Timothy Kevin Story is an
American film director. He is best known for ''
Barbershop'' (2002), ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' (2005), and the
''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two
NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...
for Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film/Television Movie in
2006 and 2013.
He is the founder of The Story Company, a production company co-founded with his future wife Vicky in 1996. He is the first African-American film director to have grossed over US$1 billion at the box office.
Early life
Story was born in Los Angeles on March 13, 1970. From a young age, he made home movies with an 8mm movie camera when his brother became bored using it. Story attended LA's
Westchester High School, with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist
Eric Reed and actresses
Regina King and
Nia Long. He was senior class president at Westchester High. He graduated from the
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of Sound film, talkies, the school descends from America's first ...
in 1991.
[
While in high school, Story briefly attempted a career in music. He was part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate and even appeared as a member of the group T.D.F. on the song "T.D.F. Connection" from the 1988 compilation album ''Rhyme Syndicate Comin' Through''. A group member was shot and killed prior to them being signed to Warner Bros. Records. Story later turned his attention to directing feature films.
]
Film career
Story made his feature debut with ''One of Us Tripped'' (1997), where he followed the model detailed by Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
in how he had made ''Clerks
A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store.
Office holder
Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court.
*Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
'' (1994) on a modest budget; the resulting movie, made for $30,000 on 16 mm with a crew of one, the movie made its money back mostly on a distribution deal. His second movie ''The Firing Squad'' (1999) went from a budget of $60,000 to $200,000 and sent him into debt that he had to solve by doing music videos. The experience filming the videos would serve him well with ''Barbershop'', with the resulting success making him a mainstream director, which continued with ''Taxi'' (2004). The early cut of the film, impressed 20th Century Fox enough to offer him the chance to direct ''Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
''; he was also a fan of the comics.African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
director. He reflected on the experience making them as one with multiple lessons: "With those types of big movies, you’re directing three movies. There’s the movie you’re shooting, there’s the second-unit action stuff, and there’s the visual effects movie. You’ve got to learn how to deal with all of them. The other thing I learned from those two Fantastic Four movies, is that sometimes you can be too lax on how much control you give to the visual effects team, or the production design team, or whoever. If you end up in situations and you’re not happy with certain things, it’s because you didn’t stay on top of them.”
Filmography
Film
Stand-up film
* '' Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain'' (2011)
* '' Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain'' (2013)
* '' Kevin Hart: What Now?'' (2016)
Television
Music videos
*"Do You Love Me" by Benito (1996)
*"I Can't Feel It (Remix)" by Ghetto Mafia (1997)
*"You Ain’t Heard Nothin Yet" by Benito (1997)
*"I Do" by Jon B. (1998)
*"Cool Relax" by Jon B. (1998)
*"Remember When" by Color Me Badd (1998)
*"I’ll Be Around" by Rahsun featuring Big Pun (1998)
*"What" by Rahsun (1998)
*" Sweet Lady" by Tyrese (1998)
*" Are U Still Down" by Jon B. feat. 2Pac (1998)
*"I Tried" by 4Kast (1998)
*"Nitty Gritty" by Jayo Felony (1998)
*" Cheers 2 U" by Playa (1998)
*" He Can't Love U" by Jagged Edge (1999)Donell Jones
Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He met record producer Eddie F in the mid-1990s and signed with his record label Untouchables Entertainment, beginning his car ...
(1999)
*"One Night Stand" by J-Shin featuring LaTocha Scott (1999)
*"Ooh Wee Wee" by Cherokee (1999)
*"Ghetto Star" by Bad Azz (1999)
*" The Best Man I Can Be" by Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...
, Tyrese, Case, RL (1999)
*" It Feels So Good" by Sonique (2000)
*" My First Love" by Avant feat. Keke Wyatt (2000)
*"Ryde or Die Chick" by The Lox feat. Eve
Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
and Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...
(2000)
*"Mr. Too Damn Good" by Gerald Levert (2000)
*"Sugar" by Don Philip (2000)
*" Wild Out" by The Lox (2000)
*"Love Me Now" by Beenie Man (2000)
*" Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge (2000)
*"How Long" by L.V. (2000)
*"Why You Wanna Keep Me From My Baby" by Guy (2000)
*"Monica" by Before Dark (2000)
*"Once My Shhh Always my Shhh" by Sam Salter (2000)
*" Brown Skin" by India.Arie (2001)
*"Nasty Girl" by ''Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
'' cast: Brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
, Eve, Naturi Naughton, and Nadine Velazquez (2021)
Collaborations
References
External links
Tim Story Official Website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Tim
1970 births
African-American film directors
American comedy film directors
Film producers from California
American music video directors
Living people
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Film directors from Los Angeles
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people