Ti West

Last updated

Ti West
Ti West in 2024.jpg
West in 2024
Born
Timon C. West

(1980-10-05) October 5, 1980 (age 44)
Alma mater School of Visual Arts
Occupations
  • Director
  • writer
  • producer
  • editor
  • cinematographer
  • actor
Years active2001–present
Notable work X
Spouse Alison Wonderland (2024-present)
Children1

Timon C. West [1] (born October 5, 1980) [2] is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and actor, best known for his work in horror films. [3] [4] He directed the horror films The Roost (2005), Trigger Man (2007), The House of the Devil (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), the Western In a Valley of Violence (2016) as well as the X film series. He has also acted in a number of films, mostly in those directed by either himself or Joe Swanberg. [3]

Contents

Early life

West was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and attended Tatnall School, describing his background as "suburban middle class." [2] [5] His given name Timon was the surname of his maternal grandfather. [1] [6] [7] He was inspired to create films after watching Peter Jackson's Bad Taste and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead . [5] He was featured in a 2001 fall issue of Teen People magazine. [8] West attended the School of Visual Arts. [9] There, one of his professors, screenwriter and director Kelly Reichardt, introduced him to Larry Fessenden, who became his mentor. Fessenden funded West's first two films, The Roost (2005) and Trigger Man (2007). [5]

Career

West's early directorial work includes the 2001 short The Wicked, and feature films The Roost (2005), Trigger Man (2007), The House of the Devil (2009), [10] The Innkeepers (2011), and The Sacrament (2013). He appeared in 2004's The Woman Who Split Before Dinner as Old Man Conrad. In 2009, West wrote, produced and directed the web series Dead & Lonely for IFC Films. [11] The first series run ended in October 2009. [12] West disowned the 2009 horror film Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever , citing massive interference and re-editing as the reasons. He wanted to remove his name completely from the film and give directing credit to Alan Smithee, but his request was denied. [13]

West in September 2009 Ti-west.jpg
West in September 2009

West was set to direct The Haunting in Georgia, the sequel to The Haunting in Connecticut , but left the project in March 2010. [14] In 2012, he worked with Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg, Glenn McQuaid and the Radio Silence Productions hosts Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Chad Villella on the anthology horror film V/H/S . He directed the segment "Second Honeymoon". [15]

In June 2015, it was reported that West would direct an episode of MTV's Scream television series. He directed the penultimate episode of the first season, titled "The Dance". [16] He has also directed an episode of Jason Blum and Eli Roth's We TV horror series South of Hell , titled "Take Life Now". [17] West wrote, directed, produced and edited the Western film In a Valley of Violence , starring Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, and John Travolta. [18] It premiered at South by Southwest in March 2016. [19]

In late 2020, it was announced that A24 would produce a horror film titled X, which would be directed by West and will star Mia Goth, Scott Mescudi, Jenna Ortega, and Brittany Snow. The film was released on March 18, 2022, to critical acclaim. While X was in production, filming in New Zealand was temporarily halted due to the country's lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to West spending the time writing a screenplay to a prequel. The film, Pearl , was filmed back-to-back with X once production started up again. Pearl was released in September 2022 to critical acclaim. West later confirmed he was working on a third installment in the series, a sequel to X titled MaXXXine .

West directed the music video to Justin Timberlake’s single "No Angels", which was released March 15, 2024, as the second single from the latter’s sixth studio album Everything I Thought It Was . [20] [21]

Personal life

On Halloween 2024 West married Australian DJ Alison Wonderland in Las Vegas. [22] The previous year they welcomed their first child together, a son named Max. [23]

Filmography

Feature films by Ti West
YearTitle Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
2005 The Roost YesYesNoYesAlso composer
2007 Trigger Man YesYesYesYesAlso cinematographer
2009 The House of the Devil YesYesNoYes
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever YesStoryNoNo
2011 The Innkeepers YesYesYesYes
2012 V/H/S YesYesYesYesSegment "Second Honeymoon"
The ABCs of Death YesYesNoNoSegment "M is for Miscarriage"
2013 The Sacrament YesYesYesYes
2016 In a Valley of Violence YesYesYesYes
2022 X YesYesYesYes
Pearl YesYesYesYes
2024 MaXXXine YesYesYesYes
Short films
YearTitle Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
2001PreyYesYesYesYesAlso cinematographer
InfestedYesYesYesYes
The WickedYesYesYesYes
2008Christmas DecayYesYesNoNoProduced for Glass Eye Pix as part of their
2008 Creepy Christmas Online Film Festival
2013BoxYesYesNoNoSegment of The 3:07 AM Project, a short anthology
produced to promote The Conjuring
2022The Farmer's DaughtersYesYesYesYesChronological compilation of the porn film that was shot in X.
Released as an extra on the home media releases of the film.
Web series by Ti West
YearTitle Director Writer Producer
2009Dead & LonelyYesYesYes
Acting roles by Ti West
YearTitleRoleNotes
2005 The Roost Professor
2009 The House of the Devil Favorite Teacher
2011 You're Next Tariq
Silver Bullets Ben
2012Marriage MaterialAlso cinematographer
All the Light in the Sky Director
2013 Drinking Buddies Dave
Television work by Ti West
YearTitleEpisode(s)
2015 Scream "The Dance"
South of Hell "Take Life Now"
2016 Wayward Pines "Exit Strategy" and "Bedtime Story"
2017 Outcast "The Common Good"
The Exorcist "Unclean"
2019 The Passage "You Are Not That Girl Anymore"
Chambers "Bad Inside" and "Heroic Dose"
The Resident "Belief System"
Soundtrack "Track 3: Sam and Dante" and "Track 5: Dante and Annette"
2020 Tales from the Loop "Enemies"
2021, 2024 Them "Day 7: Night", "Day 10" and "The Box"
2025 Poker Face "Day of the Iguana"
Music videos by Ti West
YearTitleArtist
2024"No Angels" Justin Timberlake
2025"Neverland" Kid Cudi [24]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardWorkResult
2001NYIIFVF Short Film Award for Best Director – Student FilmThe WickedWon
2005 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best with Less The Roost Nominated
2009 Best of Puchon The House of the Devil Won
Gold Hugo for After Dark Competition Nominated
2011 Toronto After Dark Film Festival Fan's Choice Award for Scariest Film The Innkeepers Won
SXSW Spotlight Premiere Audience Award Nominated
2012Fright Meter Award for Best DirectorNominated
Gold Hugo for After Dark Competition The ABCs of Death (shared with Kaare Andrews, et al.)Nominated
SXSW Midnight Audience Award V/H/S (shared with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, et al.)Nominated
Sitges Film Festival Maria Award for Best Motion Picture Nominated
2013 Gold Hugo for After Dark Competition The Sacrament Nominated
Venice Horizons Award for Best Film Nominated
2014Fright Meter Award for Best EditingNominated
Gérardmer Film Festival Syfy Jury Prize Won
Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Limited Release/Direct-to-Video Film 3rd Place
2015 Fangoria Hall of Fame HimselfWon
2022 Sitges Film Festival for Best Director Pearl Won
Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay [25] Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 "Obituaries: Violet A. West Stout". Legacy.com . Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Ti West". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on October 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Ti West". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2011. Archived from the original on March 1, 2011.
  4. Dyar, Amanda (January 25, 2010). "Ti West Talks House of the Devil, Cabin Fever 2, and More!". Dread Central . Archived from the original on January 30, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Derakhshani, Tirdad (February 4, 2010). "A horror maestro from Wilmington". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  6. Dawson, Nick (October 30, 2009). "Ti West, The House Of The Devil". Filmmaker . Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  7. "Obituaries: Patrick J. Timon". Legacy.com . Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  8. Hunt, Kristin (April 23, 2012). "Ti West's Four Horror Movie Classics (and One That's Way Overrated)". Maxim . Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  9. Macauly, Scott (March 11, 2016). "In a Valley of Violence DP Eric Robbins on Shooting Ti West's New Film in 35mm". Filmmaker . Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  10. Barton, Steve (October 27, 2009). "The House of the Devil: Live Twitter Chat with Director Ti West". Dread Central .
  11. Barton, Steve (September 21, 2009). "IFC Explores Being Dead & Lonely in New Web Series". Dread Central .
  12. "Online Horror Goods: IFC's 'Dead & Lonely', Animated 'Dexter: Early Cuts'". Bloody Disgusting . October 26, 2009.
  13. Turek, Ryan (October 16, 2009). "EXCL: Ti West and the Cabin Fever 2 Experience". Shock Till You Drop.
  14. Barton, Steve (March 30, 2010). "Ti West Talks Haunting in Georgia Exit". Dread Central .
  15. Gallagher, Brian (December 5, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Ti West Talks 'V/H/S' Blu-ray". MovieWeb .
  16. Fischer, Russ (June 29, 2015). "Ti West Directing Part of 'Scream' TV Series". /Film .
  17. "'South Of Hell' Adds Directors Ti West, Rachel Talalay, Jennifer Lynch & Jeremiah Chechik". Deadline Hollywood . November 11, 2014.
  18. Kit, Borys (March 18, 2014). "John Travolta, Ethan Hawke to Star in Western Film From Jason Blum". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  19. McNary, Dave (February 2, 2016). "SXSW Unveils Lineup With James Caan, Ethan Hawke, Keegan-Michael Key Movies". Variety .
  20. "Justin Timberlake - No Angels (Official Video)". YouTube. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  21. Avila, Daniela (March 15, 2024). "Watch Justin Timberlake's Alter Ego — and a Dark Angel — Torture Him in the 'No Angels' Music Video". People. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  22. Cameron, John (November 4, 2024). "Alison Wonderland Ties the Knot with Ti West on Halloween in Las Vegas". EDM Identity. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  23. "Alison Wonderland Has Officially Given Birth To A Baby Boy". EDM Maniac. June 20, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  24. Kid Cudi and Ti West Reunite on "Neverland" Music Video Produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions
  25. locusmag (June 19, 2023). "2022 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved June 25, 2023.