Carl Franklin

Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949)Carl Franklin Biography, Photos, Movies, TV, Credits Hollywood.com
/ref> is an American filmmaker and former actor. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986.

His cinematic directorial efforts include '' One False Move'', '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' and '' High Crimes''. Since the 2010s, most of his work has been for television, including shows such as: ''Rome'', '' The Pacific'', '' The Newsroom'', '' House of Cards'', '' Homeland'', '' The Affair'', '' The Leftovers'', ''13 Reasons Why'', '' Ray Donovan'', '' Mindhunter, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story'', and '' Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story''.

Early life

Franklin grew up in Richmond, California.

He never had the opportunity to know his biological father, who had died before Carl was born. Franklin was raised by his mother and stepfather. While Franklin speaks highly of his stepfather and has called him "very loving",Carl Franklin: Biography from Answers.com
/ref> he has spoken about his stepfather's abusive tendencies, linking his outbursts to alcohol use. Problems at home combined with life in a tough neighborhood fueled Franklin's ambition to be the first in his family to attend college. He was awarded a scholarship to University of California, Berkeley. Franklin's initial desires to become a teacher or lawyer led him to study history upon his arrival at the university. However, after two years, Franklin changed his major to theater arts. Franklin did not actively participate in the many demonstrations at Berkeley in the period. Describing the scene, Franklin told the ''LA Times'': "It was like a dream to me, I wasn't really sophisticated enough to join a particular movement."

Acting career

After graduation, Franklin made his theater debut as a slave in The Public Theater's production of '' Timon of Athens''. He would go on to act in Mark Taper Forum's production of ''In the Belly of the Beast.''

One of his first jobs was acting in the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he appeared in the ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Cymbeline''.

Franklin began his on-screen career in the film '' Five on the Black Hand Side'' in 1973. From there, he acted in a string of guest roles on television shows such as Barnaby Jones; episode titled "Focus on Fear" (January 31, 1980). '' The Rockford Files'', '' Good Times'', '' The Incredible Hulk'' and '' The Streets of San Francisco''. Over the years, Franklin's looks have typically landed him roles portraying men of power, such as members of the police force or military officials.

Between 1975 and 1985 Franklin was a regular cast member in four TV series. The first, ABC's '' Caribe'' in 1975, was a law enforcement drama that aired 13 episodes and cast him as police sergeant Mark Walters. Two years later, NBC's fantasy-science fiction series '' The Fantastic Journey'' lasted for 10 episodes, with Franklin as athletic young physician Dr. Fred Walters. After four more years, a two-hour television film, '' McClain's Law'', led to Franklin's second police series titled, per the telefilm, '' McClain's Law'', a modern-day NBC vehicle for ''Gunsmoke'' star James Arness, with Franklin fifth-billed as police detective Jerry Cross, but the 1981–82 series only lasted 14 episodes. Franklin's longest lasting and most recognizable acting role was his 1983–85 portrayal of Captain Crane on the popular action-adventure series ''The A-Team''.

Film career

Inspired by the low-budget films of the 1980s, such as '' Chan Is Missing'' (1982), Franklin enrolled at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles in 1986.

His 30-minute AFI thesis film ''Punk'' is about an African-American boy in South-central Los Angeles dealing with his sexuality and manhood.

Straight out of his Master's program, Franklin landed a job with movie producer-director Roger Corman in 1989.

While working at Concord Films, Franklin gained experience working on low-budget films, helping to crank out six films in just two years' time. From 1989 to 1990, Franklin worked on '' Nowhere to Run'', '' Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy'', and '' Full Fathom Five'', respectively, under Concord Films.

At the end of the 80s, producer Jesse Beaton was looking for a director for a film called '' One False Move''. Remembering Franklin's short film ''Punk'', Beaton met Carl to discuss the film's vision.Carl Franklin Biography - Yahoo! Movies
Franklin's approach to the screenplay produced a thriller of the film noir genre. The story follows three drug dealers, played by Billy Bob Thornton, Cynda Williams, and Michael Beach and their interactions with a small-town Arkansas police chief played by Bill Paxton. Far from his low-budget past, Franklin's budget of $2 million gave him a bit of room to be creative, and achieve his entire vision for the film. However, the original version of the film, which was released in 1991, was thought to be overly violent. In response to such claims, Franklin told the ''Observer'', "I didn't want people getting excited seeing how neat someone can be killed... I want the audience to feel the emotional loss of life--the real violence is the loss, the violation of humanity. They've taken from us someone who had dreams, hopes, the same set of emotions we have."

Despite the film's lack of professional publicity, ''One False Move'' was largely promoted by word of mouth and earned itself mixed reviews. However, the reviews that were positive were very positive, gaining the project more attention. The film was named Best Film of the Year by Gene Siskel, and one of the 10 Best Films of 1992 by the National Review Board.

Franklin collaborated with producers Jonathan Demme and Jesse Beaton on adapting Walter Mosley's novel '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' after Demme acquired its film rights. Franklin directed and wrote the screenplay for the film on a budget. The film starred Denzel Washington as Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins.

Switching to television, Franklin directed '' Laurel Avenue'', a two-part miniseries focused on an African-American family in Minnesota for HBO in 1993. One issue in particular that stood out in the series was the issue of drug use. Franklin defended his depictions, explaining that "Drugs are a huge problem in the black community. Not to include that would be a stupid oversight. But if the subject of drugs is introduced in the context of a hardworking family that has managed to maintain unity, and the audience sees drugs as a threat to that unity, they get a much greater understanding of the problem."

Following '' Laurel Avenue'', Franklin found himself maintaining A-list status, which allowed him to work on bigger and more visible projects, such as 1998's '' One True Thing''. The film is an adaptation of an autobiographical story by New York journalist Anna Quindlen, following a woman ( Renée Zellweger) with no option but to leave Manhattan for the small town where she was raised when her mother ( Meryl Streep) is diagnosed with cancer.

Franklin went on to direct '' High Crimes'', starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, and '' Out of Time'', which reunited him with ''Devil in a Blue Dress'' star Denzel Washington. Since then, Franklin has largely transitioned to high-profile television work. He has worked on two series produced by Steven Spielberg, directing the pilot of science fiction drama '' Falling Skies'' and an episode of the World War II drama '' The Pacific''. He has also collaborated on two series with David Fincher, directing four episodes each of '' House of Cards'' and '' Mindhunter''. Franklin directed multiple critically acclaimed episodes of the HBO series '' The Leftovers'', across all three of its seasons. His prolific television credits also include ''Rome'', '' The Newsroom'', '' Homeland'', '' Ray Donovan'', and '' Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story''.

Unrealized projects

After '' Devil in a Blue Dress'', Franklin and Denzel Washington planned to collaborate on a trilogy of films based on the Easy Rawlins character, but this never materialized.

Around 1996–97, Franklin was attached to direct a film of the Russell Banks novel '' Rule of the Bone'', but the project stalled at Columbia/ TriStar. Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson allegedly was hired to write the script, later saying "I didn't do a very good job. I didn't really know what I was doing in general, let alone how to adapt a book."

In January 1997, ''Variety'' indicated that Franklin was set to direct a thriller for Fox 2000 about ex- spy Aldrich Ames. The film was titled ''Killer Spy'', with Nicolas Cage reportedly being courted by the studio for the main role, though Al Pacino was later attached. By June, Franklin had left the project, with James Gray entering negotiations to direct in his place.

In June 1997, it was reported that Franklin had dropped out of directing '' Brokedown Palace'', citing "creative differences" over the casting of the film. Jonathan Kaplan took over for Franklin following his departure.

In 1999, Franklin was attached as the director of the sci-fi film '' The Mothman Prophecies'', with Richard Gere starring, before Mark Pellington was chosen.

Franklin was attached to direct Will Smith in the fourth remake of the musical '' A Star Is Born'' for Warner Bros., though Smith passed up the role in order to star in '' Ali''.

In 2000, Franklin was expected to begin filming ''The Shooter'', an adaptation of '' Point of Impact'' by Stephen Hunter. However, he stepped down as the director and writer of the project, which at the time was planned as a co-production between Paramount Pictures and Lakeshore Entertainment.

In 2001, Franklin was announced to direct and produce a film adaptation of the novel ''Rescue Me'', by Gigi Levangie, who sold the rights to Fox Searchlight. As of the announcement, no screenwriter was attached to adapt the story.

In 2002, it was reported that writer Sid Quashie was tapped by Paramount Pictures to adapt Susan Kelly's 1995 book ''The Boston Stranglers'', with Franklin attached to direct. The film was scheduled to go into production that summer, with Gale Anne Hurd and Jesse Beaton producing.

In 2003, Franklin was set to direct the legal thriller '' The Emperor of Ocean Park'' for Warner Bros. Pictures from the novel by Stephen L. Carter, adapted by Stephen Schiff.

In early 2007, Franklin had been attached to direct the legal drama ''Tulia'' for Lionsgate Films, starring Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. Karen Croner wrote the script for the film, based on the Nate Blakeslee book ''Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town''. In August that year, John Singleton took over directing duties from Franklin, who departed from the project. The film was not made.

On July 23, 2007, it was reported that Franklin would direct ''The Maintenance Man'', the Screen Gems adaptation of Michael Baisden's novel about a gigolo in existential crisis, set to begin shooting later that year.

On July 31, 2007, it was reported that Franklin would direct ''Snitch'' for New Line Cinema, a thriller produced by Guy East and Nigel Sinclair inspired by true events chronicled in a PBS '' Frontline'' documentary. Justin Haythe, who wrote the screenplay, was to executive produce the film along with Franklin's producing partner Jesse Beaton.

In 2009, HBO was developing a historical miniseries from Franklin about the Black Panther Party called ''The Black Panthers'', which he was writing and attached to direct and executive produce. He later further developed it as a project for Netflix.

On February 8, 2011, Peter Facinelli was reported to write the script for, star in and co-produce the indie crime drama ''El Chico Blanco'', with Franklin directing. Titan Worldwide Entertainment was financing the project, which would have been shot in New Mexico.

On May 29, 2012, Meyers Media Group and McDonald Entertainment announced that they would co-finance the thriller ''City of Night'', to be directed by Franklin, written by David Chisholm and produced by Brendan McDonald. Set against the backdrop of South Central L.A., the film follows a rookie cop who becomes the target of an elaborate psychological game to destroy him. A date for principal photography was soon to be announced, but the project did not move forward.

In March 2013, it was reported that Franklin would direct a biopic about the life of soul music singer/songwriter Sam Cooke. ABKCO Records was set to independently produce the project. As of 2015, Franklin was still developing the film, which was then in the process of being cast from a script he wrote himself, based on Peter Guralnick's biography ''Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke''.

In April 2015, Franklin replaced John Singleton as director of Morgan Creek's ''Tupac'', a biopic written by Jeremy Haft and Ed Gonzalez about rapper Tupac Shakur. Casting for the role was reportedly under way, with principal photography planned to begin in August or September.

In May 2016, Franklin was announced to be directing a film adaptation of William Faulkner's '' Intruder in the Dust''. Our House Productions held the rights to produce the adaptation of the 1948 novel, with distribution rights for the project being sold at that year's Cannes Film Festival.

In July 2016, John Malkovich signed on to star in and executive produce ''Humboldt'', a TV drama series to be directed by Franklin, inspired by Emily Brady's best-selling book '' Humboldt: Life on America's Marijuana Frontier''. The project was written on spec by Michael A. Lerner, and set up at Sony Pictures Television and Anonymous Content. Despite Franklin's prolific career in television, this never came to fruition either.

In 2018, it was reported that Franklin was prepping to direct ''Excessive Force'', a thriller about racism and corruption in the Cleveland police department written by Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube and set to star Cube in the main role. The film was planned to enter production that fall, produced under Cube's production banner CubeVision.

In 2022, Franklin was attached to the series ''Black Harvest'', set in Paris in 1952, as executive producer. The project was developed with Epix Studios.

In 2023, Franklin expressed interest in someday directing a feature length film of his AFI short ''Punk''.

Race and film

Franklin says "I am interested in the universal values of the black experience."

Discussing the realities for black Americans in the television and film industry, Franklin said: "When I came up, the only legitimate dramatic actor was Sidney Poitier, the bankable star was Richard Pryor and the other choice roles were action parts that went to Jim Brown. Even someone as good as Billy Dee Williams had a couple of great moments and then couldn't get a decent part."

Personal life

Franklin married film producer Jesse Beaton, who produced '' One False Move'' (1992).

Filmography

Film

Short film

Feature film

Acting roles

Television

Director

Acting roles

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Carl
1949 births
Living people
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
Male actors from California
AFI Conservatory alumni
African-American male actors
African-American film directors
African-American television directors
African-American television producers
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American television directors
Television producers from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni
People from Richmond, California
Mass media people from the San Francisco Bay Area
Film directors from California
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director winners
Screenwriters from California
Film producers from California