A Band Apart
Encyclopedia
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
and Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender is an American film producer. He rose to fame by producing Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and has since produced all of Quentin Tarantino's films with the exception of Death Proof....
, which was active from 1991 to about 2006. Its name is a play on the French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
classic, Bande à part ("Band of Outsiders") by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, whose work was highly influential on the work of the company's members. Thanks in part to the popularity of Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
's films, the company quickly gained cult-like status within Hollywood.
History
Tarantino formed A Band Apart in 1991, naming it after his favorite Godard film, Bande à part. The company's logo was a stylized image of the robbers from Reservoir DogsReservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
, Tarantino's debut film. Subsequently, several legal entities within the company were named after the film's characters. Mr. Pink LLC was for music video production budgets, and Mr. Brown LLC was for commercials.
In addition to Tarantino, members of the company included Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
, John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
, Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
, Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
, Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
, John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
, Joseph McGinty Nichol, Nigel Dick
Nigel Dick
Nigel Dick is an English music video and film director, writer and musician based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Band Aid video "Do They Know It's Christmas?", as well as over 300 other music videos.Nigel Dick should not be confused with the Australian Dr...
, Andy Dick
Andy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
, Marcel Langenegger, Wayne Isham
Wayne Isham
Wayne Isham is an American music video director who has directed music videos of many popular artists; such as Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Roxette, Mötley Crüe, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Whitesnake, David Cook, Simple Plan, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys,...
, Scott Gillen, Coodie & Chike, Osbert Parker, Chris Applebaum
Chris Applebaum
Chris Applebaum is an American music video director, who has worked with a diverse range of artists, among them Rihanna, Hilary Duff, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mandy Moore, Natasha Bedingfield, Fountains of Wayne and Britney Spears...
, Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
, Adam Christian Clark, Andre 3000
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...
, and Michael Palmieri.
The company catapulted to fame with the 1994 release of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which was considered by some critics to be the most influential American film of the decade. In the summer of 1995, the company added a division for commercial and music video production, adding a third co-owner Michael Bodnarchek.
Company closure
A Band Apart closed in June 2006. Feature film work now goes through owner Lawrence Bender's other production company, Lawrence Bender Productions. Some A Band Apart members have found new roots at Holmes Defender of the Faith, which does most of its business in music videos and television commercials. Holmes Defender of the Faith was formed by former A Band Apart managing director Jeff Armstrong. A Band Apart members that have moved to Holmes Defender of the Faith are Andy DickAndy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
and Marcel Langenegger. While the company is listed as studio for the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, it is unclear whether the company was reformed for the film.
Movies and TV shows produced
- Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(1994) - The Whiskey Heir (1995)
- White Man's BurdenWhite Man's Burden (film)White Man's Burden is a 1995 dramatic film about racism in an alternative America where black and white Americans have reversed cultural roles....
(1995) - Four RoomsFour RoomsFour Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories....
(1995) - CurdledCurdled (film)Curdled is 1996 black comedy written and directed by Reb Braddock. The film stars Angela Jones as a Colombian immigrant who takes a crime scene cleanup job, and discovers evidence about a local serial killer dubbed the "Blue Blood Killer" for his targeting of socialites...
(1996) - From Dusk Till DawnFrom Dusk Till DawnFrom Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
(1996) - Jackie BrownJackie Brown (film)Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard and pays homage to 1970s blaxploitation films....
(1997) - Good Will HuntingGood Will HuntingGood Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
(1997) - Metallica: Cunning Stunts (1998)
- From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood MoneyFrom Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood MoneyFrom Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money is a 1999 American horror film and the sequel to From Dusk till Dawn. It was co-written and directed by Scott Spiegel, co-writer of Evil Dead 2 and director of Intruder....
(1999) - Debtors (1999)
- From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's DaughterFrom Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's DaughterFrom Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter is a 2000 American horror film, a prequel to the 1996 film From Dusk till Dawn. It was released straight to video and nominated for the Best Home Video Release Saturn Award.-Plot:...
(2000) - Stark Raving MadStark Raving Mad (film)Stark Raving Mad is a film, produced by A Band Apart, about a heist pulled during a rave. The film was directed and written by Drew Daywalt and David Schneider. It stars Seann William Scott, Lou Diamond Phillips, Timm Sharp, Patrick Breen, John B. Crye, Monet Mazur, Suzy Nakamura, C. Ernst Harth,...
(2002) - Lost in OzLost in OzLost in Oz is a 2002 television pilot for a planned series, an original sequel to The Wizard of Oz, inspired by the Oz books of L. Frank Baum. The series was planned to start September 1, 2002 but was cancelled, perhaps because the special effects required for each episode would have been too...
(2002) - When Incubus Attacks (2002)
- Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
(2003, 2004) - Voces inocentesVoces inocentesVoces inocentes is a 2004 Mexican film directed by Luis Mandoki. The plot is set during the Salvadoran Civil War in 1980, and is based on writer Óscar Torres's childhood. The film serves as a general commentary on the military use of children. The movie also shows injustice against innocent...
(2004) - Build or Bust (TV) (2005)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)