Neil Breen
{{short description|American filmmaker and actor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Neil Breen
| image = Neil Breen (cropped).jpg
| alt = Breen at an LA film festival, 2017
| birth_place = United States
| caption = Breen in 2017
| nationality = American
| occupation = {{hlist|Filmmaker|Actor}}
| known_for = {{ubl|Fateful Findings|I Am Here.... Now|Double Down|Twisted Pair|Pass Thru|Cade: The Tortured Crossing}}
}}
Neil Breen is an American filmmaker and actor. Since 2005, he has made six feature films in which he acts as director, writer, producer and lead star, while being in charge of most other key crew positions. He usually finances his films himself independently from his earnings as a professional architect, using amateur casts and crews.
Breen's works have garnered a cult following as "so bad it's good" films, often being singled out for their poor acting (notably from Breen), bizarre story and dialogue, offbeat editing and low-budget production values; his stories are typically psychological thrillers or science fiction with strong social commentary depicting lonely, tragic heroes in grandiose struggles against corrupt institutions.{{cite news |last=Galil |first=Leor |title=In praise of Neil Breen, an auteur who finds new and exciting ways to be bad with every movie he makes |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/12/18/in-praise-of-neil-breen-an-auteur-who-finds-new-and-exciting-ways-to-be-bad-with-every-movie-he-makes |work=Chicago Reader |date=April 8, 2021 }}
Life and career
Breen grew up on the East Coast of the United States and developed an interest in film and filmmaking at an early age. He studied architecture and initially became a licensed architect in California.{{sfn|Olson|2018|p=76}} He gained a small following after releasing his first film, Double Down, which played at the Cinefamily cinematheque in Los Angeles in 2010. In the years that followed, Breen continued working as an architect as a means to finance his next film: I Am Here.... Now, which also played at the Cinefamily in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/01/30/this-weekend-the-return-of-fateful-findings |title=This Weekend: The Return of Fateful Findings |last=Schmader |first=David |work=The Stranger|date=2014-01-30 |access-date=2023-05-29}} Since then, he has established a reputation as a cult amateur filmmaker.{{sfn|Olson|2018|p=76}} He has claimed to have recruited his cast from Craigslist ads to go along with directly being involved with theaters for distribution in a limited run starting at 7pm.{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Rumsey |date=2023-08-07 |title=What Distinguishes a Neil Breen Film? Neil Breen. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/movies/neil-breen-films.html |access-date=2023-11-17 |issn=0362-4331}}
= Film =
Breen writes, produces, directs, and stars in each of his own films. The characters he portrays hold advanced and often superhuman abilities and use them in grandiose struggles against corrupt forces and institutions. Fateful Findings features Breen as a hacker imbued with supernatural powers by a magical stone he found as a child, who uses his skills to expose government and corporate corruption, while in Double Down he plays a rogue CIA agent.{{cite web|last1=Howard|first1=Jason|title=An Interview with Director Neil Breen|url=http://influxmagazine.com/an-interview-with-director-neil-breen/|website=Influx Magazine|access-date=November 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233411/http://influxmagazine.com/an-interview-with-director-neil-breen/|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}
In other films, his protagonist is a god-like, messianic, or otherwise chosen figure; Pass Thru, for example, has Breen playing a messianic entity who arrives from the future to wipe out 300 million "bad people" to usher in a new era of peace. Breen has said that his films have a "sense of social responsibility" and reflect the "mystical or paranormal side of life."
Some critics have compared Breen's films to outsider art.{{Cite web |last=Faraci |first=Devin |date=2014-02-10 |title=Neil Breen Is The Hero Who Will Save Us From The Mainstreaming Of THE ROOM |url=https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2014/02/10/neil-breen-is-the-hero-who-will-save-us-from-the-mainstreaming-of-the-room |access-date=2022-03-09 |website=Birth.Movies.Death. |language=en}} Breen's third film, Fateful Findings, was compared to Tommy Wiseau's The Room by the former film's North American distributor Panorama Entertainment.{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Alan|title=Bad-movie lovers need to meet Neil Breen|url=http://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/625-bad-movie-lovers-need-to-meet-neil-breen/|website=The Dissolve|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=November 12, 2014}} Breen's fifth feature film, Twisted Pair, was released in October 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/clear-your-calendars-neil-breen-has-a-new-movie-coming-1827841299|title=Clear your calendars, Neil Breen has a new movie coming out|website=The A.V. Club|publisher=G/O Media|first=Katie|last=Rife|date=July 24, 2018|access-date=December 10, 2019}} On December 16, 2022, Breen confirmed his sixth film is a sequel to Twisted Pair, titled Cade: The Tortured Crossing.{{Citation |title=Cade Update Number two December 16 2022 | date=December 16, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdtZ7icOoDs |language=en |access-date=2022-12-16}} In February 2023, Cade: The Tortured Crossing won the award for "Best Fantasy Film" and "People's Choice Award" at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival,{{cite web|title=HRIFF 2023 Award Winners|url=https://hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com/2023/awards.php|access-date=February 12, 2023|website=Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival}} before its world premiere on February 25, 2023, at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live.{{cite web |url=https://hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com/2023/feb_25.php#Cade |title=Cade: The Tortured Crossing at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival}} After its world premiere, Cade: The Tortured Crossing screened at Alamo Drafthouse locations across the country.{{Cite web |title=Cade: The Tortured Crossing at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema |url=https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/cade-the-tortured-crossing |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=drafthouse.com |language=en}}
On May 17, 2024, Breen announced via Twitter that he has begun to write a script for his new film, claiming it is "totally different than his previous films."{{Cite web |last=Breen |first=Neil |date=May 17, 2024 |title=I've begun work on a script for my next film. |url=https://x.com/NeilBreen/status/1791635035944354130 |website=X (Twitter)}} On December 4, Breen confirmed he is still writing his next film, saying it is "going great".{{Cite web |last=Breen |first=Neil |date=December 4, 2024 |title=Check out my 2023 award winning feature film " Cade-the tortured crossing". Buy it at Cade-crossing.com . Writing on my next film is going great ! Very excited . |url=https://x.com/NeilBreen/status/1864410927015317883 |website=X (Twitter)}} On January 1, 2025, Breen confirmed it will be his seventh feature film and will begin filming that year.{{Cite web |last=Breen |first=Neil |date=January 1, 2025 |title=I'm excited. I'll be making my 7th feature film, as producer, director and writer, in 2025. It will be very different than my prior films. |url=https://x.com/NeilBreen/status/1874538348750279146 |website=X (Twitter)}}
=Influence=
His first feature film, Double Down, was featured on RedLetterMedia's Best of the Worst online series, while Fateful Findings was covered by RedLetterMedia along with other film critics on YouTube. Since then, Breen's films have been picked up by arthouse theaters and film festivals, including the 2012 "Butt-Numb-A-Thon" and the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival.{{cite web |last=Bell |first=Josh |title=Local filmmaker Neil Breen's unique (and terrible) movies earned him a cult following |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/ae/film/2014/feb/06/local-filmmaker-neil-breens-unique-and-terrible-mo/ |access-date=November 12, 2014 |work=Las Vegas Weekly |publisher=The Greenspun Corporation |date=February 6, 2014}} In Jim Vorel's 2014 list of the 100 best B movies for Paste magazine, Breen's film I Am Here.... Now was ranked 21st, with Vorel mentioning that Breen could one day earn a place in the "terrible movie hall of fame" alongside Ed Wood and Wiseau.{{cite web |last=Vorel |first=Jim |title=The 100 Best "B Movies" of All Time |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/b-movies/the-100-best-b-movies-of-all-time |access-date=December 12, 2014 |website=Paste |date=May 9, 2014}}
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Director !Writer !Producer !Editor !Musical Director !DOP !Actor !Role !Notes |
| 2005
|Double Down |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{no}} |{{yes}} |Aaron Brand | Also casting, production designer, production manager, and catering |
| 2009
|I Am Here....Now |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{no}} |{{yes}} |The Being | Also craft service, special makeup effects artist, and props |
| 2012
|{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{no}} |{{yes}} |Dylan |Also accountant, craft service, special make-up effects, location manager, production designer, sound editor, lighting design, wardrobe and set decorator |
| 2016
|Pass Thru |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |A.I / |Also production designer and manager, casting, set design, wardrobe, props, lighting designs, special make-up effects, locations, administration and accounting, craft services, makeup and hair and sound editor |
| 2018
|{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |Cade Altair / |Also casting, make-up and hair, production manager, set designer, wardrobe, props, lighting design, special effects, stunt coordinator, aerial rigging, special makeup effects, legal accounting administration, craft services, locations, and sound editor |
| 2020
|Neil Breen's 5 Film Retrospective |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{partial|Uncredited}} |{{partial|Uncredited}} |{{partial|Uncredited}} |{{yes}} |Himself |Documentary about the making of his 5 first films |
| 2023{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2022|title=Breen announces on his official YouTube Channel his 6th Film|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzcXZvuT558|access-date=October 20, 2022|website=YouTube|language=en}}
|{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |{{yes}} |Cade Altair / |Also casting, make-up and hair, production manager, set designer, wardrobe, props, lighting design, special effects, stunt coordinator, aerial rigging, special makeup effects, legal accounting administration, craft services, locations, and sound editor |
Accolades
| class = "wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Title ! Result ! Ref |
|---|
| rowspan=2| 2023
| rowspan=2| Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival | People's Choice Award | rowspan=2| Cade: The Tortured Crossing | {{won}} |
| Best Fantasy Film
| {{won}} |
References
{{reflist}}
= Works cited =
- {{cite book| last = Olson| first = Christopher J.|title = 100 Greatest Cult Films| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield| date = 2018| location = Lanham; Boulder; New York City; London| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yUdODwAAQBAJ| isbn = 978-1442208223}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3718935}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes person|neil-breen|Neil Breen}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Neil}}
Category:Film directors from California
Category:Film producers from California
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male screenwriters