- The Polish brothers
-
Mark Polish Born October 30, 1970
El Centro, California
United StatesOccupation Film producer, writer, actor Michael Polish Born October 30, 1970
El Centro, California
United StatesOccupation Film director, producer, writer, actor The Polish brothers are twin filmmakers named Mark Polish and Michael Polish. They began their film career with the 1999 Sundance debut of their first feature, Twin Falls Idaho.[1][2]
The identical twin siblings wrote, directed and starred in the tale of conjoined twins. Sony Pictures Classics bought the rights for theatrical distribution of the film, which Janet Maslin of The New York Times said had "style, gravity and originality to spare." [3]
Michael Polish, in an interview with Robert K. Elder for the book The Film That Changed My Life said much of his own inspiration came from watching Once Upon a Time in America in his youth.[4]
…Internally it speaks to me, as just a human, a person alone. I can watch this movie alone and be a fan. Whether a filmmaker or not, I can be a fan because it has so many symbols and situations that reflect life itself, growing up. Even growing up in the suburbs, you still have friendships the same way these kids have friendships.[5]
In 2000, the Polish brothers followed up Twin Falls with Jackpot. The story of a deluded karaoke singer (Jonathan Gries) on a tour of American dive-bars. It won the 2001 Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award and the 2001 Seattle International Film Festival New American Cinema Award. The film was distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics.
In 2002, the brothers were offered the opportunity to make a mainstream film. Instead, they began to put together the independent film Northfork. When financing collapsed days before principal photography, the filmmakers signed their house to creditors, and paid for their movie with personal credit cards. Starring James Woods and Nick Nolte, Northfork was chosen as an early selection by the Sundance Film Festival, and when the movie premiered at Sundance in 2003, Roger Ebert called it "a masterpiece."[6]
In 2005, the Polish brothers, along with producing partner Jonathan Sheldon wrote and released The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking. The book, a how-to guide for first-time, do-it-yourself filmmakers, follows the filmmaking process and gives firsthand accounts of the Polish Brothers’ travails in making their films. The Library Journal said the Polish Brothers "write in a way that illuminates the details more clearly than most technical scribes."
In 2006, the brothers would team with Warner Independent for their fourth film, The Astronaut Farmer. The Astronaut Farmer is about a former NASA astronaut, Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), who has been obsessively building a rocket in his barn. Warner Bros. released it wide throughout North America in 2007.[7]
The brothers then shot two films back-to-back, just days apart while launching their new production company, Prohibition Pictures along with partners Ken Johnson, Janet DuBois, and Jonathan Sheldon. The Polish Brothers' fifth film, Manure (with Billy Bob Thornton and Téa Leoni) began shooting May 27, 2008 (and was released at the Sundance Festival in 2009 as The Smell of Success), and the Polish Brothers’ sixth film, Stay Cool (with Winona Ryder, Mark Polish, Chevy Chase, Sean Astin, Hilary Duff, Jon Cryer, Josh Holloway) began filming in July 2008 (and was shown at Tribeca Festival in 2009).[8]
In May 2010 the Polish brothers began filming For Lovers Only. Said to be inspired by the French New Wave and Claude Lelouch's 1966 double Oscar-winner A Man and a Woman, the romance focuses on a journalist Stana Katic (Castle) in Paris on assignment, who runs into a lover (Mark Polish) from her past. Presumably enraptured by reconciliation, the pair flee Paris and travel "by train, car, and motorcycle as their love affair takes them across France from Normandy to St. Tropez."
Contents
Filmography
- Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) - Twin Cenobite #1 (Michael) - Twin Cenobite #2 (Mark) (acting only)
- Twin Falls Idaho (1999) (Michael - director, cowriter, actor. Mark - cowriter, actor)
- Jackpot (2001) (Michael - director, cowriter. Mark - cowriter)
- Northfork (2003) (Michael - director, cowriter. Mark - cowriter, actor)
- The Astronaut Farmer (2006) (Michael - director, cowriter. Mark - cowriter, actor)
- The Smell of Success (2009) (Mark only - actor)
- Stay Cool (2009) (Mark and Michael, cowriters)
- For Lovers Only (2010, online; 2011, film festival release) (Michael - coproducer, director. Mark - coproducer, writer, actor)
- Big Sur (forthcoming, 2012) (Michael only - coproducer, director, writer)
Bibliography
- The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking: An Insider's Guide to Making Movies Outside of Hollywood, with Jonathan Sheldon. Mariner Books 2005, ISBN 978-0156029520
References
- ^ New York Times
- ^ New York Times
- ^ New York Times
- ^ Books.google.com
- ^ Polish, Michael. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p154. Print.
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times
- ^ New York Times
- ^ New York Times
External links
- The Polish brothers at the Internet Movie Database (Michael Polish)
- The Polish brothers at the Internet Movie Database (Mark Polish)
Films directed by Michael Polish 1990s Twin Falls Idaho (1999)2000s Jackpot (2001) · Northfork (2003) · The Astronaut Farmer (2006) · The Smell of Success (2009) · Stay Cool (2009)2010s For Lovers Only (2010) · Big Sur (2012)Categories:- American film directors
- American film producers
- Independent Spirit Award winners
- Sibling duos
- Twin people from the United States
- 1970 births
- Living people
- Sibling filmmakers
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