David Orr

David Orr is an award-winning independent filmmaker who began his career as an actor before branching into writing, directing and producing movies. The son of a hotel builder, David spent much of his youth playing the role of "new kid in town" as the family business took them around the world. By high school, David had called Orlando, Memphis, Monaco, London, Gibraltar, Brussels, and Denver home. Throughout the years, the family would return to Columbus, Mississippi, and by high school the family decided to drop permanent anchor in Columbus. David graduated in theatre with a minor in film from Mississippi State University and, after several seasons of summer stock, David moved to Tampa, Florida, signing with his first agent. David received his S.A.G. card on his first professional audition, booking a national commercial for NutraSweet. After several more commercials, David landed a role on the NBC movie "In The Line of Duty: The FBI Murders" and after the movie wrapped, David moved to Los Angeles. With a desire to pursue graduate studies in film, David hung out with the filmmaking students of USC and performed as an actor in over a dozen USC student films, including several shorts for director Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose"). David continued to book commercials and landed a recurring part on CBS "The Young and The Restless" as hematologist Dr. Alan Kester. Winning the silver medal in a playwriting contest in college, David continued to write and received raves for Los Angeles Art Theatre's stage production of his play "The Dust Behind The Door" which David also directed. After this success, David started to write, direct and produce short films ("The Bum" and "What Magic Slept") under his Possumtown Pictures production banner. Soon after, David directed and produced his first feature film "Blossom Time" starring Laurel Holloman. "Blossom Time" premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and went on to win several awards on the festival circuit, including the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Florida Film Festival. David also enjoyed another successful run on the festival circuit with his satirical short film "The Grimm Cycle." Between acting roles and making films, David has worked on numerous film productions, handling positions on all ends of the budget spectrum, from the B-movies of Roger Corman (Concorde New Horizons) to assisting A-list producers on studio pictures including assisting producer Larry Mark on "Jerry Maguire" starring Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger (Best Picture Academy Award nominee), "As Good As It Gets" starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt (Best Picture Academy Award nominee), "Anywhere But Here" starring Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman, "The Object Of My Affection" starring Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd, and "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" starring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow. David assisted producer John Baldecchi on "The Mummy" starring Brendan Fraser, "Simon Birch" starring Ashley Judd and Jim Carey, "Tom and Huck" starring Jonathon Taylor Thomas, and "Oliver Twist" (TV) starring Richard Dreyfus and Elijah Wood. David's extensive industry experience includes serving as an executive to the studios. David is past vice president of production and marketing for Debmar-Mercury (now part of Lions Gate Entertainment), past vice president of Debmar Studios (which merged with Mercury Entertainment prior to Lions Gate) past creative coordinator of television and video for Miramax Films and Dimension Films (each a studio division of The Walt Disney Company). Recently, David moved back to Mississippi to produce a slate of films in his home state. An advocate of film arts and the independent film scene, David serves on festival juries and regularly participates on industry panels, sharing his multifaceted experiences and insights.