Thomas Verrette

Last updated

Thomas Patrick Verrette (born February 14, 1985) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, director, producer, editor, and composer. He is the founder of Skylight Cinema, Inc., [1] an independent film production company located in Los Angeles, California. Verrette is best known for writing, directing, producing and composing the feature film, Implanted, [2] which is being distributed by Walking Shadows. [3]

Screenwriter writer who writes for TV, films, comics and games

A screenplay writer, scriptwriter or scenarist, is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.

Composer person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition

A composer is a musician who is an author of music in any form, including vocal music, instrumental music, electronic music, and music which combines multiple forms. A composer may create music in any music genre, including, for example, classical music, musical theatre, blues, folk music, jazz, and popular music. Composers often express their works in a written musical score using musical notation.

Los Angeles City in California

Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in California and the second most populous city in the United States, after New York. With an estimated population of four million, Los Angeles is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. The city is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and sprawling metropolis.

Contents

Early life and education

Verrette was born in Englewood, New Jersey, but grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, for most of his life. He attended Milton High School and began his music career as a trombonist and pianist, but quickly adapted his musical talents to composing and orchestration. As a lover of film music, he turned his focus to film making, with the sole intention to have an original film to score to. Verrette made his first film, In The Hands of the Enemy, an ambitious 55 minute war film about the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II, at age 16. The film was promoted by Verrette and the film's cast and crew around town, and was screened in the High School auditorium. Profiting off his first film, Verrette invested in his next semi-feature, The Lost Soldiers, [4] about AWOL soldiers in Vietnam, which he wrote, produced, directed, shot, edited and composed. For that film, he followed the same distribution model as his previous film, and with more screenings and a growing word of mouth, the film turned a much larger profit. Additionally, Verrette was awarded an artistic scholarship for his film work by the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Englewood, New Jersey City in New Jersey

Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147, reflecting an increase of 944 (+3.6%) from the 26,203 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,353 (+5.4%) from the 24,850 counted in the 1990 Census.

Alpharetta, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Alpharetta is a city located in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States and is an affluent suburb of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, Alpharetta's population was 57,551. The estimated population in 2017 was 65,799.

Orchestration study or practice of writing music for an orchestra

Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orchestration is the selection of different instruments to play the different parts of a musical work. For example, a work for solo piano could be adapted and orchestrated so that an orchestra could perform the piece, or a concert band piece could be orchestrated for a symphony orchestra.

His next directorial effort was Distant Walls, [5] the story of two young brothers escaping from an abusive household. The feature was shot just prior to Verrette attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, and over the next two years, was completed outside of the film program. While there, Verrette began relationships with a number of successful filmmakers, including Seth Iliff, Paul Gandersman, and Nabil Abou-Harb. Verrette also earned student awards for "Best Cinematography" and "Best Original Score. [6] "

Savannah College of Art and Design art school

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private, nonprofit, accredited university with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; Hong Kong; and Lacoste, France.

For his senior thesis film, Verrette wrote the screenplay for I Am The Bluebird, which would eventually become known as Implanted. The ambition, scope, and subject matter of the screenplay attracted many students and faculty members to dedicate their time and expertise to help Verrette turn his screenplay into a successful feature film. Verrette, along with producers Shaun Lynch and Katie Weiss, formed the production company Skylight Cinema, Inc. to finance and produce the film. Verrette directed the film in addition to taking on producing, editing, and composing duties. Verrette graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Film career

Implanted

Implanted, [7] starring Justice Leak, Rob Pralgo, Jason Turner, and Tara Jean Verrette, is a sci-fi drama about a young man's struggle to uncover the truth surrounding an illegal medical operation performed on him by his own father.

Justice Leak American actor

Justice Adam Leak is an American film, television and stage actor best known for his portrayal of Harland Osbourne in the 2007 film The Great Debaters.

Arab in America

Originally a comedic short film directed by Nabil Abou-Harb and written and produced by Abou-Harb and Colin Ferri, Verrette became involved with Arab in America [8] after the short debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Arab in America is the story of Osama Abou-Bakr, an Arab-American post-grad, who changes his name to Samuel Adam Baker to pursue the American Dream, and in the process, discovers himself. With the short's success, Abou-Harb, Ferri, and Verrette adapted the short film into a feature screenplay. The team raised half of the films $2 million budget, but the film was put on hold [9] once Osama Bin Laden was killed.

Nabil Abou-Harb American film director, writer and producer

Nabil Zouheir Abou-Harb is an Arab-American filmmaker, writer, producer, and director. He is also co-founder of "Five on Fifty Films" and has directed and produced a number of commercials.

Cannes Film Festival annual film festival held in Cannes, France

The Cannes Festival, until 2002 called the International Film Festival and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. It is one of the "Big Three" alongside the Venice Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.

American Dream ethos of the United States

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.

Other work

In addition to directing, Verrette is also a film editor. He edited the promotional materials for upcoming Fox web-series, The Ropes, [10] written, directed, and executive produced by Vin Diesel. Additionally, he edited the feature film Reach, [11] starring Edward Furlong [12] and David Dorfman, the feature documentary River Of Life, and many short films, including The Promotion, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Verrette’s commercial and corporate work includes Frontier Airlines, Iams, Prilosec, General Mills, Sony Electronics, Fox, Comedy Central, and Break Media.

Verrette has composed music for a number of short films and features, including No Way Out, The Promotion, Blood and Water, Quiet Country, Number 74 in E-Flat, The Warden, among others.

Thomas Verrette on the Internet Movie Database

Related Research Articles

Denys Arcand Canadian Film director

Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a French Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His film The Barbarian Invasions won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004. His films have also been nominated three further times, including two nominations in the same category for The Decline of the American Empire in 1986 and Jesus of Montreal in 1989, becoming the only French-Canadian director in history whose films have received this number of nominations and, subsequently, to have a film win the award. Also for The Barbarian Invasions, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, losing to Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation.

Alejandro González Iñárritu Mexican film director

Alejandro González Iñárritu is a Mexican film director, producer, and screenwriter. His feature films have garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including five Academy Awards. In 2006, he became the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing for Babel. In 2015, he won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Birdman or . The following year, he won a second Academy Award for Best Director for The Revenant (2015), making him the third director to win back to back Academy Awards, and the first since 1950. Iñárritu was awarded a Special Achievement Academy Award for his virtual reality project Flesh and Sand in 2017, the first time it had been awarded since 1995. In 2019, Alejandro González Iñárritu was named the President of the jury of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival

Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, actor and film producer

Hou Hsiao-hsien is a Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement, an auteur. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1989 for his film A City of Sadness (1989), and the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 for The Assassin (2015). Other highly regarded works of his include The Puppetmaster (1993) and Flowers of Shanghai (1998).

Luc Jacquet is a French film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the film March of the Penguins, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2005 and received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay. He also directed The Fox And the Child. It was released in Britain and Ireland in slightly re-edited dubbed English-language version with narration by Kate Winslet, and was released in the United States on 29 February 2008.

Albert Lamorisse writer, Screenwriter

Albert Lamorisse was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer, who is best known for his award-winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s, and also for inventing the famous strategic board game Risk in 1957.

Nabil Ayouch film director

Nabil Ayouch is a French-Moroccan television and film director, producer and writer of Moroccan origin.

Jacques Audiard French film director and screenwriter

Jacques Audiard is a French film director and screenwriter. He is the son of Michel Audiard, also a film director and screenwriter.

John E. Hudgens is an independent director, producer, and editor noted for his short Star Wars fan films and for many Babylon 5 promotional videos.

Nadine Labaki Lebanese actress and film director

Nadine Labaki is a Lebanese actress and director.

Henri Colpi Swiss film director, screenwriter and film editor

Henri Colpi was a French film editor and film director.

Siddiq Barmak Afghan film director and producer

Siddiq Barmak is a Golden Globe-winner Afghan film director and producer. He received an M.A degree in cinema direction from the Moscow Film Institute (VGIK) in 1987.

Cristian Mungiu Romanian film director, screenwriter and film producer

Cristian Mungiu is a Romanian filmmaker. He won the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which he wrote and directed. He has also won the awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director, at the 2012 and 2016 Cannes Film Festivals, for his films Beyond the Hills and Graduation.

Fernando León de Aranoa Spanish film director and screenwriter

Fernando León de Aranoa is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. He achieved acclaim with his film Mondays in the Sun.

Osama Al-Zain Filmmaker and writer

Osama Al-Zain is a Palestinian filmmaker and writer. He received his undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Jordan. After winning the Moris Sheer Award for short videos at The International Competition for Students Artist sponsored by Savannah College of Art and Design, he moved to the USA to pursue his graduate studies in film and video. He finished his Master's degree of Arts in Film and Video from the American University, in Washington DC.

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Indian film director

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, composer, singer, lyricist and actor, known for his works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films, across multiple genres. The octogenarian is widely regarded as one of the versatile directors of India. He is credited with having revolutionised the South Indian cinema with experimental films. He has garnered two National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards South, and three Karnataka State Film Awards.

Yorgos Lanthimos Greek film producer and film director

Georgios "Yorgos" Lanthimos is a Greek film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. He received four Academy Award nominations for his work, including Best Foreign Language Film for Dogtooth (2009), Best Original Screenplay for The Lobster (2015), and Best Picture and Best Director for The Favourite (2018).

<i>Horses of God</i> 2012 film by Nabil Ayouch

Horses of God is 2012 Moroccan drama film about the 2003 Casablanca bombings. It was directed by Nabil Ayouch, and based on the novel The Stars of Sidi Moumen by Moroccan writer Mahi Binebine. The film won several awards, and was Morocco's submission for the 85th Academy Awards.

Ritesh Batra is an Indian filmmaker.

Nabil Maleh was a Syrian film director, screenwriter, producer, painter and poet; he is thought to be a father of Syrian cinema. Nabil has published more than 1,000 articles short stories, essays and poems. He is the writer and director of 120 short, experimental and documentary works and 12 feature-length films including The Extras and The Leopard. He has more than 60 awards at international film festivals, including several lifetime achievement awards. Several of his films are in the curriculum of international film schools and he has taught film direction, acting, writing and aesthetics at many universities, centers and associations, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California in Los Angeles.

References

  1. ↑ "IMDB Company Info".
  2. ↑ "Implanted IMDB".
  3. ↑ "Walking Shadows Entertainment".
  4. ↑ "Studentfilms.com".
  5. ↑ "IMDB Distant Walls".
  6. ↑ "Number 74 In E-Flat".
  7. ↑ "IMDB Implanted".
  8. ↑ "Arab In America Official Webpage".
  9. ↑ "Arab In America".
  10. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (February 22, 2011). "Variety | The Ropes".
  11. ↑ "Reach Official Website".
  12. ↑ "Reach Dread Central".
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.