Jacob Gentry
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Jacob Gentry is an American film director, editor, and writer. He is best known for '' The Signal'', which he co-wrote and co-directed with
David Bruckner David Bruckner (born ) is an American film director. With Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush, he co-wrote and co-directed the 2007 horror film ''The Signal (2007 American film), The Signal''. Bruckner also co-wrote and directed the "Amateur Night" segment ...
and Dan Bush. He also directed the ''
My Super Psycho Sweet 16 ''My Super Psycho Sweet 16'' is a 2009 American made-for-TV slasher film, based on the MTV show, ''My Super Sweet 16''. The film follows two girls: outcast Skye Rotter ( Lauren McKnight), and the spoiled Madison Penrose ( Julianna Guill) who hos ...
'' trilogy and collaborated with
Broken Bells Broken Bells is an American indie rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band The Shins. Broken Bells compose and create as a duo ...
on short films based on their music.


Early life

Gentry was born in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, and raised in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. At fifteen, MTV aired his short film ''Terminator 3: School Day''. Later, he attended the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
along with
David Bruckner David Bruckner (born ) is an American film director. With Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush, he co-wrote and co-directed the 2007 horror film ''The Signal (2007 American film), The Signal''. Bruckner also co-wrote and directed the "Amateur Night" segment ...
and A. J. Bowen. The three would later collaborate with Dan Bush on '' The Signal'' (2007).


Career

Gentry's first film was ''Last Goodbye'' (2004), which starred
Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...
and the children of several celebrities. Gentry was initially resistant to the idea of casting the children of celebrities but relented when he realized the gimmick could be used for publicity. He later described the film as "a messy ''
Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
''". In 2005, he edited the film ''The Lady from Sockholm''. His next feature was ''The Signal'', which traces its origins to a
Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
game called
exquisite corpse Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', ) is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g., "The ''adjective'' ''noun' ...
in which multiple collaborators independently contribute toward the completion of an art project. After collaborating with Bruckner and Bush on ''The Signal'', he signed a three-picture deal with MTV and directed ''
My Super Psycho Sweet 16 ''My Super Psycho Sweet 16'' is a 2009 American made-for-TV slasher film, based on the MTV show, ''My Super Sweet 16''. The film follows two girls: outcast Skye Rotter ( Lauren McKnight), and the spoiled Madison Penrose ( Julianna Guill) who hos ...
'' (2009) and its two sequels, '' My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 2'' and '' My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 3''. Although not a fan of
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
, Gentry decided to use the source material to discuss the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. Gentry was originally approached to contribute to the horror anthology ''
V/H/S ''V/H/S'' is a 2012 American found footage horror anthology film and the first installment in the ''V/H/S'' franchise created by Brad Miska and Bloody Disgusting, and produced by Miska and Roxanne Benjamin. It features a series of six fou ...
'', but he was forced to decline due to
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...
technicalities. He instead suggested Bruckner, who joined the project. Gentry worked with the band
Broken Bells Broken Bells is an American indie rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band The Shins. Broken Bells compose and create as a duo ...
on two short films. Gentry said that the shorts allowed him to explore new ideas and work in
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, his favorite genre. Gentry and musician
Danger Mouse Danger Mouse is a British action cartoon which has had two incarnations: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series ...
had gone to college together, and although they had not worked together professionally until then, they were friends. Gentry did not synchronize the films to the albums; instead, he worked from Danger Mouse's ideas and created independent narratives. In 2015 he released ''Synchronicity'', after which he released ''Broadcast Signal Intrusion'' in 2021.


Awards and nominations

In 2008, Gentry was nominated for the
Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1,000,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named aft ...
along with Bruckner and Bush for ''The Signal''.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Jacob Living people Film directors from Tennessee American film editors Year of birth missing (living people)