David N. Donihue
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David N. Donihue (David Nelson Donihue, b. April 25, 1974) is an American writer, director and actor known initially for experimental work, yet in recent years has garnered acclaim while transitioning into more mainstream fare.
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[edit] Early years
Donihue was born in rural Eastern Washington, raised blocks away from The Green River Killer, and was a resident of Auburn, Washington. He started writing plays that were performed for 45 cents in his back yard and local parks when he was as young as seven. His first film was made when he was eleven, utilizing a rented video camera and two borrowed VCR's with stero cables. His father was a pastor. His mother, Anita Corrine Donihue, was a special education teacher who later became a well known Christian Devotional author.
By his mid teens, Donihue was writing feature length plays. During these years, Donihue began to work graveyard shifts at a local college radio station, KGRG, as an overnight DJ. There, he became obsessed with experimental music and film, and directed a series of student films. During this era, at age 18, he wrote Hold My Hand & Tell Me I'm Not Insane, a comedy-drama about a young playwright whose scripts follow his life, yet later dictate it. The play was produced in Seattle with its premiere at the Scottish Rite Hall on Capitol Hill.
During his early twenties, Donihue wrote, directed, acted in and produced a string of independent plays within the northwest including Hey Baby Do Ya Wanna Come Back To My Place and Justify My Existence, and another pop psychology comedy Brain Aches And The Quest For Redemption Of A Telephone Psychic as well as the forty minute short film "Love Me Tender, Pay Me Well".
He penned dozens of feature length scripts, both plays and films, during this era, most of which he refused to have seen or published. A partial list of titles exists with corresponding dates. He was quoted at one point as to saying "Creation is far more interesting than exhibition."
[edit] Professional Life
By his mid twenties, Donihue was a mainstay in the Seattle Underground film and music scene, making the little seen yet sought after, The Humanity Experiment, as well as the provocative short film The Girls Of Bi-Polar Disorder.
Just before leaving Seattle to pursue mainstream filmmaking, Donihue was cast in Matt Wilkin's highly acclaimed drama, Buffalo Bill's Defunt. Donihue played a troubled young man who finds himself amidst an evening of drinking and gutting a dear in a small American town. The American Avante Guard referred to the film as "Brilliant."
[edit] Recent Years
Donihue moved to Los Angeles and began directing music videos to pay the rent, while he worked to establish himself as a screenwriter. In 2005 he partnered with Rahul Dholakia to write Parzania, which is considered by many accounts, to be one of the most controversial films in the eastern hemisphere. The English language thriller, based on the true story of the Gujarat Riots of 2002, garnered praise from the New York Times,[1] It was shown in New York as part of the Museum of Modern Arts' India Now film exhibition.Museum of Modern Arts - Film Exhibitions - India Now - April 22–30, 2007
Donihue then went on to co-write Tree of Life with director Hava Volterra.
He next decided to take on the ambitious project of writing and directing the first feature length, live action Choose Your Own Adventure style interactive film, The Weathered Underground, an action-comedy where the audience chooses what the central character does next. The hipster epic was designed to be played on DVD, iPod and online, has over 30 different endings, and hundreds of choices in the middle. The film can also be played for four and a half hours before reaching the same plot line. Each plot generally lasts no more than twenty minutes. Like much of Donihue's earlier work, the film doesn't shy away from themes of psychology, sociolofy and religion, yet still plays as an action pop comedy with an indie rock soundtrack and live performances from the bands The Lashes and Siren Sister.
