Keith Alan Morris
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Keith Alan Morris (born October 9, 1972 in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
) is an American writer/film director and producer. His most notable films include ''Gutter King'', ''Flying Tiger'', and ''The Clinic'', all of which screened at the Cannes Film Fest Market. He wrote and directed the documentary ''R.U.B.s'' in the Guggenheim Museum's "Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit.


Early life

Morris was born in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
, the son of Ronald and Susan Morris. He grew up there, where he attended Adams High School and also Niles First Assembly High School in Niles, Michigan, where he was
salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...
. He won a scholarship to Kalamazoo College to study political science and theater communications, earning a B.A. with Honors in 1994. While there he made short films and two feature films, ''The Outside Man'' and ''The in Crowd'', which won him the Cooper Award and Schneider Prize before graduating in 1994.
He attended Instituto Internacional, Madrid, Spain (1993) and
University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
– MFA, Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track.


Career

Morris' first feature, ''The Clinic'' won Best Screenplay for a Feature Film (out of 180 films) at the New York International Independent Film Fest, and received representation at the Cannes Film Fest Market. ''Flying Tiger'' screened at the Cannes Film Festival Market and won Best Feature at the Arizona Film and TV Fest in 2008. It was shot in Stockton, Missouri, with a student crew from Indiana (where he trained the students for one year prior). ''Flying Tiger'' is about a senior in high school who can fly.


''Gutter King''

''Gutter King'' was his first breakthrough feature internationally. It was nominated for 3 awards in 2010. It has been compared to the early films of
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
in that "the violence is dealt with extreme care and respect, as opposed to the superficiality with which we are used to seeing from directors like Guy Ritchie, Danny Boyle or
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
." After ''Gutter King'',


Other work

Morris has written numerous unproduced scripts. Sample approved artwork for one is available on an unofficial Keith Alan Morris website of his films, ufo-tech.com. He produced two films in 2015 and was production consultant on 10 others, including '' The Magnificent Seven'' remake.


Themes and style

Although Morris' films differ considerably in setting and characters (''Gutter King'' is about a suburban teenager, his next film is a robot epic), they share similar themes of
existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
, violence, and
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
. Morris' style is composed of handheld based tracking shots and camera movement in general, and he uses his scenes to convey ideas with images, rather than with dialogue. One Latin audience reviewer likened him to
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
because of his foreboding, ominous style and his approach to violence comes from a prudent and responsible perspective of trying to understand the characters and the motives for their behavior. Music also plays a large role in Morris' films and he works closely with Michael Kauffmann and the
Asthmatic Kitty Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
label and Jeb Banner of Musical Family Tree, both located in his birth state of Indiana.


Films

* ''The Clinic'' (2001) – Won Best Screenplay for a Feature Film at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. *''Flying Tiger'' (2004) – Best Feature Film at the Arizona Film and Television Festival, 2008 *''R.U.B.s'' (2006) *''Otis Gibbs LIVE'' (2009) *''Gutter King'' (2010) distributed by Cinema Epoch, Multivisionnaire, Metrodome, Rialto, Lizard, Front Row (United States, China, United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Middle East, Malaysia); Nominations at the Action On Film Fest 2010: Best Picture, Best Breakout Action Star, Best Supporting Actor


Artwork

* Illustrator of over 60 album covers * Written and illustrated numerous comics and graphic novels * Won the NACE award for Excellence in Advertising


References


External links

*
Gutter King official site

Official blog of Keith Alan Morris latest projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Keith Alan 1972 births Living people Film producers from New York (state) American male screenwriters Writers from South Bend, Indiana Writers from New York City American comics writers Film directors from New York City Film directors from Indiana Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Indiana Film producers from Indiana