Jordan Walker-Pearlman
American film director, screenwriter, film producer, and executive
Elizabeth Hunter
(m. 2015)Gilbert Dale Pearlman
Katharine Wilder (cousin)
Adele Walker (grandmother)[1]
Jordan Walker-Pearlman (born June 24, 1967) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer, and executive.[2]
Early life
Walker-Pearlman was born in New York City, and is the nephew of actor Gene Wilder with whom he lived for a period of time in childhood.[3]
Career
Walker-Pearlman is best known for the 2000 film The Visit, for which he was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (one for directing and one for the screenplay) and the movie itself received four nominations.[4][5]
His 2005 film, Constellation, starring Gabrielle Union, Zoe Saldana, and Billy Dee Williams, premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival,[6] Black Filmmaker Magazine Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival. It also had a special premiere at the Kwa Mashu Film Festival in South Africa with both director and actress Gabrielle Union present for ten days to open the movie theater at the Arts Centre in the Kwa Mashu Township.[7]
Both films won the Audience Award at the Urbanworld Film Festival in their respective years.
Personal life
In 2015, Walker-Pearlman married screenwriter Elizabeth Hunter.
On February 3, 2020, he wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times calling on the Motion Picture Academy to recognize the "cultural violence" of historical racism in American movies in its new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and explained his years earlier decision to decline an invitation to membership in the organization. The op-ed was the first of several that year that appeared to influence AMPAS to dedicate several exhibits to this history.[8]
In 2020, he purchased his late uncle Gene Wilder's house from Elon Musk using owner financing by Musk, and the property was featured in the semi-autobiographical film The Requiem Boogie.[9]. However, in August 2024, the house was in foreclosure proceedings due to the alleged failure of Walker-Pearlman to pay the mortgage payments. The house had been placed on the for-sale market by Walker-Pearlman for some time at twice his purchase price with no offers.[10]
He is the co-founder of MoJo Global Arts[11] which he left in June 2021 to become founder of the film production company HarlemHollywood.[12]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–1984 | Livewire | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1982 | Hanky Panky | Boy on Escalator | Uncredited |
| True Innocence | The Guy | Short film | |
| 1999 | Hollywood 26 | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2015–2016 | Unsung Hollywood | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Sex and Violence! or: A Brief Review of Simple Physics | Marty | |
| 2018 | Love, Gilda | Himself | |
| 2024 | The Requiem Boogie | Ranny Besquith | Post-production, also director[13] |
References
- ^ Young, Victoria (February 7, 1998). "The Neediest Cases; No Bounds to the Love of an 85-Year-Old Mother". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (December 15, 2000). "FILM REVIEW; Overcoming Bitterness On the Way to Redemption". The New York Times.
- ^ Dube Dwilson, Stephanie (August 29, 2016). "Gene Wilder's Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ Malanowski, Jamie (April 15, 2001). "FILM; An Independent For Whom Love Is Also Wisdom". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (December 15, 2000). "The Visit (2000)". FilmAffinity. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Memory and love in the South". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 2005.
- ^ "Film fest gets glitzy". www.iol.co.za.
- ^ Walker-Pearlman, Jordan (February 3, 2020). "Op-ed: Beyond #OscarsSoWhite, Hollywood needs to confront historic racism on the big screen". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Keates, Nancy (23 February 2022). "Elon Musk Sells Gene Wilder's Former Home Back to the Late Actor's Family". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Elon Musk moves to foreclose on Gene Wilder's former LA home". Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (September 16, 2019). "MoJo Global Arts unveils slate of Latinx, jazz films (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Seasons – Harlem, Hollywood". Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Veteran Cast Wraps on Walker-Pearlman's 'Requiem'". PR Newswire. May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
External links
- Jordan Walker-Pearlman at IMDb
- Jordan Walker-Pearlman's Official Site
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