Matt Reeves

Matthew George "Matt" Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. Reeves began his career as a screenwriter for the films Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) and The Pallbearer (1996), the latter of which marked his feature-length directorial debut. He then transitioned into television as a director and co-creator of the drama series Felicity (1998–2002) alongside J.J. Abrams. Reeves has since directed the found-footage horror film Cloverfield (2008), the romantic horror film Let Me In (2010), and the science fiction sequels Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). In February 2017, Warner Bros. announced that Reeves would direct The Batman, to be set in the DC Extended Universe starring Ben Affleck as the titular character.^[1][2]

Early life

Reeves was born in Rockville Centre, New York, and raised in Los Angeles, California. He began making movies at age eight, directing friends and using a wind-up camera. Reeves met and befriended J.J. Abrams when both were 13 years old^[3] and a public-access television cable TV channel, Z Channel,^[4] was airing their short films. When Reeves and Abrams were about 15, Steven Spielberg hired them to transfer some of his Super 8 films to videotape.^[3]

Reeves attended the University of Southern California. There, between 1991 and 1992, he produced an award-winning student film, Mr. Petrified Forest,^[5] which helped him acquire an agent; he also co-wrote a script that eventually became Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. After graduating, he co-wrote The Pallbearer, which became his professional directorial debut.

Career

Reeves and Abrams co-created the TV series Felicity,^[6] for which Reeves directed several episodes, including the pilot. Reeves has helmed occasional episodes of other TV series, including Homicide: Life on the Street and Relativity.

Reeves directed the 2008 monster movie, Cloverfield, which Abrams produced;^[7] Reeves produced the 2016 sequel to that film.^[8]

He also wrote and directed Let Me In, a remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In,^[9] which was released on October 1, 2010 by Overture Films.^[10] He was a special guest at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.^[11]

In 2012, it was announced that Reeves will direct a movie based on the classic hit TV series The Twilight Zone. He says that the film will have one main story that could relate to the original series. The film was about to develop in summer 2013 but Reeves left the project for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, released in 2014. He returned to direct the third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, which was released on July 14, 2017.^[12]

Upcoming projects

Since 2011, Reeves has been working on the script of 8 O'Clock in the Morning, a science fiction film based on the short story of same name written by Ray Nelson, previously adapted by John Carpenter as They Live. He will also direct the film and Universal Pictures will produce the film.^[13]

In January 2017, it was reported that Ben Affleck had stepped down as director for his co-written, co-produced, and self-starring, The Batman; while also naming Reeves as one of several filmmakers on a shortlist of those the studio and Affleck were jointly considering as a replacement to direct the film.^[14] In February 2017, it was announced that he would direct and produce the upcoming film. Production on the film will start sometime in June 2018, in Burbank, California. The film will exist inside the large and expanding DC Extended Universe.^[2]

Reeves will produce the adaptation of The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole for 20th Century Fox Animation.^[15]

Personal life

Reeves is married to Melinda Wang, a former animator. They have one son.^[16]

Filmography

• Future Shock (1993) (Mr. Petrified Forest segment) (writer, director)
• Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (with Richard Hatem) (1995) (co-writer)
• The Pallbearer (1996) (co-writer, with Jason Katims)
• Relativity (1997) (TV)
• Homicide: Life on the Street (1997) (TV)
• Gideon's Crossing (2000) (TV)
• Felicity (1998–2002) (co-creator, with J. J. Abrams) (TV)
• The Yards (with James Gray) (2000) (co-writer)
• Miracles (2006) (TV)
• Conviction (2006) (TV)
• Cloverfield (2008) (director)
• Let Me In (2010) (director, writer)
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) (director)
• 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) (executive producer)
• War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) (director, co-writer)
• The Batman (TBA) (director, co-producer)
• The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole (TBA) (producer)

Reception

Critical, public and commercial reception to films Reeves has directed as of April 16, 2015.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Reeves.

• Matt Reeves on IMDb
• LAist.com Interview with Matt Reeves