A
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.
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"
