Wesley Wang
Wesley Wang (born 2004[citation needed]) is an American film director and screenwriter.[1] He is best known for his viral short film nothing, except everything. (2023), which is now being adapted into a feature film with Darren Aronofsky and Sony Tristar producing.[2] He was on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2024.[3]
Early life
[edit]Wang is from Long Island, and attended Jericho High School.[4] As a competitive chess player, he became a FIDE Master in 2018.[5] He started the non-profit CHESSanity in 2014 to promote chess in underprivileged schools across the country.[6] He now attends Harvard College.[7]
Career
[edit]His senior year of high school, Wang wrote and directed the short film nothing, except everything. (2023).[8] To get the project made, he taught chess lessons for funding and cold-emailed hundreds of producers before Scott Aharoni agreed to produce.[9][10] After having its world premiere at the Academy Award-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival,[11][12][13] the film went onto garner over 7.2 million views on YouTube.[14]
Sparking a bidding war, the rights to the feature adaptation were then bought by Sony Tristar, with Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures coming on board to produce.[15] This deal makes Wang the youngest director to ever set up a movie with a major studio.[16][better source needed] The feature is now in development.
Filmography
[edit]Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | You Are Seen | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2023 | nothing, except everything. | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2022 | Mute | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | nothing, except everything. | Yes | Yes | In Development |
References
[edit]- ^ "Wesley Wang". Forbes. Retrieved Dec 3, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt. "TriStar Lands Wesley Wang Short 'Nothing, Except Everything' In Bidding War; Wang To Adapt, With Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Producing". Deadline. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ McKenna, Brittney; McGrath, Maggie; Voytko-Best, Lisette. "30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment 2025: Kathryn Newton, Wesley Wang And Marcello Hernandez Are Thriving Going Into '25". Forbes. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe. "Meet Newsday's Extraordinary Seniors". Newsday. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Wesley Wang FIDE Profile". FIDE.
- ^ Lucas, Daniel. "One Move at a Time February Edition: FM Wesley Wang". uschess.org. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Molloy, Tim. "In Wesley Wang's 'nothing, except everything,' Recent High School Grads Grasp for Meaning". MovieMaker. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ^ Gutelle, Sam. "Wesley Wang's viral short film got 4.4 million views. A feature adaptation is in the works". Tubefilter. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Kaufman, Kate. "'Going Viral' with Wesley Wang". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Doyle, Hannah; Graber-Lipperman, Nathan. "Inside the Viral Short Film Taking Over YouTube". The Publish Press. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Naman, Ramachandran; Patrick, Frater. "Greenbird Media Cluster Acquired by STV Studios". Variety. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Fagerholm, Matt. "No Moment was Wasted: Highlights at the 2023 Indy Shorts International Film Festival". rogerebert.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Bathke, Sarah. "The Importance of Nothing: An Interview with Director Wesley Wang". envimedia.com. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ Kaulessar, Ricardo. "YouTube hit featuring Cedar Grove HS and the Holland Tunnel will be a Hollywood feature". northjersey.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Matt, Grobar. "WME Unveils 2024 Lineup For Student Short Film Showcase Futurefest". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Thomas, Eleni. "Teenage YouTuber Wesley Wang makes history in major Hollywood film studio deal". Dexerto. Retrieved April 30, 2024.