Shaun O'Banion
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Drawn to the business from an early age, Shaun got his first film industry job after reading the infamous tale of Steven Spielberg sneaking onto the Universal Studios lot. At age 17 he walked through the gate, past the guards and though he didn't get signed to a director's contract, after only three months of daily lot sneaks, he was offered a permanent job on the Spielberg production of SeaQuest, DSV where he worked for the series' first season. From there, he segued into feature films (including two with Spielberg himself!) and never looked back. Eventually, he began to seek work as a Personal Assistant. The career change proved a wise step and he soon found himself working for (and with) some of the industry's most well-known and well-respected talent in front of and behind the camera, including Courteney Cox and David Arquette, Academy Award winner Christopher Walken, Jack Black, Ben Stiller and acclaimed directors Joe Wright, Judd Apatow and Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges.
O'Banion soon began producing his own projects when he formed Ravenwood Films, first partnering with Desert Skye Entertainment to produce the cult hit Dakota Skye.
Dakota Skye picked up top awards at festivals across North America and was distributed by E1 Entertainment following its successful festival run. It is available for purchase on DVD through all major retailers. The film spent nearly five years in the Top 100 most viewed on Netflix with 80% positive reviews. In addition to Netflix, the film has aired on Showtime, Time-Warner On-Demand, Showtime and Comcast and has remained a regular topic of discussion among teen girls on social media.
Following the success of Dakota Skye, O'Banion partnered with The Wayne/Lauren Film Company to produce Girlfriend. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival where it made headlines for being one of 13 films sold in the first week! Girlfriend went on to collect a handful of awards including wins for Best Feature, Best Director and Audience Awards at various Festivals around the world as well as winning a prestigious 2011 IFP Gotham Award. The film saw a limited theatrical release in 2011 and debuted on DVD and VOD in the fourth quarter of 2012 from Strand Releasing.
In 2013, he co-produced The Automatic Hate, which reunited him with writer/director Justin Lerner (Girlfriend) and teamed him with Academy Award-nominated producer Alix Madigan-Yorkin (Winter's Bone). The film, which stars Joseph Cross (Lincoln, Milk), Adelaide Clemens (Gatsby, Sundance Channel's Rectify), Deborah Ann Woll (Netflix Original Series Daredevil, True Blood), Emmy Award-winner Richard Schiff (Man of Steel, HBO's Ballers, The West Wing) and the late Ricky Jay (Boogie Nights, Heist), premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was released by Film Movement in the fall of 2015.
In addition to films, Shaun has produced national commercials for Pepsi, EA Sports, Chevrolet. He produced two episodes of the hit travel & lifestyle series Day Off With Noah Abrams (episodes featuring Tyler Florence & Tony Hawk) and a live event for The White House - Office of the First Lady (Michelle Obama). He has also directed a variety of short films and music videos.
Shaun is a member of the Producers Guild of America and has several films and television series in active development through both Ravenwood Films and his partnership with Broad Reach Films - among them is The Bentley Boys which he is producing alongside partner Shannon Mullen and Academy Award-winner Bruce Cohen. (04/19)
O'Banion soon began producing his own projects when he formed Ravenwood Films, first partnering with Desert Skye Entertainment to produce the cult hit Dakota Skye.
Dakota Skye picked up top awards at festivals across North America and was distributed by E1 Entertainment following its successful festival run. It is available for purchase on DVD through all major retailers. The film spent nearly five years in the Top 100 most viewed on Netflix with 80% positive reviews. In addition to Netflix, the film has aired on Showtime, Time-Warner On-Demand, Showtime and Comcast and has remained a regular topic of discussion among teen girls on social media.
Following the success of Dakota Skye, O'Banion partnered with The Wayne/Lauren Film Company to produce Girlfriend. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival where it made headlines for being one of 13 films sold in the first week! Girlfriend went on to collect a handful of awards including wins for Best Feature, Best Director and Audience Awards at various Festivals around the world as well as winning a prestigious 2011 IFP Gotham Award. The film saw a limited theatrical release in 2011 and debuted on DVD and VOD in the fourth quarter of 2012 from Strand Releasing.
In 2013, he co-produced The Automatic Hate, which reunited him with writer/director Justin Lerner (Girlfriend) and teamed him with Academy Award-nominated producer Alix Madigan-Yorkin (Winter's Bone). The film, which stars Joseph Cross (Lincoln, Milk), Adelaide Clemens (Gatsby, Sundance Channel's Rectify), Deborah Ann Woll (Netflix Original Series Daredevil, True Blood), Emmy Award-winner Richard Schiff (Man of Steel, HBO's Ballers, The West Wing) and the late Ricky Jay (Boogie Nights, Heist), premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was released by Film Movement in the fall of 2015.
In addition to films, Shaun has produced national commercials for Pepsi, EA Sports, Chevrolet. He produced two episodes of the hit travel & lifestyle series Day Off With Noah Abrams (episodes featuring Tyler Florence & Tony Hawk) and a live event for The White House - Office of the First Lady (Michelle Obama). He has also directed a variety of short films and music videos.
Shaun is a member of the Producers Guild of America and has several films and television series in active development through both Ravenwood Films and his partnership with Broad Reach Films - among them is The Bentley Boys which he is producing alongside partner Shannon Mullen and Academy Award-winner Bruce Cohen. (04/19)
