Craig Saavedra

Craig Michael Saavedra (born November 2, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film producer, director, Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and co-owner of New York City and Los Angeles-based production company Starry Night Entertainment.

Craig Saavedra
Born (1963-11-02) November 2, 1963
Los Angeles, California

Early life

Saavedra was raised in Thousand Oaks, California along with his six siblings, among them cartoonist/illustrator Scott Saavedra (“Dr. Radium”) and KFI AM 640 radio personality Neil Saavedra (The Jesus Christ Show). He is married to cinematographer/director Joaquin Sedillo.

Shortly after graduating high school, Saavedra found employment at Universal Studios in Hollywood as a tour guide. In the evenings, he attended film courses at UCLA’s Extension program. It was through this program that he met a film executive who eventually hired him as a story analyst at producer Jerry Weintraub’s Weintraub Entertainment Group. Shortly thereafter, Saavedra left to become Director of Operations at Big Time Picture Company, a post-production and film editing facility on Los Angeles’ west side.

Producer/Director

Pro FilmWorks / Becker FilmWorks Entertainment

At Big Time Picture Company, Saavedra met Gregg Hoffman from nearby PRO FilmWorks, and was recruited to join PRO as a development executive.

At PRO FilmWorks, Saavedra was promoted to Vice President of Production and soon was producing and/or supervising the production/development of numerous projects, including the films Scorchers (1991), Only You (1992).

In 1993, PRO FilmWorks changed its name to Becker FilmWorks Entertainment, reflecting its ties with Australian parent company Becker Entertainment. Saavedra was promoted to President of the Los Angeles operations, and lead the production and development of such films as Gross Misconduct (1993), The Real Macaw (1998), At First Sight (1999), and the television series The Man from Snowy River (1993–96).

In 1997, Saavedra took on the director's role for the Becker FilmWorks Entertainment comedy-drama Rhapsody in Bloom, released in early 1998. Shortly after the release of Rhapsody in Bloom, Saavedra left Becker FilmWorks to focus on writing both motion picture and theatrical works.

Starry Night Entertainment

In 2004, Saavedra teamed with Michael Shulman, a recent Yale graduate and former child actor, including a role as a teenager in Rhapsody in Bloom, to form Starry Night Entertainment.

Saavedra produced and directed the comedy/drama Sherman's Way (2008), which won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Cinequest Film Festival 2008, the Audience Award at the Newport International Film Festival and a Special Jury Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival.

In 2009, Starry Night Entertainment moved into producing live theater, mounting the New York premiere of JT Rogers's White People, Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company's Stage 2.

Starry Night Entertainment was part of the production group for the play After Midnight, which opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on November 3, 2013. The revue, centered on the music of Duke Ellington, marked the first above-the-title producing credit on Broadway for Saavedra and Shulman. The play was a popular and critical success, earning numerous awards and nominations for cast and crew, including a Drama Desk Award win for Outstanding Musical Revue for Starry Night Entertainment and the other producers.

Starry Night Entertainment was part of the production group for the play The Cripple of Inishmaan, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which opened on Broadway on April 20, 2014 at the Cort Theatre. The play was a popular and critical success, earning six Tony Award nominations for cast and crew, including a nomination for the producers for Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Awards

References
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