Van Hayden(I)

Van Antone Hayden launched his production career in 1989 when he sublet his Minneapolis apartment, packed his Honda Prelude and drove cross country to work as an unpaid intern on the set of Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. Seven weeks into production, Van was promoted (with pay) to takeover the craft service department. At the end of production, Lee hired Van to work as a staffer in the auteur's 40 Acres & A Mule production office in Brooklyn, New york. Lee nurtured Van's career by hiring him as his First Assistant Director on a series of national commercials, music videos and documentaries in addition to arranging for him to work as an apprentice sound editor on Lee's fifth feature Jungle Fever. Van has gone on to compile an impressive string of industry credits including: Hustle & Flow; The Assassination of Richard Nixon; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Lovely & Amazing; Kids; the soon-to-be-released You Are Going to Prison, Rocket Science, and Angel From Montgomery. In 2000, Van produced the 30-minute narrative Details, a searing, character-driven drama about a woman who contemplates suicide when all seems lost. The independent film, made on a shoestring budget, garnered several awards including Best Short-Form Drama at the New York Latino Film Festival and finished second in the Acapulco Black Film Festival, eventually being acquired and distributed by Home Box Office. Prior to his 16 years in production, Van worked as an award-winning journalist and editor at various professional news outlets including: The Associated Press, New York Newsday, The Philadelphia Daily News, The Minnesota Daily, WMMR Radio and The Duluth Herald & News Tribune. He is an active member of the Directors Guild of America and resides in Los Angeles, California.