Frank Marshall | |
|---|---|
 Marshall at 2012Deauville American Film Festival | |
| Born | Frank Wilton Marshall (1946-09-13)September 13, 1946 (age 79) Glendale,California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer,film director |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Frank Wilton Marshall (born September 13, 1946)[1] is an American film producer and director. He often collaborated with his wife, film producerKathleen Kennedy, with whom he founded the production companyAmblin Entertainment, along withSteven Spielberg. In 1991, he founded, with Kennedy,The Kennedy/Marshall Company, a film production company. Since May 2012, with Kennedy taking on the role of President ofLucasfilm, Marshall has been Kennedy/Marshall's sole principal.[2]
Marshall has worked with directors such as Spielberg,Paul Greengrass,Peter Bogdanovich,David Fincher,M. Night Shyamalan, andRobert Zemeckis. He has also directed the filmsArachnophobia (1990),Alive (1993),Congo (1995),Eight Below (2006), and the documentariesThe Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020),Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story (2022) andThe Beach Boys (2024).
Marshall has produced various successful film franchises, includingIndiana Jones,Back to the Future,Bourne andJurassic Park, and has received five nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Picture. His other accolades include theIrving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, bestowed by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production",[3] theDavid O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, aGrammy Award, aSports Emmy Award, and aTony Award. Marshall is one of the few people to have received anEmmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT), with one of the awards being non-competitive.
Born inGlendale, California, Marshall is the son of guitarist, conductor and composerJack Marshall. His early years were spent inVan Nuys, California. In 1961, his family moved toNewport Beach, where he attendedNewport Harbor High School, and was active in music, drama, cross country, and track. He enteredUCLA in 1964 as an engineering major, and graduated in 1968 with a degree inPolitical science. While at UCLA, he was initiated intoAlpha Tau Omega fraternity,[4] helped create its firstNCAA soccer team, and playedcollegiate soccer there in 1966, 1967 and 1968.[5]
In 1966, he met film directorPeter Bogdanovich at a birthday party for the daughter of directorJohn Ford, a friend of his father. Marshall volunteered to work on Bogdanovich's first film,Targets (1968), which became his apprenticeship in film production, as he assumed various productions roles, even appearing in a bit part. Following graduation from UCLA, Marshall spent the next two years working inAspen andMarina del Rey, as a waiter/guitar player at "The Randy Tar," a steak and lobster restaurant. While traveling throughEurope in March 1970, he received another call from Bogdanovich, offering him a position onThe Last Picture Show (1971). Three days later he arrived in Archer City, Texas, doubling as location manager and actor in this seminal film. Under Bogdanovich's guidance, Marshall would work his way up from producer's assistant to associate producer on five more films. He branched out to work withMartin Scorsese as a line producer on the music documentaryThe Last Waltz (1978) and as an associate producer on directorWalter Hill's gritty crime thriller,The Driver (1978). The following year, Marshall earned his firstexecutive producer credit on Hill's cult classic street gang movie,The Warriors (1979) and first producer credit onGeorge Lucas andSteven Spielberg'sRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He continued to collaborate with Bogdanovich, completing their tenth film together,Orson Welles' unfinishedThe Other Side of the Wind in 2018.[6]
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In 1981, together with his future wifeKathleen Kennedy andSteven Spielberg, he co-foundedAmblin Entertainment, one of the industry's most productive and profitable production companies. As a producer, Marshall has received fiveOscar nominations forBest Picture forThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008),Seabiscuit (2003),The Sixth Sense (1999),The Color Purple (1985), andRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981).[7]During the 1980s and 1990s, Marshall served on the advisory board of theNational Student Film Institute.[8][9]
His feature film directing debut was the thrillerArachnophobia (1990), starringJeff Daniels. In 1991, he and Kennedy createdThe Kennedy/Marshall Company and began producing their own films. Marshall directed the company's first film,Alive (1993), about a rugby team struggling to survive in the snow after their plane crashes in the Andes. Next, he directedCongo (1995), based onMichael Crichton's novel, followed byEight Below (2006),[7] an adventure about loyalty and the bonds of friendship set in the extreme wilderness ofAntarctica. In 1998, he directed the episode "Mare Tranquilitatis", for theEmmy Award-winningHBO miniseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon. As part ofESPN's30 for 30 series, Marshall directed a documentary about OlympianJohann Olav Koss entitledRight to Play (2012). (the name of Koss'shumanitarian organisation).[10] Marshall stated that the documentary, broadcast in 2012, sought to capture not only Koss' sporting career and the ideals behind his nonprofit organization, but also his "drive and how it has changed the world."[10]
From 1991 to 2012, The Kennedy/Marshall Company produced many films, includingThe Sixth Sense,Signs,Seabiscuit,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,War Horse,Lincoln,Sully, theBourne series and the feature documentaryThe Armstrong Lie (2013). Since taking over as sole principal of the company, Marshall has broadened its slate beyond feature films to include television, documentaries andBroadway musicals. Those include the summer blockbuster seriesJurassic World, Orson Welles's final film,The Other Side of the Wind, and the Emmy Award-nominated documentariesSinatra: All or Nothing at All,Laurel Canyon, andMcCartney 3,2,1. In 2020, he directed theHélder Guimarães virtual magic showsThe Present andThe Future for the Geffen Stayhouse, both which had sold-out runs andThe Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which was nominated for six Emmys. In 2022, he produced the Tony-award-winning musicalA Strange Loop and co-directed the Grammy-winning documentaryJazz Fest: A New Orleans Story. His 2023 productions includedIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny andGood Night, Oscar, starring Tony Winner Sean Hayes. In 2024, Marshall directedThe Hope Theory at Geffen Playhouse withHelder Guimarães,The Beach Boys documentary for Disney+ and producedTwisters for Universal Pictures.
Marshall is a former VP, member of the board of directors and member of the Executive Committee of theUnited States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). He was awarded the Olympic Shield in 2005, and inducted into theU.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class of 2008 for his years of service to the USOPC.[11]
Currently, he serves on the board of Athletes for Hope, the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television Executive Board, the BAFTA North America Board, and as Board Chair ofThe Archer School for Girls. He is a recipient of the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement presented alongsideKathleen Kennedy by Awards Council memberGeorge Lucas,[12] the UCLA Alumni Professional Achievement Award and the California Mentor Initiative's Leadership Award. In June 2004, Marshall gave the Commencement Address at the UCLA College of Letters and Science graduation ceremony inPauley Pavilion.[13]
Marshall enjoys magic and music and has performed under the moniker of "Dr. Fantasy" or "DJ Master Frank".[14] Marshall, a long distance runner, and American premiere miler Steve Scott founded theRock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, which debuted in 1998 inSan Diego as the largest first-time marathon in history.[15]
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Arachnophobia | Yes | Yes |
| 1993 | Alive | Yes | No |
| 1995 | Congo | Yes | Yes |
| 2006 | Eight Below | Yes | Yes |
Documentary films
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart | Yes | Yes |
| 2022 | Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name | Yes | Yes |
| Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Rather | Yes | Yes |
| 2024 | The Beach Boys | Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Johnny Bago | Yes | Yes | Episode "Johnny's Manly Act" |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Yes | No | Episode "Mare Tranquilitatis" |
| 2012 | ESPN Films Presents | Yes | No | Episode "Right to Play" |
| 2014 | The Man vs. The Machine | Yes | No | |
| 2022 | Picabo | Yes | Yes |
Producer
Associate producer
Line producer
Executive producer
Co-executive producer
Location manager
Production management
2nd unit director
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Targets | Ticket Boy | |
| 1971 | The Last Picture Show | Tommy Logan | |
| 1976 | Nickelodeon | Dinsdale's assistant | |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Flying Wing Pilot | |
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Tourist at Airport | |
| 2006 | Hoot | Golfer #2 | |
| 2012 | The Secret World of Arrietty | Additional voices | U.S. dub |
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