Thomas Verrette

Thomas Patrick Verrette (born February 14, 1985) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, director, producer, editor, and composer. He is the founder of Skylight Cinema, Inc.,^[1] an independent film production company located in Los Angeles, California. Verrette is best known for writing, directing, producing and composing the feature film, Implanted,^[2] which is being distributed by Walking Shadows.^[3]

Early life and education

Verrette was born in Englewood, New Jersey, but grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, for most of his life. He attended Milton High School and began his music career as a trombonist and pianist, but quickly adapted his musical talents to composing and orchestration. As a lover of film music, he turned his focus to film making, with the sole intention to have an original film to score to. Verrette made his first film, In The Hands of the Enemy, an ambitious 55 minute war film about the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II, at age 16. The film was promoted by Verrette and the film's cast and crew around town, and was screened in the High School auditorium. Profiting off his first film, Verrette invested in his next semi-feature, The Lost Soldiers,^[4] about AWOL soldiers in Vietnam, which he wrote, produced, directed, shot, edited and composed. For that film, he followed the same distribution model as his previous film, and with more screenings and a growing word of mouth, the film turned a much larger profit. Additionally, Verrette was awarded an artistic scholarship for his film work by the Savannah College of Art and Design.

His next directorial effort was Distant Walls,^[5] the story of two young brothers escaping from an abusive household. The feature was shot just prior to Verrette attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, and over the next two years, was completed outside of the film program. While there, Verrette began relationships with a number of successful filmmakers, including Seth Iliff, Paul Gandersman, and Nabil Abou-Harb. Verrette also earned student awards for "Best Cinematography" and "Best Original Score.^[6] "

For his senior thesis film, Verrette wrote the screenplay for I Am The Bluebird, which would eventually become known as Implanted. The ambition, scope, and subject matter of the screenplay attracted many students and faculty members to dedicate their time and expertise to help Verrette turn his screenplay into a successful feature film. Verrette, along with producers Shaun Lynch and Katie Weiss, formed the production company Skylight Cinema, Inc. to finance and produce the film. Verrette directed the film in addition to taking on producing, editing, and composing duties. Verrette graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Film career

Implanted

Implanted,^[7] starring Justice Leak, Rob Pralgo, Jason Turner, and Tara Jean Verrette, is a sci-fi drama about a young man's struggle to uncover the truth surrounding an illegal medical operation performed on him by his own father.

Arab in America

Originally a comedic short film directed by Nabil Abou-Harb and written and produced by Abou-Harb and Colin Ferri, Verrette became involved with Arab in America^[8] after the short debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Arab in America is the story of Osama Abou-Bakr, an Arab-American post-grad, who changes his name to Samuel Adam Baker to pursue the American Dream, and in the process, discovers himself. With the short's success, Abou-Harb, Ferri, and Verrette adapted the short film into a feature screenplay. The team raised half of the films $2 million budget, but the film was put on hold^[9] once Osama Bin Laden was killed.

Other work

In addition to directing, Verrette is also a film editor. He edited the promotional materials for upcoming Fox web-series, The Ropes,^[10] written, directed, and executive produced by Vin Diesel. Additionally, he edited the feature film Reach,^[11] starring Edward Furlong^[12] and David Dorfman, the feature documentary River Of Life, and many short films, including The Promotion, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Verrette’s commercial and corporate work includes Frontier Airlines, Iams, Prilosec, General Mills, Sony Electronics, Fox, Comedy Central, and Break Media.

Verrette has composed music for a number of short films and features, including No Way Out, The Promotion, Blood and Water, Quiet Country, Number 74 in E-Flat, The Warden, among others.

External links

• Official Webpage

Thomas Verrette on the Internet Movie Database

References