Adam Marcus (director)
Adam Marcus is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Early life and education
Marcus was born in Westport, Connecticut, and attended Staples High School. His brother, Kipp Marcus, is also an actor. He was raised in a Reform Judaism.He studied film at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he received the Best Picture Award at the 1990 Student Academy Awards for his short film So You Like This Girl.
Career
In 1991, Marcus was hired by filmmaker Sean S. Cunningham to work on feature film production. He relocated to Los Angeles, where he co-produced My Boyfriend's Back for Cunningham and Disney. That same year, Marcus wrote the story for and directed Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the ninth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise, for New Line Cinema.Working with his writing partner Debra Sullivan, Marcus developed screenplays for various studios, including Cradle and All for Paramount Pictures, and Black Autumn for 20th Century Fox.
In 1995, Marcus founded Damn Skippy Theater Works, a theater company based in Los Angeles. In 1998, he directed the independently produced comedy Let It Snow. The film was showcased at the Independent Feature Film Market in New York City and premiered in the New Visions category at the American Film Institute’s Los Angeles International Film Festival, where it received awards for Best New Writer and Best Editing. It was later selected for the 2000 Sundance Film Festival in the American Spectrum section. The film received coverage from outlets including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Ain't It Cool News, The New York Times, and The Gore Score.
In 2008, Marcus directed Conspiracy for Sony Pictures, a film he co-wrote with Sullivan. Shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the film starred Val Kilmer, Jennifer Esposito, and Gary Cole. In 2009, he appeared in the documentary film His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th, where he provided commentary on the franchise.
In 2012, Marcus co-wrote Texas Chainsaw 3D, a direct sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, along with Sullivan and Kirsten Elms. He also co-wrote Cabin Fever: Outbreak with Sullivan and was involved in The Plantation, a project based on the 1943 film, I Walked with a Zombie. In 2013, he appeared in the documentary film Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th.
Marcus and Sullivan's screenplay Momentum entered production in South Africa in January 2014. Directed by Stephen Campanelli, the film starred Morgan Freeman, James Purefoy, and Olga Kurylenko. Momentum screened at several international film festivals, including the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival.