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Ross Katz (born May 19, 1971 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American film producer, screenwriter and film director. He has executive produced films including In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation , and has directed the films Adult Beginners (2014) and The Choice (2016), and the HBO film Taking Chance (2009).
Prior to becoming a producer, Katz was a commercial rock DJ on 94 WYSP FM in Philadelphia. He got his start in movies working as a grip on Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, then interned at Good Machine eventually becoming Ted Hope's assistant. It was Hope who encouraged Katz to try his hand at producing. His first effort was Jim Fall's Trick . The film was one of the early independents to explore homosexual cinema treated as romantic comedy.
Next he co-executive produced, along with Ted Hope & Anne Carey, an HBO television mini-series of Moisés Kaufman's play The Laramie Project . The mini-series version of The Laramie Project was adapted by Kaufman and members of New York's Tectonic Theater Project who went to Laramie, Wyoming after the murder of Matthew Shepard. The piece is based on more than 200 interviews they conducted while there. It follows and in some cases re-enacts the chronology of Shepherd's visit to a local bar, his kidnap and beating, the discovery of him tied to a fence, the vigil at the hospital, his death and funeral, and the trial of his homophobic killers. The mini-series mixes real news reports with actors portraying friends, family, cops, killers, and other Laramie residents in their own words. It concludes with a Laramie staging of "Angels in America" a year after Shephard's death.
Katz went on to co-produce two Academy Award Best Picture nominees; Todd Field's In the Bedroom and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation .
In 2009 Katz returned to HBO for another real-life story Taking Chance . This was his directorial debut and was praised by television critics for its "reverence and sensitivity" to the men in uniform. [1] Based on a true story, the brief film — it runs less than 90 minutes — follows the journey of a fallen U.S. Marine, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, as his body makes its way across the country accompanied by a Marine escort, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon). Strobl wrote about the experience in 2004 and his journal entry has been e-mailed and posted online, where it gained an avid following (read it at ChancePhelps.org). He was nominated for an Emmy and co-won the WGA Award (TV) in Long Form adaptation at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 with Michael Strobl. [2]
Katz has had three films in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (producers branch) in 2005.
As director
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood film movement and is widely considered one of the greatest directors of all time. Coppola is the recipient of five Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Palmes d'Or, and a BAFTA Award.
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda, George Hamilton, and Sofia Coppola. It is the third and final installment in The Godfather trilogy. A sequel to The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), it concludes the fictional story of Michael Corleone, the patriarch of the Corleone family who attempts to legitimize his criminal empire. The film also includes fictionalized accounts of two real-life events: the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981–1982, both linked to Michael Corleone's business affairs.
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Golden Lion, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award.
Lost in Translation is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray stars as Bob Harris, a fading American movie star who is having a midlife crisis when he travels to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky. There, he befriends another estranged American named Charlotte, a young woman and recent college graduate. Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, and Fumihiro Hayashi are also featured. The film explores themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan. It defies mainstream narrative conventions and is atypical in its depiction of romance.
The Laramie Project is a 2000 American play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The murder was denounced as a hate crime and brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws in various states, including Wyoming.
Tectonic Theater Project is a stage and theatre group whose plays have been performed around the world. The company is dedicated to developing works that explore theatrical language and form, fostering dialogue with audiences on the social, political, and human issues that affect society. In service to this goal, Tectonic supports readings, workshops, and full theatrical productions, as well as training for students around the United States in their play-making techniques. The company has won a GLAAD Media Award.
The 69th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2003, were announced on 15 December 2003 and presented on 11 January 2004 by the New York Film Critics Circle.
The 75th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2003, were given on 3 December 2003.
Platinum is an American drama series which aired on UPN from April 14 to May 13, 2003. Created by John Ridley and Sofia Coppola, the series is a family saga that follows two brothers who own and operate a record company.
The Laramie Project is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Moisés Kaufman and starring Nestor Carbonell, Christina Ricci, Dylan Baker, Terry Kinney, and Lou Ann Wright. Based on the play of the same name, the film tells the story of the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and was first broadcast on HBO in March 2002.
Chance Russell Phelps was a private first class – posthumously promoted to lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps. He served with 2nd Platoon, Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment (3/11), 1st Marine Division, and I Marine Expeditionary Force, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ted Hope is an American independent film producer based in New York City. He is best known for co-founding the production/sales company Good Machine, where he produced the first films of such notable filmmakers as Ang Lee, Nicole Holofcener, Todd Field, Michel Gondry, Moisés Kaufman, and Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, among others. Hope later co-founded This is That with several associates from Good Machine. He later worked at the San Francisco Film Society and Amazon Studios.
The Godfather is a trilogy of American crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The films follow the trials of the fictional Italian American mafia Corleone family whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning between $430 and $517 million worldwide. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are both seen by many as two of the greatest films of all time. The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 28 total Academy Award nominations.
Brian Reitzell is an American musician, composer, record producer and music supervisor best known for his work on many film and TV soundtracks. He is notable for working extensively with the American film director Sofia Coppola. He was formerly the drummer for the LA punk band Redd Kross. He has collaborated extensively with the French electronica duo Air, having performed drums on their albums The Virgin Suicides and 10 000 Hz Legend. Reitzell also toured with the band on their "Moon Safari" tour in 1998 and again in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, he was nominated for a BAFTA, along with Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, for the score to Lost in Translation.
Sarah Flack is an American film editor. She frequently worked with American independent film directors Steven Soderbergh and Sofia Coppola. Flack's work on Lost in Translation won her the BAFTA Award for Best Editing. The film went on to win numerous other awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and an American Cinema Editors Eddie award with Robert Pulcini for co-editing the HBO film "Cinema Verite".
Michael R. Strobl is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer from Stafford, Virginia, and is currently Assistant Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.
Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal of Strobl in the film won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among other accolades.
Brad Krevoy is a film producer, entrepreneur, and founder and chairman/CEO of the Motion Picture Corporation of America. Over his 37-year career, Krevoy has been involved in the production and distribution of more than 250 film and television projects, most notably Dumb and Dumber, and Christmas-themed entertainment, including the A Christmas Prince and The Princess Switch trilogies, as well as Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish.
Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) is an American film production company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of low-budget films.
Somewhere is a 2010 drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. The film follows Johnny Marco, a newly famous actor, as he recuperates from a minor injury at the Chateau Marmont, a well-known Hollywood retreat. Despite money, fame and professional success, Marco is trapped in an existential crisis and has an emotionally empty daily life. When his ex-wife suffers an unexplained breakdown and goes away, she leaves Cleo, their 11-year-old daughter, in his care. They spend time together and her presence helps Marco mature and accept adult responsibility. The film explores ennui among Hollywood stars, the father–daughter relationship and offers an oblique comedy of show business, particularly Hollywood filmmaking and the life of a "star".
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