Annette Haywood-Carter
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Annette's directing career began with "The Foot Shooting Party," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Financed with a grant from Jeffrey Katzenberg's Discretionary Fund at Touchstone Pictures, the film screened to standing-room-only at Sony Studios, and Premiere magazine featured Annette in an article, "Talent to Keep an Eye On."
Prior to directing Annette studied acting under legendary coach, Joan Darling, and worked as a script supervisor, on major studio films, for Academy Award winning producers and directors, including Bruce Beresford, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Cohen, Saul Zaentz, Joel Silver and Richard Zanuck. Spielberg saw her film and hired her to direct his NBC TV show, "SeaQuest." Actor Roy Scheider asked her to return for another episode. Word spread and Annette was offered her first feature film, "Foxfire," where she pulled Angelina Jolie from auditions for a minor role and offered her the lead. "Foxfire" has since found a cult following and is considered by many to be the film that launched Jolie's career.
Annette wrote and directed her next feature, "Love is Strange," for Rysher Entertainment. Rysher shuttered its feature film division before the film was made and sold the screenplay to Lifetime Television, with Annette attached to direct. Annette cast Academy and Tony Award winning actors Ron Silver, Kate Nelligan and Julie Harris in the film. Her directing garnered a rave review in the Hollywood Reporter.
Annette's next feature film, "Savannah," starred the late Sam Shepard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jim Caviezel and Bradley Whitford. Following a theatrical release on 23 screens, "Savannah" continues an eleven-year run on cable television and streamers.
After "Savannah," Annette was invited by producer-director Lesli Linka Glatter to shadow director Alex Graves in Berlin on Showtime's "Homeland."
In 2021 Annette was chosen for the SQUAD, a program launched by the DGA Womens Steering Committee to help mid-career women directors advance their careers. This led MarVista Entertainment to hire her for the rom-com, "Daughter of the Bride," where Annette once again secured an exceptional cast, including Academy and Tony Award winner, Marcia Gay Harden and Aidan Quinn.
In 2023, FOX released "Daughter of the Bride" in theaters, in five cities, followed by a FOX Broadcast exclusive and wide streamer release.
Annette is a versatile writer. In addition to produced originals, she worked as a writer-for hire on television movies, including a CBS mini-series, and as a script doctor on screenplays green-lit for production.
For over 20 years she has taught directing, screenwriting and producing at numerous schools including California State University - Long Beach, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where she helped build the world renowned program, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Idyllwild Arts Academy, where she was Chair of Film & Digital Media.
She has two new projects in development-a limited series set in Berlin, and an independent feature film (a transgender family story) with transgender actress Hari Nef ("Barbie") attached in the lead, and Academy Award winning producer Bruce Cohen serving as Consulting Producer.
Memberships include: Directors Guild of America, since 1994; Writers Guild of America, since 1994; DGA Women's Steering Committee; DGA LGBTQ+ Committee; DGA WSC SQUAD, Inaugural Group, 2021; DGA East Focus on Women Committee, 2013 - 2015; Alliance of Women Directors; Women in Film (WIF), Los Angeles; Women in Film, New York (WIFNY), 2012 - 2018; Film Fatales, Los Angeles and the founding New York group; IATSE, Script Supervisor's Local, 1988 - 1994.
Prior to directing Annette studied acting under legendary coach, Joan Darling, and worked as a script supervisor, on major studio films, for Academy Award winning producers and directors, including Bruce Beresford, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Cohen, Saul Zaentz, Joel Silver and Richard Zanuck. Spielberg saw her film and hired her to direct his NBC TV show, "SeaQuest." Actor Roy Scheider asked her to return for another episode. Word spread and Annette was offered her first feature film, "Foxfire," where she pulled Angelina Jolie from auditions for a minor role and offered her the lead. "Foxfire" has since found a cult following and is considered by many to be the film that launched Jolie's career.
Annette wrote and directed her next feature, "Love is Strange," for Rysher Entertainment. Rysher shuttered its feature film division before the film was made and sold the screenplay to Lifetime Television, with Annette attached to direct. Annette cast Academy and Tony Award winning actors Ron Silver, Kate Nelligan and Julie Harris in the film. Her directing garnered a rave review in the Hollywood Reporter.
Annette's next feature film, "Savannah," starred the late Sam Shepard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jim Caviezel and Bradley Whitford. Following a theatrical release on 23 screens, "Savannah" continues an eleven-year run on cable television and streamers.
After "Savannah," Annette was invited by producer-director Lesli Linka Glatter to shadow director Alex Graves in Berlin on Showtime's "Homeland."
In 2021 Annette was chosen for the SQUAD, a program launched by the DGA Womens Steering Committee to help mid-career women directors advance their careers. This led MarVista Entertainment to hire her for the rom-com, "Daughter of the Bride," where Annette once again secured an exceptional cast, including Academy and Tony Award winner, Marcia Gay Harden and Aidan Quinn.
In 2023, FOX released "Daughter of the Bride" in theaters, in five cities, followed by a FOX Broadcast exclusive and wide streamer release.
Annette is a versatile writer. In addition to produced originals, she worked as a writer-for hire on television movies, including a CBS mini-series, and as a script doctor on screenplays green-lit for production.
For over 20 years she has taught directing, screenwriting and producing at numerous schools including California State University - Long Beach, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where she helped build the world renowned program, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Idyllwild Arts Academy, where she was Chair of Film & Digital Media.
She has two new projects in development-a limited series set in Berlin, and an independent feature film (a transgender family story) with transgender actress Hari Nef ("Barbie") attached in the lead, and Academy Award winning producer Bruce Cohen serving as Consulting Producer.
Memberships include: Directors Guild of America, since 1994; Writers Guild of America, since 1994; DGA Women's Steering Committee; DGA LGBTQ+ Committee; DGA WSC SQUAD, Inaugural Group, 2021; DGA East Focus on Women Committee, 2013 - 2015; Alliance of Women Directors; Women in Film (WIF), Los Angeles; Women in Film, New York (WIFNY), 2012 - 2018; Film Fatales, Los Angeles and the founding New York group; IATSE, Script Supervisor's Local, 1988 - 1994.