Fast and Furiously, Cohen Joins The Institute

Fast and Furiously, Cohen Joins The Institute

The Fast and the Furious helmer Rob Cohen recently joined Michael Bay and Scott Gardenhour’s Venice, CA-based The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness, aka The Institute.  Cohen joins The Institute to work in both commercials and features. 

In addition to his work on The Fast and the Furious, Cohen also directed the high-style action-adventure films xXx, Stealth and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  He comes to the company with an extensive background in both advertising and entertainment, having worked in television as a director, producer and executive producer, and having also shot a bevy of slickly-produced TV spots for such brands as Mercedes, Saab and Coors Light.

“Rob has the ability to seamlessly cross platforms, from creating enormous blockbusters on the feature end to delivering some of the most memorable and sophisticated TV spots in the advertising world,” says Gardenhour.  “Being a Harvard grad with decades of experience on all sides of production, Rob possesses a wealth of cultural and industry knowledge,, along with a keen creative insight.  On top of that, he always maintains a genuine, relaxed disposition with everyone he works with.”

Cohenulls previous directorial efforts reveal his expansive storytelling interests. His debut film, A Small Circle of Friends, starred the late Brad Davis and Karen Allen in a romance set against the political turmoil of late 1960s Harvard University, Cohenulls alma mater. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which was both written and directed by Cohen, humanized the legendary Hong Kong-born action hero for new generations while making stars of both Jason Scott Lee and Lauren Holly.  And his HBO film The Rat Pack, starring Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna and Don Cheadle, garnered 11 Emmy Award nominations (winning three), won Cheadle a Golden Globe Award and earned Cohen a nomination from the DGA for Outstanding Direction of a Television Film.