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Carl Franklin

Carl Franklin

Carl Franklin, an award-winning filmmaker, has risen to the top ranks of American film directors after helming just three features prior to High Crimes: One False Move, Devil in a Blue Dress, based on the novel by Walter Mosley, and One True Thing, based on the novel by Anna Quindlen.

Franklin's highly praised feature film debut, the low-budget crime drama One False Move, starring Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams and Billy Bob Thornton, was named one of the ten best films of 1992 by the National Board of Review. The film also earned him the prestigious New Generation Award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1992, the MTV Movie Award for Best New Filmmaker and the IFP Spirit Award for Best Director in 1993.

Franklin's next feature film was Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Beals, and based on the acclaimed novel by Walter Mosley. Next, he directed the emotional drama One True Thing, starring Meryl Streep, William Hurt and Renee Zellweger. Franklin began working professionally as a feature film director with Roger Corman's Concorde Films. After a screening of his award-winning American Film Institute thesis film, Punk, he was signed to direct One False Move.

For television, Franklin directed the acclaimed HBO miniseries Laurel Avenue (1993), the story of an extended African-American family living in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Franklin began his career as a successful actor. He made his feature film debut in the comedy Five on the Black Hand Side and followed that with a wide range of regular television roles on programs including Caribe, Fantastic Journey and McClain's Law.

He made his stage debut with the New York Shakespeare Festival, appearing in productions of Cymbeline, Timon of Athens, Pantagleize and Twelfth Night at New York's Lincoln Center and the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. Franklin also received critical acclaim for his performance in the original Taper Too production of the three character play, In the Belly of the Beast.

Franklin studied history and dramatic arts at University of California at Berkeley before embarking on his acting career. He subsequently received his masters degree in directing at the American Film Institute and was the recipient of their Franklin J. Schaffner Award in 1996. Franklin is a board member of the Independent Feature Project/West and has taught Film Analysis at the American Film Institute.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2002.

Carl Franklin Facts

Birth NameCarl Michael Franklin
OccupationDirector
BirthdayApril 11, 1949 (74)
SignAries
BirthplaceRichmond, California, USA
Awards1993 MTV Movie Awards: Best New Filmmaker (for One False Move)

Selected Filmography

The Pacific Part Five
Unintended Consequences
A Necessary Fiction
Episode 5
High Crimes
The Year of the Fin
The Pacific
Rock and Roll Queen
One True Thing
Out of Time
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