Joshua Astrachan

Joshua Astrachan
Joshua Astrachan in 2011
Astrachan in 2011
Born
United States
OccupationFilm producer

Joshua Astrachan is an American film producer and principal at Animal Kingdom, the production company he co-founded in 2012.[1] He lives and works in New York City.

Career

The first film that Astrachan produced under the Animal Kingdom banner was Short Term 12 by writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton. The film stars Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek and Lakeith Stanfield – and premiered at SXSW in 2013, where it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.[2] The film subsequently won awards at festivals from Little Rock to Los Angeles to Locarno – where the film had its international premiere.

With Animal Kingdom, Astrachan has also produced Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson (Cannes Official Selection, 2016),[3] Adam Leon’s Tramps (Toronto International Film Festival, 2016),[4] Joachim Trier’s English-language feature debut, Louder Than Bombs (Cannes Official Selection 2015),[5] and Justin Tipping’s debut feature, Kicks.[6] He executive produced David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows (Critics’ Week, Cannes 2014);[7] and Trespass Against Us, starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson, written by Alastair Siddons and directed by Adam Smith.[8]

Prior to founding Animal Kingdom, Astrachan was a producer for the American film director, Robert Altman for the better part of a decade.[9]  He produced Altman's last film, A Prairie Home Companion (2006), written by Garrison Keillor and starring Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Kline.[10]  He also produced The Company, Altman's narrative feature set in the world of dance, starring Neve Campbell, James Franco, Malcolm McDowell and the company members of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.  Astrachan co-produced the film Gosford Park starring, among others, Maggie Smith, Clive Owen, Kelly Macdonald, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Emily Watson and Bob Balaban. For Gosford Park, Altman received the Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle Award as Best Director.[10]

Astrachan also produced Jennifer Westfeldt’s Friends with Kids (Toronto International Film Festival 2011), starring Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Megan Fox and Edward Burns. The film was named by New York Magazine's film critic, David Edelstein, as one of the 10 best films of 2012.[11]

Personal life

Astrachan is married to the American artist Ellen Berkenblit. He is the brother of computer scientist Owen Astrachan who is a professor at Duke University.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Setoodeh, Brent Lang, Ramin. "Focus Features, Animal Kingdom Enter First-Look Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Retrieved 2015-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Hopewell, John (2013-08-11). "Memento Rolls Out 'Short Term 12' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  3. ^ Rosser2016-04-14T09:46:00+01:00, Michael. "Cannes 2016: Official Selection in full". Screen. Retrieved 2019-01-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Olsen, Mark. "'Tramps' steals a little romance at the Toronto Film Festival". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  5. ^ "LOUDER THAN BOMBS". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  6. ^ Anderson, Tre'vell. "Justin Tipping's directorial debut 'Kicks' asks why masculinity is synonymous with violence". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  7. ^ "Radius-TWC Acquires Cannes Critics Week Pic 'It Follows'". Deadline. 2014-06-03. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  8. ^ "Trespass Against Us". Paste Magazine. January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "Director Robert Altman Dies at 81". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Joshua Astrachan". Tribeca Film Institute. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  11. ^ [David Edelstein http://www.vulture.com/2012/11/david-edelstein-top-ten-movies.html New York Magazine]