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Shane Carruth

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Shane Carruth
Carruth at South by Southwest 2013
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.
Alma materStephen F. Austin State University
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
  • composer
Years active2004–present

Shane Carruth (born 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, composer, and actor.[1][2] He is the writer, director, and co-star of the prize-winning science-fiction film Primer (2004), which was his debut feature. His second film, Upstream Color (2013), was an experimental science-fiction film which he wrote, directed, produced, edited, designed, and starred in. He also composed the scores for both films. In recognition of Carruth's idiosyncratic and, at times, bizarre filmmaking technique, director Steven Soderbergh told Entertainment Weekly, "I view Shane as the illegitimate offspring of David Lynch and James Cameron."[3]

Early life

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Carruth was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1972. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University as a mathematics major.[4] Before becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a developer of flight-simulation software.[3]

Career

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Primer

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Main article: Primer (film)

For his independent film Primer, Carruth wrote, directed, produced, and performed one of the two main roles; he also composed the score. The film was honored at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival with the Grand Jury Prize and the Alfred P. Sloan Award. Carruth, a former software engineer with an undergraduate degree in mathematics,[3] used his technical knowledge extensively on the project.

Upstream Color

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Main article: Upstream Color

On January 21, 2013, Carruth premiered his film Upstream Color at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category.[5] Carruth, Johnny Marshall, and Pete Horner won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design for the film.[6] Keith Kimbell wrote that it was the "most anticipated (and most difficult to describe) film in competition", and "most critics couldn't stop talking about it".[7] The film was released via VHX on April 5, 2013.[7] Some of Carruth's music from Upstream Color was featured in the 2016 documentary Tickled.

Unrealized or upcoming work

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In 2009, David Sullivan, one of the leads in Primer, tweeted that "Shane Carruth's next project, A Topiary, is in the early stages of pre-production".[8] Filmmaker Rian Johnson tweeted that it would feature a "mind-blowing sci-fi script."[9] In 2010, several news sources reported that A Topiary was in the works and that the script had been written. There was already a website for the movie[10] which, according to Carruth in an interview to io9, "The website for now is just a place mark as financing has yet to be completed. I'm cautiously optimistic that this can happen soon and couldn't be happier with the filmmakers that have committed to the project so far."[11] However, the film (which Entertainment Weekly described as "a sci-fi epic about a group of kids who build a giant, animal-like creature") stalled, and in early 2013, Carruth told EW that it was "the thing I basically wasted my whole life on."[3] Carruth no longer pursues the project; some VFX test footage of the film is visible in Upstream Color in a scene when a character is examining the video for technical flaws.[12]

In 2014, Carruth announced a new film, The Modern Ocean, based on international shipping and the lives of those involved.[13] On August 12, 2015, it was reported that the film was in pre-production,[14] and its ensemble cast was announced in November 2015; it would include Jeff Goldblum, Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves, Tom Holland, Daniel Radcliffe, Chloë Grace Moretz, Asa Butterfield, and Abraham Attah.[15] In an interview in 2018, Carruth noted that the film is "not gonna happen anytime soon".[16] Irrfan Khan was also scheduled to star as the lead captain of the ship, before his death on April 29, 2020. On June 17, 2020, Carruth posted the entire script for The Modern Ocean on Twitter, along with some of the original score.[17][18]

In 2019, in an interview Carruth claimed he was working on "a massive thing" and would leave the film industry once that project concludes.[19][20]

Consulting

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Carruth was rumored to have consulted on time-travel sequences for filmmaker Rian Johnson's Looper, though it was later revealed that those sequences were deemed too expensive to shoot.[21][22]

Acting

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In 2018, Carruth starred in the psychological thriller The Dead Center about a hospital psychiatrist whose own sanity is pushed to the edge when a frightened amnesiac patient insists that he has died and brought something terrible back from the other side.[citation needed]

Personal life

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In 2019, when asked about his religious beliefs, he stated that he was raised Christian, but fell away from it, before later saying that he still prays from time to time and finds some comfort from the Bible.[23]

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From 2011 to 2018, Carruth was in a relationship with Amy Seimetz. The couple became engaged in 2013.[24][25][26] Seimetz obtained temporary restraining orders against Carruth in 2018 and 2020 and a permanent restraining order in 2020, citing years of domestic and emotional abuse and harassment.[27][28] Carruth has denied these allegations.[29]

On January 13, 2022, Carruth was arrested at the home of another ex-girlfriend on allegations of domestic assault and vandalism. He was released four days later on a $50,000 bond.[30]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Producer Writer Composer Editor Actor Notes
2004 Primer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Also production designer, sound designer and casting director
2013 Upstream Color Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Also cinematographer and camera operator
2018 The Dead Center No Yes No No No Yes

Television

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Year Title Director Composer Notes
2016 The Girlfriend Experience No Yes 13 episodes
2017 Breakthrough Yes No Episode "Predicting the Future"

Acting roles

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Primer Aaron
2013 Upstream Color Jeff
2014 Everything & Everything & Everything Morgan Short film
2015 We'll Find Something Steve Short film
Memory Box The Man Short film
2016 The Girlfriend Experience Sam TV series (1 episode)
Swiss Army Man Coroner Cameo
2018 The Dead Center Daniel Forrester
2020 Tales from the Loop Cole TV series (2 episodes)

Other credits

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Year Title Role
2016 The Divergent Series: Allegiant Consultant
2017 A Ghost Story Additional editor
2020 The Wanting Mare Carruth was removed as executive producer after allegations of domestic violence surfaced.[31]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Film Result
2004 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Primer Won
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Won
Nantucket Film Festival Best Writer/Director Won
Gotham Awards Best Feature Nominated
Sitges Film Festival Best Film Nominated
2005 London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film Best Feature Won
Independent Spirit Awards Best Feature Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best First Screenplay Nominated
Best Actor in a Debut Performance (David Sullivan) Nominated
Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award Nominated
2013 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design Upstream Color Won
Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic Nominated
Sitges Film Festival Best Directorial Revelation Won
Best Motion Picture Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Editing Second place
Independent Spirit Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Editing Nominated
Gotham Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Actress (Amy Seimetz) Nominated
Camerimage Best Cinematography Debut Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Editing Nominated
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Best Director Nominated
Village Voice Film Poll Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
SXSW Film Festival Festival Favorites Nominated
2014 Australian Film Critics Association Best International Film (English Language) Nominated
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Picture Nominated
Best Cinematography Nominated
Chlotrudis Award Best Cinematography Nominated
Lost Weekend Best Visuals Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Breakthrough (Amy Seimetz) Nominated
Best Picture Nominated
Best Original Score Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Actress (Amy Seimetz) Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Cinematography Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Technical Achievement of the Year (Johnny Marshall) Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Murray, Rebecca (October 22, 2004). "Interview with Shane Carruth". About.com. New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  2. ^ Moring, Mark (October 22, 2004). "A Primer on Filmmaking". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Maerz, Melissa (April 5, 2013). "A Mysterious Director Returns, in Living Color". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1253. p. 50. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "New Math: A Conversation with Shane Carruth". Archived from the original on October 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "Upstream Color – Movie Trailers – iTunes". trailers.apple.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Feature Film Awards". sundance.org. January 26, 2013. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Kimbell, Keith (January 28, 2013). "2013 Sundance Film Festival Recap". Metacritic. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  8. ^ Sullivan, David [@davidsullivan] (May 12, 2009). "Shane Carruth's next project, A Topiary, is in the early stages of pre-production. Let's hope that I can be a part of that one too!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Twitter / Rian Johnson: to all who asked". Retrieved September 16, 2009.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ "A Topiary". www.atopiary.com. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010.
  11. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (June 22, 2010). "More details about Shane Carruth's next mind-bending film!". io9.gizmodo.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "UPSTREAM COLOR w/ Shane Carruth of PRIMER (B-Movies Interview". YouTube. April 11, 2013. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Wise, Damon (January 5, 2014). "Shane Carruth Interview: Upstream Color". Empire Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  14. ^ Nguyen, Clinton (August 12, 2015). "We Talked to Shane Carruth About the Human Drama Behind 'The Modern Ocean'". Motherboard. Vice Media. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  15. ^ Borys Kit, Pamela (November 3, 2015). "Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe to Star in 'The Modern Ocean'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  16. ^ Nordine, Michael (October 1, 2018). "Shane Carruth on Why He Won't Direct a Superhero Movie and Acting in 'The Dead Center'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Raup, Jordan (June 17, 2020). "Shane Carruth Shares Full Script & Concept Trailer for The Modern Ocean". Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  18. ^ @UpstreamColor (June 17, 2020). "[link] That's the script for The Modern Ocean. I kept it quiet for a long time because...I don't like scripts because they are not movies and movies are not film and I just didn't want to be embarrassed. But now I think it might be fun. It's all good, now" (Tweet). Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Shane Carruth on The Dead Center – and why he's quitting film for good". The HotCorn. October 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  20. ^ Pape, Stefan (October 10, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE – Shane Carruth on The Dead Center and why he's quitting film for good". The Hot Corn. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  21. ^ Bettinger, Brendan (January 18, 2011). "PRIMER Director Shane Carruth Working on the Time Travel Effects in Rian Johnson's LOOPER". Collider. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  22. ^ Raftery, Brian (April 17, 2013). "Buckle Your Brainpan: The Primer Director Is Back With a New Film". Wired.com. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  23. ^ "Shane Carruth on The Dead Center – and why he's quitting film for good". The HotCorn. October 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Amy Seimetz Accuses Ex Shane Carruth of Strangling, Threatening Her". The Wrap. July 28, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  25. ^ Erbland, Kate (January 26, 2016). "Sundance: Amy Seimetz Explains the Most Feminist Decision She Made When Crafting 'The Girlfriend Experience'". IndieWire. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  26. ^ Kohn, Eric (April 13, 2019). "Amy Seimetz Conquers Hollywood By Saying No to Marvel and Yes to 'Pet Sematary'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  27. ^ Maddaus, Gene (July 27, 2020). "'Upstream Color' Director Shane Carruth Accused of Abusing Ex-Girlfriend". Variety. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  28. ^ Fernández, Alexia (July 28, 2020). "Alien: Covenant and Pet Sematary's Amy Seimetz Accuses Director Ex of Mental, Physical Abuse". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  29. ^ Brody, Richard (August 7, 2020). ""She Dies Tomorrow," Reviewed: An Apocalyptic Drama of Emotional Crises". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  30. ^ Maddaus, Gene (January 19, 2022). "Shane Carruth, 'Primer' and 'Upstream Color' Director, Arrested on Domestic Violence Allegations". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  31. ^ Feldberg, Isaac (August 24, 2020). "Nine Film Festival Favorites That Deserve a Home | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
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Interviews
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