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Toby Halbrooks
American filmmaker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Toby Halbrooks (born 1978) is an American film producer, writer, director, and former musician. He initially gained prominence as a member of the band The Polyphonic Spree, before becoming a noted producer in independent film, frequently collaborating with filmmaker David Lowery and partner James M. Johnston through their production company Sailor Bear.[1]
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Early life
Halbrooks was raised in Dallas, Texas.[2]
Career
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Music
He toured internationally as a multi-instrumentalist with the symphonic rock band The Polyphonic Spree for six years before transitioning into directing and producing.[3]
Filmmaking
Halbrooks's first significant film project was producing Lowery's short film Pioneer (2011), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was also shown at Cannes.[4][5] He subsequently co-produced Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color and produced Ain't Them Bodies Saints, both premiering at Sundance in 2013.[6] For Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Halbrooks and co-producer James M. Johnson won the 2023 Indian Paintbrush Producer's Award.[7] They also received nominations for the 17th annual Piaget Producers Award.[8]
In 2014, Halbrooks directed his debut short film Dig, which premiered at Sundance.[9][10] He co-wrote Disney’s live-action Pete's Dragon (2016) alongside David Lowery.[11][12] Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips praised Lowery and Halbrooks' writing, and went on to describe the film as "one of the season's most heartening surprises."[13]
In 2017, Halbrooks and Johnston produced Person to Person, a drama which featured an ensemble cast including Michael Cera and Abbi Jacobson.[14]
He co-produced A Ghost Story (2017), for which he also co-wrote a song with Lowery, Andrew Tinker, and Kesha. The song, titled Last One, was performed by Stereo Jane for the film's soundtrack.[15] He also co-produced The Old Man & the Gun (2018), Miss Juneteenth (2020), and The Green Knight (2021).[16] Halbrooks also co-wrote the screenplay for Disney's Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) with Lowery.[17]
In 2023, he began production on Mother Mary, directed by Lowery and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, produced by A24.[18]
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References
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