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Life

in Film

DIRECTOR BIO

MARTY ELCAN is a Director in the Directors Guild with over 25 years production experience in film.

 

Her feature film directorial debut NEXT OF KIN features Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer, Emmy Nominee Ed Begley, Jr., People’s Choice Award winner Jeremy London, Bess Armstrong, George Newbern, Kate Orsini and Andrew Lockridge.  The film was selected to be part of the DGA Director Finder series.

 

Marty’s earlier directing successes include four award-winning short films, an episode of Fox’ BEYOND BELIEF, 2nd units on the feature WALKING ACROSS EGYPT and the CBS pilot DESTINY, a commercial, several music videos, national award-winning PSA’s and an Emmy-nominated documentary. 

 

Her short film THERE GOES THE GROOM won first place in the U.S. Film and Video Festival, the CINE Festival’s prestigious Golden Eagle Award, Best Short in Festival in the Hope and Dreams Film Festival, as well as special mentions from Worldfest and the New York International Film and Video Competition.  It aired on JLTV.  Her second film THE HIT was an official selection in sixteen film festivals and won a Chris Award, 1st place and a Special Jury Award at the CINE Golden Eagle Festival, Best Short in Festival at the Thunderbird Festival in Utah, and a World Medal at the New York Festivals.  HIT AND RUN was one of seven short films made through a DGA/Kodak grant filmmaking project that screened to a full house at the DGA.  CROSSING THE LINE with Anne Ramsay and James Eckhouse won Best Drama in Philadelphia’s FirstGlance Film Festival Shorts category and was honored at the Filmmakers Alliance’s 10th anniversary Visionfest.

 

Between other directing gigs, Marty directs and produces the wildly fun award-winning Sign Language DVD series SHUT UP AND SIGN that is sold nationally.

 

Marty attributes much of her directing knowledge to her extensive work as an Assistant Director where she has helped shephard such high profile works as DRIVING MISS DAISY, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, MYSTIC PIZZA, HILL STREET BLUES, PICKET FENCES, THE GRASS HARP, AMAZING STORIES, ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION, ONCE AND AGAIN, INHERIT THE WIND (George C. Scott & Jack Lemmon), MY FAVORITE MARTIAN and SIX FEET UNDER.  As an A.D., she was part of teams nominated for three Directors Guild Awards.

 

With an extensive theater background as an actress, an award-winning still photographer's eye, and extensive production experience, Marty is known as an "actor's director" with a technical expertise and vision.

 

Marty serves on the Board of the Alliance of Women Directors, the only film organization dedicated solely to the education, support and advocacy for women directors in the entertainment industry.  She is also on the Board of World Singing Day Organization, and mentors several students through the UCLA Mentorship program.  Any spare time is spent acting, shooting still and 3D photographs, and singing with her award-winning 4-part a cappella harmony group.

"Steel Magnolias"
Jack Lemmon "Inherit the Wind"
Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
Beau Bridges "Inherit the Wind"
Clint Eastwood "Amazing Stories"
Morgan Freeman "Driving Miss Daisy"
"Precious Find"
"The Grass Harp"

Assistant Director Filmography

 

FEATURES:

WALKING ACROSS EGYPT   BTO Productions                                (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jonathan Taylor Thomas 

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN       Walt Disney Studios                            (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Daryl Hannah, Elizabeth Hurley

ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION                   (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow 

THE WAR AT HOME              AVATAR/Motion Picture Corp.              (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Martin Sheen, Kathy Bates, Kimberly Williams, Emilio Estevez

PRECIOUS FIND                    Precious Find Productions                     (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen 

THE GRASS HARP                 Grass Harp Productions                        (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen

TWENTY BUCKS                    Big Tomorrow Prod.                             (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Christopher Lloyd, David Schwimmer, Steve Buscemi,

                                               Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Shue

THE FAVOR                            Favor Productions                                 (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Brad Pitt, Ken Wahl, Bill Pullman, Elizabeth McGovern

RUSH                                      MGM                                                 (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jason Patrick, Sam Elliott

LIFE STINKS                           Life Stinks, Inc.                                     (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Mel Brooks, Leslie Ann Warren, Jeffrey Tambor, Howard Morris

QUEENS LOGIC                    New Visions Productions                       (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Kevin Bacon, John Malkovich, Joe Mantegna, Linda Fiorentino

DRIVING MISS DAISY           Zanuck Company                                 (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd

STEEL MAGNOLIAS              Tri-Star                                                (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton,

                                               Daryl Hannah

MYSTIC PIZZA                       Samuel Goldwyn Productions                (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio, Annabeth Gish

INTO THE HOMELAND         HBO                                                  (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Powers Boothe, C. Thomas Howell, David Caruso

3 O'CLOCK HIGH                 Universal Studios                                (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Casey Siemaszko, Richard Tyson 

 

TV MOVIES:

SHARING THE SECRET         Robert Greenwald Productions             (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Mare Winningham, Alison Lohman, Tim Matheson

INHERIT THE WIND              Showtime/MGM Television                  (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: George C. Scott, Jack Lemmon 

THE MARRIAGE FOOL          Pebblehut Prod.                                  (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett 

SEIGE AT JOHNSON HIGH  Haven Inc. Productions                        (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Rick Schroeder, Henry Winkler, Freddie Prinze, Jr.

TO LOVE, HONOR AND DECEIVE                                               (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Vanessa Marcil, Thomas Gibson, James Wilder, William Moses

LETTER TO MY KILLER            USA Cable                                        (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Mare Winningham, Rip Torn 

MARILYN AND ME                Green Street Prods.                             (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Joel Grey, Susan Griffiths 

THE SITTER                            Westgate Prod.                                   (First Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Kim Myers, Brett Cullen 

CURIOSITY KILLS                   USA Cable                                        (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Courtney Cox, C. Thomas Howell, Rae Dawn Chong

HIROSHIMA                           Robert Greenwald Prod.                     (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Judd Nelson, Max von Sydow 

A DEADLY SILENCE               Robert Greenwald Prod.                     (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Charlie Haid, David Schwimmer, Heather Fairfield

RUN TILL YOU FALL               CBS                                                  (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

                                               Cast: Fred Savage, Shelley Fabares, Jamie Farr

 

EPISODIC:

RECOVERY ROAD               Freeform                                            (First Assistant Director)

SIN CITY SAINTS               Yahoo                                                (First Assistant Director)

GLORY DAZE                           TNT                                                  (First Assistant Director)

PRIVATE PRACTICE                  ABC Studios                                      (First Assistant Director)

SIX FEET UNDER                     HBO                                                 (First Assistant Director)

ONCE AND AGAIN               Bedford Falls                                      (First Assistant Director)

PICKET FENCES                      20th Century Fox/DEK Productions       (First Assistant Director)

BROOKLYN BRIDGE                Paramount Studios                              (First Assistant Director)

A YEAR IN THE LIFE                Universal Studios                               (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

AMAZING STORIES                Universal Studios                                (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

HILL STREET BLUES                  CBS/MTM                                        (Key 2nd Assistant Director)

   

PILOTS:

DESTINY                                  Big Ticket Productions                         (2nd Unit Dir./1st A.D.)

SMOG                                     Mountcrest Productions                       (First Assistant Director)

FOUR CORNERS                     CBS Studios                                      (First Assistant Director)

COUNTRY ESTATES                Witt/Thomas Production                     (First Assistant Director)

   

As a DGA Trainee, worked on such projects as:

"AMERICAN FLYERS," "SECRET ADMIRER," "MALICE IN WONDERLAND," "SHATTERED VOWS," "VICTIMS FOR VICTIMS," "AMAZING STORIES," "HILL STREET BLUES," "HARDCASTLE AND MCCORMICK"

  

Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett
Bob Harling "Steel Magnolias"
Walter Matthau
Dan Petrie "Inherit the Wind"
"Hiroshima"
Fyvush Finkel "Picket Fences"
"20 Bucks"
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