Michael Brandt, BA'91, MA '94 & Derek Haas, BA, '91, MA '94
- Alumni of the Year
Michael Brandt’s and Derek Haas’s willingness to share what they’ve learned in Hollywood has informed future plans for Baylor Film and Digital Media, and their advice has led to the formation of tailored classes and other opportunities to prepare students for the rigors of the industry. We honor their significant contributions through the presentation of Alumnus of the Year Awards.
For a variety of reasons, partnerships in Hollywood tend not to last. Sometimes, it’s as simple as different opportunities; other times, artistic differences, egos or money get in the way. This makes it all the more notable when a partnership works—particularly one that produces five feature films, a television movie, a video game and two current hit TV shows — a body of work shared by Michael Brandt (BBA ’91, MA ’94) and Derek Haas (BA ’91, MA ’95), two friends whose working relationship has taken on the quality of iron sharpening iron.
Brandt credits Baylor Film and Digital Media for altering the course of his life. Baylor was at the forefront of what was then new technology, non-linear editing, which replaced physical film cuts with digital, computer-generated edits. Being able to learn Hollywood’s next big thing before many in Hollywood had even grasped it gave Brandt a marketable skill that took him to California and connected him with directors like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. That ability opened the door for him to serve as the primary editor or in the editorial department for a number of films.
Haas, a journalism and English major, knew writing was going to be a major part of his life. However, he didn’t initially know his passion would lead to screenwriting. While he took plenty of film classes at Baylor, he dreamed of writing “the great American novel.” Amidst the rigors of television and film, he’s found time to pursue that passion, writing a trilogy of thriller novels: “The Silver Bear,” “Columbus” and “Dark Men” between 2008 and 2011, before releasing “The Right Hand” last year.
The NBC television series “Chicago Fire” and its spinoff, “Chicago P.D.,” are the two latest collaborations by Brandt and Haas, whose nearly 20-year partnership was formed in a screenwriting class at Baylor University. In the past 11 years, they’ve written five movies. The first, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” came in 2003. “Catch That Kid,” “3:10 To Yuma,” “Wanted” and “The Double” followed.
In the years since they made it in film, the two have faithfully shared their expertise with Baylor Film and Digital Media students. As a result, more Bears are making their mark in Hollywood and increasing Baylor’s profile there.
