Mark Schoonmaker

Mark was born in Manila, Philippines and raised in San Jose, California. At age 7, Leonardo DiCaprio and 1930s horror films got him into acting which led to a high interest in filmmaking. Mark's silent feature Pitch Black Heist (2022) was inspired by J.J. Abrams TED Talks speech: "The Mystery Box" & Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Schoonmaker has built experience making short films and has produced several projects in the short film category. His latest short film Gridlock (2020), a noir mystery crime drama stars - Steve Wilcox (Swamp Thing), and Stefan Rollins (Powers). Gridlock was a Semi-Finalist at Los Angeles CineFest 2020. Asian Movie Pulse critic, Adam Symchuk wrote "Gridlock's visual presentation feels on par with bigger productions. There is a certain degree of commitment and reserve to the performances which compliments the production." Schoonmaker is building his filmography and set out to work with industry professionals as he continues to produce original material. Dread Central announced in May 2019 Schoonmaker will make his feature narrative directorial debut with mid90s horror crime thriller, 'Pitch Black Heist' starring - J.J. Nolan (Netflix's You, Silicon Valley), Scott Speedman (Underworld, The Strangers), Garrett Hines (Deepwater Horizon), Wilcox, and Rollins. The feature is based on his 8 min student-made short of the same title from 2012. Filmmaker, Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) was the one who gave Schoonmaker the idea to make Pitch Black Heist on a low-budget. At age 23 Mark was mentored by Singer. Schoonmaker was originally developing Amaranth, a coming-of-age sci-fi adventure drama with producers, Amy Soto, Ryan Carnes & screenwriter, Tom Huckabee for actor, Bill Paxton (Aliens, Twister). Originally, Schoonmaker had producer John J. Kelly (Deadpool, Warrior) read an initial draft of "Amaranth." Kelly was the first studio producer to give his time to read what Mark developed. Soto and Huckabee were close friends with Paxton to help gain his involvement, unfortunately, Bill's untimely death put the project on hold, and Schoonmaker pursued other creative endeavors. Mark developed Castlemont (2022), a late '90s period drama exploring loss, grief, divorce, and the creative arts. The original story was inspired by his childhood growing up in Northern, California, and the wisdom he gained from Ethan Hawke in 2018. Schoonmaker has also developed a coming-of-age drama mystery thriller, A Touch of Evil in which he is circling Katherine Waterston and Patrick Wilson to lead the project which will explore alienation, identity, adoption, bullying; and has sought-after Oscar-nominated producer, Howard Barish. Early Life: At the age of 17, Mark began studying film production at American University in 2008. He produced his first student-made short film on an Arriflex 16mm film camera. He was taught by Jon Alderman, Steve Erdman, and Sarah Menke-Fish. For an internship opportunity in high school, Schoonmaker's first academic mentors in Film/Journalism were Nick Clooney & Menke-Fish at American University. Further film instructors were screenwriting professor, Jonathan Eig, and film production/editing professor, Perry Schwartz at Montgomery Community College. In his late teens, Schoonmaker produced & directed Hindrance (2012), a supernatural horror thriller which was an homage to 1979's Alien & 2001's Thirteen Ghosts. He also produced a black & white skateboard dramedy titled Rockville (2011) which was inspired by his experiences growing up around skateboarders in San Jose, California and also Spike Jonze's skate video, "Mouse."