Jarrod Crooks is a film director from Wausau, Wisconsin, who has been passionate about filmmaking since the age of 12. He started by recreating classic stories such as "Faust", "The Man in the Iron Mask", and "The Purloined Letter", before eventually creating his own original stories like "Ice War" and "The First Mission".
As he grew older, Crooks incorporated martial arts fight scenes into his films, which was inspired by his love for Jackie Chan movies. His first film with martial arts scenes was "Make My Day", which would later be compared to some of Hollywood's biggest action stars.
In 2006, Crooks premiered his film "Deal With It" to a sold-out audience at Cedar Creek Cinema, and three years later, he released his feature film "Thieves Like Us". The idea for "Thieves Like Us" had been brewing since 2003, but the writing process didn't begin until 2007, when Crooks was acting in Ric McCloud's "Unholy Reunion".
The film features a talented cast of actors, including Shannon McDonough, Dan Quaile, Ric McCloud, and Phil Berbig, who all had major roles in the film.
In 2011, Crooks directed a series of short films, including "Hostile Possession", a horror film, "Bitch Slapped", an action/comedy, "Nowhere to be Found", a detective cop drama, "Taken Blind", a western shot in the Badlands, South Dakota, and "Blunderlust", a romantic comedy filmed in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After completing "Blunderlust", Crooks started working on a show with producer Greg Kuper, called "Casting Call", which followed a number of filmmakers on their journey to complete their films. Crooks created his own film for the show, called "Broken Home", which is about a little girl who takes care of her dysfunctional family.
In 2012, Crooks also produced a film called "Love, Lust and Emily", which features a very pregnant Nora Romness, who had previously auditioned for "Blunderlust" in 2011.
After a series of short films, Crooks started production on his fourth feature film, "Dispatched", in August 2012. The film features a number of actors from his short films and introduces some new talent. The film is scheduled to be released on March 29th, 2014.
