Matthew Ross | |
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 Ross in 2013 | |
| Born | Matthew Ross July 10, 1976 |
| Other names | Matthew M. Ross |
| Occupation(s) | film director, screenwriter, journalist, fiction writer |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Notable work | Frank & Lola |
| Website | www |
Matthew Ross is an American film director, screenwriter, journalist and fiction writer based in Brooklyn. He is best known for writing and directing Frank & Lola , which debuted at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival [1] and was later released by Universal Studios. [2]
Born and raised in New York City, Ross attended Harvard University, where he graduated Cum Laude with Honors with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies, concentrating in filmmaking. His senior thesis film Here Comes Your Man earned Magna Cum Laude Plus honors and was selected for a number of international film festivals. [3] While in college, he was a four-year member of the Harvard Boxing Club.
Ross began his career as a film journalist. His first staff position of note was as a film reporter for Variety in 2000. [4] At the age of 25, he was hired as the senior editor of Indiewire, overseeing the site's editorial coverage as well as writing a regular industry column, [5] followed by a four-year stint as the managing editor of Filmmaker magazine. While at Filmmaker, Ross wrote many of the magazine's cover stories and major features, including profiles of directors Robert Altman, Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, Todd Solondz, Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater, Robert Towne, Michel Gondry, among others. Ross eventually expanded his focus beyond film, writing pieces that ranged from feature profiles of MMA champions for FIGHT! magazine [6] to long-form investigative journalism for Playboy . [7] As a freelancer, his work has appeared in The Village Voice , [8] Nerve, [9] The Criterion Collection, and dozens of other publications. [10]
Ross began making films in college, including the festival shorts Here Comes Your Man, [11] A Hero's Welcome, [12] Curtis and Clover, [13] Lola, [14] and Red Angel. [15] Another short he made was Inspired By Bret Easton Ellis, [16] commissioned by Ellis and described by critic Roger Ebert as "one terrific video!". [17] He also directed, wrote and produced a nonfiction viral series about professional fighters, FIGHT! Life!, which logged over eight-million YouTube views as of 2019. [18]
After his first screenplay Plays Well with Others (co-written with Guy Cimbalo) [19] was optioned by the production company Anonymous Content, Ross moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote and rewrote scripts for a number of producers and production companies. He also worked as a story consultant on Curb Your Enthusiasm , including contributing plotlines to "Palestinian Chicken," [20] winner of the 2011 DGA Award for "Best Comedy Episode". Vanity Fair called Palestinian Chicken the "crowning achievement in the entire series." [21]
While in Los Angeles, Ross began raising money, cast, and production support on another project, Frank & Lola , [22] which would eventually become his directorial debut. In 2014, backed by Parts and Labor Films' producers Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen, Killer Films' Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa, producer John Baker, Preferred Content's Kevin Iwashina and Las Vegas-based production company Lola Pictures, the film began production, with Michael Shannon (Frank) and Imogen Poots (Lola) in the lead roles. The other major parts were played by Michael Nyqvist (Alan), Justin Long (Keith), Rosanna Arquette (Patricia), and Emmanuelle Devos (Claire). Financed by Great Point Media, Frank & Lola wrapped in March, 2015. [23]
On December 7, 2015, it was announced that Frank & Lola had been accepted to the 2016 Sundance Film Festival for its world premiere. [24] During the festival, after the film opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews, [25] Universal Studios secured its worldwide rights (with the exception of a few minor territories) for over $2 million, with a theatrical release planned for later that year. [26]
Ross and Frank & Lola were listed on a number of "best of" Sundance 2016 wrap-up stories, including articles in Indiewire (#3 on the list of "Top 25 Filmmakers and Actors That Broke Through at Sundance 2016"), [27] The Film Stage ("The 15 Best Films at Sundance 2016"), [28] and Ioncinema ("Best of Fest: Sundance 2016's Top 10 New Voices"). [29]
The film was released theatrically and on VOD in the U.S. on December 9, 2016. [30]
In 2021, RZA and Alex Tse tapped Ross to direct Hulu's Wu-Tang: An American Saga , the origin story of hip-hop legends the Wu-Tang Clan, set in 1990s New York City. Ross returned the following year to direct two pivotal episodes in the show's final season.
Ross wrote for the hit ABC series Nashville (writing two episodes and serving as creative consultant for Season 5), [31] in addition to selling several pilots to major networks. He also directed the feature Siberia in 2018. [32]
In September 2022, Neotext published JUNKMAN, Ross’s first book, a sci-fi novella collaboration with legendary comics artist Joe Staton. [33] A sequel is in the works.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | A Hero's Welcome (short) | Director, Editor, Writer |
| 1998 | Here Comes Your Man (short) | Director, Editor, Writer, Cinematographer |
| 2001 | Curtis & Clover (short) | Director, Writer, Producer |
| 2006 | Lola (short) | Director, Writer |
| 2006 | Red Angel (short) | Director, Writer (adapted from the play by Eric Bogosian) |
| 2009-2010 | FIGHT! Life (nonfiction viral series) | Director, Writer, Producer |
| 2010 | Inspired By Bret Easton Ellis (short) | Director, Writer, Cinematographer |
| 2011 | Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV series) | Story Consultant |
| 2016 | Frank & Lola (feature film) | Director, Writer |
| 2017 | Nashville (TV series) | Writer (2 episodes), Creative Consultant (11 episodes) |
| 2018 | Siberia (feature film) | Director |
| 2021-23 | Wu-Tang: An American Saga (TV series) | Director (3 episodes) |
James Allan Schamus is an American screenwriter, producer, business executive, film historian, professor, and director. He is a frequent collaborator of Ang Lee, the co-founder of the production company Good Machine, and the co-founder and former CEO of motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company Focus Features, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal. He is currently president of the New York–based production company Symbolic Exchange, and is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, where he has taught film history and theory since 1989.
American Psycho is a 2000 satirical psychological horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon appear in supporting roles. The film blends horror and black comedy to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, exemplified by Bateman.
Joshua Jacob Marston is an American screenwriter and film director best known for the film Maria Full of Grace.
Matthew Brandon Ross is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Alby Grant on the television series Big Love (2006–11) and Gavin Belson on Silicon Valley (2014–19), as well as his performances in the films The Last Days of Disco (1998), American Psycho (2000), and The Aviator (2004). He wrote and directed the 2016 comedy-drama film Captain Fantastic.
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Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers from all over the world. At the core of the programs is the goal to introduce audiences to the artists' new work, aided by the institute's labs, granting and mentorship programs that take place throughout the year in the United States and internationally.
Roger Ross Williams is an American director, producer and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award (Oscar), with his short film Music by Prudence; this film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2009.
Alex Ross Perry is an American filmmaker and actor. Prolific in independent film, he is best known for writing and directing Listen Up Philip (2014) and Her Smell (2018).
The Canyons is a 2013 American erotic thriller-drama film directed by Paul Schrader and written by Bret Easton Ellis. The film is set in Los Angeles and stars Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Funk, Amanda Brooks and Gus Van Sant. It received a limited release on August 2, 2013, at the IFC Center in New York, the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto and on video on demand platforms. The film received negative reviews from critics, but Lohan's performance was praised.
Braxton Pope is an independent American film and television producer and writer. He is a partner in Sodium Fox Productions, which he co-founded with novelist Bret Easton Ellis.
Stacie Passon is an American film director, screenwriter and producer whose first film, Concussion, was premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently won a Teddy Award Jury Prize at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival.
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The Overnight is a 2015 American sex comedy film written and directed by Patrick Brice, and starring Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche. The film was produced by Naomi Scott and executive produced by Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, and Adam Scott.
Cartel Land is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman about the Mexican Drug War, especially vigilante groups fighting Mexican drug cartels. The film focuses on Tim "Nailer" Foley, the leader of Arizona Border Recon, and Dr. José Mireles, a Michoacán-based physician who leads the Autodefensas. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2016.
Reed Morano is an American film director and cinematographer. Morano was the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year for the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Morano is known for her cinematography work on feature films such as Frozen River (2008), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and The Skeleton Twins (2014).
Janet Grillo is an American filmmaker.
Frank & Lola is a 2016 American neo-noir erotic thriller film written and directed by Matthew Ross in his directorial debut, and starring Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Michael Nyqvist, Justin Long, Emmanuelle Devos and Rosanna Arquette.
Complete Unknown is a 2016 drama mystery thriller film, directed by Joshua Marston, from a screenplay by Marston and Julian Sheppard. It stars Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates and Danny Glover. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2016. The film was released on August 26, 2016, by Amazon Studios and IFC Films.
Matt Johnson is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He first attracted accolades for his low-budget independent feature films, including The Dirties (2013), which won Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, and Operation Avalanche (2016), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
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'Inspired by Bret Easton Ellis,' by Matthew Ross. This is one terrific video!
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