Daniel Adams (director)
Daniel R. Adams (born 1961)[1][2] is an American feature film director. He is best known for directing and writing the films The Lightkeepers, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, and The Golden Boys, starring David Carradine, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn, Charles Durning, and Mariel Hemingway.[3]
Daniel Adams | |
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Born | Daniel R. Adams 1961 (age 59–60) |
Occupation | Film director |
Biography
Adams grew up in the Boston area. He attended the University of Vermont[4] in 1980 to 1981 as well as some Harvard Extension School classes in the early 1980s. He worked for several political campaigns including two gubernatorial campaigns, a race for attorney general, and a presidential campaign. He directed television commercials for a Boston advertising agency and went into producing feature films in 1989.
He is a proponent of shooting film rather than digital. [5]
Legal problems
In December 2011 Adams was indicted on 10 counts of making false tax claims related to two movies he directed, The Golden Boys and The Lightkeepers, for which his production company received $4.7 million in tax credits from the state of Massachusetts.[4][6] On April 19, 2012 he pleaded guilty, served 21 months in prison, and was sentenced to 10 years probation.[7]
In February 2019, the SEC claimed Adams had defrauded investors in connection with the film An L.A. Minute.[8]
Film career
Adams gained film production experience from directing television commercials for a Boston advertising agency. He co-wrote and directed his first feature film in 1989, A Fool and His Money (originally titled, Religion, Inc.), which starred Sandra Bullock (Adams cast Ms. Bullock in her first leading role), Jonathan Penner, George Plimpton and Jerzy Kosinski (released through Trimark Pictures - now Lions Gate). He then went on to write and direct his second feature, Primary Motive, which starred Judd Nelson, Justine Bateman, Richard Jordan, John Savage and Sally Kirkland, for Twentieth Century Fox. His third feature, which he also wrote and directed, was a comedy entitled, The Mouse, starring Rip Torn and John Savage, and released through Strand Releasing. His film, The Golden Boys, was released through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Films in 2009.
Also in 2009, he directed the feature film, The Lightkeepers, from a script he wrote that is based on the story The Woman Haters: A Yarn of Eastboro Twin-Lights (1911) by Joseph C. Lincoln. The film, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, was released through New Films Cinema in the spring of 2010. It was chosen as the closing night film for the Palm Springs International Film Festival,[9] and was the opening night film for the Boulder International Film Festival,[10] won the "Golden Angel" award (best picture) and chosen closing night film at the Los Angeles Chinese-American Film Festival,[11] was named the No. 2 Best Grown Up Love Story of the Year (2010) by AARP Magazine,[12] and won the 2010 "best musical score for a comedy" award by the International Film Music Critics Association.[13][14] Two-time Academy Award nominated actor Bruce Dern has compared Adams' directing style to Hal Ashby and Alfred Hitchcock, and commented, "He (Adams) is on the threshold of becoming an extremely interesting commodity in this business because he's really old-school - he's an old-school filmmaker." [15] And Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss has been quoted, "Daniel is a smart man, who truly understands the old values of filmmaking... He is an excellent writer and perhaps enough people will see The Lightkeepers to appreciate that."[16] Adams directed the film An L.A. Minute which he co-wrote with National Lampoon alum Larry "Ratso" Sloman.[17] The film was released in theaters in the summer of 2018 through Strand Releasing[18] but made just $5,004 at the box office.[8]
Selected filmography
- Panama (TBA)
- An L.A. Minute (2018)
- The Lightkeepers (2009)
- The Golden Boys (2008)
- The Mouse (1996)
- Primary Motive (1992)
- A Fool and His Money (1989)
References
- Alex Ben Block, Movie Director Indicted in $4.7 Million Tax Rebate Fraud Case, hollywoodreporter.com, December 12, 2011
- FamilyTreeNow.com Genealogy, Name:Daniel R Adams, Born:1961
- Gilsdorf, Ethan (2007-06-03). "Not the retiring type - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- Healy, Beth; Pierce, Kathleen. "Producer leaves Cape feeling fleeced". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
- https://medium.com/@danieladams_87014/why-i-shoot-film-97247f52a1ab
- "Filmmaker Breaks Silence Over Tax-Credit Prison Nightmare". The Hollywood Reporter.
- "Director Pleads Guilty to Inflating Movie Costs". The Daily Item. April 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- Williams, Trey (26 February 2019). "Director Daniel Adams Charged With Defrauding Investors in Gabriel Byrne Film 'An LA Minute'". The Wrap. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- "Closing Night Gala 2010 | 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival". Psfilmfest.org. 2009-12-24. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- "BIFF brings out Boulder's film buffs - Boulder Daily Camera". Dailycamera.com. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- "The Lightkeepers". Cafilmfestival.org. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- Newcott, Bill (2011-01-14). "Movies for Grownups Awards 2011 - Best Grownup Love Story: Annette Ben..." AARP. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- "Pinar Toprak receives her IFMCA Award for The Lightkeepers | IFMCA: the International Film Music Critics Association". Filmmusiccritics.org. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- "Homepage". Danieladams.la. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- http://news.moviefone.com/2010/05/08/new-old-news-bruce-dern-on-working-with-hitchcock-hal-ashby/
- "Exclusive interview with Richard Dreyfuss". IMDb.
- Pedersen, Erik (May 2, 2016). "Spiderworx Media Launches; $50M Film Fund From Daniel Adams & Mike Flanders Sets First Project".
- "Kiersey Clemons Becomes an Overnight Sensation in 'An L.A. Minute' Trailer (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight.