Van Hayden(I)
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Van Antone Hayden launched his production career in 1989 when he sublet
his Minneapolis apartment, packed his Honda Prelude and drove cross
country to work as an unpaid intern on the set of Spike Lee's Mo'
Better Blues. Seven weeks into production, Van was promoted (with pay)
to takeover the craft service department. At the end of production, Lee
hired Van to work as a staffer in the auteur's 40 Acres & A Mule
production office in Brooklyn, New york. Lee nurtured Van's career by
hiring him as his First Assistant Director on a series of national
commercials, music videos and documentaries in addition to arranging
for him to work as an apprentice sound editor on Lee's fifth feature
Jungle Fever. Van has gone on to compile an impressive string of
industry credits including: Hustle & Flow; The Assassination of Richard
Nixon; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Lovely & Amazing; Kids; the
soon-to-be-released You Are Going to Prison, Rocket Science, and Angel
From Montgomery. In 2000, Van produced the 30-minute narrative Details,
a searing, character-driven drama about a woman who contemplates
suicide when all seems lost. The independent film, made on a shoestring
budget, garnered several awards including Best Short-Form Drama at the
New York Latino Film Festival and finished second in the Acapulco Black
Film Festival, eventually being acquired and distributed by Home Box
Office. Prior to his 16 years in production, Van worked as an
award-winning journalist and editor at various professional news
outlets including: The Associated Press, New York Newsday, The
Philadelphia Daily News, The Minnesota Daily, WMMR Radio and The Duluth
Herald & News Tribune. He is an active member of the Directors Guild of
America and resides in Los Angeles, California.