Barry Ptolemy
Encyclopedia
Robert Barry Ptolemy is an American film director, producer and writer. Ptolemy directed Transcendent Man
(2009) a documentary film
about futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil.
, California. His father introduced him to computers at an early age, giving him a lifelong interest in technology. At the age of 12, Ptolemy worked with Steven Spielberg
on the set of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982) as an animal wrangler
. Inspired by working with Spielberg the next year in 1983 Ptolemy directed and produced his first short film The Holograph which won first place in a regional arts festival. He attended USC School of Cinematic Arts
in 1990 and shortly after started a production company that produced TV commercials and show pilots.
and was inspired to make the film, Transcendant Man in February 2007. Along with his wife Felicia, Ptolemy followed Kurzweil around the world to roughly 25 cities in five countries while documenting his ideas about the concept of the singularity. After working closely together, Ptolemy considers Kurzweil a friend. In 2010, Ptolemy directed the "We Are The World for Haiti" video which premiered during the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie.
In an interview with High School Rejects, Ptolemy said his next project would be a science fiction film.
Ptolemy is influenced by the work of Stanley Kubrick
, Orson Welles
and John Ford
.
As of this writing Ptolemy is scheduled to produce and appear in a panel discussion called Transcendent Man LIVE with Ray Kurzweil, Steve Wozniak
, Deepak Chopra
, Dean Kamen
, Michio Kaku
, Tan Le
with special appearances by Vice President Al Gore, Bill Maher
, Quincy Jones
and Elon Musk
. The event will be broadcast to 500 theaters nationwide as a Fathom Event live from the Lincoln Center in New York City on August 3, 2011. Ptolemy has been quoted as saying he assembled this panel to "start a grand discussion about the future."
Transcendent Man (film)
Transcendent Man is a 2009 documentary film by American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy about inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and his predictions about the future of technology in his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near...
(2009) a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil.
Life
Ptolemy was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California. His father introduced him to computers at an early age, giving him a lifelong interest in technology. At the age of 12, Ptolemy worked with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
on the set of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
(1982) as an animal wrangler
Wrangler (profession)
In North America, a wrangler is someone employed to handle animals professionally, especially horses, but also other types of animals. Wranglers also handle the horses and other animals during the making of motion pictures...
. Inspired by working with Spielberg the next year in 1983 Ptolemy directed and produced his first short film The Holograph which won first place in a regional arts festival. He attended USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
in 1990 and shortly after started a production company that produced TV commercials and show pilots.
Career
In 2006, Ptolemy read Kurzweil's The Singularity Is NearThe Singularity Is Near
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology is a 2005 update of Raymond Kurzweil's 1999 book, The Age of Spiritual Machines and his 1990 book The Age of Intelligent Machines. In it, as in the two previous versions, Kurzweil attempts to give a glimpse of what awaits us in the near future...
and was inspired to make the film, Transcendant Man in February 2007. Along with his wife Felicia, Ptolemy followed Kurzweil around the world to roughly 25 cities in five countries while documenting his ideas about the concept of the singularity. After working closely together, Ptolemy considers Kurzweil a friend. In 2010, Ptolemy directed the "We Are The World for Haiti" video which premiered during the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie.
In an interview with High School Rejects, Ptolemy said his next project would be a science fiction film.
Ptolemy is influenced by the work of Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
and John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
.
As of this writing Ptolemy is scheduled to produce and appear in a panel discussion called Transcendent Man LIVE with Ray Kurzweil, Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
, Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
, Dean Kamen
Dean Kamen
Dean L. Kamen is an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire.Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but dropped out before graduating after five years of private advanced research for drug infusion pump AutoSyringe...
, Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku
is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, the co-founder of string field theory, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science...
, Tan Le
Tan Le
Tan Le , a Vietnamese-Australian telecommunications entrepreneur, is a co-Founder of Emotiv. She was named the 1998 Young Australian of the Year....
with special appearances by Vice President Al Gore, Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
and Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
. The event will be broadcast to 500 theaters nationwide as a Fathom Event live from the Lincoln Center in New York City on August 3, 2011. Ptolemy has been quoted as saying he assembled this panel to "start a grand discussion about the future."
Filmography
- The Catch (2000) - Director/Producer/Screenplay
- Transcendent ManTranscendent Man (film)Transcendent Man is a 2009 documentary film by American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy about inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and his predictions about the future of technology in his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near...
(2009) – Director/Producer - Transcendent Man LIVE! (2011) - Executive Producer