Mark Brown is an American film director and producer. He is best known for directing the hit comedy films Barbershop (2002) and Stomp the Yard (2007).
Brown was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1971. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in Film and Media Studies. After graduating in 1993, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film.
Brown started out as an assistant editor for several films, including the 1996 drama Set It Off. He then wrote and directed two short films, A Love of Their Own (1998) and A Day in the Life (1999). These films caught the attention of producer Ice Cube, who hired Brown to direct Barbershop (2002). The movie was a critical and box office success, earning over $77 million worldwide.
In 2004, Brown wrote and directed the comedy film Comic Book Villains. The film was a box office disappointment, earning only $3.5 million. Despite this, Brown's work was still highly praised.
In 2007, Brown directed Stomp the Yard, a musical drama about a troubled street dancer (Columbus Short) who enrolls in a historically black university. The film was a commercial success, grossing $61 million worldwide.
Brown has since directed a variety of films, including the 2011 romantic comedy Jumping the Broom and the 2012 action-thriller Takers. He also served as a producer on the 2013 drama The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete.
In addition to film, Brown has directed several music videos. In 2008, he directed a music video for the pop group Miley Cyrus. He also directed a music video for the singer Jennifer Lopez in 2009.
Brown is currently working on his next project, a drama called The Thing About Harry. The film is scheduled to be released in 2020.
Throughout his career, Brown has received numerous accolades for his work. In 2002, he won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film for Barbershop. He was also nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture for Stomp the Yard.
Mark Brown is an acclaimed film director and producer who has achieved both critical and commercial success. His work is known for its humor and heart, and he continues to create entertaining and thought-provoking films.