Braxton Pope is an independent American film and television producer and writer. He is a partner in Sodium Fox Productions, which he co-founded with novelist

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...

Production work

Pope formerly maintained a production deal with Lionsgate. In 2012 he commenced production on a neo-noir feature '' The Canyons'' written by

, directed by

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...

and starring

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

that was funded in part by a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign as well as by Pope, Schrader and Ellis individually. The film received media coverage for the innovative way it was financed and produced, utilizing new media techniques including crowdfunding, online casting and social media sites including

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. The film also received attention for the casting of lead actress Lindsay Lohan who had been acting infrequently in the preceding years as well as adult film performer James Deen in his first mainstream role. Pope also produced ''

Shrink (film) ''Shrink'' is a 2009 American independent black comedy-drama film about a psychiatrist who treats members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, California. It was directed by Jonas Pate, written by Thomas Moffett, and stars Kevin Spacey a ...

'' starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

; the science fiction feature ''

Hirokin ''Hirokin: The Last Samurai'' (released as "Fallen Empire" in European markets) is an independent American action-adventure film released in 2012. The film is directed by writer/director Alejo Mo-Sun and produced by Mo-Sun Welteroth Media. It s ...

'' starring

Wes Bentley Wesley Cook Bentley is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Ricky Fitts in '' American Beauty'' (1999), which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor; Seneca Crane in ''The Hunger Games'' (2012); Doyle i ...

, Jessica Szohr, Angus Macfadyen,

Julian Sands Julian Richard Morley Sands''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, ...

, and Laura Ramsey; ''

The Take (2008 film) ''The Take'' is a 2007 American crime drama film directed by Brad Furman and starring John Leguizamo, Tyrese Gibson, Bobby Cannavale, and Rosie Perez. The plot concerns an armored-truck driver who survives a violent hijacking and becomes obsessed ...

'' which was directed by

Brad Furman Brad Furman is an American film and music video director, producer, and writer. Career Furman grew up in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, attended Friends' Central School, and went on to study at New York University (NYU) where he earned a BFA in ...

and released theatrically by

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...

after premiering at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and receiving a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award. The cast included

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

, Tyrese Gibson,

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

and

Bobby Cannavale Roberto Michael Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for various television roles, including leading roles in ''Third Watch'', ''Vinyl'', and ''Mr. Robot'', as well as recurring roles in ''Will & Grace'', which wo ...

. He also produced the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

selection ''The Bondage'' starring Michael Angarano,

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is known for portraying Jack Goodman in '' An Amer ...

and Andy Dick as well as '' Penny Dreadful (film)'' and the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

film ''

Hit and Run (2009 film) ''Hit and Run'' (also known as ''Bumper'' or ''Hit and Run unrated'') is a 2009 horror film directed by Enda McCallion and written by Diane Doniol-Valcroze and Arthur K. Flam (as Arthur Flam). The film tells the story of a young woman who tries to ...

''. In the summer of 2012 he produced the music video ''Constant Conversations'' for

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

band Passion Pit that featured Peter Bogdanovich and premiered on Pitchfork. He executive produced ''Pete Smalls is Dead'' starring Tim Roth,

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi ( ,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself, some may insist that his pronunciation of his own name is "wrong" because it does not match the original Italian pronunciation as well. It is not uncommon for people to pronou ...

and Peter Dinklage which domestically premiered at Slamdance after being selected by the International Rome Film Festival and the feature film ''

Life is Hot in Cracktown ''Life Is Hot in Cracktown'' is a 2009 crime drama film based on Buddy Giovinazzo's 1993 collection of short stories with the same title. Giovinazzo directed and wrote the film. Plot The film intertwines several unsettling stories of people in a ...

'', written and directed by

Buddy Giovinazzo Buddy Giovinazzo (born 1957) is an American independent filmmaker and author who is known for his gritty, low-budget debut film, ''Combat Shock'', and his collection of harrowing short stories of low urban life in his 1993 anthology, ''Life Is H ...

and which starred

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

Evan Ross Evan Olav Ross-Naess (born August 26, 1988), is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film '' ATL'' (2006), and has since starred in the films ''Pride'' (2007), ''According to Greta'' (2009), '' Mooz-lum'' ...

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

and Shannyn Sossamon. He developed the memoir ''

Amarillo Slim Thomas Austin Preston Jr. (December 31, 1928 – April 29, 2012), known as Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and was ...

'' with Nicolas Cage and had the original option on the Vanity Fair article "The Suspects Wore Louboutins" by

Nancy Jo Sales Nancy Jo Sales (born October 15, 1964) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author and journalist at ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'', ''New York (magazine), New York'' magazine, and ''Harper's Bazaar'', among others. In 2011 she wrote an a ...

which was then acquired by Sofia Coppola for her film about the Hollywood Bling Ring. He produced ''The Golden Suicides'' which was developed with

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...

and based on a Vanity Fair article by Sales. He has also developed projects with

Gaspar Noe Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible. Notable peopl ...

and from source material by Sarah Silverman,

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, ''Bored to Death'' (HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' (STARZ). In the late '90s and early 2000s, ...

, Will Self,

Denis Johnson Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, ''Tree of Smoke'' (2007) ...

and

Thom Jones The surname Thom is of Scotland, Scottish origin, from the city of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire and Angus, Scotland, Angus, and is a sept of the Clan MacThomas. Thom is also a first name variant of the abbreviation "Tom (given ...

. He was a producer on the documentary '' Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe'' and executive produced the feature documentary ''The Source'' which premiered in competition at SXSW in 2012. In television he executive produced the

Showtime (TV channel) Showtime is an American premium television network owned by Paramount Media Networks, and is the flagship property of the namesake parent company, Showtime Networks, a part of Paramount Media Networks. Showtime's programming primarily includes t ...

pilots ''What’s Not To Love'' which starred Jonathan Ames and ''Hedonism'' and a Lionsgate/

FX (TV channel) FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launc ...

comedy pilot ''Sweat Shop''.

Life and career

Pope received his B.A. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

where he received a scholarship from

Telluride Association The Telluride Association is a non-profit organization in the United States founded in 1910 by Lucien Lucius Nunn and named for his city of residence, Telluride, Colorado. The organization states its mission as providing young people with free e ...

and was the recipient of the Cornell Book Award. He was selected by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' for their Next Generation issue's “35 under 35.” Pope is a member of the Producers Guild of America and Film Independent, and a board member of Cornell in Hollywood. He has written about film for '' Paste Magazine'' and was also the author of a pseudonymous entertainment column for the online literary site of McSweeneys Quarterly.

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Braxton American film producers Living people Cornell University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)