Richard Tanne


Richard Tanne is an American film director, writer, producer and actor. His critically acclaimed feature film debut Southside with You, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received several accolades including a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Director.

Early life

Tanne was born and raised in the township of Livingston, New Jersey. He attended Livingston High School, graduating in 2003. As a teenager, Tanne's writing led to him being the recipient of the New Jersey Governor's Award for Excellence in Arts Education for playwriting.
Following his initial success as a teenage writer, Tanne was announced as the winner of the Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition, which was founded by Stephen Sondheim. Other recipients include filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan and playwright Rebecca Gilman.

Career

Tanne became the host of Cinema Cool in 2010, and was also a co-creator of the movie talk show.
His first major role as an actor came in 2011 in the TV movie, Swamp Shark. He was part of the main cast and played the role of a lead male, Tyler. The film aired in 2011 on the SyFy Channel.
He produced the independent horror film Mischief Night and the film was released by Lionsgate and After Dark Films on May 20, 2014.
Tanne played a lead role in the 2014 independent film Worst Friends. The film was released on November 4, 2014. It also starred Kristen Connolly and Cody Horn.
In December 2014, it was announced that Tanne would make his feature directorial debut on the romance film Southside with You, for which he also wrote the script. The film is based on the first date of American President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, in Chicago, Illinois in 1989. Around the same time, Tika Sumpter was announced as cast in the role of Michelle Obama, and also co-produced. Principal photography on the film began on July 13, 2015 on location in Chicago, and wrapped on July 31, 2015.
Southside with You premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. It was released in North American theaters on August 26, 2016.
In October 2017, Deadline Hollywood reported that Tanne sold a genre pitch to Sony Pictures in a bidding war. Though the plot was not disclosed, Tanne is set to write and direct the film. It was also reported that he will next direct an original screenplay entitled Vienna.
On June 14, 2019, Amazon Studios announced that production was underway in New Jersey on Chemical Hearts, a teenage coming-of-age, romance drama with Tanne writing, directing and producing and Lili Reinhart starring and executive producing. Tanne adapted the screenplay from Krystal Sutherland's novel, Our Chemical Hearts.

Filmography