BIOGRAPHY

As a filmmaker, Jean Claude LaMarre is considered somewhat of a maverick among his peers, tackling unconventional stories about the black experience. Having written, directed and produced a string of indie hit films in the Home Entertainment and television market since 2002, including the urban cult favorite, "Gang Of Roses", the revisionist all-female Western, which starred Lil Kim, Stacy Dash, Macy Gray, LisaRaye and Bobby Brown. This was quickly followed by the acclaimed "Nora's Hair Salon", released by Fox in 2004 and "Sugar Valentine" in 2005. After a series of successful comedies, including "Higher Ed", "Go For Broke", In 2007, Jean Claude entered the faith-based market with the highly controversial "Color Of The Cross, a film in which he starred as a black Christ, examining the last 48 hours of Jesus' racially motivated trial and execution. That same year, Jean Claude launched Nulite Media, and entered into a multi-year distribution deal with E-one Entertainment. In 2015, Jean Claude saw his first theatrical box office success with the indie hit, "Chocolate City", a Magic Mike-inspired drama about a black male Stripper trying to navigate his way through the chaotic and seedy strip club scene. The movie was acquired by Paramount pictures and released in May of 2015, averaging $7,800 per screen, besting all other films that opening weekend. In 2017, Jean Claude entered the reality television space, as the creator and executive producer of "Vivica's Black Magic" for Lifetime. As the director of the Pilot episode, which became the highest tested pilot for Lifetime Network, the show was immediately ordered to series in an unprecedented multi-million dollar commitment for 8 episodes. That same year, Jean Claude directed "Kinky", a sexually charged romance drama produced and acquired by Patriot releasing. In 2018, Jean Claude assembled a team of music writers and producers for his latest effort, the Musical, "Gangland", a modern-day Romeo and Juliette story set against the violent backdrop of gang plagued Chicago. The film is set for release in 2019.