http://www.rodblackhurst.com ROD BLACKHURST Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:19:58 +0000 http://www.rodblackhurst.com en http://www.rodblackhurst.com/FEATURES http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/FEATURES Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:19:58 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2511477 <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511477/qc_header2.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="392" width_o="900" height_o="527" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511477/qc_header2_o.jpg" align="left" /> YOU WERE ONCE CALLED QUEEN CITY It’s 1998 in Dickinson, North Dakota and a stop sign was recently installed on the corner of 5th Avenue and 6th Street. The beloved mascot of wrestling powerhouse Dickinson High School, the Fighting Midget, is under assault by pc-minded townsfolk who prefer the less threatening moniker, the Fighting Pheasant. And Danny Mesersmits, an average teen and son of a local legend, has decided that he sucks at wrestling. Danny has always focused on the past, especially when it comes to wrestling. His father, who died when Danny was in the womb, still holds state and regional wrestling records. Two weeks before varsity pre-season begins, Danny announces, much to the shock of his family and friends, that he does not want to wrestle. Over the next several weeks the past-obsessed Danny struggles with his decision while constantly being distracted by his everyday teenage life. His budding relationship with his beautiful girlfriend Ann is moving into sexual territories. When Ann’s mother Karen, an image obsessed, smarmy, small town socialite, walks in on one of their awkward love sessions her hatred towards Danny strengthens and the rift between her, her daughter, and her husband Tom grows. Danny’s Uncle Ron constantly gives counsel whether it is welcome or not. Ron, an alcoholic plumber and equally talented wrestler in his day, schools Danny with crass wisdom and drunken honesty. Ron tries to direct Danny to what is truly important in life even if he does not heed his own advice. When an unexpected tragedy occurs, Danny’s decisions seems pointless and his relationship with his caring mother Mary starts to strain. Mary tries desperately to find ways to bond with and support her son even while she’s overworked and unappreciated. To move on, Danny must come to terms with his past in order to deal with the present and face his future. Guided by a quirky collection of small town friends, a football obsessed catholic priest, a daily quote calendar, and a pair of worn and fringy socks, Danny slowly discovers what winning and losing is really about, and what he’s truly wrestling for. Director | Rod Blackhurst Writer | David Ebeltoft Executive Producer | Mark Pellington Starring | Kevin Heffernan, Gillian Vigman, Pete Gardner & Carrie Clifford IMDB http://www.rodblackhurst.com/DESIGN http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/DESIGN Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:37:55 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2511334 Crooked Fingers 'Forfeit/Fortune' Cover Photograph & Layout Design <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/1.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/1_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/2.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/2_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/3.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/3_o.jpg" align="left" /> The Damnwells 'No One Listens To The Band Anymore' Photographs & Layout Design <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/4.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/4_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/5.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/5_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/6.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/6_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/7.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/7_o.jpg" align="left" /> 5280 Denver Magazine Cover & Feature Profile Photography <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/8.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/8_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/9.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/9_o.jpg" align="left" /> <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/10.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/10_o.jpg" align="left" /> Big Head Todd & The Monsters 'All The Love You Need' Live Concert DVD Director of Photography | Rod Blackhurst <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/bhtm.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/bhtm_o.jpg" align="left" /> Jack's Mannequin 'Choke, California' Long Format Music Video Director | James Minchin III Director of Photography | Rod Blackhurst <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/jacks.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/jacks_o.jpg" align="left" /> The Fray 'The Place That I'm From, The Place That I'm In' On The Road Documentary packaged with How To Save A Life album reissue Director | Rod Blackhurst <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/the_fray.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="446" width_o="783" height_o="522" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511334/the_fray_o.jpg" align="left" /> . http://www.rodblackhurst.com/ABOUT http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/ABOUT Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:25:21 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2511080 <img src="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511080/rod_portrait1.jpg" border="0" width="670" height="256" width_o="854" height_o="327" src_o="http://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/84529/2511080/rod_portrait1_o.jpg" align="left" /> Rod Blackhurst is a film director & cinematographer who was born in an upstate New York hamlet with a population of one hundred and sixty three and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and cat. He's spent the night in every state except South Dakota and enjoys driving in silence. He doesn't like talking about himself in the third person but he's writing this bio that way so he sounds awesome. Rod began his career touring with the Grammy nominated rock band The Fray directing the feature length documentary film Fair Fight, released in 2009 by Sony Entertainment. His music videos for the band (which have a combined 6 million views on YouTube) have aired on MTV, VH1, & Fuse. A hard cover book of behind the scenes and life on the road photographs, 'There & Back', was published by Marquand Books in 2009. He recently directed (with directing & creative development partner Brian McGinn) the short film Would You starring Dave Franco & Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Rod & Brian frequently direct comedy shorts for Funny or Die as well as commercials. Their Funny or Die exclusive 'Go F**k Yourself with Dave Franco' has garnered nearly a million views and been featured on Perez Hilton & Gawker. Currently Rod is directing the feature You Were Once Called Queen City, written by David Ebeltoft, which is being executive produced by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, Henry Poole is Here, U2 3D, I Melt With You). With McGinn he is also currently directing Kenny, a documentary about the personal and professional rebirth of jazz legend Kenny G. Additional work has appeared on National Geographic and PBS (TV series Music Voyager), MTV, VH1, CMT, G4, ESPN as well as in print for Denver Magazine, Billboard Magazine, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, and USA Today Weekend. For all creative inquiries & bookings please EMAIL. Corporate client and work examples are available upon request. If interested in purchasing prints of any images on this site please EMAIL. http://www.rodblackhurst.com/COMEDY http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/COMEDY Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:59:53 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2510972 Would You 2012 Official SXSW Selection (please contact directly to see 'Would You' - not yet available to the public) Directed, Produced & Edited by ROD BLACKHURST & BRIAN McGINN Written & Produced by DAVE FRANCO with DAVE FRANCO, TALIA TABIN, BETSY FRANCO & CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE Executive Producers | PAUL KRIZAN & ERIC HOLLENBECK Director of Photography | GARETH PAUL COX Associate Producer | JODY MONTINOLA Re-Recording Mixer | RONALD ENG Colorist | SANTIAGO PADILLA (New Hat) SPECIAL THANKS AFI Conservatory Rachel Blackhurst James/Levy Management Kickstarter Miles Levy Matt Markwalder Christopher Mintz-Plasse Ahna O'Reilly Red Apple Productions Kat Stolpa Mark Pellington Production Equipment provided by Red Apple Productions All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2011. 'Go F**k Yourself with Dave Franco' Funny or Die Exclusive Starring: Dave Franco Writers: Andy Goodman & Dave Franco Director: Brian McGinn & Rod Blackhurst Cinematographer: Rod Blackhurst Produced by: Allison Hord Edited by: Rod Blackhurst & Brian Mcginn Visual FX: Dustin Bowser Executive Producer: Mike Farah PA: Taylor Robinson, Alistair Walford Set Supervisor: Christin Trogan Sound: BoTown Sound AC: Michael Bosman M/U: Kat Bardot Grip: Jordan Downey Featuring: Ramsey Krull and Talia Tabin Bar Patrons: Hank Tarlow, Craig Chen, Darci Borelli 'Nice C*ck' Directed, Photographed & Edited | Rod Blackhurst & Brian McGinn Produced & Written | Dave Mays & Alex Perez With | Dave Mays, Alex Perez & Meghann Cionni http://www.rodblackhurst.com/MUSIC-VIDEOS http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/MUSIC-VIDEOS Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:39:49 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2510882 'Blessed' Artist | Lucinda Williams Directors | James Minchin III & Rod Blackhurst Lost Highway 'Revolution' Artist | John Butler Trio Director | James Minchin III DP & Editor | Rod Blackhurst 'Syndicate' Artist | The Fray Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Brook Aitken & Rod Blackhurst Sony ‘The Last Time’ Artist | Hello Kavita Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Brook Aitken 'You Found Me' Artist | The Fray Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Brook Aitken & Rod Blackhurst Sony 'Say When' Artist | The Fray Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Brook Aitken & Rod Blackhurst Sony ‘Want Your Mantra’ Artist | Barkeater Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Gareth Paul Cox http://www.rodblackhurst.com/REELS http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/REELS Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:39:47 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 1438869 http://www.rodblackhurst.com/DOCUMENTARY http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/DOCUMENTARY Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:33:44 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2510830 Early Innings TV show pitch Created by David Targan Cinematography & Editing by Rod Blackhurst Creative Statement Since the early days of baseball, Americans have developed a special relationship with the game. During good times, the sport has the ability to connect people through shared human experience, and when times are tough, baseball is leaned on to capture imaginations, provide memories of better times, and restore a sense of identity. Americans are brought up speaking the language of the sport, and in turn the game provides life-lessons and metaphors that go far beyond the action on the field. This project aims to find out where this love for the game comes from and what it is about the spirit of the game that encourages children to play catch after dark, and brings families together around the television, in the same way that it impels the major leaguer to a game winning hit. This is the search for the grassroots of baseball and a place where sport and life are one and the same. This place is baseball’s minor leagues, and the small town of Burlington, Iowa may house the game’s best-kept secret. In Early Innings we’ll experience the ride of a minor league baseball season with the people whose lives are inextricably bound by America’s Pastime. The project will focus on the purer brand of the game found in the minor leagues where young men play in pursuit of a dream. The drama of watching a season unfold will capture the spirit and imagination of baseball fans, and we’ll journey along with the players to small towns across America to meet the people who are continually inspired by a kid’s game. In year one we’ll follow the Burlington Bees at the lowest level of the minor leagues – Lo-A. This is where most major league careers begin and in following the Bees, it is my hope to document all the life-lessons and that come from being young and pursuing a dream in a place where the individuals on the team and in the town are fueled by the sanctity of baseball. Every year, 1500 (or so) players leave the comforts of home -- a lot of them for the first time -- and enter the lowest level of the minor leagues. They come from all over the world and put their lives on hold to pursue their dreams of playing professional baseball. They start in Single-A where they'll play 140 games in 150 days, travel over 10,000 miles on a chartered bus, encounter groupies, host families, and rabid fan-bases, and will encounter numerous successes, and even more failures along the way. They do so in spite of the odds, knowing full well that only one-in-fifty who begin the journey, will ever put on a big league uniform. Even so, players scramble to make ends meet, support their habit with menial off-season jobs, while during the season, only make $1,350 a month, five months a year (although every team has a few "Bonus Babies" that are resting on millions in the bank). It's very much a survival of the fittest, and though the life is hardly glamorous, there's something about baseball that brings in a new crop of fresh-faced players every year, ready to take on the rigors of minor league life. Early Innings will "follow" the Bees for an entire season, as 50 or so players chase the ultimate American Dream. The Only Band In Town OFFICIAL SELECTION 2010 Woods Hole Film Festival OFFICIAL SELECTION 2010 Sidewalk Moving Picture Director | Rod Blackhurst DP | Gareth Paul Cox Editor | Rod Blackhurst & David Ebeltoft Producer | Rod Blackhurst & Kyrie Cox Original Music | Jeremy McCoy, Nathan Stengrevics & Lowell Stringer The Only Band In Town is a straightforward portrait of four casual bluegrass musicians in rural upstate New York. North Creek, NY has a population of 1,837 and only one band, the Don't Quit Your Day Job Band, whose members include an old hippie, Melody, who moved to NYC during the Vietnam War with nothing but a bag of records and a guitar on her back, a small town old timer, Buckshot, who has spent his entire life in the same tiny community, Larry, a family man who seems to have forgotten about his family, and Stephanie, who is the band leader and transgendered father of three girls. Fair Fight Director & DP | Rod Blackhurst Editor | Kelly Magelky 'Fair Fight', the feature length documentary debut from director and cinematographer Rod Blackhurst, offers a telling and intimate snapshot of the rock band The Fray as they struggle to create a follow up to their multi-platinum debut 'How To Save A Life'. Taking its name from a line in one of the act's newer songs, 'Fair Fight' opens with a stylized time-lapse sequence of a quiet stretch of road with blankets of luminous clouds cascading overhead while front-man Isaac Slade plucks out the sparse, arpeggiated intro to the band's new track 'Happiness.' As Slade muses in his husky baritone about the futility of chasing happiness, fittingly we find the members at the tail end of an exhaustive three-year tour supporting the blockbuster release that essentially swallowed their lives. From the confines of the famed recording studio the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, to a hometown studio in Denver, Colorado, ‘Fair Fight’, shot entirely by Blackhurst, captures Slade and his band-mates, David Welsh, Joe King, and Ben Wysocki, during the outfit's most delicate, vulnerable moments as they attempt to recreate their initial success. Personal and creative relationships seemingly teeter on the brink of disaster and failure seems inevitable, or at least a temporary solution. As the band struggles to maintain an artistic and creative integrity the pressure is on to deliver. 2010 Grammy Nominees Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals Best Pop Vocal Album http://www.rodblackhurst.com/COMMERCIALS http://www.rodblackhurst.com/following/rodblackhurst.com/COMMERCIALS Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:17:32 +0000 ROD BLACKHURST 2403664 DORITOS Directors | Rod Blackhurst & Brian McGinn Producers | Alex Perez & Dave Mays SKITTLES Director | Rod Blackhurst 2011 MADONE BRAND SPOT SALES SPOT LANCE ARMSTRONG MADONE TREK MADONE Director | Rod Blackhurst Agency | Hanson & Dodge (this commercial was purchased by Nike and re-made in association with Livestrong) Director | Rod Blackhurst Agency | Hanson & Dodge Client | TREK Producer | Pat Buckley Editor | Independent BAR RAFAELI for GQ 2011 Wilson National Campaign Spot #1 Spot #2 Spot #3 Spot #4 Director | Rod Blackhurst Agency | Hanson & Dodge Client | Wilson Producer | Pat Buckley Editor | Rob Due @ Independent Labor Of Love 2012 HD Net Original Programming Television Series Director | Rod Blackhurst Ambush Entertainment