Shane Carruth

Shane Carruth
Born 1972 (age 42–43)
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States
Alma mater Stephen F. Austin State University
Occupation Film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, musician
Years active 2004–present

Shane Carruth (born 1972) is an American film writer, director, and actor.[1][2] He is the writer, director, and co-star of the prize-winning science-fiction film Primer (2004). His second film, Upstream Color, was released in 2013. In recognition of Carruth's idiosyncratic and, at times, bizarre filmmaking, director Steven Soderbergh told Entertainment Weekly, "I view Shane as the illegitimate offspring of David Lynch and James Cameron."[3]

Life and career

Carruth was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University as a math major.[4] Before becoming a filmmaker, he used to be a developer of flight simulation software.[3]

Carruth wrote, directed, produced, and performed one of the two main roles, and composed the music for his independent film Primer, which was honored at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival with the Grand Jury Prize and the Alfred P. Sloan Award. Carruth, a former software engineer with an undergraduate degree in math,[3] utilized his technical knowledge on the project.

David Sullivan, one of the leads in Primer, tweeted that "Shane Carruth's next project, A Topiary, is in the early stages of pre-production". Filmmaker Rian Johnson tweeted that it would feature a "mind-blowing sci-fi script".[5] In 2010, several news sources reported that A Topiary was in the works, and that the script had been written. There was already a website for the movie[6] which, according to Carruth in an interview to io9, "The website for now is just a place mark as financing has yet to be completed. I'm cautiously optimistic that this can happen soon and couldn't be happier with the filmmakers that have committed to the project so far."[7] However, the film (which Entertainment Weekly described as "a sci-fi epic about a group of kids who build a giant, animal-like creature") stalled, and in early 2013, Carruth told EW that it was "the thing I basically wasted my whole life on".[3] Carruth no longer pursues the project; some VFX test footage of the film is visible in Upstream Color.[8]

Carruth was rumored as having been consulted on time-travel sequences for filmmaker Rian Johnson's science fiction film Looper, though it was later revealed that those sequences were too expensive to shoot.[9][10] In an "Ask Me Anything" session on the site Reddit, Johnson said "He gave some notes on the script but wasn't involved beyond that, sadly."[11]

On January 21, 2013, Carruth premiered his film Upstream Color at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category.[12] Carruth, Johnny Marshall, and Pete Horner won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design for the film.[13] Keith Kimbell wrote that it was the "most anticipated (and most difficult to describe) film in competition", and "most critics couldn't stop talking about it".[14] The film was released via VHX on April 5, 2013.[14]

He is currently working on his next film, The Modern Ocean, based on international shipping and the lives of those involved.[15]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Primer
Upstream Color

References

  1. ↑ Murray, Rebecca (October 22, 2004). "Interview with Shane Carruth". About.com. New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  2. ↑ Moring, Mark (October 22, 2004). "A Primer on Filmmaking". Christianity Today. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Maerz, Melissa (April 5, 2013). "A Mysterious Director Returns, in Living Color". Entertainment Weekly (1253): 50. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  4. ↑ "New Math: A Conversation with Shane Carruth".
  5. ↑ "Twitter / Rian Johnson: to all who asked". Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  6. ↑ Atopiary.com
  7. ↑ "More details about Shane Carruth's next mind-bending film!". io9.com. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  8. ↑ "UPSTREAM COLOR w/ Shane Carruth of PRIMER (B-Movies Interview)".
  9. ↑ "Shane Carruth Working on LOOPER".
  10. ↑ Raftery, Brian (April 17, 2013). "Buckle Your Brainpan: The Primer Director Is Back With a New Film". Wired.com. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Forceduse comments on IAm Rian Johnson, filmmaker". Reddit.com. September 24, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Apple Trailers: Upstream Color Trailer".
  13. ↑ "2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Feature Film Awards". sundance.org. January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kimbell, Keith (January 28, 2013). "2013 Sundance Film Festival Recap". Metacritic. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  15. ↑ Wise, Damon (5 January 2014). "Shane Carruth Interview: Upstream Color". Empire Magazine. Retrieved 2014-06-19.

External links

Interviews
Official websites