Daniel Adams (director)

Daniel R. Adams is an American feature film director. He is best known for directing and writing the films The Lightkeepers, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, and The Golden Boys, starring David Carradine, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn, Charles Durning, and Mariel Hemingway.

Contents

• Director writer daniel adams and actress courtney james clark on reel hollywood live
• Wgbh interview with director daniel adams
• Selected filmography
• References

Adams grew up in the Boston area, went to the University of Vermont for two years, from 1980 to 1981, and attended some Harvard Extension School classes in the early 1980s, spokesmen for both schools confirmed. Adams worked for several political campaigns before going into movies. After working in politics, including two gubernatorial campaigns, a race for attorney general, and a presidential campaign, he also garnered valuable film production experience directing television commercials for a Boston advertising agency.

He then co-wrote and directed his first feature film in 1989, A Fool And His Money (originally titled, Religion, Inc.), which starred Sandra Bullock (Adams is credited with casting Ms. Bullock in her first leading role), Jonathan Penner, George Plimpton and Jerzy Kosinski (released through Trimark Pictures - now Lions Gate). He then went on to write and direct his second feature, the critically acclaimed Primary Motive, which starred Judd Nelson, Justine Bateman, Richard Jordan, John Savage and Sally Kirkland, for Twentieth Century Fox. His third feature, which he also wrote and directed, was a comedy entitled, The Mouse, starring Rip Torn and John Savage, and released through Strand Releasing. The Mouse also received positive reviews throughout the United States and abroad. His film, The Golden Boys, was released through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Films in 2009. Also in 2009, he directed the feature film, The Lightkeepers, from a script he wrote. Lightkeepers, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner, was released through New Films Cinema in the spring of 2010.

Adams is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. His film, "The Lightkeepers" was chosen as the closing night film for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the opening night film for the Boulder International Film Festival, won the "Golden Angel" award (best picture) and chosen closing night film at the Los Angeles Chinese-American Film Festival, was named the #2 Best Grown Up Love Story of the Year (2010) by AARP Magazine, and won the 2010 "best musical score for a comedy" award by the International Film Music Critics Association. He has also received praise from the actors he has directed. Two-time Academy Award nominated actor Bruce Dern has compared Adams' directing style to Hal Ashby and Alfred Hitchcock, and commented, "He (Adams) is on the threshold of becoming an extremely interesting commodity in this business because he's really old-school - he's an old-school filmmaker." And Academy Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss has been quoted, "Daniel is a smart man, who truly understands the old values of filmmaking... He is an excellent writer and perhaps enough people will see The Lightkeepers to appreciate that."

As a novelist, he conceived, edited and contributed to the serial novel, Out Of The Fog, working with a dozen of the nation's best-selling authors. Also a historian, he is writing a biography of American patriot James Otis, Jr.

Adams was indicted in December 2011 on 10 counts of making false tax claims related to two films for which his production company received $4.7 million in tax credits from the state of Massachusetts, which in turn were used toward production expenses on two movies. On April 19, 2012 he pleaded guilty. He has subsequently resumed his career directing movies. His next projects include the gangster drama, "Curtain of Fire" and the action film, "Panama." He has also signed on to direct the drama, "Land of the Free."

Adams recently launched a film fund with Nashville record producer Mike Flanders to produce theatrical feature films that Adams will direct. Their first project will be "An L.A. Minute" which Adams co-wrote with National Lampoon alum Larry "Ratso" Sloman.