Josh Trank

The inventive science fiction thriller "Chronicle" (2011) minted first-time feature director Josh Trank as not only one of the youngest filmmakers to score a No. 1 film at the box office, but also a fresh and vibrant new voice in genre movies. Born in Los Angeles on Feb. 19, 1984, Joshua Benjamin Trank was the son of documentary producer-director Richard Trank, who won an Oscar for 1997's "The Long Way Home." After dropping out of photography school, he worked in post-production on a number of film projects, including his father's 2007 documentary, "I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal." Trank soon found steady work as an editor on the action-drama series "The Kill Point" (Spike TV, 2007), which soon promoted him to writer and director on several episodes. Following the show's cancellation after a single season, Trank began formulating a story idea for a feature about high schoolers that experienced an extraordinary event. The project began to take shape after he met with Max Landis, a high school friend and the son of director John Landis. After completing work as an editor and uncredited second unit director on the indie dramedy "Big Fan" (2009), Trank began work on his feature project from a script by Landis titled "Chronicle."