{{short description|American film producer, director, and executive}} {{Infobox person | name = Jeremy Kipp Walker | image = <!-- add image link here if available --> | alt = | caption = | occupation = Film producer, director, executive | years_active = 2000–present | notable_works = ''Half Nelson'', ''Sugar'', ''Cold Souls'', ''It’s Kind of a Funny Story'', ''Mississippi Grind'', ''Table 19'', ''The Big Sick'', ''The History of Future Folk'' | employer = LAIKA (2023–present) | title = Executive Vice President of Live-Action Production }}
'''Jeremy Kipp Walker''' is an American film producer, director, and executive. His projects have earned two Academy Award nominations, thirteen Independent Spirit Award nominations, three Spirit Award wins, and three AFI Movie of the Year awards. He has held senior production roles at both Netflix and LAIKA, in addition to directing award-winning short films and the cult feature ''The History of Future Folk''.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_history_of_future_folk Rotten Tomatoes – ''The History of Future Folk'']</ref>
== Career ==
=== Early work === Walker began working in film production in 2000. His producing breakthrough came with ''Half Nelson'' (2006), which earned Ryan Gosling his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.<ref>[https://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ Academy Awards Database – ''Half Nelson'']</ref>
He subsequently produced several acclaimed independent films, including:
* ''Sugar'' (2008), directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, recognized as one of the best sports films by ''The Athletic'' (via ''The New York Times''),<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/719250/2019/01/21/more-than-a-decade-later-sugar-the-best-baseball-movie-of-the-21st-century-is-more-relevant-than-ever/ The Athletic - ‘Sugar’ — The Best Baseball Movie of the 21st Century]</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter'',<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-sports-movies-ranked/ The Hollywood Reporter - The 25 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time, Ranked]</ref> ''Newsweek'',<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/best-sports-movies-all-time-hoop-dreams-murderball-offside-1614543 Newsweek - The 30 Best Sports Movies of All Time]</ref> ''Vulture'',<ref>[https://www.vulture.com/article/best-sports-movies-ranked.html Vulture - The 50 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time]</ref> ''and Business Insider.'' <ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/sports-movies-to-watch-lifetime-ranked-2023-4#27-sugar-2008-9/ Business Insider - 35 Sports Movies You Have To watch In Your Lifetime]</ref> * ''Cold Souls'' (2009), starring Paul Giamatti. * ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' (2010), with Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts. * ''Mississippi Grind'' (2015), starring Ryan Reynolds. * ''Table 19'' (2017), starring Anna Kendrick. * ''The Big Sick'' (2017), which premiered at Sundance, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and became a critical and commercial success.
=== Netflix === From 2015 to 2019, Walker served as Head of Production for Netflix’s Independent Film division.<ref>[https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/netflix-indie-content-production-sundance-2018-private-life-1201921906/ IndieWire - Meet Netflix’s Indie Content Team]</ref> During his tenure, he oversaw the scaling of output to more than 100 films, representing an aggregate spend of over $1.2 billion across 23 countries.
After departing his executive role, Walker signed a producing deal with Netflix, where he produced two features for the company, each debuting as the number one film globally on the platform upon release.<ref>[https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10?week=2021-08-01/ Netflix Top 10 - July 26 - August 1, 2021]</ref><ref>[https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10?week=2023-01-22/ Netflix Top 10 - January 16 - January 22, 2023]</ref> He also co-founded Netflix’s Emerging Filmmaker Initiative (EFI), an incubator for early-career directors.<ref>[https://variety.com/2022/film/news/netflix-emerging-filmmaker-initiative-1235156567/ Variety - Netflix Introduces Emerging Filmmaker Initiative]</ref>
=== LAIKA === In 2023, Walker joined LAIKA as Executive Vice President of Live-Action Production.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2023/05/laika-adds-jeremy-kipp-walker-chaz-salembier-to-live-action-team-1235379007/ Deadline - Laika Adds Jeremy Kipp Walker, Chaz Salembier To Live-Action Team]</ref> Upcoming projects under his supervision include ''Atmosphere'', directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel;<ref>[https://deadline.com/2025/05/anna-boden-ryan-fleck-to-direct-atmosphere-laika-1236397976/ Deadline - Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck Tapped To Helm Live-Action Taylor Jenkins Reid Adaptation ‘Atmosphere’ For Laika]</ref> ''Audition'', directed by Lulu Wang and based on Katie Kitamura’s book;<ref>[https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/laika-lulu-wang-audition-lucy-liu-charles-melton-1235150229/ IndieWire - Laika Continues Push Into Live Action with Lulu Wang’s ‘Audition’ Starring Lucy Liu and Charles Melton]</ref> ''Crumble'', directed by Brian Duffield;<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/crumble-phil-lord-chris-miller-brian-duffield-laika-1235943616/ The Hollywood Reporter - Phil Lord, Chris Miller to Produce Live-Action ‘Crumble’ From Director Brian Duffield for Laika]</ref> and the untitled directorial debut of screenwriter Jon Spaihts.<ref>[https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/dune-screenwriter-jon-spaihts-to-direct-laika-studios-live-action-sci-fi-thriller/ Empire - Dune Screenwriter Jon Spaihts To Direct Laika Studios Live-Action Sci-Fi Thriller]</ref>
== Directing == Alongside producing, Walker has collaborated as a co-director with J. Anderson Mitchell on several projects.
Their debut short, ''Goodnight Bill'', won multiple festival prizes and qualified for Academy Awards consideration; ''Film Threat'' described it as "funny, touching and on par with any two-hour epic...a brilliant showcase of what short films are capable of achieving in the right hands".<ref>[https://filmthreat.com/reviews/goodnight-bill/ Film Threat – ''Goodnight Bill'' review]</ref>
Their follow-up, ''Super Powers'', won the Jury Award <ref>[https://tribecafilm.com/news/512c0dd21c7d76d9a90005e0-award-winners-2007/ Tribeca Film]</ref> at the Tribeca Film Festival and was named one of ''IndieWire’s'' “most buzzed-about” shorts.<ref>[https://www.indiewire.com/news/general/believe-the-hype-ten-of-the-most-buzzed-about-films-from-two-of-southern-californias-largest-short-76016/ IndieWire - Believe the Hype: Ten of the Most Buzzed-About Films]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Release - 2007 Short Film and Family Short Film Programs |url=https://www.tribecafilm.com/news/512c0c041c7d76d9a90004ce-press-release-2007-short |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=Tribeca}}</ref> It later gained over one million views online.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og3YLkw6pGo/ YouTube - Super Powers]</ref>
The duo expanded into features with ''The History of Future Folk'' (2012), a micro-budget science fiction comedy that became a cult hit. The film received a 95% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_history_of_future_folk Rotten Tomatoes – ''The History of Future Folk'']</ref> and was nominated for a Spirit Award. ''Indiewire'' ranked it among the "top 5 first features" of the year.<ref>[https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/critics-picks-the-top-5-first-features-released-in-2013-according-to-indiewires-film-critic-241447/ IndieWire - Critic’s Picks: The Top 5 First Features Released In 2013]</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Producer === {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Title !! Notes |- | 2006 || ''Half Nelson'' || Breakthrough feature; earned Ryan Gosling his first Academy Award nomination |- | 2007 || ''The Passage'' || Starring Stephen Dorff |- | 2008 || ''Sugar'' || Widely regarded as one of the best sports films |- | 2009 || ''Cold Souls'' || Starring Paul Giamatti |- | 2010 || ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' || Starring Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts |- | 2013 || ''The History of Future Folk'' || Micro-budget cult feature; Spirit Award nomination; 95% Certified Fresh |- | 2013 || ''Europa Report'' || Nominated for the Bradbury Award by the members of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America |- | 2017 || ''Table 19'' || Starring Anna Kendrick |- | 2017 || ''The Big Sick'' || Oscar-nominated Sundance breakout |- | 2021 || ''Resort to Love'' || Starring Christina Milian; #1 Movie Globally on Netflix: July 26 - August 1, 2021 |- | 2023 || ''Dog Gone'' || Starring Rob Lowe; #1 Movie Globally on Netflix: January 16–22, 2023 |- | 2024 || ''Elevation'' || Starring Anthony Mackie; #1 Movie on HBO: February 23 - March 1, 2025 |}
=== Director (with J. Anderson Mitchell) === {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Title !! Notes |- | 2005 || ''Goodnight Bill'' || Award-winning short; Oscar-qualifying status |- | 2006 || ''Super Powers'' || Won Tribeca Jury Award; IndieWire “most buzzed-about” short |- | 2013 || ''The History of Future Folk'' || Micro-budget cult feature; Spirit Award nomination; 95% Certified Fresh |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Jeremy Kipp}} Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Film directors from Los Angeles Category:Film producers from Los Angeles