Matt Villines
Matt Villines (June 5, 1977 – July 9, 2016) was an American film and television director, known for his work in comedy as one half of the comedic directing team Matt & Oz, with professional partner, Osmany Rodriguez.[1] Villines and Rodriguez posted videos to Funny or Die, notably "Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes", before being hired by Saturday Night Live in 2012 to direct pre-taped digital shorts.[1] Villines shorts at SNL included "(Home for the Holidays) Twin Bed," which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2014.[2] The directing duo's other SNL Digital Shorts included "Darrell's House," "Sad Mouse," "Monster Pals," "Back Home Ballers," and "Jay Z Story."[1] Their memorable 2015 short, "A Thanksgiving Miracle," features family's Thanksgiving arguments interrupted by Adele's "Hello."[3]
Villines was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1977.[4] He graduated from Bishop Kelley High School in 1995 and received his bachelor's degree in 2000 from the University of Oklahoma.[2] Villines then moved to Los Angeles, where he enrolled at the Los Angeles Film School.[1]
Villines met his directing partner, Osmany "Oz" Rodriguez, while both were students at the Los Angeles Film School.[1][2][4] The duo soon collaborated to create comedic video shorts, first for an early incarnation of SuperDeluxe.com before joining Funny Or Die.[2] Known professionally as Matt & Oz, their Funny Or Die short digital films included "Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes," "The Wire: The Musical" (2012), and "The New Guy on New Girl with Zooey Deschanel," as well as a parody of parody of the Bing Crosby and David Bowie duet, "Peace on Earth."[1][3]
In 2012, Rodriguez and Villines were hired to direct new digital shorts for Saturday Night Live.[1][2][3] One of the shorts directed by Villines, "(Home for the Holidays) Twin Bed", received an Emmy nomination in 2014.[2]
Villines and Rodriguez directed Taran Killam in the film, Brother Nature, which was produced by Lorne Michaels.[1] The film, which finished production in 2014, in scheduled to be released on-demand in September 2016.[5]
Matt Villines was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer in 2014.[1] He died on July 9, 2016, at the age of 39. He was survived by his wife, Linda, whom he married shortly before his diagnosis; his parents, Maggie and Elton Villines, and his sisters.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Fox, Jesse David (2016-07-11). "Saturday Night Live Director Matt Villines Has Died at 39". Vulture.com. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smith, Michael (2016-07-13). "Tulsa filmmaker known for 'SNL' projects dies of cancer at 39". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
- 1 2 3 Agard, Chancellor (2016-07-11). "Saturday Night Live director Matt Villines dies at 39". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
- 1 2 Diaz, Ann-Christine (2016-07-12). "Farewell Matt Villines: Mad Ave, Hollywood Lose One of Their Brightest Funnymen". Advertising Age. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
- ↑ Calvario, Liz (August 4, 2016). "'Brother Nature' Trailer: Taran Killam Faces Humiliation From Bobby Moynihan In New Comedy". Indiewire.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.