Rachel Boynton

Last updated
Rachel Boynton
RES MAGAZINE rachel boynton.jpg
Rachel Boynton for RES , 2006
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Years active2000-present
Notable work Our Brand Is Crisis , Big Men

Rachel Boynton is an American documentary filmmaker.

Contents

Life and career

After graduating from Brown University, Boynton attended and earned degrees from Sciences Po and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. [1] .

Boynton's directorial debut, Our Brand Is Crisis , premiered at South by Southwest in 2005. She worked as a bartender to allow herself time for the film's production. [2] The film also screened at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where Boynton won the Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award. [2]

Her next project, Big Men , was shot over four years in the oil fields of West Africa. [3] Executive produced by Brad Pitt, the film was released in 2014 to critical acclaim. Boynton became a mother of two during the film's production. [4]

In 2009, it was announced that George Clooney was helping develop a fictionalized adaptation of Our Brand is Crisis, with a script written by Peter Straughan. [5] Production began in 2014, with David Gordon Green directing and Sandra Bullock in a starring role. The film was released in 2015. [6]

After the release of Big Men, Boynton sought to move away from the cinéma vérité style of her previous work for her next project, while exploring the thoughts and feelings of the American public. [4] Her most recent movie, Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are), focuses on the aftermath of the American Civil War, and how it has affected the communities involved hundreds of years after the fact. After previously having worked with Boynton on Big Men, Brad Pitt returned to Civil War as an executive producer. The documentary premiered on Peacock on June 17, 2021, with a television premiere on MSNBC in October of the same year. [7]

Personal life

Boynton is a resident of New York City. She has two daughters. [1] [4]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2000Well-Founded FearNoNoAssociate producer
2005 Our Brand Is Crisis YesYesYes
2014 Big Men YesYesYes
2021Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)YesYesYes

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2000People Like Us: Social Class in AmericaNoNoAssociate producerMade-for-TV movie

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Bullock</span> American actress and film producer (born 1964)

Sandra Annette Bullock is an American actress and film producer. She has received several awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was the world's highest-paid actress in 2010 and 2014, and was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Pitt</span> American actor (born 1963)

William Bradley Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. As a public figure, Pitt has been cited as one of the most powerful and influential people in the American entertainment industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Clooney</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1961)

George Timothy Clooney is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards. Clooney has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2018, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2022.

<i>Three Kings</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by David O. Russell

Three Kings is a 1999 American black comedy war film written and directed by David O. Russell from a story by John Ridley. It stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze as four American soldiers on a gold heist that takes place during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq against Saddam Hussein following the end of the Persian Gulf War.

<i>Oceans Eleven</i> 2001 film by Steven Soderbergh

Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the Ocean's film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner. The story follows friends Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt), who plan a heist of $160 million from casino owner Terry Benedict (García), the lover of Ocean's ex-wife Tess (Roberts).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Heslov</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1963)

Grant Heslov is an American actor and filmmaker known for his producing and writing collaborations with George Clooney, which have earned him four Oscar nominations. As a co-producer of Argo (2012), he received the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013. As an actor, he has appeared in films including True Lies (1994), Black Sheep (1996), Enemy of the State (1998) and The Scorpion King (2002), as well as performing supporting roles in several films made with Clooney.

<i>Our Brand Is Crisis</i> (2005 film) 2005 American film

Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2005 American documentary film by Rachel Boynton on American political campaign marketing tactics by Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The election saw Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada elected President of Bolivia, ahead of Evo Morales.

Cinema for Peace Awards are prizes awarded by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, a Berlin-based initiative that claims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films. Since 2002, Cinema for Peace has been inviting film makers, humanitarian and human rights activists, and public figures to its annual awards ceremony in Berlin to honor a selection of cinematic works on humanitarian and environmental issues. The event occurs at the same time as the Berlin International Film Festival.

<i>Burn After Reading</i> 2008 film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Burn After Reading is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osbourne Cox, whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitted gym employees. When they mistake the memoirs for classified government documents, they undergo a series of misadventures in an attempt to profit from their find. The film also stars George Clooney as a womanizing U.S. Marshal; Tilda Swinton as Katie Cox, the wife of Osbourne Cox; Richard Jenkins as the gym manager; and J. K. Simmons as a CIA supervisor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan B Entertainment</span> American film production company

Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for Brad Grey Pictures, a company operated by Brad Grey. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO of Paramount Pictures and Pitt became the sole owner of the company. The president of the company was for many years Dede Gardner, but she and Pitt named Jeremy Kleiner co-president with Gardner in 2013. Three of the production company's movies, The Departed, 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight, have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Ocean's is a series of heist films. Beginning with the 1960 Rat Pack film Ocean's 11, the series has seen mixed to favorable critical reception and substantial commercial success. After the 1960 film, a trilogy was released from 2001 to 2007, often cited as defining its genre and leading to a proliferation and commercialization of heist films throughout the world. The most commercially successful was the first film, Ocean's Eleven (2001). It established the ensemble cast of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell, and Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan. A long list of supporting cast members maintain the trilogy. The first sequel, Ocean's Twelve, was released in 2004, with the final film, Ocean's Thirteen, following in 2007. An all-female spin-off titled Ocean's 8 was released in 2018.

<i>Gravity</i> (2013 film) Science fiction thriller by Alfonso Cuarón

Gravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also co-wrote, co-edited, and produced the film. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts who attempt to return to Earth after the destruction of their Space Shuttle in orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Pitt filmography</span>

Brad Pitt is an American actor and producer. His acting career began at age 23 in 1987 with roles in the hit Fox television series 21 Jump Street. He subsequently appeared in episodes for television shows during the late 1980s and played his first major role in the slasher film Cutting Class (1989). He gained recognition in Thelma & Louise (1991) and A River Runs Through It (1992). He later took on the role of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac in the horror drama Interview with the Vampire (1994) and for his performance in the epic drama Legends of the Fall (1994), he earned his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Clooney filmography</span>

George Clooney is an American actor and filmmaker. He is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time with over $2.6 billion total box office gross and an average of $61.7 million per film. He has been involved in thirteen films that grossed over $200 million at the worldwide box office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Bullock filmography</span>

Sandra Bullock is an American actress and producer who made her film debut with a minor role in J. Christian Ingvordsen's thriller Hangmen in 1987. She made her television debut in the television film Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989) and played the lead role in the short-lived sitcom Working Girl (1990) before making her breakthrough starring in Jan de Bont's action film Speed (1994). In 1995, Bullock founded her own production company, Fortis Films, and starred in the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping. Her performance in the film earned her first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In 1996, Bullock starred in the film adaptation of John Grisham's novel A Time to Kill. In 1998, Bullock starred in the romantic comedy Practical Magic, voiced Miriam in the DreamWorks animated film The Prince of Egypt, and executive produced her first film, Hope Floats.

<i>Our Brand Is Crisis</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2005 documentary film of the same name by Rachel Boynton. The film gives a fictionalized account of the involvement of American political campaign strategists Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Scoot McNairy, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd and Joaquim de Almeida.

<i>Big Men</i> (film) 2014 film

Big Men is a 2014 documentary film produced and directed by Rachel Boynton. It examines the oil industry, the development of a new oil field in West Africa, the accusations of corruption that follow, and the resource curse. The film follows Texas-based Kosmos Energy as it attempts to start oil production in the new Jubilee Field off the coast of Ghana. With huge amounts of money at stake, Kosmos juggles its partners in Ghana, financial backers in New York, and the Great Recession that dramatically reduces oil prices. The film also visits Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, where decades of corruption and lack of development fuel militants, who attempt to gain a share of the oil pie. The film was released on March 14, 2014, to critical acclaim.

<i>Bullet Train</i> (film) 2022 film by David Leitch

Bullet Train is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt as a former assassin who must battle fellow killers while riding a bullet train. It is based on the 2010 novel Maria Beetle, written by Kōtarō Isaka and translated by Sam Malissa, the second novel in Isaka's Hitman trilogy, of which the first novel was previously adapted as the 2015 Japanese film Grasshopper. The film also features an ensemble supporting cast including Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, and Sandra Bullock.

<i>The Lost City</i> (2022 film) 2022 film by Aaron and Adam Nee

The Lost City is a 2022 American action-adventure comedy film directed by Aaron and Adam Nee, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox, based on a story by Seth Gordon. Starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Brad Pitt, the film follows a romance novelist and her cover model, who must escape a billionaire who wants her to find a lost ancient burial chamber described in one of her books.

Wolfs is an upcoming American psychological thriller film written and directed by Jon Watts. It stars and is co-produced by George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

References

  1. 1 2 "Filmmaker Bio". POV. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 "25 New Faces of Independent Film 2005". Filmmaker. Summer 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  3. Stettin, Jaimie (June 3, 2010). "Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Grant Recipients Announced". Filmmaker. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Boynton, Rachel (September 16, 2021). "How Motherhood Revolutionized My Filmmaking Approach (and How I See America)". Talkhouse. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. Sauriol, Patrick (June 30, 2009). "George Clooney sets up shop at Sony Pictures". Corona Coming Attractions. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  6. "David Gordon Green To Direct Sandra Bullock In George Clooney-Produced 'Our Brand Is Crisis'". IndieWire. August 21, 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  7. Pedersen, Erik (June 3, 2021). "Peacock Acquires Documentary 'Civil War (Or, Who Do We Think We Are)' & Sets Premiere Date; Brad Pitt Among EPs". Deadline. Retrieved 27 March 2024.