Steven Caple Jr.

Summary

Steven Caple Jr.[1] (born February 16, 1988) is an American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include The Land (2016), Creed II (2018), A Different Tree, and Prentice-N-Fury's Ice Cream Adventure. In 2017, Forbes named Caple Jr. one of the "30 Under 30" in Hollywood & Entertainment.[2] He also directed Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), the seventh live-action Transformers film.

Steven Caple Jr.
Born (1988-02-16) February 16, 1988 (age 36)
Alma materBaldwin Wallace University, University of Southern California
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active2011–present
Known forThe Land
Creed II

Career edit

Caple caught his first big break when his student film A Different Tree won HBO's Short Film Competition in 2013.[3]

Caple's feature film debut The Land premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by IFC Films. It tells the story of four teenage boys who devote their summer to escaping the streets of Cleveland to pursue a dream life of professional skateboarding. The film was released on July 29, 2016. Caple would go on to be named by The Playlist as one of the 25 best breakthrough directors of 2016.[4]

Caple recently wrote HBO's high-profile Emmett Till project, produced by Will Smith, Casey Affleck and Jay-Z.[5] The six-episode miniseries is adapted from Devery Anderson's 2015 biography, Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked The World And Propelled The Civil Rights Movement.[6] It is based on the real-life story of 14-year-old black teen Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered after falsely being accused of flirting with a white woman in Mississippi in 1955.

Caple's next film was the 2018 sports action drama film Creed II, a sequel to 2015 film Creed and the eighth installment in the Rocky film series.[7] Stallone said of appointing Caple as director: “I believe it's important for the director to also be a part of this generation like I was in mine, to make the story as relatable as possible. We are extremely lucky to have the talented young filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. step up and accept the role of director. I am confident that he and Michael B. Jordan will hit it out of the park!”[8] Production of Creed II began in spring 2018. The film was released on November 21, 2018 and received positive reviews.[9]

Filmography edit

Film

Year Title Director Writer
2016 The Land Yes Yes
2018 Creed II Yes Uncredited
2023 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Yes No

Television

Year Title Notes
2018 Grown-ish 2 episodes
Rapture 1 episode

Music video

References edit

  1. ^ "Steven Caple Jr. profile". Forbes.com. November 14, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  2. ^ "30 Under 30 Hollywood: Amandla Stenberg, Yara Shahidi And The Class Of 2018". Forbes.com. November 14, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  3. ^ "Man behind 'The Land': Steven Caple Jr. introduces Hollywood to inner-city Cleveland". Cleveland.com. May 13, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "The 25 Best Breakthrough Directors Of 2016". ThePlaylist.net. December 8, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Tragic Story of Emmett Till Finally Gets Hollywood's Attention". VanityFair.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  6. ^ "Emmett Till HBO Miniseries From Jay-Z, Will Smith & Aaron Kaplan Finds Writer". Deadline.com. September 22, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "'Creed 2' Taps Steven Caple Jr. To Replace Sylvester Stallone As Director". Deadline.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "Steven Caple Jr. to Direct 'Creed 2' Starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone". Variety.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Florian Munteanu to Play Ivan Drago's Son in 'Creed 2'". Variety.com. January 15, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

External links edit

  • Steven Caple Jr. at IMDb