was waived on May 30, 2006. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens on August 3, 2006. [22] He was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 2006, and missed the entire season. [23]

Film career

Career beginnings

Cherry retired from football in 2007 to pursue a film career. [24] After initially working as a production assistant he began directing music videos. He directed the video for gospel song "Say Yes" by singer Michelle Williams. [24]

Cherry wrote and directed his first film, The Last Fall , in 2012. The film stars Lance Gross and Nicole Beharie. The film, which premiered at SXSW, received average critical reviews. [24] Peter Deburge of Variety described The Last Fall as a "tepid daytime-TV melodrama." [6] Gary Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times , "this is an involving, sympathetic film unafraid to wear its sizable heart on its sleeve." [5] It won Best Screenplay at the American Black Film Festival.

His second film, 9 Rides , was shot entirely on an iPhone 6s, which may be the first feature film shot using the device. [25] Starring Dorian Missick, it premiered at SXSW in 2016. [26] Tom Harrington of The Daily Dot called it "a taut, attractive piece of work." [25] Shannon M. Houston reviewed the film for Paste and wrote, "9Rides is proof that Cherry is a storyteller who can do quite a bit with a modest budget (this is the first film shot on an iPhone 6s) and a simple premise." [27]

Hair Love

In 2017, Cherry created a Kickstarter campaign for a short animated film called Hair Love. [4] The campaign surpassed its initial goal of $75,000 and raised nearly $300,000. [4] He co-directed the film with Everett Downing and Bruce W. Smith, with Peter Ramsey and Pixar animator Frank Abney serving as executive producers. [28] On March 20, 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that they had picked up Hair Love, which was released in theaters alongside The Angry Birds Movie 2 on August 14, 2019. [29] The film won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, with Cherry accepting the award alongside fellow producer Karen Rupert Toliver. [30]

In 2020, Cherry became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [31]

Television

In June 2020, Cherry signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Television. [32]

On July 7, 2020, HBO Max, ordered a 12-episode season of Young Love , a 2D animated series from Cherry based on his short film Hair Love. [33]

Upcoming projects

In June 2020, Cherry was revealed to be working on The Come Up, a heist comedy movie for New Line Cinema. [34] In October 2020, Cherry was revealed to be working on a project for Sony Pictures Animation, titled Tut. [35] In March 2021, Cherry was set to direct the pilot episode of The Kings of Napa for OWN. [36] In January 2022, Cherry was set to direct Redd Zone, a football drama movie with Jada Pinkett Smith starring for Netflix. [37]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2012 The Last Fall YesYesYes
2016 9 Rides YesYesYes
2019 Hair Love YesYesYes

Executive producer

Production consultant

Television

Director

YearTitleNotes
2019 Whiskey Cavalier Episode "Spain, Trains and Automobiles"
The Red Line Episode "We Need Glory for a While"
Mixed-ish Episode "Bad Boys"
2019–2020 The Unicorn 2 episodes
2020 Black-ish 3 episodes
2020–2021 Saved by the Bell 2 episodes
2021 The Wonder Years Episode "Science Fair"
2022 Kenan Episode "Ghosts of Boyfriends Past"
The Kings of Napa 2 episodes
Grand Crew Episode "Wine & Headlines"
Bel-Air Episode "Can't Knock the Hustle"
Abbott Elementary Episode "Ava vs. Superintendent"
2023 Ghosts 2 episodes
2023-2024 Young Sheldon 2 episodes
2023 Swagger 2 episodes

Co-producer

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lasseter</span> American filmmaker (born 1957)

John Alan Lasseter is an American film director, producer, and animator. He has served as the head of animation at Skydance Animation since 2019. Previously, he acted as the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio is based in Culver City, California. Most of the studio's films are distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Columbia Pictures label, while direct-to-video releases are released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laika, LLC</span> American stop-motion animation studio

Laika, LLC is an American production company specializing in stop-motion animation and forthcoming live-action feature films, commercial content for all media, music videos, and short films. The studio is best known for its stop-motion feature films Corpse Bride, Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. It is owned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and is located in Hillsboro, Oregon, part of the Portland metropolitan area. Knight's son, Travis Knight, acts as Laika's president and CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Ramsey</span> American illustrator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker

Peter A. Ramsey is an American illustrator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker. He is best known for directing DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians (2012), becoming the first African American to direct a major American animated film, and co-directing Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Reeves</span> American filmmaker (born 1966)

Matt Reeves is an American filmmaker who first gained recognition for the WB drama series Felicity (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attention for directing the hit monster-film Cloverfield (2008). He also directed the vampire drama Let Me In (2010), and the critically acclaimed science-fiction sequels Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). He directed the superhero film The Batman (2022), which stars Robert Pattinson as the title character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titmouse, Inc.</span> American animation studio

Titmouse, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Los Angeles, California founded in 1999 that develops and produces animated television programming, feature films, music videos, title sequences, commercials, and short films. The name is derived of the titmouse, which serves as the company's mascot.

Reel FX Animation, formerly known as Reel FX Creative Studios, is an American visual effects and computer animation studio based in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Hollywood, California, and Montreal, Quebec. Known for its multiple projects on animated films and visual effects for live-action films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Animation</span> Animated media production division of Paramount Pictures

Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the box office success of Paramount's own Rango and the end of their distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Ball</span> American film director

Wes Ball is an American film director and producer. He is best known for directing the Maze Runner film trilogy (2014–2018), based on James Dashner's series of novels of the same name, as well as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Pictures Animation</span> American theatrical animation studio

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (WBPA), formerly known as Warner Animation Group (WAG), is an American animation studio that serves as the animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, by Jeff Robinov, the studio is the successor to the dissolved 2D traditional hand-drawn animation studio Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which shut down in 2004, and is also a sister to the regular Warner Bros. Animation studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Miller (director)</span> American filmmaker (born 1964)

Timothy Miller is an American film director, producer, animator, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing the films Deadpool (2016) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). He is also the creator of the animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots (2019–present), for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.

<i>Wonder Park</i> 2019 animated film

Wonder Park is a 2019 animated adventure comedy film produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies, and Ilion Animation Studios handling animation. The plot follows a young girl who encounters a real version of her magical amusement park run by anthropomorphic animals. The film stars the voice talents of Jennifer Garner, Matthew Broderick, John Oliver, Mila Kunis, Kenan Thompson, Ken Jeong, Norbert Leo Butz, Brianna Denski, and Ken Hudson Campbell.

<i>Spirit</i> (franchise) DreamWorks Animation media franchise

Spirit is an American media franchise owned by DreamWorks Animation, which began with the 2002 animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron written by John Fusco from an idea by producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. The franchise follows the adventures of a Kiger Mustang stallion named Spirit and his same named descendants.

<i>Love, Death & Robots</i> Adult animated anthology television series

Love, Death & Robots is an adult animated anthology television series created by Tim Miller and streaming on Netflix. Although the series is produced by Blur Studio, individual episodes are produced by different animation studios from a range of countries and explore diverse genres, particularly comedy, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Each episode is connected to one or more of the three titular concepts. Miller serves as the showrunner and producer alongside Joshua Donen, David Fincher, and Jennifer Miller; most episodes are written by Philip Gelatt, and are adaptations of short stories.

<i>Hair Love</i> 2019 American film

Hair Love is a 2019 American independent animated short film directed by Matthew A. Cherry, Everett Downing Jr., and Bruce W. Smith, and written by Cherry. It follows the story of a man who must do his daughter's hair for the first time, and features Issa Rae as the voice of the mother. The film was produced after a 2017 Kickstarter campaign, and was also released as a children's book in May 2019 with illustrations by Vashti Harrison. Hair Love received generally positive reviews and won Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. A spin-off TV series titled Young Love was ordered by Max in July 2020 and premiered on September 21, 2023.

Karen Rupert Toliver is an American film producer. Toliver has worked as an executive at Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation, and has supervised the production of films such as Ferdinand, Curious George and Meet the Robinsons. She is the executive vice president of creative development at Sony Pictures Animation. Toliver is best known for co-producing the short film Hair Love, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2020.

<i>Trolls</i> (franchise) DreamWorks Animation media franchise

Trolls is an American animated media franchise created by DreamWorks Animation, inspired by the successful line of Troll doll toys created by Thomas Dam. It follows the adventures of a pair of trolls named Poppy and Branch as they live among their village of pop-singing trolls. The franchise consists of three feature films, Trolls, released in 2016, Trolls World Tour, released in 2020, and Trolls Band Together, released in 2023. The franchise has been supplemented by two holiday television specials titled Trolls Holiday and Trolls: Holiday in Harmony, and two animated series: Trolls: The Beat Goes On! on Netflix, and Trolls: TrollsTopia on Hulu and Peacock. The Trolls franchise made $5 billion in retail sales by 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hideaway Entertainment</span> American film and TV production company

The Hideaway Entertainment is an independent American film and TV production company founded in 2017 by Jonathan Gray and based in Beverly Hills, California. The company's first films produced were Mile 22 (2018), Men in Black: International (2019), Bloodshot (2020), and Cherry (2021).

Young Love is an American animated sitcom created by Matthew A. Cherry, based on the 2019 short film Hair Love. It premiered on Max on September 21, 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Cherry, Matthew A. (December 13, 2019). "My birthday is tomorrow". Matthew A. Cherry verified Instagram account. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Former NFL WR Matthew A. Cherry wins Oscar for short animated film". ESPN. February 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020. Cherry, 38 [as of February 9, 2020]...
  3. 1 2 Moore, Evan F. (December 31, 2019). "NFL to Hollywood: Northwest Side native Matthew A. Cherry's 'Hair Love' makes Oscars' short list". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020. Cherry, 38 [as of December 31, 2019], grew up on the Northwest Side playing Pop Warner football at Portage Park and baseball at Gompers Park.
  4. 1 2 3 Patten, Dominic (March 20, 2019). "Sony Animation Picks Up 'Hair Love' Short From 'BlacKkKlansman' EP Matthew A. Cherry". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Movie review: 'The Last Fall' paints grim picture of post-NFL life". Los Angeles Times. October 25, 2012. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Debruge, Peter (April 3, 2012). "The Last Fall". Variety. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  7. ↑ Carter, Kelley L. (May 4, 2019). "Matthew Cherry moved from the practice squad in the NFL to first string in Hollywood". Andscape . Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. ↑ Cherry, Matthew A.(verified account) [@matthewacherry] (October 19, 2018). "Got inducted into my high school's Hall Of Fame tonight" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020– via Twitter. "Matt Cherry '99
  9. ↑ "Who Is Matthew A. Cherry?". The Urban Daily. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Zips' former gridiron star scores big in new career". UAkron.edu. November 7, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Former Zips Wideout Signed By Cincinnati Bengals". CBS Sports Network. December 29, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2011.[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "Akron Looks to Make it Five-Straight Saturday at Ohio". CBS Sports Network. November 9, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2011.[ dead link ]
  13. ↑ "2004 NFL Draft Scout Matt Cherry College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Matt Cherry 2004 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Bengals put rookie Chris Perry on injury list". The Tribune. December 30, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Transactions". The New York Times . August 29, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Football". The Times. September 7, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Transactions". Baltimore Sun . August 29, 2005. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  19. ↑ Sekeres, Matthew (September 10, 2005). "Renegades cannon-fodder". The Ottawa Citizen . Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Holder, Gord (September 24, 2017). "Renegade filmmaker: Short-lived CFLer Matthew A. Cherry gets animated". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Teams make roster cuts as training camp closes". OurSportsCentral.com. March 5, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  22. ↑ Hensley, Jamison and Edward Lee (August 3, 2006). "Hamstring still slows Clayton". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Transactions". Deseret News . Salt Lake City, Utah. August 30, 2006. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 Busch, Anita (April 1, 2016). "NFL Player-Turned-Director Matthew Cherry Signs With ICM Partners". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. 1 2 "Get in the back seat with '9 Rides,' a feature film shot entirely on iPhone 6s". The Daily Dot. March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  26. ↑ Mumin, Nijla (March 18, 2016). "SXSW Review: '9 Rides' Take Us On An Engrossing Drive". IndieWire. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  27. ↑ "9 Rides". pastemagazine.com. March 21, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  28. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (August 11, 2019). "Lion Forge Animation Debuts with 'Hair Love' Partnership". Animation Magazine . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Viral animated short Hair Love to make theatrical debut with Angry Birds Movie 2". Entertainment Weekly . August 5, 2019.
  30. ↑ "The 92nd Academy Awards: 2020". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Academy Invites 819 to Membership" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  32. ↑ White; White (June 17, 2020). "Warner Bros Television Signs First-Look Deal With 'Hair Love' Director Matthew A. Cherry". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Matthew Cherry's 'Hair Love' Becoming HBO Max Animated Series". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  34. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 25, 2020). "Oscar Winner Matthew A. Cherry To Direct New Line Comedy Heist Film 'The Come Up'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  35. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (October 14, 2020). "Oscar Winner Matthew A. Cherry's Debut Feature 'Tut' in the Works at Sony Pictures Animation (EXCLUSIVE)" . Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  36. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 11, 2021). "'The Kings of Napa' Drama From Janine Sherman Barrois Gets OWN Series Order, Matthew A. Cherry To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  37. ↑ Grobar, Matt (January 11, 2022). "Jada Pinkett Smith To Star In Netflix Drama 'Redd Zone' From Director Matthew A. Cherry; Kristin Layne Tucker Set As Screenwriter". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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.