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Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Born (1967-06-24) June 24, 1967 (age 56)
New York City, New York
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, film producer
Years active1986–present
Spouse
Elizabeth Hunter
​
(m. 2015)​
Parent(s)Corinne Silberman Pearlman
Gilbert Dale Pearlman
RelativesGene Wilder (maternal uncle)
Katharine Wilder (cousin)
Adele Walker (grandmother)[1]

Jordan Walker-Pearlman (born June 24, 1967) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer, and executive.[2]

Early life

Walker-Pearlman was born in New York City, and is the nephew of actor Gene Wilder with whom he lived for a period of time in childhood.[3]

Career

Walker-Pearlman is best known for the 2000 film The Visit, for which he was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (One for Directing and one for Writing the Screenplay) and the movie four.[2][4][5]

His 2005 film, Constellation, starring Gabrielle Union, Zoe Saldana, and Billy Dee Williams, premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival,[6] Black Filmmaker Magazine Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival. It also had a special premiere at the Kwa Mashu Film Festival in South Africa with both director and actress Gabrielle Union present for ten days to open the movie theater at the Arts Centre in the Kwa Mashu Township.[7]

Both films won the Audience Award at the Urbanworld Film Festival in their respective years.

Personal life

In 2015, Walker-Pearlman married screenwriter Elizabeth Hunter.[3]

On February 3, 2020, he wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times calling on the Motion Picture Academy to recognize the "cultural violence" of historical racism in American movies in its new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and explained his years earlier decision to decline an invitation to membership in the organization. The op-ed was the first of several that year that appeared to influence AMPAS to dedicate several exhibits to this history.[8]

In 2020, Walker-Pearlman purchased his late uncle Gene Wilder's house from Elon Musk and the property will be featured in the upcoming semi-autobiographical film The Requiem Boogie.[9]

He is the co-founder of MoJo Global Arts[10] which he left in June 2021 to become founder of the film production company HarlemHollywood.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1980–1984 Livewire Himself 2 episodes
1982 Hanky Panky Boy on Escalator Uncredited
True Innocence The Guy Short film
1999 Hollywood 26 Himself 1 episode
2015–2016 Unsung Hollywood Himself 2 episodes
2017 Sex and Violence! or: A Brief Review of Simple Physics Marty
2018 Love, Gilda Himself
TBA The Requiem Boogie Ranny Besquith Post-production, also director[12]

References

  1. ^ Young, Victoria (February 7, 1998). "The Neediest Cases; No Bounds to the Love of an 85-Year-Old Mother". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Scott, A. O. (December 15, 2000). "FILM REVIEW; Overcoming Bitterness On the Way to Redemption". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b Dube Dwilson, Stephanie (August 29, 2016). "Gene Wilder's Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Malanowski, Jamie (April 15, 2001). "FILM; And Independent For Whom Love Is Also Wisdom". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Scott, A. O. (December 15, 2000). "The Visit (2000)". FilmAffinity. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "Memory and love in the South". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 2005.
  7. ^ "Film fest gets glitzy". www.iol.co.za.
  8. ^ Walker-Pearlman, Jordan (February 3, 2020). "Op-ed: Beyond #OscarsSoWhite, Hollywood needs to confront historic racism on the big screen". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Keates, Nancy (23 February 2022). "Elon Musk Sells Gene Wilder's Former Home Back to the Late Actor's Family". The Wall Street Journal.
  10. ^ Kay, Jeremy (September 16, 2019). "MoJo Global Arts unveils slate of Latinx, jazz films (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Seasons – Harlem, Hollywood". Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Veteran Cast Wraps on Walker-Pearlman's 'Requiem'". PR Newswire. May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2022.

External links

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