American television and film producer and director
Brent Shields (March 1, 1963) is an American television and film producer[1][2] and director. Many of his films have been made in conjunction with the Hallmark Hall of Fame,[3] and most were made for television,[4] family-oriented[5] "feel good" stories.[6]
Brent Shields was born in Woodland Hills, CA. His family later moved to Huntington Beach, CA, where Shields graduated from Fountain Valley High School in '81. Shields earned his Bachelor's of Science degree, Telecommunications & Film, from San Diego State University in '87. Shields married Jayne Macomber in '88 and resides in Pasadena, CA. The couple has one daughter, Jill Shields. Shields has five siblings.
In his role as producer of over 80 films, Brent has successfully adapted for television such classic works as William Faulkner's Old Man, Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native, Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost as well as contemporary works by such acclaimed writers as August Wilson, John Grisham, Pat Conroy, Anne Tyler, Richard Paul Evans, E.L. Konigsburg, and Norman McLean.
Shields has directed five Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, starting with his first film Durango in 1998. He subsequently directed Cupid & Cate, which starred Mary Louise Parker, Brush with Fate starring Glenn Close and Ellen Burstyn, the critically acclaimed The Magic of Ordinary Days starring Keri Russell and Skeet Ulrich, which aired in 2005 and became the season's highest-rated film on television. And he helmed the 2007 season's highest-rated television film The Valley of Light starring Chris Klein and Gretchen Mol. Shields has been a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1998.
Brent has worked with such noted artists as Kathy Bates, Cuba Gooding Jr., Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jessica Lange, Laura Linney, Gary Sinise, Sissy Spacek, Jessica Tandy, Alfre Woodard, James Woods, Sam Elliott, Judy Davis, Vanessa Redgrave, Andy Garcia, William Hurt, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Garner, Clive Owen, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alicia Keys, Christopher Lloyd, Julia Stiles, Odette Annable, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Alexis Bledel.
Shields' first production, To Dance with the White Dog, was in 1993.[3]
