Kenneth Kokin
Encyclopedia
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Kenneth Kokin has been a producer for many first time feature directors.
The debut feature film he produced for Bryan Singer
, Public Access
won the Sundance
Grand Jury Prize. Ken Kokin and Singer developed a script with writer Christopher McQuarrie
to produce the multi-Academy Award winning film The Usual Suspects
which Kokin directed the substantial second-unit and co-produced. This achievement landed Kokin on the cover of Fade In Magazine as one of “The 100 People to Know in Hollywood”.
Kokin spent the next several years dividing his time between working with new film makers and developing a screenplay on the life of Alexander the Great, written with Peter Buchman and McQuarrie, for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. (Scorsese and DiCaprio chose to do The Aviator first, making way for Oliver Stone to produce his version of Alexander.)
Next, he produced and directed second-unit on McQuarrie’s directorial first feature, The Way of the Gun
starring Ryan Phillippe
, James Caan and Oscar winner Benicio del Toro
.
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival
marks Kenneth Kokin’s next statements in cinema with Captain Abu Raed
the Audience Award Winner in festival’s World Dramatic Competition. This is not only the first independent film produced in Kingdom of Jordan but it’s the fist feature film from recent AFI
graduate Amin Matalqa. 2008 is also the year where For Tomorrow
the documentary that Kokin produced and directed in Argentina which was an official selection for the Tribeca Film Festival
and the Newport Beach Film Festival where he won the Humanitarian Vision Award. This groundbreaking documentary premiered in 10 film festivals and won many other awards and created awareness about cause of Toms shoes
assisting the company in achieve recognition as the fastest growing shoe company in the world.
Kenneth Kokin’s dedication to directing started at 14 when he started making his own films with a borrowed Super-8 camera. In high school, he directed several claymation, live action shorts and documentaries on 16mm. His most ambitious teenage endeavor was a re-creation of the Civil War Battle of Bull Run where he combined animated clay figures and actors to win the Newbridge Reel Award for Best Picture.
Upon graduating from University of Southern California
Cinema, Kokin joined the Editor’s Guild and worked at both NBC and Amblin Entertainment. CBS hired Kokin to shoot, edit and direct the behind the scenes for the longest-running annual special, Circus of the Stars
where he worked with lions, tigers, motorcycle, stunts, high-wire and trapeze acts.
Having a passion for all elements of filmmaking from pre-production through production and post-production, Kokin chose producing and directing because they are the only jobs where he has the opportunity to participate in all areas of the process.
Recently, Kokin has traveled South America, Haiti and Africa directing documentaries about the pandemic of poverty and HIV facing children in those regions. Staying true to his roots in the crime genre Kenneth Kokin wrote the feature about the famous mobster, James "Whitey" Bulger. The Los Angeles Time piece June 26, 2012 quoted Kokin to say, "Finding out that Whitey Bulger was living in Santa Monica just three blocks away from me was a little like looking frantically for your sunglasses only to find out they were on your head the whole time."
Kokin's passion for documentaries continues as he is currently working on a feature about sea mammals.
link title
Kenneth Kokin has been a producer for many first time feature directors.
The debut feature film he produced for Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
, Public Access
Public Access
Public Access is a 1993 American drama film directed by Bryan Singer in his feature film debut. Singer also wrote the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie and Michael Feit Dougan. The film was shot in 18 days for US$250,000. It was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it was...
won the Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Grand Jury Prize. Ken Kokin and Singer developed a script with writer Christopher McQuarrie
Christopher McQuarrie
Christopher McQuarrie is an American screenwriter, producer and director. His screenplays include The Usual Suspects, for which he won the 1996 Academy Award, The Way of the Gun and Valkyrie....
to produce the multi-Academy Award winning film The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
which Kokin directed the substantial second-unit and co-produced. This achievement landed Kokin on the cover of Fade In Magazine as one of “The 100 People to Know in Hollywood”.
Kokin spent the next several years dividing his time between working with new film makers and developing a screenplay on the life of Alexander the Great, written with Peter Buchman and McQuarrie, for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. (Scorsese and DiCaprio chose to do The Aviator first, making way for Oliver Stone to produce his version of Alexander.)
Next, he produced and directed second-unit on McQuarrie’s directorial first feature, The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun is a 2000 American film produced by Kenneth Kokin, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. It is considered a cult film. To date, this is the only film that McQuarrie has...
starring Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe , better known as Ryan Phillippe, is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s starring in a string of films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54...
, James Caan and Oscar winner Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
.
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
marks Kenneth Kokin’s next statements in cinema with Captain Abu Raed
Captain Abu Raed
Captain Abu Raed is a 2007 Jordanian Film directed and written by Amin Matalqa. It was the first feature film produced in Jordan in more than 50 years. The Royal Film Commission of Jordan endorsed Captain Abu Raed to be submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the...
the Audience Award Winner in festival’s World Dramatic Competition. This is not only the first independent film produced in Kingdom of Jordan but it’s the fist feature film from recent AFI
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
graduate Amin Matalqa. 2008 is also the year where For Tomorrow
For Tomorrow
"For Tomorrow" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It is the lead track to their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish . Released 19 April 1993 as the first single from the album, "For Tomorrow" charted at number 28 in the UK Singles Chart...
the documentary that Kokin produced and directed in Argentina which was an official selection for the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
and the Newport Beach Film Festival where he won the Humanitarian Vision Award. This groundbreaking documentary premiered in 10 film festivals and won many other awards and created awareness about cause of Toms shoes
TOMS Shoes
TOMS Shoes is a for-profit company based in Santa Monica, California, that also operates a non-profit subsidiary, Friends of TOMS. The company was founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, an entrepreneur from Arlington, Texas. The company designs and sells lightweight shoes based on the Argentine...
assisting the company in achieve recognition as the fastest growing shoe company in the world.
Kenneth Kokin’s dedication to directing started at 14 when he started making his own films with a borrowed Super-8 camera. In high school, he directed several claymation, live action shorts and documentaries on 16mm. His most ambitious teenage endeavor was a re-creation of the Civil War Battle of Bull Run where he combined animated clay figures and actors to win the Newbridge Reel Award for Best Picture.
Upon graduating from University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Cinema, Kokin joined the Editor’s Guild and worked at both NBC and Amblin Entertainment. CBS hired Kokin to shoot, edit and direct the behind the scenes for the longest-running annual special, Circus of the Stars
Circus of the Stars
Circus of the Stars was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. There were 19 shows in total, the first being broadcast in 1977 and the last in 1994. Over the years the series featured many leading movie and...
where he worked with lions, tigers, motorcycle, stunts, high-wire and trapeze acts.
Having a passion for all elements of filmmaking from pre-production through production and post-production, Kokin chose producing and directing because they are the only jobs where he has the opportunity to participate in all areas of the process.
Recently, Kokin has traveled South America, Haiti and Africa directing documentaries about the pandemic of poverty and HIV facing children in those regions. Staying true to his roots in the crime genre Kenneth Kokin wrote the feature about the famous mobster, James "Whitey" Bulger. The Los Angeles Time piece June 26, 2012 quoted Kokin to say, "Finding out that Whitey Bulger was living in Santa Monica just three blocks away from me was a little like looking frantically for your sunglasses only to find out they were on your head the whole time."
Kokin's passion for documentaries continues as he is currently working on a feature about sea mammals.
link title