Aaron Harvey (born October 28, 1980) is an American film director and writer. He wrote and directed the feature films '' Catch .44'', '' The Neighbor'', and ''

Into the Ashes ''Into The Ashes'' is a 2019 American action drama film written, produced and directed by Aaron Harvey, starring Luke Grimes, Frank Grillo, Robert Taylor, James Badge Dale and Marguerite Moreau. It was released theatrically in the United States ...

''.

Life and career

Harvey was born in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

but grew up in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to pursue filmmaking. In 2010 he wrote and directed the feature film '' Catch .44'' starring

Malin Akerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including ''The Utopian Society'' (2003) and ''Harold & Kumar Go to Whi ...

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...

and

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

. The film was released theatrically on December 9, 2011 by

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...

. After completion of '' Catch .44'', Harvey joined with

Megan Ellison Margaret Elizabeth Ellison (born January 31, 1986) is an American film producer and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Annapurna Pictures, established in 2011. She produced the films ''Zero Dark Thirty'' (2012), '' Her'' (2013), '' American Hu ...

(who was a producer on '' Catch .44'') and helped set up

Annapurna Pictures Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...

. He worked at Annapurna Pictures for almost three years, before leaving to start his own production company, Michael Bruce Pictures and to direct his next feature film ''Last Days of Summer'', which was ultimately re-titled '' The Neighbor''. '' The Neighbor'' premiered at the

Rhode Island International Film Festival Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. History Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the ...

in 2016, where it won the festival's top prize, the "Best Narrative Feature" award. It subsequently played multiple other festivals, including the

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

, the

Quebec City Film Festival Quebec City Film Festival (french: Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec) (FCVQ or QCFF) is a film festival held annually in September in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It screens short and feature films and premieres movies from all over the ...

and the

Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival The ''Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival'' (commonly abbreviated as "HRIFF") is a film festival with a focus on independent films held annually at L.A. Live / Staples Center and additional cinemas across Hollywood, California. HRIFF gues ...

, where it won both the "Best Director" and "Best Actor" prizes. The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

was also complimentary of the film, stating "''The Neighbor'' finds a sturdy constant in its thoughtfully delineated performances and handsome production values." The film was picked up for distribution by

Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...

, who released the film theatrically on January 26, 2018. After '' The Neighbor'', Harvey wrote and directed the dramatic thriller ''

''. The film was shot in Alabama and stars

Luke Grimes Luke Timothy Grimes (born January 21, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his role as real life Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee in the acclaimed film ''American Sniper''. He played Christian Grey's brother, Elliot, in the film ''Fifty Shades of G ...

Frank Grillo Frank Anthony Grillo (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Brock Rumlow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), '' Avengers: ...

, Robert Taylor and

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric Sa ...

. It was released theatrically on July 19, 2019 by

RLJE Films RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

, writing for the

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

, gave the film 3 out of 4 stars writing "while not all the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly into place, it's still a good yarn filled with arresting visuals and solid performances."

Filmography

Feature films * '' Catch .44'' (2011) – director, writer * '' The Neighbor'' (2018) – director, writer, producer * ''

'' (2019) – director, writer, producer Short films * ''Idiot.'' (2013) - director, writer, editor, producer * ''Tom and Janie'' (2009) - director, writer, editor, producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Aaron 1980 births Living people American film directors