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{{Short description|American film executive}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Tom Neff
| name = Tom Neff
| image = TLN342 crop.jpg
| image = TLN342 crop.jpg
| image_size = 197px
| image_size =
| caption = Neff at [[Sage Hill School]]
| caption = Neff at [[Sage Hill School]]
| birth_date =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| occupation = Business executive, film producer, film director and professor
| occupation = Business executive, film producer, film director, professor
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Thomas Linden Neff''', known as '''Tom Neff''', is a film executive, director and producer, born in [[Chicago, Illinois]].<ref>{{imdb name|id=0624317|name=Tom Neff}}.</ref> He lives in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]].
'''Thomas Linden Neff''' (born 1953)-, known as '''Tom Neff''', is an American film executive, director and producer, born in [[Chicago, Illinois]]. He lives in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]].


==Education==
==Education==
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==Career==
==Career==
Neff is the founder and former [[CEO]] of [[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], the first channel in the United States to show documentaries on a full-time basis. The Documentary Channel was created in 1998 and is shown on the [[DISH Network]], Channel 197 and [[DirecTV]], Channel 263. Neff is also a documentary film producer and director.<ref>[http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/DOC-Founder-Tom-Neff-Launches-New-Venture-1272860.htm Markert Wired]. June 08, 2010. Accessed: March 30. 2014.</ref>
Neff is the founder and former [[CEO]] of [[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], the first channel in the United States to show documentaries on a full-time basis. The Documentary Channel, created in 1998, was shown on the [[DISH Network]], Channel 197 and [[DirecTV]], Channel 263. Neff is also a documentary film producer and director.<ref>[http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/DOC-Founder-Tom-Neff-Launches-New-Venture-1272860.htm Markert Wired]. June 08, 2010. Accessed: March 30. 2014.</ref>


Neff's films have won several national and international awards, including an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination and an [[Emmy]] win.<ref>Halpern, Frances. ''Los Angeles Times,'' Ventura County Live section, "Words and Images," March 11, 1993.</ref> In 1983 he began Tennessee's first feature film production company, Polaris Productions, and wrote and directed the feature film ''Running Mates'' (1985) distributed worldwide by [[New World Pictures]].<ref>[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-08-24/entertainment/8603030538_1_film-center-nashville-network-film-production-companies Hurst, Jack]. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', August 24, 1986. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref>
Neff's films have won several national and international awards, including an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination and an [[Emmy]] win.<ref>Halpern, Frances. ''Los Angeles Times,'' Ventura County Live section, "Words and Images," March 11, 1993.</ref> In 1983 he began Tennessee's first feature film production company, Polaris Productions, and wrote and directed the feature film ''Running Mates'' (1985) distributed worldwide by [[New World Pictures]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140202231742/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-08-24/entertainment/8603030538_1_film-center-nashville-network-film-production-companies Hurst, Jack]. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', August 24, 1986. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref>


In the early 1990s, with partner Diandra Douglas, Neff co-founded and ran Wild Wolf Productions, a California-based ([[Culver City]]) documentary film production company that produced ''[[Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada]]'' (1993) and ''[[America's Music: The Roots of Country]]'' (1996).
In the early 1990s, with partner Diandra Douglas, Neff co-founded and ran Wild Wolf Productions, a California-based ([[Culver City]]) documentary film production company that produced ''[[Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada]]'' (1993) and ''[[America's Music: The Roots of Country]]'' (1996).
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Neff produced, wrote, and directed the 30-minute documentary ''[[Herb Alpert: Music for Your Eyes]]'', on the art and sculpture of musician [[Herb Alpert]] (2003); ''[[Country Music: The Spirit of America]]'', (2003), an [[IMAX]] film which traces the history of the United States in the 20th century through country music; and ''[[Chances: The Women of Magdalene]]'' (2006), a feature-length documentary on the socially conscious organization Magdalene, located in Nashville, that recovers prostitutes off the street.
Neff produced, wrote, and directed the 30-minute documentary ''[[Herb Alpert: Music for Your Eyes]]'', on the art and sculpture of musician [[Herb Alpert]] (2003); ''[[Country Music: The Spirit of America]]'', (2003), an [[IMAX]] film which traces the history of the United States in the 20th century through country music; and ''[[Chances: The Women of Magdalene]]'' (2006), a feature-length documentary on the socially conscious organization Magdalene, located in Nashville, that recovers prostitutes off the street.


He has served on the Board of the [[International Documentary Association]], the Tennessee Governor's Film Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of the [[Watkins College of Art&Design]] in Nashville, was Chairman of Finance on the [[Belcourt Theater]] board, and was co-chairman of the [[Nashville Film Festival]]. He is a member of the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] and the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], where he sat on the Nominating Committee for Best Documentary. Neff has participated on various documentary panels at film festivals around the world.
He has served on the board of the [[International Documentary Association]], the Tennessee Governor's Film Advisory Board, the board of directors of the [[Watkins College of Art&Design]] in Nashville, was Chairman of Finance on the [[Belcourt Theater]] board, and was co-chairman of the [[Nashville Film Festival]]. He is a member of the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] and the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], where he sat on the Nominating Committee for Best Documentary. Neff has participated on various documentary panels at film festivals around the world.


==Teaching==
==Teaching==
Neff has taught at his [[alma mater]] as an adjunct professor (School of Cinematic Arts at USC). In the 1990s he taught a course on music video production. His students taking the course (USC Cinema 499) shot various music videos for country music artists such as [[Radney Foster]], and others. Neff obtained financing for the program from various records labels, such as [[Arista Nashville]].<ref>Atwood, Brett. ''[[Billboard (magazine)]]'', article, "USC students Learning on the Job," January 20, 1996.</ref>
Neff has taught at his [[alma mater]] as an adjunct professor (School of Cinematic Arts at USC). In the 1990s he taught a course on music video production. His students taking the course (USC Cinema 499) shot various music videos for country music artists such as [[Radney Foster]], and others. Neff obtained financing for the program from various records labels, such as [[Arista Nashville]].<ref>Atwood, Brett. ''[[Billboard (magazine)]]'', article, "USC students Learning on the Job," January 20, 1996.</ref>


Neff teaches at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.<ref>[http://www.murfreesboropost.com/mtsu-is-key-player-in-pa-s-fiddle-pbs-special-cms-29708 Editors], ''Murfreesboro Post'', "MTSU is key player in ''Pa’s Fiddle'' PBS special", January 6, 2012. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://emcmtsu.com/emc-students-to-attend-film-com-film-market/ Tom Neff] article at Middle Tennessee State University (Electronic Media Communication News, Events, and Inspiration), "EMC students to attend Film-Com Film Market", April 15, 2013. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref>
Neff is currently an associate professor of film and video production at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130615165931/http://www.murfreesboropost.com/mtsu-is-key-player-in-pa-s-fiddle-pbs-special-cms-29708 Editors], ''Murfreesboro Post'', "MTSU is key player in ''Pa’s Fiddle'' PBS special", January 6, 2012. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://emcmtsu.com/emc-students-to-attend-film-com-film-market/ Tom Neff] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927093522/http://emcmtsu.com/emc-students-to-attend-film-com-film-market/ |date=2013-09-27 }} article at Middle Tennessee State University (Electronic Media Communication News, Events, and Inspiration), "EMC students to attend Film-Com Film Market", April 15, 2013. Accessed: March 30, 2014.</ref>


==Filmography (producing and directing)==
==Filmography (producing and directing)==
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'''Feature documentaries'''
'''Feature documentaries'''
* '' Blood Brothers'' (1998, producer only)
* ''[[Country Music: The Spirit of America]]'' ([[IMAX]], 2003, aka ''Our Country'')
* ''[[Country Music: The Spirit of America]]'' ([[IMAX]], 2003, aka ''Our Country'')
* ''[[Chances: The Women of Magdalene]]'', (2006)
* ''[[Chances: The Women of Magdalene]]'', (2006)
* ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire]]'', (2004, executive producer)
* ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire]]'', (2004, executive producer)
* '' Blood Brothers'' (producer only)
* ''Mr. Temple and the Tigerbelles'' (2018)


'''Television documentaries'''
'''Television documentaries'''
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* ''[[America's Music: The Roots of Country]]'' ([[TBS (TV network)|TBS]], 1996)
* ''[[America's Music: The Roots of Country]]'' ([[TBS (TV network)|TBS]], 1996)
* ''Treasures of the Academy: Guardians of History '' ([[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], 2008, executive producer)
* ''Treasures of the Academy: Guardians of History '' ([[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], 2008, executive producer)
* '' Doc Talk'' (television series for the DOC: The Documentary Channel, 2008-2010, creator & writer)
* '' Doc Talk'' (television series for the DOC: The Documentary Channel, 2008–2010, creator & writer)
* ''Doc-U'' (producer, various episodes)
* ''Doc-U'' (producer, various episodes)
* ''The Making of Pa's Fiddle'' (PBS, 2012, executive producer)
* ''The Making of Pa's Fiddle'' (PBS, 2012, executive producer)
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'''Wins'''
'''Wins'''
* [[CINE]]: Golden Eagle, for: ''Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse''; 1986.
* [[CINE]]: Golden Eagle, for: ''Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse''; 1986.
* CINE: Golden Eagle, for: ''Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days''; 1990.<ref>[http://www.artinitiatives.com/public/Portals/0/Fashion2006.pdf Cutting Edge: The ''Avant-Garde'' and Fashion]. A conference in New York, 2006. Last accessed: April 13, 2008.</ref>
* CINE: Golden Eagle, for: ''Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days''; 1990.<ref>[http://www.artinitiatives.com/public/Portals/0/Fashion2006.pdf Cutting Edge: The ''Avant-Garde'' and Fashion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126112107/http://www.artinitiatives.com/public/Portals/0/Fashion2006.pdf |date=2007-01-26 }}. A conference in New York, 2006. Last accessed: April 13, 2008.</ref>
* CINE: Golden Eagle, for: ''Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada''; 1992.<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117901864.html?categoryid=32&cs=1&p=0 Scott, Tony]. ''Variety,'' film review, October 1, 1993. Accessed: September 20, 2013.</ref>
* CINE: Golden Eagle, for: ''Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada''; 1992.<ref>[https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117901864.html?categoryid=32&cs=1&p=0 Scott, Tony]. ''Variety,'' film review, October 1, 1993. Accessed: September 20, 2013.</ref>
* Sichuan Television Festival, [[Chengdu]] China: Golden Panda award, ''Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada''; 1993. Note: First American documentary to win this award.<ref>Valdespino, Anne. ''[[Orange County Register]]'', "The life and art of an iconoclast's icon," Show Section-5, August 19, 1993.</ref><ref>Cutting Edge: The ''Avant-Garde'' and Fashion. Ibid</ref>
* Sichuan Television Festival, [[Chengdu]] China: Golden Panda award, ''Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada''; 1993. Note: First American documentary to win this award.<ref>Valdespino, Anne. ''[[Orange County Register]]'', "The life and art of an iconoclast's icon," Show Section-5, August 19, 1993.</ref><ref>Cutting Edge: The ''Avant-Garde'' and Fashion. Ibid</ref>
* [[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]]: [[Emmy Award]], Best Documentary, [[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], Tom Neff and Jimmy Holcomb, executive producers; for: ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire]]''; [[2006 in television|2006]].<ref>[http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_28th_winners_data_list.html The Emmy Awards]. On-line web site, 27th Annual News and Documentary Awards, 2006. Accessed: September 20, 2013.</ref>
* [[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]]: [[Emmy Award]], Best Documentary, [[DOC: The Documentary Channel]], Tom Neff and Jimmy Holcomb, executive producers; for: ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire]]''; [[2006 in television|2006]].<ref>[http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_28th_winners_data_list.html The Emmy Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529093042/http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_28th_winners_data_list.html |date=2013-05-29 }}. On-line web site, 27th Annual News and Documentary Awards, 2006. Accessed: September 20, 2013.</ref>
* Nashville Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Documentary, Tom Neff, for: ''Chances: The Women of Magdalene''; 2006.<ref>[http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1161130.php/Nashville_Film_Festival_winners ''M&C News'']. Movie News, "Nashville Film Festival Winners," May 5, 2006. Last accessed: April 24, 2008.</ref>
* Nashville Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Documentary, Tom Neff, for: ''Chances: The Women of Magdalene''; 2006.<ref>[http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1161130.php/Nashville_Film_Festival_winners ''M&C News''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822130100/http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1161130.php/Nashville_Film_Festival_winners |date=2007-08-22 }}. Movie News, "Nashville Film Festival Winners," May 5, 2006. Last accessed: April 24, 2008.</ref>


'''Nominations'''
'''Nominations'''
* Academy Awards: Oscar, [[Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject|Best Documentary, Short Subjects]], for: ''Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse''; shared with: Madeline Bell; 1987.
* Academy Awards: Oscar, [[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)|Best Documentary, Short Subjects]], for: ''Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse''; shared with: Madeline Bell; 1987.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.tomneff.com/ Tom Neff] Official Web-site
* [http://www.tomneff.com/ Tom Neff] Official Web-site
* {{imdb name|0624317|Tom Neff}}
* {{IMDb name|0624317|Tom Neff}}
* [http://photos.oscars.org/listanevent.php?events=1029 Tom Neff] images at [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] event
* [http://photos.oscars.org/listanevent.php?events=1029 Tom Neff] images at [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] event
* [http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/03/16/smallb2.html Tom Neff] interview at the [[Nashville Business Journal]]
* [http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/03/16/smallb2.html Tom Neff] interview at the [[Nashville Business Journal]]
* [http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/DOC-Founder-Tom-Neff-Launches-New-Venture-1272860.htm Tom Neff] biography article at MarketWire
* [http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/DOC-Founder-Tom-Neff-Launches-New-Venture-1272860.htm Tom Neff] biography article at MarketWire
* [http://www.bigmoviezone.com/articles/index.html?uniq=163 Tom Neff] interview at the ''Big Movie Zone''
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030920175944/http://www.bigmoviezone.com/articles/index.html?uniq=163 Tom Neff]}} interview at the ''Big Movie Zone''


{{Tom Neff}}
{{Tom Neff}}


{{Authority control|VIAF=6641302}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Neff, Tom
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Neff, Thomas L.
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Film producer and director
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1953
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neff, Tom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neff, Tom}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:1953 births]]
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[[Category:Lawrence University alumni]]
[[Category:Lawrence University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Chicago, Illinois]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]
[[Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni]]

Latest revision as of 07:25, 21 December 2024

Tom Neff
Neff at Sage Hill School
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Chicago, Illinois
Occupation(s)Business executive, film producer, film director, professor

Thomas Linden Neff (born 1953)-, known as Tom Neff, is an American film executive, director and producer, born in Chicago, Illinois. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Education

[edit]

Neff received his Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University with a major in English. In 1981, he completed a Master of Fine Arts at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

Career

[edit]

Neff is the founder and former CEO of DOC: The Documentary Channel, the first channel in the United States to show documentaries on a full-time basis. The Documentary Channel, created in 1998, was shown on the DISH Network, Channel 197 and DirecTV, Channel 263. Neff is also a documentary film producer and director.[1]

Neff's films have won several national and international awards, including an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy win.[2] In 1983 he began Tennessee's first feature film production company, Polaris Productions, and wrote and directed the feature film Running Mates (1985) distributed worldwide by New World Pictures.[3]

In the early 1990s, with partner Diandra Douglas, Neff co-founded and ran Wild Wolf Productions, a California-based (Culver City) documentary film production company that produced Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada (1993) and America's Music: The Roots of Country (1996).

Neff produced, wrote, and directed the 30-minute documentary Herb Alpert: Music for Your Eyes, on the art and sculpture of musician Herb Alpert (2003); Country Music: The Spirit of America, (2003), an IMAX film which traces the history of the United States in the 20th century through country music; and Chances: The Women of Magdalene (2006), a feature-length documentary on the socially conscious organization Magdalene, located in Nashville, that recovers prostitutes off the street.

He has served on the board of the International Documentary Association, the Tennessee Governor's Film Advisory Board, the board of directors of the Watkins College of Art&Design in Nashville, was Chairman of Finance on the Belcourt Theater board, and was co-chairman of the Nashville Film Festival. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he sat on the Nominating Committee for Best Documentary. Neff has participated on various documentary panels at film festivals around the world.

Teaching

[edit]

Neff has taught at his alma mater as an adjunct professor (School of Cinematic Arts at USC). In the 1990s he taught a course on music video production. His students taking the course (USC Cinema 499) shot various music videos for country music artists such as Radney Foster, and others. Neff obtained financing for the program from various records labels, such as Arista Nashville.[4]

Neff is currently an associate professor of film and video production at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[5][6]

Filmography (producing and directing)

[edit]

Feature films

  • Running Mates, (1985)

Short documentaries

Feature documentaries

Television documentaries

Corporate films

  • Speed Dreams
  • emPOWERed
  • TVA:Built For The People (producer only)
  • Quiet Hero
  • No Magic Bullets

Awards

[edit]

Wins

Nominations

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Markert Wired. June 08, 2010. Accessed: March 30. 2014.
  2. ^ Halpern, Frances. Los Angeles Times, Ventura County Live section, "Words and Images," March 11, 1993.
  3. ^ Hurst, Jack. Chicago Tribune, August 24, 1986. Accessed: March 30, 2014.
  4. ^ Atwood, Brett. Billboard (magazine), article, "USC students Learning on the Job," January 20, 1996.
  5. ^ Editors, Murfreesboro Post, "MTSU is key player in Pa’s Fiddle PBS special", January 6, 2012. Accessed: March 30, 2014.
  6. ^ Tom Neff Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine article at Middle Tennessee State University (Electronic Media Communication News, Events, and Inspiration), "EMC students to attend Film-Com Film Market", April 15, 2013. Accessed: March 30, 2014.
  7. ^ Cutting Edge: The Avant-Garde and Fashion Archived 2007-01-26 at the Wayback Machine. A conference in New York, 2006. Last accessed: April 13, 2008.
  8. ^ Scott, Tony. Variety, film review, October 1, 1993. Accessed: September 20, 2013.
  9. ^ Valdespino, Anne. Orange County Register, "The life and art of an iconoclast's icon," Show Section-5, August 19, 1993.
  10. ^ Cutting Edge: The Avant-Garde and Fashion. Ibid
  11. ^ The Emmy Awards Archived 2013-05-29 at the Wayback Machine. On-line web site, 27th Annual News and Documentary Awards, 2006. Accessed: September 20, 2013.
  12. ^ M&C News Archived 2007-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. Movie News, "Nashville Film Festival Winners," May 5, 2006. Last accessed: April 24, 2008.
[edit]
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