Derek Frey (born April 23, 1973) is an American filmmaker who has been a producer on numerous
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...
-directed films including ''
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'' is a 2011 contemporary fantasy debut novel by American author Ransom Riggs. The story is told through a combination of narrative and a mix of vernacular and found photography from the personal ...
'', ''
Frankenweenie'', ''
Big Eyes
''Big Eyes'' is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. It is about the relationship between American artist Margaret Kea ...
'', ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'', ''
Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...
'', and others.
Early life and education
Frey was born on April 23, 1973, in the
Drexel Hill section of
Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania
Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total popul ...
, near
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He graduating from
Upper Darby High School
Upper Darby High School (UDHS) is a four-year public high school located in Upper Darby Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Upper Darby School District. Established in 1895, it is the oldest high school in Delaware Count ...
.
Frey attended
West Chester University
West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the ...
and graduated with a
BA in
communication studies
Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...
.
Career
Frey began his career in the film industry in 1996 as an assistant for Tim Burton and an employee of Tim Burton Productions. He worked as Burton's assistant on ''
Mars Attacks!
''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction film, science fiction black comedy, black comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading ca ...
'', ''
Sleepy Hollow'', ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'', and ''
Big Fish
''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy drama film directed by Tim Burton. It is based on the 1998 novel '' Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange ...
''.
In 2001, he became the head of Tim Burton Productions. He would go on to earn producer credits in a variety of Tim Burton films including ''Alice in Wonderland'', ''Big Eyes'', ''Frankenweenie'', ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'', ''
Corpse Bride
''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film, directed by Mike Johnson (in his directorial debut) and Tim Burton from a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson, and ...
'', and ''
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
''.
Frey also directs and produces under the banner, Lazer Film Productions. The company largely produces short films and music videos. His 2016 short film, ''Green Lake'', was shown at over 40 film festivals at which it earned 47 awards including "Best Horror" at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards.
Other short films produced and directed by Frey include ''Kill the Engine'',
''Motel Providence'', ''Sky Blue Collar'', ''The Day the Dolls Struck Back'', ''The Ballad of Sandeep'' (starring actor,
Deep Roy
Gurdeep "Deep" Roy (born Mohinder Purba; 1 December 1957) is a Kenyan-British actor, puppeteer and stuntman. At tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as Teeny Weeny in '' The NeverEnding Story'', all the Oompa-Loompas in ...
), and numerous others.
Frey produced Burton's live-action adaptation of ''
Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...
'', which was released in March 2019.
Filmography
Feature films
Short films
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Derek
Living people
1973 births
People from Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Film producers from Pennsylvania
West Chester University alumni
Film directors from Pennsylvania