Kieth Merrill
Kieth Merrill is an award-winning American filmmaker and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes casually called the Mormon Church. Merrill is a triple-threat — he writes, produces, and directs. He is a two time Academy Award Nominee, and Academy Award Winner for his feature documentary, "Great American Cowboy." Merrill won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award three times from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. He is a founding partner of Odyssey, which pioneered IMAX film technology.
Merrill directed a ten-hour mini-series for television called "Wild West," for which "Cowboys" was nominated for an Emmy. His film "Windwalker" was an Academy Award winner, and is listed as one of the 100 best independent films of all time. The documentary, "Grand Canyon: Hidden Secrets" grossed over $400 million and also made the top 100 list. Merrill also wrote and directed the film that ran for years in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City for the Mormon Church. Called "The Testaments," the film told the story of a fictional family caught up in controversy just before Jesus Christ visited the Book of Mormon peoples after His resurrection.
Merrill is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on the pre-nominating committee for selected categories of films. He is a member of the Director's Guild of America. Kieth Merrill has made films with some of Hollywood's most respected producers, including Saul Zaentz("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus," "The English Patient"), Douglas Netter ("Sacketts," "Babylon Five," "Five Mile Creek"), and Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall, ("Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T.," "Sixth Sense," "Bourne Identity" and "Signs"). Merrill and Marshall made the film "Olympic Glory," the highly acclaimed motion picture sanctioned by the International Olympic Organizing Committee. [1]
Merrill debuted his first novel, The Evolution of Thomas Hall in May, 2011. "The story of an arrogant, faithless artist whose life is transformed by an artistic challenge, a faith-filled woman and a child in distress, The Evolution of Thomas Hall features Kieth’s natural flair for narrative as well as his remarkable talent as an artist." [2]
Kieth Merrill's films include the following:
- The Great American Cowboy (1973 Documentary Academy Award Winner) [3]
- Three Warriors (1977)
- Take Down (1978)
- Windwalker (1980)
- Harry's War (1981)
- Polynesian Odyssey (1991)
- Alamo- The Price of Freedom (1991)
- Niagra: Miracles, Myths and Magic (1992)
- Amazon (1997)
- Olympic Glory (1999)
- Wild West (TV Miniseries) (Emmy nomination)
- Grand Canyon- The Hidden Secrets
- 12 Dogs of Christmas (2005)
- Secrets of the I-52
- Passion for Life
- Ozarks - Legacy and Legends
- Zion Canyon - Treasure of the Gods
- Yellowstone
- San Francisco, The Movie
- Legacy
- Legacy II
- Witness
- Testaments
- Rivals
- On The Way Home
- Cherokee Trail
- Mr. Krueger's Christmas
- Kenny Rogers and the Cowboys
- Wheels of Fire
- Indian
- Matter of Winning
