Craig Zobel

Craig Zobel
Craig Zobel
	Zobel at the 2012 Deauville American Film Festival
Born	Roger Craig Zobel; New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	North Carolina School of the Arts
Occupations	Director; producer; screenwriter; actor;
Years active	2000–present

Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films Compliance (2012), Z for Zachariah (2015), and The Hunt (2020). On TV he has directed episodes of The Leftovers, American Gods, and Westworld. In 2021, he directed the miniseries Mare of Easttown on HBO. He also helped to co-create the online animated series Homestar Runner with Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps.

Early life

Zobel was born in New York and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, later studying film at the North Carolina School of the Arts alongside David Gordon Green and other future collaborators.

Career

After graduation, Zobel worked on Green's first three films — George Washington (2000), All the Real Girls, (2003) and Undertow (2003), as either co-producer, production manager or second unit director.^[1] He also directed The Hunt (2020).

More recently, he reupped his deal with HBO, which was served for three more years.^[2]

Homestar Runner

Homestar Runner is an animated internet cartoon which mixes surreal humor with references to pop culture. Zobel co-created the initial concept and some characters for a book with Mike Chapman using the name "Homestar Runner", coined by their mutual friend James Huggins, which later went on to become the animated cartoon by Mike and Matt Chapman. On a day off while Zobel and Chapman were working summer jobs surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympics, a visit to a bookstore prompted them to parody the state of children's books, leading to the creation of the cartoon.^[3]

Film career

Zobel has directed, written, and produced several films, including Great World of Sound and Compliance.^[4] In August 2019, the release of Zobel's horror thriller film The Hunt was postponed by distributor Universal in response to the 2019 El Paso shooting,^[5] with the studio cancelling the film's original September 27, 2019, date, and moving it to March 13, 2020.^[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
2001	A Letter from My Father	Yes	No	No
2007	Great World of Sound	Yes	Yes	Yes
2012	Compliance	Yes	Yes	Yes
2013	Prince Avalanche	No	Yes	No
2015	Z for Zachariah	Yes	No	No
2020	The Hunt	Yes	No	No

Television

Year	Title	Director	Executive producer	Notes
2015–2017	The Leftovers	Yes	No	Episodes: "Lens", "International Assassin", "The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)"
2016	Outcast	Yes	No	Episodes: "The Road Before Us"
2017	American Gods	Yes	No	Episodes: "Git Gone"
2018	Westworld	Yes	No	Episodes: "Akane no Mai"
2018	One Dollar	Yes	Yes	10 episodes
2021	Mare of Easttown	Yes	Yes	7 episodes
2024	The Penguin	Yes	Yes	3 episodes

References

^ Interview at Filmmakermagazine.com Accessed May 14, 2009
^ Petski, Denise (December 7, 2021). "'Mare Of Easttown' Director Craig Zobel Extends Overall Deal With HBO". Deadline. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
^ Interview at Wired.com Accessed May 15, 2009
^ Craig Zobel at IMDb Accessed May 10, 2009
^ Nate Nickolai (August 10, 2019). "Universal Cancels The Hunt release". Variety.
^ Masters, Kim (February 11, 2020). "'The Hunt' Is Back On: Universal Sets Release for Controversial Elites vs. "Deplorables" Satire (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2020.

External links

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[1] Interview at Filmmakermagazine.com Accessed May 14, 2009

[2] Petski, Denise (December 7, 2021). "'Mare Of Easttown' Director Craig Zobel Extends Overall Deal With HBO". Deadline. Retrieved December 8, 2021.

[3] Interview at Wired.com Accessed May 15, 2009

[4] Craig Zobel at IMDb Accessed May 10, 2009

[5] Nate Nickolai (August 10, 2019). "Universal Cancels The Hunt release". Variety.

[6] Masters, Kim (February 11, 2020). "'The Hunt' Is Back On: Universal Sets Release for Controversial Elites vs. "Deplorables" Satire (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2020.

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