Jeffrey Schwarz
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Jeffrey Schwarz is an American
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including '' Boulevard! A Hollywood Story'', '' The Fabulous Allan Carr'', ''
Tab Hunter Confidential ''Tab Hunter Confidential'' is a 2015 American documentary film focusing on the American actor, singer, and author Tab Hunter. It is inspired by his autobiography of the same name. The film was produced by Allan Glaser and directed by Jeffrey Sc ...
'', ''
I Am Divine ''I Am Divine'' is a 2013 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The documentary focuses on the American actor, singer and drag performer Divine (performer) ...
'', ''
Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...
'', '' Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon'' and ''
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story ''Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story'' is a 2007 American biographical documentary film directed by Jeffrey Schwarz about legendary Hollywood showman William Castle, who specialized in producing low-budget shockers. Production Hailed as a " ...
.'' Schwarz was born in New York City and is a graduate of
SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges ...
Film Department. His senior thesis documentary was ''Al Lewis in the Flesh'', a short film profiling actor Al Lewis, famous for playing Grampa on the television series '' The Munsters''. The film observes Lewis as he interacts with the public at his Bleecker Street restaurant, Grampa's Bella Gente. Schwarz' first job in the film industry was as an apprentice editor on '' The Celluloid Closet'', Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's film adaptation of Vito Russo's seminal book. Schwarz's work on this project would later bridge into the development of his own documentary about Russo, titled simply ''
Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...
''. Schwarz spent the late 1990s working in the low budget feature world, editing movies and trailers for directors such as Gary Graver, Fred Olen Ray and
David DeCoteau David DeCoteau (born January 5, 1962) is an American-Canadian film director and producer. Biography Early life David DeCoteau was born on January 5, 1962, in Portland, Oregon. Career He has worked professionally in the movie business since ...
. In 1998, Schwarz was hired to edit a documentary about the making of
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...
's controversial remake of
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's '' Psycho''. ''Psycho Path'' was included on the Universal Pictures Home Entertainment DVD release of ''Psycho'', and was Schwarz's first foray into the burgeoning world of DVD bonus features, also known as value added material (VAM). As the
DVD-Video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu-r ...
format was introduced to the public, all the major studios began offering making-of featurettes and audio commentaries on their discs as an incentive to consumers to replace movies they already owned on VHS or laserdisc. Schwarz capitalized on this moment to segue into producing original bonus content, and soon became one of the leading producers in this field. In 2000, Schwarz founded the Los Angeles-based production house,
Automat Pictures Automat Pictures is an American film and television production company based in Los Angeles, focusing on the production of independent films, original television programming, EPK, and Blu-ray and DVD added value. It was founded in 2000 by producer ...
. Schwarz and a team of skilled producers created content for over 100 major DVD and Blu-ray studio releases, and soon expanded into the production of EPKs (electronic press kits) and original television programming. In 2007, Schwarz began to segue into producing independent documentary features, the first being ''
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story ''Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story'' is a 2007 American biographical documentary film directed by Jeffrey Schwarz about legendary Hollywood showman William Castle, who specialized in producing low-budget shockers. Production Hailed as a " ...
'' about legendary Hollywood showman William Castle, who specialized in producing low-budget shockers. It featured interviews with Castle's daughter Terry, along with John Waters,
Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...
, John Landis, Leonard Maltin, Roger Corman, John Badham,
Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...
, Marcel Marceau, among others. The film premiered at the 2007
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
's AFI Fest and was awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary. In 2008, Schwarz directed the feature documentary '' Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon'', which focused on the life and career of porn star Jack Wrangler, who became a superstar in both the gay and straight markets before marrying singer
Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...
and retiring from the porn industry. The film features Wrangler as well as a host of notable golden age porn figures such as Samantha Fox, Gloria Leonard, Jamie Gillis, Al Goldstein, Joe Gage, Sharon Mitchell and Candida Royalle. The film won a GayVN Awards in 2009 for Best Alternative Release by TLA Releasing. Wrangler died soon after its launch on the festival circuit in 2009. His next feature, ''
Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...
'', focused on the life of Vito Russo, gay activist, film scholar, author and major figure in the fight against HIV/AIDS, AIDS. The film, executive produced by Bryan Singer and produced for HBO Documentary Films, premiered at the 2011 New York Film Festival and made its television debut on HBO in July 2012. It received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Research at the 2013 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, as well as a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Documentary. In 2013, Schwarz documented Baltimore drag performer Divine (performer), Divine with the celebratory feature, ''
I Am Divine ''I Am Divine'' is a 2013 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The documentary focuses on the American actor, singer and drag performer Divine (performer) ...
''. It featured extensive interviews with contemporaries and admirers including Divine's mother Frances Milstead, John Waters, Mink Stole, Tab Hunter, Bruce Vilanch, Susan Lowe, Peaches Christ, Ricki Lake, and others. The film had its World premiere, World Premiere at the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival, and garnered much critical praise and audience good will. Following Hunter's participation in ''I Am Divine'', Schwarz was approached by Hunter's partner, Allan Glaser, about adapting Hunter's best-selling autobiography, ''Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star'' (2005, co-written with Eddie Muller), into a Tab Hunter Confidential, documentary feature of same name. The film features extensive interviews with Hunter, as well as friends and associates such as John Waters, Debbie Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, and George Takei. It had its World Premiere at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival, and went on to screen at festivals around the world to great acclaim. The film was nominated for "Outstanding Documentary" at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards, 27th GLAAD Media Awards. Schwarz' 2017 '' The Fabulous Allan Carr'', is a documentary about flamboyant Hollywood producer Allan Carr, famous for producing ''Grease (film), Grease'', ''Can't Stop the Music'', ''La Cage aux Folles (musical), La Cage aux Folles'', and the notorious 61st Academy Awards, 1989 Academy Awards broadcast. The film made its debut at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). It features interviews with Patricia Birch, Maxwell Caulfield, Steve Guttenberg, Randy Jones (singer), Randy Jones, Randal Kleiser, Sherry Lansing, Lorna Luft, Michael Musto, Robert Osborne, Brett Ratner, Connie Stevens, Alana Stewart, Marlo Thomas, Bruce Vilanch and more. In 2021, '' Boulevard! A Hollywood Story'' premiered at Outfest Los Angeles. Schwarz produced and directed along with John Boccardo. The film is about Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, two young composers who are hired by movie star Gloria Swanson to adapt a musical version of Billy Wilder's 1950 film ''Sunset Boulevard (film), Sunset Boulevard''. The documentary also follows director Jeffrey Schwarz as he uncovers the story and discovers what happened to the two men later in their lives. The film features TCM's Robert Osborne in one of his final film appearances. Schwarz has served as producer, co-producer, and executive producer on Ron Nyswaner's ''She's the Best Thing In It'', Michael Stabile's ''Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes (entrepreneur), Chuck Holmes Story'', Elijah Drenner's ''That Guy Dick Miller'', and Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's ''And the Oscar Goes To''. He was also consulting producer on Lisa Dapolito and CNN Films' ''Love, Gilda'', which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, as well as Jennifer Kroot's ''The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin''.


Upcoming projects

Currently in development is a feature documentary film ''Goddess: The Fall and Rise of Showgirls'' about the making of Paul Verhoeven's "misunderstood masterpiece" ''Showgirls''.


Personal life

Schwarz is a member of the LGBT community. In June 2015 San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival presented Jeffrey with The Frameline Award which is designed to honor those who have made a major contribution to LGBT representation in film, television, or the media arts.


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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Jeffrey Film directors from New York City Living people 1969 births LGBT film directors American LGBT businesspeople American documentary filmmakers American film editors American film producers American film production company founders