Lives of Consequence
Mark B. Neveldine '95
While interning in New York City for a summer, Mark Neveldine invented a unique style of shooting film; after donning a pair of rollerblades, he held on to the sides of busses and cabs. This technique of filming, dubbed roller-dollying, leveraged him a commercial with Nike, which in turn opened many doors in the industry. Since that commercial, Neveldine has written, produced and directed a number of films, including "Crank," "Gamer" and, most recently, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance."
Neveldine came to Hobart to study biology or environmental science, eventually majoring in psychology. As a student, he found ways to pursue his interests in film and acting, and played for the Statesmen football and lacrosse teams.
After graduating, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. As an Off-Broadway writer, director and actor, Neveldine's credits include more than 25 plays and movies.
Finally moving behind the camera as director of photography on documentaries, music videos and a television pilot, he served as cinematographer on film shorts, including "This Beautiful Life" starring Ned Beatty and "The Great Pretenders."
In 1998, he bought his first camera and, while interning in New York City, he experimented with his camera and discovered the technique of filming that would launch his directing career. Neveldine later joined forces with Director Brian Taylor while working on "The Keys," a surreal action-adventure movie that was filmed in Morocco. This marked the first time that Neveldine and Taylor collaborated to use to the roller-dolly camera technique.
In 2006, Neveldine made his big-screen debut when Lions Gate Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment released his film, "Crank." Based on an original screenplay co-written by Neveldine and Taylor, the movie tells the story of a hit-man who is injected with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops below a certain level. Neveldine even did his own camera-work for the film, which gleaned nearly $28 million at the box office.
The sequel, "Crank 2: High Voltage," was released in April 2009. Other films written and directed by Neveldine include "Pathology," "Gamer" and "Jonah Hex." In 2010, while pitching a new project to Sony, Neveldine and Taylor were asked to direct "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," the sequel to "Ghost Rider" starring Nicolas Cage. The movie was released in February 2012 and grossed $22 million in its opening week.