Matthew A. Cherry
Matthew A. Cherry | |
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Born | December 14, 1981 |
Occupations |
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Years active |
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Notable work | Hair Love |
Spouse | Candice Wilson (m. 2020) |
American football career |
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No. 2, 13, 14, 18 | |
Position: | Wide receiver |
Personal information | |
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) |
Career information | |
College: | Akron |
Undrafted: | 2004 |
Career history | |
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Matthew A. Cherry (born December 14,[1] 1981)[2][3] is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall (2012), and 9 Rides (2016). He is best known for the 2019 Academy Award-winning animated short film, Hair Love. The Kickstarter campaign for Hair Love raised nearly $300,000 and broke the record for the highest amount raised for any short film on the platform.[4][5][6]
Early life
Cherry was raised in the
Cherry played college football for four seasons with the Akron Zips under head coach Lee Owens and was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference wide receiver.[10] He finished his career as the all-time leading receiver in school history[11] and ended his senior season with records for total receptions,[12] yards, touchdowns, punt return yards and punt return touchdowns.[citation needed]
Professional football career
Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 0+5⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
202 lb (92 kg) |
4.56 s | ||||||||||
All values from Pro Day[13][14] |
Cherry signed with the
Cherry was waived by the Bengals during final roster cuts on August 29, 2005.[18] He worked out for the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League on September 9, 2005,[19] but left the team by September 21 without having played in a game. The Renegades franchise folded shortly after due to financial instability.[20]
Cherry signed with the
Film career
Career beginnings
Cherry retired from football in 2007 to pursue a film career.[24] After initially working as a production assistant he began directing music videos. He directed the video for gospel song "Say Yes" by singer Michelle Williams.[24]
Cherry wrote and directed his first film, The Last Fall, in 2012. The film stars Lance Gross and Nicole Beharie. The film, which premiered at SXSW, received average critical reviews.[24] Peter Deburge of Variety described The Last Fall as a "tepid daytime-TV melodrama."[6] Gary Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "this is an involving, sympathetic film unafraid to wear its sizable heart on its sleeve."[5] It won Best Screenplay at the American Black Film Festival.
His second film,
Hair Love
In 2017, Cherry created a Kickstarter campaign for a short animated film called Hair Love.
In 2020, Cherry became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[31] In October 2020, Cherry was revealed to be working on a project for Sony Pictures Animation, titled Tut.[32]
Television
In June 2020, Cherry signed a first-look deal with
On July 7, 2020,
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Writer | Director | Producer | Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | The Last Fall | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
2016 | 9 Rides | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
2018 | BlacKkKlansman | No | No | Yes | No | Executive producer |
2019 | Hair Love | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Short film |
2023 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | No | No | No | Yes | Production consultant |
TBA | Tut | No | Yes | No | No |
Television
Year | Title | Writer | Director | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Whiskey Cavalier | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Spain, Trains and Automobiles" |
The Last O.G. | Yes | Co-producer Episode: "Sound of Da Police" | |||
The Red Line | No | Episode: "We Need Glory for a While" | |||
Mixed-ish | Episode: "Bad Boys" | ||||
2019–2020 | The Unicorn | 2 episodes | |||
2020 | Black-ish | 3 episodes | |||
2020–2021 | Saved by the Bell | 2 episodes | |||
2021 | The Wonder Years | Episode: "Science Fair" | |||
2022 | Kenan | Episode: "Ghosts of Boyfriends Past" | |||
The Kings of Napa | 2 episodes | ||||
Grand Crew | Episode: "Wine & Headlines" | ||||
Bel-Air | Episode: "Can't Knock the Hustle" | ||||
Abbott Elementary | Episode: " Ava vs. Superintendent "
| ||||
2023 | Ghosts
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2 episodes | |||
2023-2024 | Young Sheldon | 2 episodes | |||
2023 | Swagger | 2 episodes |
References
- ^ Cherry, Matthew A. (December 13, 2019). "My birthday is tomorrow". Matthew A. Cherry verified Instagram account. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Former NFL WR Matthew A. Cherry wins Oscar for short animated film". ESPN. February 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
Cherry, 38 [as of February 9, 2020]...
- ^ a b Moore, Evan F. (December 31, 2019). "NFL to Hollywood: Northwest Side native Matthew A. Cherry's 'Hair Love' makes Oscars' short list". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
Cherry, 38 [as of December 31, 2019], grew up on the Northwest Side playing Pop Warner football at Portage Park and baseball at Gompers Park.
- ^ a b c Patten, Dominic (2019-03-20). "Sony Animation Picks Up 'Hair Love' Short From 'BlacKkKlansman' EP Matthew A. Cherry". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ a b Debruge, Peter (2012-04-03). "The Last Fall". Variety. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ Carter, Kelley L. (May 4, 2019). "Matthew Cherry moved from the practice squad in the NFL to first string in Hollywood". Andscape. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Cherry, Matthew A.(verified account) [@matthewacherry] (October 20, 2018). "Got inducted into my high school's Hall Of Fame tonight" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020 – via Twitter.
"Matt Cherry '99
- ^ "Who Is Matthew A. Cherry?". The Urban Daily. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "Zips' former gridiron star scores big in new career". UAkron.edu. November 7, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Former Zips Wideout Signed By Cincinnati Bengals". CBS Sports Network. December 29, 2004. Retrieved 2011-07-29.[dead link]
- ^ "Akron Looks to Make it Five-Straight Saturday at Ohio". CBS Sports Network. November 9, 2004. Retrieved 2011-07-29.[dead link]
- ^ "2004 NFL Draft Scout Matt Cherry College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ "Matt Cherry 2004 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "Bengals put rookie Chris Perry on injury list". The Tribune. December 30, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. August 29, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Football". The Times. September 7, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Baltimore Sun. August 29, 2005. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Holder, Gord (September 24, 2017). "Renegade filmmaker: Short-lived CFLer Matthew A. Cherry gets animated". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Teams make roster cuts as training camp closes". OurSportsCentral.com. March 5, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Hensley, Jamison and Edward Lee (August 3, 2006). "Hamstring still slows Clayton". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. August 30, 2006. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c Busch, Anita (2016-04-01). "NFL Player-Turned-Director Matthew Cherry Signs With ICM Partners". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ a b "Get in the back seat with '9 Rides,' a feature film shot entirely on iPhone 6s". The Daily Dot. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ Mumin, Nijla (2016-03-18). "SXSW Review: '9 Rides' Take Us On An Engrossing Drive". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ "9 Rides". pastemagazine.com. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (August 11, 2019). "Lion Forge Animation Debuts with 'Hair Love' Partnership". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Viral animated short Hair Love to make theatrical debut with Angry Birds Movie 2". Entertainment Weekly. August 5, 2019.
- ^ "The 92nd Academy Awards: 2020". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Academy Invites 819 to Membership" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (October 14, 2020). "Oscar Winner Matthew A. Cherry's Debut Feature 'Tut' in the Works at Sony Pictures Animation (EXCLUSIVE)". Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ White; White (2020-06-17). "Warner Bros Television Signs First-Look Deal With 'Hair Love' Director Matthew A. Cherry". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
- ^ "Matthew Cherry's 'Hair Love' Becoming HBO Max Animated Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
External links
- Official website
- Matthew A. Cherry at IMDb
- Matthew A. Cherry at Rotten Tomatoes
- Matt Cherry at Sports-Reference.com