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Van Hayden

Van Hayden

Producer

Van Antone Hayden launched his production career in 1989 when he sublet his Minneapolis apartment, packed his Honda Prelude and drove cross country to work as an unpaid intern on the set of Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. Seven weeks into production, Van was promoted (with pay) to takeover the craft service department. At the end of production, Lee hired Van to work as a staffer in the auteur's 40 Acres & A Mule production office in Brooklyn, New york. Lee nurtured Van's career by hiring him as his First Assistant Director on a series of national commercials, music videos and documentaries in addition to arranging for him to work as an apprentice sound editor on Lee's fifth feature Jungle Fever. Van has gone on to compile an impressive string of industry credits including: Hustle & Flow; The Assassination of Richard Nixon; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Lovely & Amazing; Kids; the soon-to-be-released You Are Going to Prison, Rocket Science, and Angel From Montgomery. In 2000, Van produced the 30-minute narrative Details, a searing, character-driven drama about a woman who contemplates suicide when all seems lost. The independent film, made on a shoestring budget, garnered several awards including Best Short-Form Drama at the New York Latino Film Festival and finished second in the Acapulco Black Film Festival, eventually being acquired and distributed by Home Box Office. Prior to his 16 years in production, Van worked as an award-winning journalist and editor at various professional news outlets including: The Associated Press, New York Newsday, The Philadelphia Daily News, The Minnesota Daily, WMMR Radio and The Duluth Herald & News Tribune. He is an active member of the Directors Guild of America and resides in Los Angeles, California.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Producer
Titles
15 on Motif · 20 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Down 30% in 30 days

What are Van Hayden's films like?

Across their 5 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Drama2 titlesTypical Motif score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Horror2 titlesTypical Motif score: 4th percentile
: browse their Horror movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
31%
Bonds
29%
Survival
14%
Self
13%
Power
10%
Ideas
4%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Warm
2
Dread
2
Melancholic
2
Hopeful
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Thought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Van Hayden's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 15 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Van Hayden's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

20 credits, 15 with a Motif page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Twisted(2026)

    First Assistant Director · Producer

    Motif score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody(2022)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 64th percentile of all films

  • American Skin(2019)

    Producer

    Motif score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Beats(2019)

    Producer

    Motif score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Rookie(2018)

    Show 1 episode · First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Night School(2018)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Night Shift (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)

    First Assistant Director

  • The Inheritance(2011)

    Producer

    Motif score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Bring It on: Fight to the Finish(2009)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Hustle & Flow(2005)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Assassination of Richard Nixon(2004)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 75th percentile of all films

  • 13 Moons (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    First Assistant Director

  • Lovely & Amazing(2001)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Kiss the Bride(2002)

    Producer

    Motif score: 19th percentile of all films

  • But I'm a Cheerleader(1999)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Stonewall(1995)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Kids(1995)

    First Assistant Director

    Motif score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Snowfire (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1994)

    Assistant Director

  • MOTV (My Own TV) (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1993)

    Assistant Director · as Anti-Hero

  • Cooking Tandoori Chicken (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1991)

    Production Assistant

Career shape

A full career of 16 titles from 1991 to 2026.

Biggest box office

American Skin (2019)

$282K worldwide

Highest rated

American Skin (2019)

Motif 77th

Most popular right now

Twisted (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 16: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleOther crew16 of 16: 15 only other crew, 1 with another role · typical Motif score72nd

By decade

1990s5 · 1 acting · 5 crew2000s6 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

How do Van Hayden's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 16th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

16thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

26thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Motif score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · producer

American Skin (2019)

81st percentile spread · 14% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

American Skin (2019)

Motif 77th · 77% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Van Hayden work with?

People who share at least 2 of Van Hayden's Motif titles; Lukas Behnken shares the most, 2.