About
MARK LANDRE GOULD graduated from the world-renowned California Institute of the Arts with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. Upon his graduation from CalArts, Mark was hired as a music video producer by Doro Productions, one of Europe's top video production companies. From there, his achievements as a producer allowed Mark to expand his experience into directing. Emboldened by success and fueled by his passion to tell story, he brought his experience to Los Angeles, California. There, he directed "Banging for the Calle," a documentary about the streets of Los Angeles and the Latino youth who grow up there.
Mark expanded his reach in the Los Angeles artistic community even more by working for over six years in the Latin rap industry. Among his projects, he directed and produced three videos that gained national success with over 50,000 DVDs sold, over a million views on YouTube, and well-received exposure on Netflix. With his increasing involvement and understanding of Los Angeles, Mark added writing to his cache of experience. He wrote the theatrical film,"Street Stories," a story that explores the complex relationship between gangs, at-risk youth, and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Additionally, he edited, directed, and produced over a hundred episodes of the TBN television show Education: A Higher Calling. In 2017 Mark helped produce the documentary, "Women Like Us," which shows how women are making a change in the world today.
In 2018 Mark completed his first feature film, "Gone Are the Days," where he was Director, Producer and Editor. The movies success caught the eye of Grindstone/ Lionsgate who picked it up for distribution. Currently, Mark and business partner Richard have a project with Amazon studios, “MAHALIA!,” which is being co-produced with Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah and starring Jill Scott.
In 2007, Mark co-founded Directional Entertainment, LLC with business partner Richard Hocutt to create content for both theatrical release and television. To date, Directional Entertainment has produced work distributed by Grindestone/Lionsgate, Netflix and Thomas Nelson.
RICHARD HOCUTT is an entertainment industry veteran. He was deeply involved in independent music distribution, promotion and marketing of various genres of music throughout the 80's and 90's working with artists such as George Thorogood, Tone-Loe, Run-DMC, Naughty By Nature, NWA, House of Pain, EPMD, Digital Underground, Sublime, Eric B & Rakim, Coolio, Hieroglyphics, and De la Soul.
In 2007 Richard formed Directional Entertainment, LLC with director Mark Landre Gould. Richard produced, directed and edited over 80 episodes of the TV show “Education A Higher Calling" for the TBN network, and in 2018, Richard produced, edited and served as the music supervisor for “Gone Are the Days", a Lionsgate distributed western period drama starring Lance Henriksen, Danny Trejo and Tom Berenger. He was a co-writer and producer of the 2020 Indie film “Sooyii” featuring a full Native American cast, and shot entirely on the Peigan Blackfoot reservation in Montana.
Richard is a co-writer and producer of a Mahalia Jackson feature biopic currently in development at Amazon Studios, starring Jill Scott and produced in conjunction with Foxxhole, Flavor Unit, and Releve Entertainment, and is developing an action thriller "Red Sea Journal” with director and business partner Mark Gould (in a co-production with Brad Cummings (The Shack), centered on Peace Corps workers inadvertently embroiled and trapped in the1994 Yemeni Civil War.
Richard is also the co-creator, along with director and partner Mark Gould, of “BlackBall”, a cable period drama TV series centered around the Black experience immediately following WWII, and “Big Mike’s Beer Run”, a reality TV show centered around the craft beer industry. Both are currently in pre-development for a minimum three-year series deal.