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Dan Marcus
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Daniel Jonathan Marcus-Best (born May 12, 1989) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for writing, producing, and directing such short films as [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821702/ Wake (2009)], [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1977013/ Date of Loss (2011)] and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825766/ Fallen (2012)]. He has also co-written and co-starred in the short film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832336/ Earth Vs. Evil Aliens (2011)] that was directed by Skyler Hallowell and Paul Odrobina. He is the founder of the production company Falling Awake Productions. He often collaborates with his close friend, writer David Hammond. Marcus and Hammond have collaborated on all three short films that Marcus has directed. Marcus has also collaborated with the writing-directing team of Skyler Hallowell and Paul Odrobina on Earth Vs. Evil Aliens and has assisted the team on two other short films including [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1943767/ Murmur (2011) ]and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1941448/ Afflicted (2011)]. Marcus has also collaborated with cinematographer and film editor Brian Levin on both Wake and Fallen. Personal life Marcus was born in Chicago, the son of a father who works as a restaurant manager and a mother who is a real estate agent. He was raised as an only child even though he has four step-siblings. When he was five, he and his mother moved from Chicago to Sarasota, Florida where he was partially raised. He would spend the school year in Sarasota and spend summers and holidays in Chicago with his father and his aunt. Marcus was interested in politics until he discovered writing. He wrote his first feature-length screenplay at the age of fourteen. Marcus was educated at Southside Elementary School in Sarasota. He also attended McIntosh Middle School and Sarasota Middle School. He enrolled at the Out-of-Door Academy at age fourteen when shortly after he dropped out. He would briefly attend the Sudbury school of Chicago before enlisting in virtual school and then getting his GED at the Sarasota County Technical Institute at age sixteen. At seventeen he moved back to Chicago full-time. That year he co-wrote, co-produced, and directed his first short film entitled Wake in June 2008. He later directed Fallen that year in October 2008. Professional life Marcus directed his first short film, Wake, in 2008. The film depicts a young teen who recently loses his mother while trying to repair his estranged relationship with his father. It was inspired by Marcus' own tumultuous upbringing and his relationships with both his mother and his father. Marcus shot it with the assistance of cinematographer Brian Levin and a crew of ten over the course of three days. He was friends with the owners of the Lakeview Funeral Home and was able to use that funeral home as the setting of the film as a result. Later that year he co-wrote, co-produced, and directed the superhero short film Fallen. He shot the film in downtown Chicago, Illinois in some of the same locations Christopher Nolan shot . Nolan and that film was an inspiration for Marcus when conceiving the film. He also filmed in Gary, Indiana. Once more he collaborated with Brian Levin who served as co-writer, co-producer, and cinematographer. Marcus wrote the initial first few drafts of the screenplay. He would later collaborate with writers David Hammond and Kenneth E. Carper. Marcus and Levin wrote the last draft of the screenplay together. The story deals with a superhero who abandons the city he swore to protect when the villain of the story threatens to destroy the entire city. The superhero, named Ephraim (Brian Kavanaugh), must contend with a scared population that cries out for his return, as well as face Bethany (Heather L. Tyler), the villain that pulls the strings from behind-the-scenes. In 2011, Marcus directed Date of Loss, a science-fiction drama that deals with time travel. The story depicts a corporate tragedy which forces a grieving widow to turn to an unlikely source for comfort. Unlike Wake and Fallen, where Marcus conceived the story for both, David Hammond conceived the story for Date of Loss. Marcus and Hammond once more collaborated on the screenplay. This was the first film that Marcus had directed which wasn't shot in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Instead, Marcus shot the film in Columbus, Ohio. That same year, Marcus would step in front of the camera for the very first time and take a co-starring role in the comedic short film Earth Vs. Evil Aliens. It was uncommon for Marcus who typically detests appearing in front of a camera. He is also credited as "co-writer" on the film. Marcus is close friends with writer-director Skyler Hallowell and has assisted him on all but one of his short films. 
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