Marc Jay Turtletaub (born January 30, 1946) is an American
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
and former president and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
The Money Store.
Early life and education
Born in Lakewood, New Jersey,
he grew up in
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...
[Ortner, Sherry, B]
''Not Hollywood: Independent Film at the Twilight of the American Dream''
p. 118. Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...
, 2013, . Accessed November 13, 2017. "A second example of a progressive investor is Marc Turtletaub, head of Big Beach Productions.... I met him on the set of a later investing / producing project ''Sunshine Cleaning'', and asked him about his background. He said he's from Perth Amboy, N.J." and the adjoining township of
Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland''
*Woodbridge, Tasmania
Canada
*Woodbridge, Ontario
England
*Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of
** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...
. He attended
Rutgers Preparatory School
Rutgers Preparatory School (also known as Rutgers Prep or RPS) is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school established in 1766. The school educates students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located on a campus along ...
, graduating in the class of 1963. The captain and a center on the basketball team, he made All-State in his senior year and was inducted into the Rutgers Prep Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. At the time of his induction he was called a "class individual" by the former basketball coach. He was a political science major at the
Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...
of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, graduating in 1967. He was a reporter and then managing editor of the campus newspaper, ''
The Daily Pennsylvanian
''The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc.'' is the independent student media organization of the University of Pennsylvania. The DP, Inc. publishes The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, 34th Street Magazine, and Under the Button, as well as five newslette ...
.'' He received a "Men's Senior Honor Award" for "outstanding service to the University community" and was selected to be a member of the prestigious
Sphinx Senior Society. He attended
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
, graduating in 1970. He was admitted to the
California Bar
The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...
, becoming inactive in 2013. He was journalist for six years after finishing school, but always felt he was a storyteller.
The Money Store
![Sacramento-river-bank-pyramid-20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Sacramento-river-bank-pyramid-20.4.jpg)
Turtletaub worked for 20 years at The Money Store, a company founded by his father,
Alan Turtletaub, in 1967. The Money Store was a pioneer in the
subprime lending
In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpri ...
industry, making
home equity
Home equity is the market value of a homeowner's unencumbered interest in their real property, that is, the difference between the home's fair market value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property. The property's equity increases ...
secured second mortgage
Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a standalone secon ...
and other loans to people with
blemished credit. Turtletaub succeeded his father as CEO and president in 1989, and, took the
company public in 1991, then sold it in June 1998 to
First Union Bank
First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, in ...
for $2.1 billion.
During his tenure the advertising-driven lending company's growth was phenomenal, and "had been quite profitable for the Turtletaub family." At the time of the sale, revenue was $831 million/year,
loan originations were more than $1 billion a quarter, there were 172 branches and 5000 employees; it was the nation's 5th-largest subprime lender, and the leading
home equity
Home equity is the market value of a homeowner's unencumbered interest in their real property, that is, the difference between the home's fair market value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property. The property's equity increases ...
and
Small Business Administration
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...
lender.
[Legacy of The Money Store]
/ref> Turtletaub had built a ziggurat
A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has ...
shaped headquarter in West Sacramento
West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...
, triggering a rebirth in the area.[Down in flames]
/ref> He subscribed to the ancient principles of feng shui, a Chinese geometric practice; with architect Ed Kado, he incorporated these features into the design of this "unique landmark." The need for a "deep pocket
Deep pocket is an American slang term; it usually means "extensive financial wealth or resources". It is typically used in reference to big companies or organizations (ex: the American tobacco companies have "deep pockets"), although it can be us ...
" had led to the merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
; bond rating
In investment, the bond credit rating represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bonds. It is not the same as an individual's credit score. The ratings are published by credit rating agencies and used by investment professiona ...
agencies had downgraded The Money Store to junk bond
In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...
status. Within a day of the merger it had a solid rating. "We will now benefit from the rating of the parent company. We are going to be in the driver's seat," Turtletaub said. First Union had trouble integrating acquisitions, and The Money Store did not prosper after the merger. At the time of the severe liquidity crisis In financial economics, a liquidity crisis is an acute shortage of ''liquidity''. Liquidity may refer to market liquidity (the ease with which an asset can be converted into a liquid medium, e.g. cash), funding liquidity (the ease with which borrowe ...
of August 1998, the subprime industry imploded. The main source of funds to replenish capital and to refinance new loans, securitization
Securitization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans or credit card debt obligations (or other non-debt assets which generate receivables) and selling ...
, dried up. Also, the parent company revamped many of the advertising programs that had made the company so previously successful; the Money Store was soon described as barely existing in the form that it was bought in. Turtletaub resigned as president and CEO in May, 1999. By October, 1999, the deal was called a "disaster" for First Union. First Union, preparing for a Wachovia merger, split The Money Store into four divisions, and transferred First Union's bad home equity loans into The Money Store's home equity
Home equity is the market value of a homeowner's unencumbered interest in their real property, that is, the difference between the home's fair market value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property. The property's equity increases ...
division.[ The student loan division, Educaid, and the SBA loan division were retained by First Union.][
Turtletaub was a "generous donator" to federally elected officials; a friend of President Bill Clinton (FOB), he got to sleep in the ]Lincoln bedroom
The Lincoln Bedroom is a bedroom which is part of a guest suite located in the southeast corner of the second floor of the White House in Washington, D.C. The Lincoln Sitting Room makes up the other part of the suite. The room is named for Presid ...
, and had a private "coffee visit" with President Clinton and Senator Chris Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. H ...
, then chairman of the Senate Banking Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, ...
.
The Money Store's use of political donations and lobbyists was described as the "classic example of the interaction of money, politics and regulation." Competitors felt that The Money Store was treated more favorably because of its political clout, with accusations that federal rulings in its favor were "politically fixed."
The Money Store was closed in July, 2000, at a loss of $1.7 billion to First Union Bank Corp.[
]
Producer
With a profit of $700 million from selling The Money Store, Turtletaub decided to go into the film business. He describes himself as a child of the counter-culture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
and only wants to make films he is passionate about and that have redemption, something more than entertainment. He wants to touch and change people and use his money, through film, to do good. He looks for movies that have "something that touches my heart," have a powerful voice, illuminate the human condition and emotional connections, and are either life-affirming in some way, or life-revealing. He prefers script writers and directors
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
who are doing their first films, as he is looking for a fresh perspective.[Producing style](_blank)
sgn.org/sgnnews46_34/page48, Retrieved November 17, 2018 Turtletaub's approach to filmmaking
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, casti ...
has been described as always "more idealistic than opportunistic." Before entering the film world, Turtletaub spent almost a year meeting people in the film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...
. He used the instincts he developed as a reporter to ask questions and learn the craft of filmmaking. In 2000 he teamed with producer David Friendly, forming Deep River Productions. The original plan was to use Turtletaub's resources to buy material to develop
Develop or DEVELOP may refer to:
* ''Develop'' (magazine), a trade publication for the video game industry
* ''Develop'' (Apple magazine), a technical magazine formerly published by Apple Computer
* Develop (chess), moving a piece from its origina ...
, then taking the properties to the studios for production. This modus operandi has been called "a recipe for disaster" and by 2005 he had scaled back and moved away from this strategy after an initial spending spree. Several movies were produced by Deep River, most notably ''Little Miss Sunshine
''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...
'', a 2006 Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominee for best picture. Turtletaub originally bought Michael Arndt
Michael Arndt is an American screenwriter. He is best known as the writer of the films ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), ''Toy Story 3'' (2010), and '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015).
Arndt won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenpl ...
's repeatedly rejected script for $250,000, repurchased it two years later for $400,000 and then paid the $8 million costs of production. The film was a box-office success and critically acclaimed. Friendly and Turtletaub split after a six-year run. He joined with Peter Saraf
Peter Saraf is an American film producer whose feature film credits include '' Adaptation'' (2002), '' Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), ''Our Idiot Brother'' (2011), and ''The Kings of Summer'' (2013). In 2004, he co-founded the film production co ...
in 2004 to form Big Beach Films, with Turtletaub realizing the "need to specialize." He describes himself and Saraf as creative producers, involved in every stage of the filmmaking, from the original idea through the editing process. They have produced over 20 movies, and, are best known for lower budget comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
films, such as ''Little Miss Sunshine'' and ''Safety Not Guaranteed
''Safety Not Guaranteed'' is a 2012 American science fiction romantic comedy film directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. The picture was screened at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Scr ...
''. ''Safety Not Guaranteed'' has been called "one of the most influential films of the last decade." Made in 2012 with a first-time director and writer and costing less than a million dollars, this character driven indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
caught the eye of Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, foreshadowing the role of streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
in film creation and distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
. Turtletaub produced the 2019 Sundance breakout '' The Farewell'' starring Awkwafina
Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ra ...
. Critically and financially successful, ''The Farewell'' has been called a groundbreaking work for bringing a broad based Asian-American narrative to Hollywood, allowing members of the community "to see their own experiences and their own stories on the screen." Another 2019 release was Marielle Heller
Marielle Stiles Heller (born October 1, 1979) is an American writer, director, and actress. She is best known for directing the films '' The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' (2015), ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' (2018), and ''A Beautiful Day in the Nei ...
's biographical film ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in ...
'', with Tom Hanks portraying Mr. Rogers. The scripted drama premiered at the 2019 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 ...
; it had made the 2013 Black List
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
of the best unproduced screenplays. The story about a man dedicated to radical kindness has been viewed as a politically trenchant movie of the Trump era. These two 2019 releases have been described as humanistic and life affirming. ''The Farewell'' won the 2019 Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
for best independent feature; and, the two films were nominated for a total of three Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
awards and one Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. Turtletaub commented: "We have specific taste. People want to see stories that touch their heart. That's hard to define." Documentary productions include ''Seed: The Untold Story'', earning him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Nature Documentary; Sheila Nevins
Sheila Nevins (born April 6, 1939) is an American television producer and head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Studios. Previously, Nevins was the President of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 documentary films for HB ...
and Davy Rothbart
David Ira "Davy" Rothbart (born April 11, 1975) is a bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, contributor to ''This American Life'', and the editor/publisher of '' Found Magazine''.
Found Magazine
Davy Rothbart's magazine ''Found'' is d ...
's ''17 Blocks'', the winner of multiple film festival awards; and, an as yet untitled Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
feature, told in their own voices for the first time.
In 2014 Turtletaub started a TV division, Big Beach TV, which works closely with his L.A. affiliate, Beachside, focusing on micro-budget features and digital content. Through Big Beach TV, Turtletaub has produced the Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
drama ''Vida
Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to:
Geography
* Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica
* U.S. settled places:
** Vida, Montana
** Vida, Oregon
** Vida, Missour ...
'' and Elizabeth Olsen
Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Olsen began acting at age four. She starred in her debut film role in the thriller ''Martha Marcy May Marlene'' in 2011, for which she wa ...
's "engrossing" ''Sorry for Your Loss
''Sorry for Your Loss'' is an American drama series created by Kit Steinkellner that premiered on September 18, 2018 on Facebook Watch. The series follows a young widow and her family as they struggle to cope with the unexpected death of her husb ...
''. ''Vida'' has been described as groundbreaking; it has the first all-Latinx
''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...
writers room on TV, with several queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
writers and all but one writer identifying as female. It has created "a safe space for stories regarding Latinx and freedom of sexual identity." A critical and ratings success, it has allowed the Mexican-American
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
and queer "communities to feel recognized in a way that the vast majority of television does not."[ In 2021 Vida received an Imagen nomination for Best Primetime Program – Comedy. Turtletaub was executive producer of the filmed version of the ]Obie
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
and New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...
award-winning Broadway play ''What the Constitution Means to Me
''What the Constitution Means to Me'' is a 2017 American play by Heidi Schreck. The play premiered on Broadway on March 31, 2019 at the Hayes Theater, with Schreck herself in the leading role. Over the course of the play, Schreck addresses themes s ...
'', starring Heidi Schreck
Heidi Schreck (born September 26, 1971) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress from Wenatchee, Washington. Her play ''What the Constitution Means to Me'', which she also performs in, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Dr ...
. It began streaming on Amazon Prime October 16, 2020. The production has been described as a "flashing catastrophe alert." In 2021 Turtletaub, along with Alex Turtletaub and Saraf, was an executive producer of the IDA Award nominee HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
documentary series
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
''Nuclear Family''; Big Beach was one of the production companies.
In February, 2022, Big Beach closed its New York office and laid off an unknown number of staff, including from the Los Angeles-based site. Saraf had already "quietly" left Big Beach in 2021. The cuts have been described as a sign of the difficulty facing indie filmmakers, "even those with awards pedigree and decades of survival."
His theatrical producing debut was in 2009, the Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
''Sleepwalk with Me''. Broadway productions include the revivals of ''Of Mice and Men
''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...
'', '' Sylvia'', ''Burn This
''Burn This'' (stylized as ''Burn/This'' for the 2019 revival) is a play by Lanford Wilson. Like much of Wilson's work, the play includes themes of gay identity and relationships.
Plot summary
The play begins shortly after the funeral of Robbie, ...
'' (2019) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses
''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782.
It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...
.
Director
Turtletaub is a director of three films. In 2011 he directed ''Gods Behaving Badly
''Gods Behaving Badly'' is a novel by the British author Marie Phillips. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in 2007. Set in London, it tells the tale of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus living in a rundown flat as their powers wane. It was s ...
'', a film adaption of the 2007 satirical novel of the same name. The film was never released, and played only once, at the 2013 Rome Film Festival
International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma.
Sections
The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections:
Cinema d'Og ...
, where it received negative reviews. He directed the 2018 film ''Puzzle
A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...
'', an English-language remake of the 2010 Argentinian film. Described as a lovely, gentle movie, it received generally excellent reviews with a Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
rating of 83%. It has been credited as having "broken a glass ceiling" when it had an Asian Indian, Irfan Khan Irfan Khan may refer to:
*Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely reg ...
, as a romantic lead in an American film. ''Puzzle'' was chosen to open the 2018 Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
. This was Khan's last role in an American movie, as the acclaimed actor died shortly later. Turtletaub was motivated to direct ''Puzzle'' for a personal reason. ''Puzzle'' was dedicated to his mother, Beatrice Ann Turtletaub. "It’s a story about a woman who’s a mother and a wife living in suburban Connecticut, doting on her husband and her sons. And I knew that woman ''–'' it was my mother. I grew up in suburban New Jersey, and she doted on my dad and me. When I read he screenplay
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
I felt like it was a story I could tell."
He is directing (and producing) ''Jules
Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of:
People with the name
*Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer
*Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...
'', a movie starring Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
and Jane Curtin
Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...
. Filming started September 10, 2021, in Boonton, New Jersey
Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline of 149 (− ...
. It is about an unusual visitor to a small western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
town. It will premier at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Marie Phillips
Marie Phillips (born 22 April 1976) is a British writer. She is best known for her debut novel, ''Gods Behaving Badly'', a comic fantasy concerning ancient Greek gods living in modern-day Hampstead. It was first published in the United Kingdom ...
, the author of the novel ''Gods Behaving Badly'', described Turtletaub on-set as genial, good-natured and friendly. His style is radical and unique; he does no rehearsal
A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of practising, to ensure t ...
s, and, allows the "actors free to bring in what they can bring in." He only does a few takes, at most, which he feels allows "something fresh to come in," not necessarily his original vision.
Personal life
Turtletaub has two sons and is married to Maureen Curran-Turtletaub, a movement educator for over 30 years and founder and director of Movement as a Path for Transformation. Described as "prominent Sacramento philanthropists," they established Meristem in 2015 on 13 "bucolic" acres near the American River
, name_etymology =
, image = American River CA.jpg
, image_size = 300
, image_caption = The American River at Folsom
, map = Americanrivermap.png
, map_size = 300
, map_caption ...
. Associated with a teacher training college and inspired by and using John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
's "craft and land" philosophy of education, Meristem educates young adults with ASD and other developmental differences, transitioning them so they will better succeed as adults in an evolving post-industrial society
In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy.
The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related to si ...
. He has remained politically active since leaving The Money Store. He has supported Democratic candidates at many levels of office, from city to federal. In addition to Sacramento,[ since 2000 Turtletaub has had residences in Los Angeles,] the West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
,[ ]Orcas Island
Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, which are in the northwestern corner of San Juan County, Washington.
History and naming of the island
The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' fro ...
, and Makena, Hawaii.[
]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;As director
;As writer
;As an actor
;Thanks
Television
Awards
*Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Film (or Best Feature) is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards, presented to recognize the best in independent filmmaking, it was first awarded in 1985 with Martin Scorsese's film '' After Hours'' being ...
, 2006, ''Little Miss Sunshine''
*, 2006, ''Little Miss Sunshine''
*Producers Guild of America Award
The Producers Guild of America Awards were originally established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor ...
, 2016 - The Stanley Kramer Award
The Producers Guild of America Awards were originally established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor ...
,Kramer Award
2016 '' Loving''
*Independent Spirit Award for Best Film, 2019, ''The Farewell''
Notes
External links
*
Six moviemaking tips from Marc Turtletaub
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turtletaub, Marc
1946 births
Living people
Film producers from New Jersey
New York University School of Law alumni
People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
People from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
Rutgers Preparatory School alumni
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni
The Daily Pennsylvanian people
American chief executives of financial services companies
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
California lawyers
People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Film directors from New Jersey
American independent film production company founders