Stu Pollard (born January 26, 1967) is an American film producer, writer and director. His credits include ''

Nice Guys Sleep Alone ''Nice Guys Sleep Alone'' is a 1999 romantic comedy film written and directed by Stu Pollard. The film is based on a book of the same title, written by Bruce Feirstein. Synopsis A young man in Louisville sees his dating failures are related to h ...

'' and ''Keep Your Distance'', as well as the 2019 survival thriller ''

Rust Creek ''Rust Creek'' is a 2018 American crime thriller film directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson. It is based on an original story by Lipson and Stu Pollard. Hermione Corfield stars as a college student who becomes lost while on a road ...

''.

Early life and education

Pollard was born in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and attended Kentucky Country Day School. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1989, then spent three years working for New York's

McCann-Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in over 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCa ...

before moving to Los Angeles to earn his MFA 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 ...

Career

After graduating from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, Pollard created ''Lunacy Unlimited'', a production company that created a number of award-winning commercials and documentaries before eventually shifting its focus to features. Pollard made his feature film debut in 1999, producing, writing and directing ''

'', starring

Sean O'Bryan Sean Michael O'Bryan (born September 10, 1963) is an American film and television actor from Louisville, Kentucky. He attended and graduated from St. Xavier High School. Career He co-starred with William Ragsdale on the series '' Brother's ...

and

Vanessa Marcil Vanessa Marcil ( ; born October 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Brenda Barrett on ''General Hospital'', Gina Kincaid on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', and Sam Marquez on ''Las Vegas (TV series), Las Ve ...

. A

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

about the dating scene in Louisville, the independent production was broadcast in over a dozen countries and carried on cable television's

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

. The film became the first

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

exclusive, garnering press coverage from ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. In 2005, Pollard delivered his second feature film. He produced, wrote, and directed ''Keep Your Distance'', starring

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. Upon graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he began acting in films and television. Bellows also earned critical acclaim for his stage p ...

and

Jennifer Westfeldt Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film '' Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an I ...

. The thriller depicts a seemingly perfect marriage, which slowly dissolves at the foot of betrayal. Pollard received a number of producing credits for independent films from 2006 through 2015, including ''

Ira & Abby ''Ira & Abby'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Cary and written by Jennifer Westfeldt. The film stars Chris Messina and Westfeldt in the title roles, and co-stars Fred Willard, Frances Conroy, Jason Alexander, Robert Kl ...

'' and ''

Bass Ackwards ''Bass Ackwards'' is a film written, starring and directed by Linas Phillips and also starring Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher and Paul Lazar. The film stars Phillips as a man who embarks on cross-country journey in a modified VW bus after ending a disas ...

''. In 2015, Pollard founded his production company in order to break free of the "one at a time" model of independent filmmaking and have multiple projects in development at a time. Lunacy has offices in Louisville, Kentucky, and Los Angeles, California, and focuses on supporting emerging filmmakers while also working on new materials with established talent. With Lunacy Productions, Pollard produced the critically acclaimed survival thriller ''

'', which won the Best Thriller Feature Award at the

San Diego International Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival is an independent film festival held in San Diego, California, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in autumn at venues in the Gaslamp Q ...

. On November 30, 2020, Rust Creek had its Netflix debut. The film spent more than a week on Netflix's top ten movies list. His latest release is the romantic comedy '' Plus One'', starring

Jack Quaid Jack Henry Quaid (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor. The son of actors Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, he made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film ''The Hunger Games (film), The Hunger Games'' (2012). Quaid was part of th ...

and

Maya Erskine Maya Erskine (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and writer. She is known for her roles as Maggie in '' Man Seeking Woman'', Mikki in '' Betas'', and Mizu in '' Blue Eye Samurai''. From 2019 to 2021, she starred in Hulu's original TV comed ...

. Pollard is also an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and teaches at

Film Independent The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

. He is a member of both the PGA and DGA.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Lunacy Unlimited website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Stu 1967 births Living people Georgetown University alumni Writers from Louisville, Kentucky USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Film producers from Kentucky Kentucky Country Day School alumni Film directors from Kentucky Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople