Robert Bella | |
---|---|
Born | Robert Bella Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, Director, Producer, Writer, Actor |
Years active | 1985–present |
Robert Bella is an American filmmaker, best known for his work as a television Director, Writer & Producer on shows such as The Rookie, The Rookie: Feds , Castle and The Following . Bella has also worked on over 100 plays as an actor, director, producer and writer.[ citation needed ] He is a co-author of Training of the American Actor, and he wrote the stage adaptation of the film Stand and Deliver . [1]
Bella was born in Brooklyn, New York. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he studied acting with Stella Adler, David Mamet and William H. Macy. [2]
When he was 23 years old, Bella became an NYU adjunct faculty member. By the time he was 25, he was teaching Master Classes around the world, on subjects such as directing, script analysis, performance technique, on-camera acting and audition skills. [3] His former acting students include Jessica Alba, Rose Byrne, Heather Burns, Eddie Cahill, Justin Chatwin, Abbie Cornish, Peter Facinelli, Matthew Fox, Bryan Greenberg, Simon Helberg, Diane Neal, Jason Ritter, Gina Rodriguez, Shaun Sipos, and Skeet Ulrich.[ citation needed ]
Bella became one of the founding members the Atlantic Theater Company, where he served as the Managing Director, Associate Artistic Director and executive Director of the Atlantic Acting School. [3] His experience producing and directing numerous Off-Broadway plays ultimately led him to try his hand at filmmaking.
In 1996, Bella produced and directed the independent film Colin Fitz Lives! . The film tells the story of two security guards who must protect a rock star's grave against excitable fans who may attempt to commit suicide there. [4] It was shot on 35mm in New York City. The budget was $150,000, and the film was shot in 14 days. It had its World Premiere in Dramatic Competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. [5] The film won awards at numerous film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival, [6] WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival [7] and the Long Island Film Festival, [8] but it did not receive distribution until IFC Films released the movie on-demand in 2010. [9]
Bella has worked as an ADR Director with numerous actors, including: Chevy Chase, Judi Dench, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Hader, Freddie Highmore, Harvey Keitel, William H. Macy, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Christina Ricci and Jon Stewart.[ citation needed ]
Bella also worked as a Post Production Supervisor for various film studios, including DreamWorks Pictures. His credits include Delivery Man , Lincoln , War Horse , Real Steel , The Help and I Am Number Four . [10]
He has worked as a TV Director/Writer/Producer on shows such as The Rookie , The Rookie: Feds , Castle and The Following . [11]
Bella is currently resides in Los Angeles, California. [12]
Year | Film & Television | Credited as | Notes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Executive producer | Producer | Post production | Writer | Actor | Role | |||
1988 | Things Change | Yes | Bellboy #1 | Written and Directed by David Mamet. | |||||
1991 | Homicide | Yes | Bodyguard | Written and Directed by David Mamet. | |||||
1993 | Hitsville | Yes | Mick | Written and Directed by Peter Biegen. | |||||
1993 | Amid Summer's Night Dreams | Yes | Skip | Written and Directed by Glen Gers. | |||||
1993 | The Contenders | Yes | Skip | Written and Directed by Tobias Meinecke. | |||||
1993 | Money for Nothing | Yes | Junior Bookie | Written and Directed by Ramón Menéndez. | |||||
1997 | Colin Fitz Lives! | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pepe | In 2010, IFC Films released the film as part of: Sundance Selects – Colin Fitz Lives!. | ||
1997 | Gerald's Farm | Yes | Chris | Short Film. Written and Directed by Jonathan Abrahams. | |||||
1999 | Magnolia | Yes | Detective #2 (uncredited) | Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. | |||||
2004 | Spartan | Yes | Davio | Written and Directed by David Mamet. | |||||
2005 | This Revolution | Yes | Bob Kramer | Written and Directed by Stephen Marshall. | |||||
2006 | Knot | Yes | Dad | Short film. | |||||
2006 | Doogal aka The Magic Roundabout | Yes | Yes | US Voice Director for The Weinstein Company. | |||||
2006 | Penelope | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for Summit Entertainment and The Weinstein Company. | ||||||
2006 | Factory Girl | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. | ||||||
2007 | Elite Squad | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. | ||||||
2008 | The Promotion | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for Dimension Films. | ||||||
2008 | Revengers, Inc. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mr. G | NYU UG Drama Department film project. | |
2009 | Fanboys | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. | ||||||
2009 | Road Kill: A Day in the Life of Henry David Road | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Henry David Road | World Premiere at the 2009 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. | |
2009 | Fighting | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures. | ||||||
2010 | My Soul To Take | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures. Written and Directed by Wes Craven. | ||||||
2011 | I Am Number Four | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for Bay Films and DreamWorks Pictures. Produced by Michael Bay. Directed by D. J. Caruso. | ||||||
2011 | The Help | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for DreamWorks Pictures. Written and Directed by Tate Taylor. | ||||||
2011 | Real Steel | Yes | Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Hugh Jackman. | ||||||
2011 | War Horse | Yes | Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg. | ||||||
2012 | Lincoln | Yes | Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg. | ||||||
2013 | Best Friends Forever | Yes | Yes | World Premiere at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival. Directed by Brea Grant. | |||||
2013 | Delivery Man | Yes | Post Production Supervisor for DreamWorks Pictures. Written and Directed by Ken Scott. | ||||||
2014 | Need for Speed | Yes | Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by Scott Waugh. | ||||||
2014 | The Hundred-Foot Journey | Yes | Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by Lasse Hallström. | ||||||
2015 | The Following | Yes | Staff Writer (Season 3) for Warner Bros. Television. Created by Kevin Williamson. | ||||||
2015–2016 | Castle | Yes | Staff Writer (Season 8) for ABC. Created by Andrew W. Marlowe. | ||||||
2018– | The Rookie | Yes | Yes | Yes | Director/Writer/Producer (Seasons 1-4) for ABC. Created by Alexi Hawley. | ||||
2022-2023 | The Rookie: Feds | Yes | Director; 2 episodes |
Year | Play | Credited as | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Theatre Director | Theatrical producer | Playwright | Actor | Role | |||
1985 | The Water Engine | Yes | Mr. Wallace, Understudy | Presented by The Goodman Theatre. Written by David Mamet. | |||
1985 | Home Free! | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lawrence | Written by Lanford Wilson. | |
1986 | Been Taken | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Directed by William H. Macy. | ||||
1986 | After Magritte | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Tom Stoppard. | ||||
1986 | A Night Out | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Harold Pinter. | ||||
1987 | Knuckle | Yes | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Hare. | |||
1987 | The Woods | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Mamet. | ||||
1987 | Audrey's Complaint | Yes | World Premiere. Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Tom Donaghy. Directed by Clark Gregg. | ||||
1987 | Reckless | Yes | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Craig Lucas. | ||||
1987 | Boys' Life | Yes | Yes | Don, Understudy | World Premiere. Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Howard Korder. Directed by William H. Macy. Off-Broadway Premiere presented by The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. | ||
1989 | True West | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Sam Shepard. | ||||
1989 | Measure for Measure | Yes | Varrius | Presented by The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Starring: Kate Burton and Campbell Scott. | |||
1989 | Julius Caesar | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by William Shakespeare. | ||||
1990 | Spike Heels | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Theresa Rebeck. | ||||
1991 | Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters | Yes | Solyony | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Adapted by David Mamet. Directed by William H. Macy. | |||
1991 | The Virgin Molly | Yes | Pvt. Molly Peterson | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. | |||
1992 | Mad Forest | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Caryl Churchill. | ||||
1994 | The Crucible | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Arthur Miller. | ||||
1994 | Stand and Deliver | Yes | Adapted from the film Stand and Deliver . | ||||
1995 | Oleanna | Yes | John, Understudy. | National Tour. Written by David Mamet. | |||
1995 | J. B. Priestley's Dangerous Corner | Yes | Gordon | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Adapted and Directed by David Mamet. | |||
1997 | Trust | Yes | Yes | Roy | Sydney, Australia. Written by Steven Dietz. | ||
2001 | The Front Page | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. | ||||
2001 | The Dog Problem | Yes | The Priest | Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Rabe. | |||
2002 | Balm in Gilead | Yes | Off-Off Broadway. Written by Lanford Wilson. | ||||
2004 | Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love | Yes | Off Broadway. Written by Brad Fraser. |
Charles Robert Redford Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.
Martin Faranan McDonagh is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his absurdist dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, six BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Olivier Awards in addition to five nominations for Tony Awards.
Thomas "Thom" Fitzgerald is an American-Canadian film and theatre director, screenwriter, playwright and producer.
Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Debra Granik is an American filmmaker. She is most known for 2004's Down to the Bone, which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's Winter's Bone, which starred Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout performance and for which Granik was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and 2018's Leave No Trace, a film based on the book My Abandonment by Peter Rock.
Plastic Utopia is a 1997 independent comedy written by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner. It was directed by David Zellner. It was the first feature film made by the Zellner Brothers.
Colin Fitz Lives!, also known simply as Colin Fitz is a 1997 independent film directed by Robert Bella. Colin Fitz Lives! was shot on 35mm in New York City. The budget was $150,000 and the film was shot in 14 days. It had its World Premiere in Dramatic Competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. The film won awards at several film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival and the Long Island Film Festival. However, it did not receive theatrical distribution, as Bella lacked the funds to finish the film's post-production, pay deferred salaries, and secure music rights for more than a decade after the festival.
Marielle Stiles Heller is an American director, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for directing the films The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), as well as acting in The Queen’s Gambit (2020).
Kipp Marcus is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and digital media executive. He is best known for his role as the oldest brother Kip Cleaver on the revival television series The New Leave It To Beaver. He has also received critical acclaim for his screenwriting and acting in the film Let It Snow.
Timothy Sean Durkin is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Durkin is known for directing the critically acclaimed independent films Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), The Nest (2020), and The Iron Claw (2023). He is also known for directing episodes of the Channel 4 series Southcliffe (2013) and the Amazon Prime Video miniseries Dead Ringers (2023).
The Imposter is a 2012 documentary film about the 1997 case of a French confidence trickster Frédéric Bourdin, who pretended to be Nicholas Patrick Barclay, an American boy who had disappeared in Texas at the age of 13 in 1994. The film was directed by Bart Layton. It mainly includes interviews with Bourdin but also with members of Barclay's family, as well as archive television news footage and reenacted dramatic sequences.
Kent Matthew Osborne is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, Phineas and Ferb, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adventure Time, Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball, he has received multiple Emmy Award nominations and has won twice for Adventure Time. He was the head writer for the Cartoon Network animated series Summer Camp Island, which premiered in 2018, and is also co-producer and story editor for the Disney Channel animated series Kiff. He has also starred in several mumblecore films, including Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends, All the Light in the Sky and Uncle Kent. His brother is the director Mark Osborne. Osborne had replaced Walt Dohrn as a storyboard director and writer after Dohrn left SpongeBob to work on more DreamWorks films in 2002.
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with Whiplash directed by Damien Chazelle and closed with musical drama Rudderless directed by William H. Macy.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is a 2014 American drama film co-written and directed by David Zellner. The film stars Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube, Shirley Venard, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, and Kanako Higashi. Alexander Payne and Kikuchi serve as executive producers.
Nick Offerman: American Ham is a 2014 American stand-up comedy film, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It is written by the American actor, writer and carpenter, Nick Offerman. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2014. The special was removed from Netflix in December 2017.
Justin Simien is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, Dear White People, won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It was later adapted into the Netflix series of the same name (2017–2021). Simien has also been named to Variety's 2013 "10 Directors to Watch" list.
David Zellner is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films Kid-Thing (2012), Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), and Damsel (2018).
Umrika (transl. America) is a 2015 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film written and directed by Prashant Nair, and produced by Swati Shetty and Manish Mundra. It features Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Rajesh Tailang, Pramod Pathak, Adil Hussain, Amit Sial, Sauraseni Maitra and Prateik Babbar.
O Muel is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the award-winning film Jiseul in 2012.
Pleasure is a 2021 drama film written and directed by Ninja Thyberg in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on Thyberg's 2013 short of the same name, and is about a young woman from a small Swedish town who moves to Los Angeles to become a porn star. It stars Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock, Dana DeArmond and Kendra Spade.