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Jacob Aaron Estes

American screenwriter and film director


Summary

American screenwriter and film director

FieldValue
nameJacob Aaron Estes
birth_date
birth_placeTulare County, California, U.S.
occupationScreenwriter, film director
known_forMean Creek
spouseGretchen Lieberum

Jacob Aaron Estes (born September 6, 1972) is an American screenwriter and film director known for his films Mean Creek, The Details and Don't Let Go.

Career

Estes was a theatre major at the University of California, Santa Cruz. After that, he went to film school at AFI. Estes also attended the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which produced two of his plays, Free Lessons and Mean Creek. Estes turned Mean Creek into a screenplay, which became his feature film debut as writer and director in 2004. In his first offering as writer-director, he gained critical acclaim, receiving nominations at various film festivals and winning the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.

His second film as writer/director came with the 2011 film The Details, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and stars Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert, Kerry Washington, and Elizabeth Banks. In 2019, Estes co-wrote and directed the Blumhouse thriller Don't Let Go starring David Oyelowo and Storm Reid.

Personal life

Estes is married to musician Gretchen Lieberum.

Filmography

YearFilmDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2001SummoningShort film
2004Mean CreekJohn Cassavetes Award winner
2005Nearing Grace
2011The Details
20147 Minutes
2015BromanceSpecial thanks
2017RingsCo-write with David Loucka and Akiva Goldsman
2019Don't Let Go
2022He's Watching

References

References

  1. (24 September 2012). "GET THE DETAILS FROM DIRECTOR JACOB AARON ESTES: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW & TRAILER".
  2. (July 2025). "Jacob Aaron Estes".
  3. Armstrong, Derek. "Review: ''Mean Creek''". [[AllMovie]].
  4. (February 27, 2005). "Spirit Awards Toasts 'Sideways' With Sweep of Six Major Categories". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  5. Holden, Stephen. (November 2012). "Relentless Raccoons and Other Suburban Problems Money Can't Always Fix". The New York Times.
  6. Greenberg, James. (2011-01-26). "SUNDANCE REVIEW: 'The Details' Is a Rom-com That Becomes Something Much Darker".
  7. (February 28, 2005). "Sideways Wins Six at Independent Spirit Awards". [[IndieWire]].
Wikipedia Source

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