Drake Doremus (born March 29, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing the films '' Like Crazy'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, '' Douchebag'' (2010) which was in Dramatic competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and '' Equals'' (2015).

Career

Doremus studied directing at the

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...

, being the youngest fellow ever accepted into the film school. Doremus' mother,

Cherie Kerr Cherie is an English female given name. It comes from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'', ''to cherish''). Notable people with the name or stage name include: * Cherie, one of the stage n ...

, was a founding member of the legendary L.A.

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniqu ...

. Doremus grew up on Kerr's stage, performing with the

Orange County Crazies Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

, starting at the age of six as an improv comedy player. He went on to produce and direct for that organization, including his own original works. At the recommendation of a talent agent in 2008, Doremus was introduced to producer Jonathan Schwartz, who would produce his subsequent four films. His 2011 film '' Like Crazy'' has been described as loosely inspired by his real life experiences. It stars Anton Yelchin,

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...

, and Jennifer Lawrence. Most of the dialogue in the film was improvised, with only a 50-page detailed outline as a script. The film was shot in a month on only a $250,000 budget, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In 2012, Doremus directed a six-part

social film A social film is a type of interactive film that is presented through the lens of social media. A social film is distributed digitally and integrates with a social networking service, such as Facebook or Google+. It combines features of web video, ...

for

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

and

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...

called ''The Beauty Inside''. It was written by Richard Greenberg, and stars

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in series such as ''Tru Calling' ...

and

Topher Grace Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film ''Spider-Man 3'', Pete Monash in '' Win a Date with Tad H ...

. The series earned him a

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

for Outstanding New Approaches - Original Daytime Program or Series. In June 2013, his film ''Breathe In'' starring

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series ''Neighbours ...

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee. Ryan began her pr ...

, and

Mackenzie Davis Mackenzie Rio Davis (born April 1, 1987) is a Canadian actress, producer, and model. She made her feature film debut in '' Smashed'' (2012). In 2013, she appeared in ''Breathe In'' and '' The F Word'' (for which she was nominated for the Canadia ...

opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival EIFF. Doremus directed the 2015 science-fiction romantic drama film '' Equals'', written by Nathan Parker based on a story by Doremus and starring

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in both the American and the British film industries ...

, and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

. In 2017, Doremus directed and produced the romantic drama ''

Newness ''Newness'' is a 2017 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus from a screenplay by Ben York Jones. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Laia Costa, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Esther Perel. The film had its world premiere at the Sund ...

,'' which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film reunites Doremus with

, who starred in his previous film '' Equals''. It also stars

Laia Costa Laia Costa Bertrán () (born February 18, 1985) is a Spanish actress who has worked in Spain, Russia, Germany, Argentina, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. Life and career Costa was born in Barcelona, Spain. Costa obtained a degree ...

. He again forayed into science-fiction romance with ''Zoe'', written by Richard Greenberg and released by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

on July 20, 2018. It stars

Léa Seydoux Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actor. Known for her roles in both French cinema and in Hollywood she's received various accolades including the Cannes Film Festival's Trophée Chopard in 2009 as wel ...

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

Theo James Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress. Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series '' Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and ...

Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal M ...

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of ...

, and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. Doremus directed the advertisement for

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...

' "The Scent Private Accord" perfume, starring

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...

. Doremus frequently collaborates with

Ben York Jones Ben York Jones (born February 11, 1984) is an American screenwriter and film actor best known for writing and co-starring in '' Like Crazy'' (2011) which won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Early life and caree ...

, who co-wrote '' Like Crazy'' and ''

Breathe In Breathe In may refer to: * ''Breathe In'' (Lucie Silvas album), 2004 ** "Breathe In" (song), a 2005 song by Lucie Silvas * ''Breathe In'' (Phillips, Craig and Dean album), 2012 * ''Breathe In'' (film), a 2013 film by Drake Doremus {{disam ...

'' with Doremus'','' and wrote ''

''. York Jones produced '' Douchebag'' and ''

'', and appeared as an actor in ''Spooner, Douchebag, Like Crazy'', and '' The Beauty Inside.'' In addition, he received special thanks on '' Equals.''

Future work

It was announced that Doremus is teaming with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

to co-executive produce and direct a television series based on Jardine Libaire's book ''White Fur''. Doremus is set to direct another romantic drama entitled ''Aurora,'' produced by

CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...

. It was also announced that Doremus has signed a two-year deal with Paramount Television to develop new projects and direct existing projects.

Personal life

Doremus' film '' Like Crazy'' was inspired by his own long-distance relationship and marriage. In an interview with

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

, he said:

I'm a divorcee. I got married to this woman to try and get her back, I went through the visa stuff, to try and get her back in the States... I'd spent so much time here, visiting someone when I was in a long-distance relationship, so I was so familiar with what it feels like to be jet-lagged, and only be here for 5 days, and try to be romantic, and try to fit in the love, and try to relive what we were going through, while taking in a new city, and being nine hours ahead. That relationship was from 2001 to 2008. she was in the US from 2001-2004, so from 04-08 it was back and forth, four years of long distance.

Filmography

Feature films

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doremus, Drake 1983 births AFI Conservatory alumni American male screenwriters Living people People from Orange, California Film directors from California Screenwriters from California