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Bob Gosse ’86

Bob Gosse ’86 is one of many filmmaking alumni to rise to fame in the 1990s. He founded an independent film company, The Shooting Gallery, with friend and collaborator Larry Meistrich in 1991. The company (launched on $7,000) included collaborators, such as Hal Hartley, Ted Hope, Nick Gomez ,and Michael Almereyda. The Shooting Gallery made a name for itself by producing no- and low-budget pics for edgy, young directors such as Billy Bob Thornton. (In fact, The “Shooting Gallery” produced Thornton’s Sling Blade (1996), which received a nod from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.)

The company’s first feature was Gomez’ Laws of Gravity (1992). He also directed The Last Home Run (released in 1998).

A specialist in production, Gosse also received recognition as an actor, working in such movies as Nowhere Man (2005). He also performed in 1991’s My Birthday Cake (directed by Whitney Ransick) and Hal Hartley’s Theory of Achievement.

Gosse pushed the boundaries of “lo-fi” filmmaking when he produced Almereyda’s PixelVision feature, Another Girl, Another Planet (1992). It was cited by the National Society of Film Critics in 1992 “for expanding the possibilities of experimental filmmaking.”

In 1995, Gosse became the one out of two co-producers involved in the Nick Gomez-directed film, New Jersey Drive, released that April. He also tried his hand at directing by shooting the first screenplay by playwright Matthew Weiss. The result, Niagara, Niagara, premiered to acclaim.

When The Shooting Gallery went out of business in 2001, Gosse moved to Los Angeles to produce TV pilots and films. These would include Tim McCann’s Runaway (2005) and Almereyda’s Tonight At Noon (2006), the latter starring Connie Nielsen, Ethan Hawke, Rutger Hauer, and Lauren Ambrose.

Most recently, Gosse directed Tucker Max’s film, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.