John O'Brien is an American film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, sheep farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

, Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and former campaign manager

Campaign manager

A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...

.

O'Brien is the director of the Tunbridge Trilogy, three films that focus on the rural life of Tunbridge, Vermont

Tunbridge, Vermont

Tunbridge is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,309. The town consists of three village centers, all situated on Vermont Route 110 in the valley of the first branch of the White River...

. The director refers to his style of filmmaking as "community cinema" and his films as "anthropological comedies" as his cast consists mostly of local friends and neighbors from Tunbridge who play themselves in fictional stories. The most famous of these, Man with a Plan, starred the dairy farmer and one time politician, Fred Tuttle

Fred Tuttle

Frederick Herman "Fred" Tuttle was an American dairy farmer, film actor and one-time candidate for the U.S. Senate from the state of Vermont. He was born in Tunbridge, Vermont, and lived there all his life, except for his service in the United States Army during World War II.Tuttle left high...

. According to O'Brien, the film, in which Tuttle runs successfully for congress, was inspired by 1979's Being There

Being There

Being There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...

, a movie in which Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...

, a gardener named Chance, becomes a trusted adviser to the presidency. In 2001 it was reported that Man With A Plan had sold 40,000 copies, most of the them to Vermonters. O'Brien's other films include Vermont Is for Lovers

Vermont Is for Lovers

Vermont is for Lovers is an independently produced docudrama released in 1992, starring George Thrush and Marya Cohn and shot on location Tunbridge, Vermont. The film concerns a couple visiting Vermont in order to be married, and interviewing local residents on the subject of marriage...

and Nosey Parker.

O'Brien graduated from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1986.

In March 2005, O'Brien received the Maverick Award from the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film

Chlotrudis Awards 2005

The 11th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented March 20, 2005, by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Honoring the best of the past year's independent, documentary and international film, the awards ceremony took place at the venerable Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

 for "creating films that Chlotrudis describes as sifting nonfiction and storytelling together in Mike Leigh fashion to create vivid northern New England tableaux.""

Filmography

• The Big Dis (1989)
• Vermont Is for Lovers
  Vermont Is for Lovers
  Vermont is for Lovers is an independently produced docudrama released in 1992, starring George Thrush and Marya Cohn and shot on location Tunbridge, Vermont. The film concerns a couple visiting Vermont in order to be married, and interviewing local residents on the subject of marriage...
  
  (1992)
• Man with a Plan
  Man with a Plan
  Man With A Plan was an independently produced docudrama released in 1996, starring dairy farmer and actor Fred Tuttle. Since its release, it has remained a local cult classic in Vermont.- External links :* *...
  
  (1996)
• Nosey Parker
  Nosey Parker (film)
  Nosey Parker is 2003 film directed by John O'Brien.-Plot:Sick of suburbia, Natalie and Richard Newman move to rural Vermont where they expect the unspoiled setting and intrinsic values to rejuvenate their marriage. Natalie wants to start a family; Richard, who has grown children from a first...
  
  (2003)