Kyle Newman (born March 16, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor and author. He is best known for directing Fanboys (2009), and has since directed Barely Lethal (2015), and 1Up (2022).

Kyle Newman
Newman in 2015
Born (1976-03-16) March 16, 1976 (age 48)
Alma materNew York University, Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, screenwriter, author, editor, actor
Spouse
(m. 2007; div. 2023)
Children4

Early life and education

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Newman was born in 1976 in New Jersey. He has a brother named Kevin, who went on to work as a character designer for The Simpsons.[citation needed]

He is an honors graduate of New York University's School of Film/TV and the receipt of the Martin Scorsese Award for "Excellence in Directing". In 1998, Newman's short film Bitten by Love won the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award while he was a student at New York University.[1]

Career

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Film

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In 2006, Newman began production on Fanboys, a Star Wars-themed comedy starring Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler and Sam Huntington. Initially set for release in August 2007, it was pushed back to January 2008 as Newman was given more funding to shoot addition scenes. However, reuniting the cast would only be possible that September, so it was pushed back again to early 2008. By the end of the year, Newman was not involved in reshoots, and the scenes were directed by Steven Brill. The film was eventually released in February 2009 to poor reviews. Newman later directed Barely Lethal for A24, which starred Hailee Steinfeld and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as 1Up for Lionsgate and Prime Video, a comedy set in the world of competitive esports starring Ruby Rose. He is set to direct a documentary for Hasbro, exploring the fifty-year history of Dungeons & Dragons.[2]

In 2016, Newman produced Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, a documentary about three teenagers who set out to recreate Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot in 1982, which was distributed by Drafthouse Films. He reteamed with director Jeremy Coon and Fanboys scribe Adam F. Goldberg to produce A Disturbance in the Force, a documentary about the making of The Star Wars Holiday Special. He is the co-creator, co-story writer of the Netflix Original animated feature film Gnome Alone. Newman also executive produced Happily, alongside Jack Black.

Other work

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2018 saw the release of his first book Art & Arcana: A Visual History via Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House in association with Wizards of the Coast. It received nominations for a Locus Award, a Diana Jones Award, and a Hugo Award.[3] Newman's second book Heroes' Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook published in October 2020 by Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House in association with Wizards of the Coast, reunited the author team and became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a cooking show titled Heroes' Feast for Hasbro. In 2023, sequels to both books were published by Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House. Dungeons & Dragons: Lore & Legends tells the story of D&D's 5th Edition and Heroes' Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse is the planet-hopping follow-up cookbook.[4]

Newman has directed music videos for artists including Taylor Swift ("Style", "Clean"), Lana Del Rey ("Summertime Sadness") and Cyn ("House With A View", "Losing Sleep"), and created the video content for Swift's The 1989 World Tour.

Personal life

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In 2006, while working on the set of Fanboys, he met actress and former model Jaime King.[5] Newman proposed in spring 2007, and the two married on November 23, 2007[6] in an "intimate and relaxed" ceremony in Los Angeles at Greystone Park and Manor, where Newman had proposed.[7] Newman and King have two sons together;[8] Taylor Swift is godmother to their second son.[9]

In May 2020, King filed for divorce from Newman after 13 years of marriage.[10] King also filed a domestic violence prevention petition and was granted a temporary restraining order against Newman,[10] which was later withdrawn.[11] The divorce was finalized in September 2023.[12]

Newman has a son and daughter with his partner, singer-songwriter Cyn.[13][14]

Newman is a supporter of Premier League club Arsenal.[15]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Credited as Notes
Director Producer Writer Editor Actor
1999 The Cyclist Yes Yes Yes Yes No Short film
1998 Bitten by Love Yes Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2000 Drone Yes Yes Yes No No Short film
2004 Artflick.001 Yes No Yes No No Short film / documentary
The Hollow Cool High School Dude Yes No No No Yes Television film
2008 The Cube Yes No Yes No No Short film for Microsoft
2009 Fanboys Yes No No No No Also editor; uncredited
2012 Latch Key Mr. Kyle No Yes No No Yes Short film
2013 The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting Yes Yes Yes No No Short film / documentary
Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master No No No No No Documentary
Associate producer and interviewer
2015 Barely Lethal Yes No No No No
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made No No No No No Documentary
Executive producer
2017 Gnome Alone No No No No No Story by
2021 1Up Iggy, Kong Coach Yes No No No No Executive producer
2021 Happily No No No No No
2023 A Disturbance in the Force Himself No Yes No No No Documentary
TBA Untitled Dungeons & Dragons documentary Yes No No No No Documentary
Executive producer
Delinquents No Yes No No No

Other credited works

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Theatre
Year Title Notes
2012 Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit – Live Stage Show Director, producer and writer
2015 Star Wars: Smuggler's Bounty – Live Stage Show
2017 Star Wars: Smuggler's Revenge – Live Stage Show
Online content
Year Title Notes
2009–2010 Spartacus: Blood and Sand Motion comic
Director, 2 episodes
2010 The Crazies Motion comic
Director, 4 episodes
2023 Heroes' Feast Consulting producer; 20 episodes
Appears as himself, 2 episodes
Music videos
Year Title Artist Notes
2010 "Bury Me Alive" We Are the Fallen Director
2012 "Bel Air" Lana Del Rey
"Summertime Sadness" Director (with Spencer Susser)
2015 "31 Seconds" Jaime King & J. Ralph Director
2015 "Style" Taylor Swift
2015 "Clean" (for The 1989 World Tour)
2022 "House With A View" Cyn
2023 "Losing Sleep"
2023 "Clean (Taylor's Version)" Taylor Swift

Bibliography

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  • Witwer, Michael; Witwer, Sam; Newman, Kyle; Peterson, Jon (2018). Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana - A Visual History. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-0399580949.
  • Witwer, Michael; Newman, Kyle; Peterson, Jon (2020). Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1984858900.
  • Witwer, Michael; Witwer, Sam; Newman, Kyle; Peterson, Jon (2023). Heroes' Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1984861313.
  • Witwer, Michael; Newman, Kyle (2023). Dungeons & Dragons: Lore & Legends - A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World's Greatest Roleplaying Game. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1984862464.

References

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  1. ^ "NYU Senior Reflects On Winning Coca-Cola Award". indiewire.com. April 6, 1998. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Grobar, Matt (October 12, 2022). "'Dungeons & Dragons' Documentary In Works From Hasbro's Entertainment One; Joe Manganiello & Kyle Newman Directing". Deadline. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Galaxy, Geek's Guide to the (December 1, 2023). "Dungeons & Dragons Is a Household Name Again". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Serpe, Gina (November 26, 2007). "Jaime King Made a Missus". E! News. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  6. ^ "Jaime King ties the knot". Monsters and Critics. November 26, 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  7. ^ Lehner, Marla (September 13, 2007). "Jaime King Talks About FedEx Engagement Fiasco". People. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  8. ^ Toomey, Alyssa (October 18, 2013). "Jaime King and Kyle Newman Share New Pics of Son James Knight on Instagram—See the Photos!". E! Online. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Bayley, Leanne (July 17, 2016). "Jaime King sends cute message to his son's godmother Taylor Swift". Glamour. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Chiu, Melody (May 18, 2020). "Jaime King Granted Temporary Restraining Order Against Husband Kyle Newman: 'She's Distraught'". People. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Calvario, Liz (June 27, 2020). "Jaime King Withdraws Request for Temporary Restraining Order Against Estranged Husband Kyle Newman". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Jackson, Dory (September 20, 2020). "Jaime King Reaches 'Loving and Harmonious' Agreement in 3.5-Years from Kyle Newman". People. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Juneau, Jen (February 18, 2021). "Jaime King's Estranged Husband Kyle Newman and Singer Cyn Welcome First Child Together: Source". People. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "Welcome to the world BEATRIX ROSE NEWMAN! I am so thrilled to be her father. Cynthia delivered her naturally and both mother & baby are in great spirits and health. We can't wait for Beatrix to meet her big brothers! #girldad#baby #babygirl @cynthialovely". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Byrne, Ruairi. "IN TWEETS: Arsenal fans celebrate as they finish ahead of Spurs for the 21st season in a row". www.buzz.ie. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
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