Deon Taylor

Deon Taylor
Occupation Film Director, Screenwriter

Deon Taylor is an American film director and screenwriter for horror films.

Early life

Deon Taylor was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Gary, Indiana. During high school he and his mother moved to Sacramento, California, stating that, “Gary, Indiana is the murder capital of the world, so my entire freshman basketball team is dead."[1] Taylor slept on the floor of a family friend’s house and finished high school in Sacramento. During high school he played basketball and earned a full-tuition basketball scholarship to college. The first student to receive a full-tuition scholarship from his school or the district, Taylor attended college at San Diego State University and received a degree in Biology. During college he was named “Newcomer of the Year,” and went on to play professionally, earning a spot in the NBA Entertainment League.[2] While briefly playing basketball in Kemnitz, Germany for the Kemkatz, Taylor wrote his first script for Dead Tone (originally titled 7eventy 5ive). However, it would not be until years later Taylor would act on the project, first having a minor encounter with the music industry. Taylor set up his own independent record label in Northern California, but later changed his mind about the industry, saying, “I was selling someone else, and that was the artist."[3] Taylor made up his mind to go into film after this and bring Dead Tone to completion. Currently, Deon Taylor is head of Deon Taylor Enterprises, CEO of Ether Marketing, and partnership owner of the American Basketball Association. "[4]

Film

Taylor says he loved horror movies since he was a kid and made up his mind to go into film-making after college and departure from the music industry. After his screenplay was rejected in L.A., Taylor partnered with an independent film company who later encouraged him to create his own business. He also received some mentoring from Jon Divens, co-producer of Blade and Blade II.[5] Taylor founded Deon Taylor Enterprises in Sacramento, California and wrote and directed his first movie, Dead Tone.[6] Taylor went on to shoot a horror series for BET, Nite Tales: The Series,[7] a low budget series starring Flavor Flav that drew one million viewers on its first airing, but later lacked support from television because it was independently done.[8] Taylor’s slasher/thriller Chain Letter will be given a national release to select theatres in October 2010.[5] Taylor currently resides in Sacramento, California, filming in both Sacramento and L.A. three days a week.[9]

Television

Nite Tales: The Series was created after Nite Tales: The Movie due to the success of its airing. Episodes were shot in one day on a 35 millimeter camera and budgeted around $20,000 – $50,000. The series was later aired on WGN in Chicago, Illinois on Friday nights at midnight in 2009. Nite Tales: The Movie was released on DVD in 2008 with a DVD release of the series pending in the future.[8] Taylor has paired with Jamie Foxx to co-direct a future national television release titled Tommy's Little Girl.[5]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Cast
2007 Dead Tone (originally 7eventy 5ive)
2008 Hustle, TheThe Hustle
2008 Nite Tales: The Movie
2009 Nite Tales: The Series
2010 Chain Letter

References

  1. ↑ "Who is Deon Taylor?" by Fabio Periera. July 9th 2010. HuffingtonPost.com. Retrieved July 12th, 2010.
  2. ↑ NBAE Rosters 2007–08 2010. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved July 1st, 2010.
  3. ↑ Deon Taylor Bio 1990–2010. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved June 30th, 2010.
  4. ↑ "THE ICONIC AMERICAN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION (ABA), ETHER MARKETING AND 6SPORTS ANNOUNCE THE FORMATION OF “ABA CLASSICS.”" June 30, 2011. ABAlive.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 “Former Gary resident is a fresh face in fright fare” by Bob Kostanczuk. Post Tribune. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ “Screen Media pacts for Deon Taylor's Dead Tone” By Wendy Mitchell. July 2009. ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved July 6th 2010.
  7. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (26 January 2009). "'Nite Tales' deal is first from NATPE: Flavor Flav-hosted series is from Trifecta, Star Media venture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 “Bob Shallit: Sacramento Filmmaker’s Horror Flick set for National Release” Sacramento Bee News. 2010. Retrieved July 6th 2010.
  9. ↑ "Brief Interview: Deon Taylor” by Tony Sheppard. Sacramento Press. April 11, 2009. Retrieved July 8th 2010.

External links