John O'Brien (filmmaker)

John O'Brien (born 1962, Tunbridge, Vermont, USA) is an American film director, sheep farmer, Justice of the Peace and former campaign manager.

O'Brien is the director of the "Tunbridge Trilogy", three films that focus on the rural life of Tunbridge, Vermont. The director refers to his style of filmmaking as "community cinema" [Joseph Gallivan, The Independent: Run Tuttle Run, November 15, 1998 ] and his films as "anthropological comedies" [SARA RIMER, The New York Times: A Vermont Town Turns Schwab's Lunch Counter, September 3, 2001] as his cast consists mostly of local friends and neighbors from Tunbridge who play themselves in fictional stories [Michael Colton, The Washington Post: A RUNNING GAG?, September 04, 1998] . The most famous of these, "Man with a Plan", starred the dairy farmer and one time politician, Fred Tuttle. According to O'Brien, the film, in which Tuttle runs successfully for congress, was inspired by 1979's Being There, a movie in which Peter Sellers, a gardener named Chance, becomes a trusted adviser to the presidency [ Michael Colton, The Washington Post: A RUNNING GAG?, September 04, 1998] . In 2001 it was reported that "Man With A Plan" had sold 40,000 copies, most of the them to Vermonters [SARA RIMER, The New York Times: A Vermont Town Turns Schwab's Lunch Counter, September 3, 2001] . O'Brien's other films include "Vermont is for Lovers" and "Nosey Parker".

O'Brien graduated from Harvard University in 1986.

In March 2005, O'Brien received the Maverick Award from the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film for "creating films that Chlotrudis describes as sifting nonfiction and storytelling together in Mike Leigh fashion to create vivid northern New England tableaux." [Stewart, Rhonda, "The Boston Globe", Happy Mother's Day is Five Times the Fun, March 20, 2005] "

Filmography

* "The Big Dis" (1989)
* "Vermont Is for Lovers" (1992)
* "Man with a Plan" (1996)
* "Nosey Parker" (2003)

References

* [http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/05august/redux.htm Filmmakers Redux: Then and Now]
* [http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/98february/obrien.htm Interview with Vermont Filmmaker John O'Brien]
* [http://www.bellweatherfilms.com John O'Brien's Company, Bellwether Films]

External links

*imdb name|id=0639618|name=John O'Brien

Notes