Walk Hard

Background:

Golden Globe nominated writer, director, and producer Jake Kasdan, the older son of renowned Hollywood filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, started out as a child actor by appearing in his father's films “The Big Chill” (1983), “Silverado” (1985), and “The Accidental Tourist” (1988). He made his feature screen writing and directing debut with the dark comedy “Zero Effect” (1998; starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller), and has since added to his directing resume films like "Orange County" (2002), "The TV Set" (2006), and "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007). He is set to direct an upcoming comedy movie called "Burt Dickenson."

On the small screen, Jake worked with Judd Apatow in the TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.” He also directed an episode of "Grosse Pointe," "Cracking Up," and "Californication." Additionally, he has directed numerous stage productions.

On a more personal note, this 5' 6" filmmaker is married to singer/songwriter Inara George of the duo "The Bird and the Bee."

Hollywood Progeny

Childhood and Family:

The older son of famed Hollywood writer/director Lawrence Kasdan of “The Big Chill” (1983), “The Accidental Tourist” (1988) and “Grand Canyon” (1991) fame and writer Meg Kasdan (co-wrote “Grand Canyon” with Lawrence), Jacob Kasdan was born on October 28, 1974, in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up in Los Angeles with his younger brother, Jonathan Kasdan (born in 1980), who also works in the film and television industry as an actor and writer. Jonathan has appeared in several of his father's films, including “The Big Chill” (1983) and “Siverado” (1985), and made his directorial debut with “In the Land of Women” (2007). Jake and Jonathan are nephews of writer/producer Mark Kasdan.

Jake was educated at Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, and the University of California, in Santa Cruz, California, but did not graduate. He dropped out of his studies to focus on his budding career as a writer.

Jake now lives and works in Los Angeles. He is married to Los Angeles, California-based singer/songwriter Inara George (born in 1974), who is half of the indie pop/alternative musical duo "The Bird and the Bee."

Zero Effect

Career:

Growing up around the sets of his father's productions, Jake Kasdan began appearing on the big screen as a child playing unaccredited cameo roles in his father's films. He played an autograph seeker in the Oscar nominated “The Big Chill” (1983; starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, and Kevin Kline), a stable boy in the Oscar nominated “Silverado” (1985; starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, and Danny Glover), and Scott Canfield in the Oscar winning film adaptation of Anne Tyler's acclaimed 1985 novel, “The Accidental Tourist” (1988; starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, and Bill Pullman).

In high school, Jake began writing and directing plays. He also worked as a production assistant on his father's film “Grand Canyon” (1991) and as an archivist on his father's film “Wyatt Earp” (1994). Afterward, Jake coauthored a book with his father about the making of the film “Wyatt Earp” (1994) called “Wyatt Earp, The Film and the Filmmakers.” After dropping out of his studies, the aspiring writer/director wrote and directed the play “The Behavioral Patterns of Funnyman Tyler Hudson,” which was staged at the Hollywood Playhouse in 1996. Jake also produced his feature screen writing and directing debut that was featured at Cannes in 1998, “Zero Effect,” a dark comedy starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller.

In the following years, Jake made his TV directorial debut with episodes of the critically acclaimed NBC teen series “Freaks and Geeks.” He also directed two episodes of the WB sitcom "Grosse Pointe" and helmed the pilot for Fox's “Undeclared,” a half-hour sitcom that was Judd Apatow's follow-up to the TV cult classic “Freaks and Geeks.”

Returning to the big screen, Jake directed Colin Hanks and Jack Black in the comedy feature “Orange County” (2002). He then helmed “The TV Set” (2006), a comedy that follows an idealistic writer (played by David Duchovny) attempting to bring his vision to television. The movie that also stars Sigourney Weaver and Ioan Gruffudd was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in late April 2006. When asked how much of “The TV Set” was influenced by his experiences on “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” Jake explained, “Certainly the movie is an amalgamation of all of my experiences and the experiences of my friends compounded into one movie. I would say that it's not a directly biographical experience, but it is as I said, a collage of all our experiences. It's a world where I've spent a lot of time.”

In 2007, Jake directed John C. Reilly in “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” a parody of films like “Walk the Line” (2005) and “Ray” (2004). Jake, who also co-wrote the music and lyrics to the theme song, earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture and a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. He also won a Sierra Award (Best Song) at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards. About the film, Jake said, "I actually loved ‘Walk the Line.’ I thought [Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix] were both so great in that movie and I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan. It was more the recurrence of these types of movies that are about someone’s extraordinary life and the series of ‘important American life’ movies that we were playing at, the conventions of those things." Jake Kasdan

During this time, Jake also directed an episode of the short-lived Fox Network sitcom "Cracking Up" and Showtime’s "Californication." He also served as executive producer for Jaffar Mahmood's romantic movie "Shades of Ray" (2008), starring Zachary Levi.

Jake is set to direct an upcoming comedy movie called "Burt Dickenson."

“I don't know, tough call. Usually you feel like the smartest decisions you've made are the things you've chosen not to do. There's movies I haven't made that I'm glad I haven't made. There’s actors I haven't worked with that, in retrospect, I'm glad I haven't worked with.” Jake Kasdan (about the smartest decision he ever made)

Awards:

• Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Sierra Award - Best Song, "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," 2007