Tool has added feature filmmaker Marc Forster to its roster for representation as a commercial director. He most recently directed the Paramount release World War Z, starring and produced by Brad Pitt. The film is based on Max Brooks’ post-apocalyptic novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War." The film opened June 21, 2013 to more than 66 million dollars and has grossed more than 540 million dollars worldwide to date.
Forster’s filmmaking style was clearly evident in his first film, Everything Put Together, which he also co-wrote. This searing psychological drama was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and at the Independent Spirit Awards that year Forster won the "Someone to Watch" award and was nominated for the Best Feature under $500,000 honor.
Forster broke through in a convincing way in 2001 with Monster’s Ball, which was a critical and commercial success and received two Oscar nominations with Halle Berry winning for Best Actress. The film offered a powerful glimpse into the legacies of race, loss and redemption, as well as commanding performances by Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle and Sean Combs.
In Finding Neverland, Forster recreated turn-of-the-century London, crafting the semi-autobiographical story of the inspiring friendship between J.M. Barrie, author of "Peter Pan," and the four young boys and single mother who lived next door. Starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman and Julie Christie, Finding Neverland earned Forster a DGA Best Director nomination in 2004. It was also recognized as Best Film of the Year by the National Board of Review, and received seven Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, and 11 BAFTA nominations, all including Best Picture.
Forster’s next film was 2005’s reality-bending thriller Stay , starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling. He followed that with the imaginative comedy Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and Queen Latifah. Stranger Than Fiction premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2007, Forster adapted the New York Times best-selling and beloved novel "The Kite Runner." The film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and a BAFTA bid for Film Not In The English Language.
Following The Kite Runner, Forster was asked to direct the 22nd James Bond franchise’s Quantum Of Solace starring Daniel Craig.
Forster’s gripping indie action drama Machine Gun Preacher, released in September 2011, starring Gerard Butler, was based on the true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who becomes a crusader for refugee children in Sudan.
Born in Germany and raised in Switzerland, Forster came to the United States in 1990 to attend NYU Film School, graduating in 1993.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More