Don Handfield is an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, author, and producer.

Education and acting career

Handfield studied theater and film at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1993. His first job in media after college was as a production assistant at

E! Entertainment Television E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversa ...

. After moving to Los Angeles, his acting career included the role of Dwight Tanner, (Robert Duvall's son) in the 1998 film '' Deep Impact'', and Pete Bradley in the 1997 film '' Defying Gravity''. His films as an actor also include ''

Captain Jack Captain Jack may refer to: People * Calico Jack (1683–1720), a pirate in the 18th century * Captain Jack (Hawaiian) (died 1831), Naihekukui, commander of Kamehameha's fleet and father of Kalama * Captain Jack (fl. 1830s on), Kaurna man in c ...

'', ''Cause N' Effect'', and '' A Reason to Believe''. He has also appeared on television, including the shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'', '' Profiler'', and '' JAG''.

Directing, producing, and writing

Don Handfield is a partner of the film production company The Combine, which he founded with actor

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...

. In 2005 he wrote and produced the short film ''My Name Is...'', which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for a Narrative Short at the 2005

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

, which qualified the film for consideration by the Academy Awards. That year he was named ''

Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Film ...

'' as one of the "25 new faces of independent film". In 2012 the film ''

Touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to trav ...

'' was written and directed by Handfield, starring actors

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

and

Brian Presley Brian Joshua Presley (born August 18, 1977) is an American actor and director. Career Presley started his career with a handful of guest appearances on television shows such as ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', '' Any Day Now'', and '' 7th Heaven''. ...

. The movie was the first in history to film scenes inside

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...

during a live football game. The film was his first major motion picture as screenwriter and director. He was also the author of the novel ''Touchback'', based on the movie, which has received a starred review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

''. He was also the writer of the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

television series '' Seven Days''. In 2011 he was announced as the screenwriter and producer for the upcoming Paramount film ''Slingshot''. In 2013 he would produce the film ''Aztec Warrior''. Handfield produced

The Founder ''The Founder'' is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film portrays the story of his creation of the McDonald's fast-food resta ...

, starring

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics A ...

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...

John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...

and

Linda Cardellini Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''Bloodline'' (2 ...

. The film came about after Handfield tracked down the family of Richard "Dick" McDonald, one of the creators of the famous fast food chain, and optioned the McDonald brothers life rights. Handfield is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the upcoming History Channel scripted series Knightfall from A & E Studios.

Lawsuit

Handfield, Malpaso Productions (Clint Eastwood's production company), Warner Brothers, UTA and Randy Brown were all sued for copyright infringement by producer Ryan A. Brooks, who claimed the film "Trouble with the Curve" was based on a screenplay Brooks owned. Brooks' lawsuit was thrown out by the court, after the judge deemed it "frivolous" and "insulting".

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handfield, Don Living people American male screenwriters American film directors American film producers Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)