Daniel Adams (director)
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Daniel R. Adams (born 1961) is an American feature
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
. He is best known for directing and writing the films '' The Lightkeepers,'' starring
Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
and
Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Dra ...
, and '' The Golden Boys,'' starring
David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known ...
,
Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Suppo ...
,
Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Tor ...
,
Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...
, and
Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in ''Lipstick'' (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in Woody Al ...
.


Biography

Adams grew up in the Boston area. He attended the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
in 1980 to 1981 as well as some Harvard Extension School classes in the early 1980s. He worked for several political campaigns including two gubernatorial campaigns, a race for attorney general, and a presidential campaign. He directed television commercials for a Boston advertising agency and went into producing feature films in 1989. He is a proponent of shooting film rather than digital.


Legal problems

In December 2011 Adams was indicted on 10 counts of making false tax claims related to two movies he directed, '' The Golden Boys'' and '' The Lightkeepers'', for which his production company received $4.7 million in tax credits from the state of Massachusetts. On April 19, 2012, he pleaded guilty, served 21 months in prison, and was sentenced to 10 years probation. In February 2019, the SEC claimed Adams and his business partner, Michael Flanders, had defrauded investors in connection with the film ''An L.A. Minute''. According to the SEC a fictitious wire transfer confirmation and signature page, forged by Adams, was sent by Flanders to an investor to create the false appearance that investments had already been made in the film. The final judgment, against Adams, was issued in December 2019, ordering him to pay $50,562 plus prejudgment interest of $7,087 and a $50,562 civil penalty. In May 2020 Flanders was ordered to pay $28,500 plus prejudgment interest of $4,354 and a $28,500 civil penalty. Their production companies, Spiderworx Media LLC and An L.A. Minute LLC, were also penalized. Adams gave a lengthy interview in which he described his regret regarding his legal issues, as well as the extenuating circumstances and why both issues are related, on the Brent Weinbach podcast "Pointed Questions."


Film career

Adams gained film production experience from directing television commercials for a Boston advertising agency. He co-wrote and directed his first feature film in 1989, '' A Fool and His Money'' (originally titled, ''Religion, Inc.''), which starred
Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
(Adams cast Ms. Bullock in her first leading role),
Jonathan Penner Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, television personality, and film producer, known for producing and starring in the film '' The Last Supper'', as well as acting in the television series '' Rude Aw ...
,
George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was known for " participat ...
and Jerzy Kosinski (released through Trimark Pictures - now Lions Gate). He then went on to write and direct his second feature, '' Primary Motive'', which starred Judd Nelson,
Justine Bateman Justine Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American filmmaker, author and former actress. Her acting work included '' Family Ties'', '' Satisfaction'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', '' The TV Set'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Californication ...
,
Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993), known professionally as Richard Jordan, was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films ...
, John Savage and
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, for Twentieth Century Fox. His third feature, which he also wrote and directed, was a comedy entitled, ''The Mouse'', starring
Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Tor ...
and John Savage, and released through Strand Releasing. His film, '' The Golden Boys'', was released through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Films in 2009. Also in 2009, he directed the feature film, '' The Lightkeepers'', from a script he wrote that is based on the story The Woman Haters: A Yarn of Eastboro Twin-Lights (1911) by Joseph C. Lincoln. The film, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, was released through New Films Cinema in the spring of 2010. It was chosen as the closing night film for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and was the opening night film for the Boulder International Film Festival, won the "Golden Angel" award (best picture) and chosen closing night film at the Los Angeles Chinese-American Film Festival, was named the No. 2 Best Grown Up Love Story of the Year (2010) by AARP Magazine, and won the 2010 "best musical score for a comedy" award by the International Film Music Critics Association. Two-time Academy Award nominated actor Bruce Dern has compared Adams' directing style to Hal Ashby and Alfred Hitchcock, and commented, "He (Adams) is on the threshold of becoming an extremely interesting commodity in this business because he's really old-school - he's an old-school filmmaker." And Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss has been quoted, "Daniel is a smart man, who truly understands the old values of filmmaking... He is an excellent writer and perhaps enough people will see The Lightkeepers to appreciate that." Adams directed the film '' An L.A. Minute'' which he co-wrote with National Lampoon alum Larry "Ratso" Sloman. The film was released in theaters in the summer of 2018 through Strand Releasing but made just $5,004 at the box office. Adams co-wrote and directed the period
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
''The Walk'' starring Justin Chatwin,
Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor performing on film and television. He has received a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden ...
,
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...
and
Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...
. "The Walk" has won numerous "Best Picture" and "Best Director" film festival awards. The Walk was released in theaters in the United States through Vertical Entertainment on June 10, 2022 His latest film, "The Panic" is a period drama based on a true story set in 1907 New York about real-life bankers J. P. Morgan and Charles Barney as they grapple with a financial crisis sparked by Barney’s failed attempt to manipulate the copper market. The Panic stars
Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...
,
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...
, Justin Chatwin,
Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001's '' How Harry Became a Tree'', and ...
, Cristiana Dell'Anna and Anastasiya Mitrunen and is set for a theatrical release in early 2025 through Blue Fox Entertainment.https://www.thewrap.com/the-panic-first-look-photos-cary-elwes/


Filmography


References


External links

*
''New York Times'' filmography.

Daniel Adams Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Daniel Living people Film directors from Massachusetts University of Vermont alumni American people convicted of tax crimes 1961 births Harvard Extension School alumni