Gil Kenan | |
|---|---|
) Kenan at the 34th Annie Awards | |
| Born | October 16, 1976[1] London, England |
| Citizenship | British, American, Israeli |
| Alma mater | UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television |
| Occupation | Filmmaker, animator |
| Years active | 2002-present |
Notable work | Monster House City of Ember Poltergeist Scream |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Chaikin (m. 2005) |
Gil Kenan (Hebrew: גיל קינן; born October 16, 1976) is a British-American-Israeli filmmaker and animator.
Life and career
Kenan was born in London, to a Jewish family.[2][3] When Kenan was three, his family immigrated to Tel Aviv, Israel.[2][3] At age eight, Kenan and his family once again moved to Reseda, Los Angeles.[1]
Kenan studied at the film division of the University of California, Los Angeles where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in animation in 2002.[4][5] For his graduate thesis, he created a 10-minute stop-motion/live-action short film titled The Lark.[4][6]
The first public screening of The Lark caught the attention of Jordan Bealmear, who was an assistant at Creative Artists Agency.[7] The agency sent hundreds of copies of Kenan's short in order to interest parties in the film industry and after a few months of interviews,[7] Robert Zemeckis offered Kenan the director's chair for his first feature, Monster House (2006).[7] Executive produced by Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg,[7] it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Happy Feet.[8]
Kenan followed Monster House with City of Ember, a post-apocalyptic science fiction adventure film based on Jeanne Duprau's 2003 novel of the same name.[9] Produced by Tom Hanks,[9] it was released in October 2008 to mixed reviews and poor box office results.[10][11] Kenan's next film, Poltergeist, a remake of the 1982 Tobe Hooper film of the same name, was released in May 2015. In July of that same year, Kenan signed on to direct and co-write a film adaptation of the popular video game series Five Nights at Freddy's by Scott Cawthon,[12] but later withdrew from the project. In January 2019, it was announced that Kenan will co-write a script along with Jason Reitman for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which is scheduled for release in 2021.[13]
Personal life
In 2005,[1] Kenan married Eliza Chaikin, who was an art director on City of Ember.[5]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Lark | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2006 | Monster House | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | City of Ember | Yes | No | |
| 2015 | Poltergeist | Yes | No | |
| 2016 | Scream | Yes | No | Episode: "Village of the Damned" |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | No | Yes | Co-writer with Jason Reitman Also executive producer |
| TBA | A Boy Called Christmas | Yes | Yes | Co-writer with Ol Parker |
Special thanks
- The Little Hours (2017)
- The Craft: Legacy (2020)
References
- ^ a b c d Daly, Steve (July 26, 2006). "House Beautiful". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ a b https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/14446/
- ^ a b https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3288114,00.html
- ^ a b Furniss, Maureen (November 27, 2002). "Fresh from the Festivals: November 2002's Film Reviews". Animation World Network. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Burke, Anne (July 14, 2006). "Monster Man". UCLA Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (February 22, 2007). "Scary 'Monster House' comes direct from the basement". Jewish Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Murray, Chris (August 7, 2006). "Gil Kenan: on Monster House, Robert Zemeckis & His Big Break". PopcornTaxi. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ Baisley, Sarah (January 23, 2007). "Cars, Happy Feet and Monster House Vie for Best Animated Oscar". Animation World Network. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Wolff, Ellen (October 10, 2008). "Director Kenan Shines a Light on 'City of Ember'". Animation World Network. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "City of Ember (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "City of Ember (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "Five Nights at Freddy's". Deadline. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (January 25, 2019). "'Morbius' & 'Ghostbusters' Solidify Summer 2020 Release Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 25, 2019.