Filmmaking
Halbrooks's first significant film project was producing Lowery's short film Pioneer (2011), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was also shown at Cannes. [4] [5] He subsequently co-produced Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color and produced Ain't Them Bodies Saints , both premiering at Sundance in 2013. [6] For Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Halbrooks and co-producer James M. Johnson won the 2023 Indian Paintbrush Producer's Award. [7] They also received nominations for the 17th annual Piaget Producers Award. [8]
In 2014, Halbrooks directed his debut short film Dig , which premiered at Sundance. [9] [10] He co-wrote Disney’s live-action Pete's Dragon (2016) alongside David Lowery. [11] [12] Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips praised Lowery and Halbrooks' writing, and went on to describe the film as "one of the season's most heartening surprises." [13]
In 2017, Halbrooks and Johnston produced Person to Person, a drama which featured an ensemble cast including Michael Cera and Abbi Jacobson. [14]
He co-produced A Ghost Story (2017), for which he also co-wrote a song with Lowery, Andrew Tinker, and Kesha. The song, titled Last One, was performed by Stereo Jane for the film's soundtrack. [15] He also co-produced The Old Man & the Gun (2018), Miss Juneteenth (2020), and The Green Knight (2021). [16] Halbrooks also co-wrote the screenplay for Disney's Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) with Lowery. [17]
In 2023, he began production on Mother Mary , directed by Lowery and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, produced by A24. [18]
