Biography
Inspired by radio and Broadway theater during his teenage years, Peter pursued his ambitions at Boston’s renowned Emerson College, aspiring to become a distinguished American playwright or influential radio disc jockey. He excelled as a disc jockey and advanced to become Producer and Program Director at WERS. Concurrently, Peter debuted as a playwright, attracting the attention of Broadway figures such as Richard Wesley, Charles Fuller, Ed Bullins, Garland Lee Thompson, and Woodie King. At the same time, he produced 12 short documentaries for PBS flagship station WNET before turning 21.
He continued his studies at Hunter College under the late Tony Award-winning director Lloyd Richards. As a member of writing groups at the Negro Ensemble Company, New Federal Theater, and Frank Silvera's Writing Workshop, Peter directed numerous Off-Off-Broadway staged play readings, collaborating with talents like Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Townsend, Bill Cobbs, Richard Gant, Reginald Vel Johnson, the late Adolph Caesar, and Miguel Pinero. He regards his mentorship under these luminaries as foundational to his artistry. One of his ongoing missions is adapting modern classical theater for broader audiences. Known for his influential music videos and as the visionary behind HBO’s acclaimed film "Butter" (starring Terrence Howard, Ernie Hudson, Shemar Moore, Donnie Wahlberg, and Nia Long), Peter has a long-standing career as a creator of moving images.
With the rise of music videos in the early 1980s, Peter recognized the natural synergy between music and film, founding Furious Films—the first African-American-owned music video company in American history. His groundbreaking videos for Cameo, Whodini, Branford Marsalis, Miles Davis, Full Force, Mtume, Big Audio Dynamite, and Def Leppard quickly established him as a major force in the music industry. His two companies, Furious Films (New York) and Camdentown Productions (London), are credited with bringing the first rap music videos into MTV’s rotation in both the U.S. and Europe.
Peter also produced and directed the first rap music award show in industry history—the Urban Teen Music Awards at the Apollo Theater in 1989. He spent five years as a producer and consultant at EMCI, a leading global event and entertainment marketing firm. There, he was instrumental in worldwide Pepsi campaigns featuring Hammer and Ray Charles, traveling globally with artists like Hammer, Michael Jackson, Sting, and Rod Stewart on Pepsi’s behalf. He also helped create Fox Network’s now-iconic Super Bowl Halftime Counter Program, first with Living Color and Hammer Live, followed by Prince and Living Color.
Additionally, Peter produced and directed 15 live broadcasts of Fuji Television’s "Yamata No Orachi," an international music show featuring artists such as Quincy Jones, En Vogue, James Brown, and Rod Stewart. These broadcasts were highly successful in Asia, setting new standards for live music television. In the mid-1990s, he left EMCI to focus full-time on writing, producing, and directing films. Renowned as a top strategic marketing expert in the music industry, he continues to consult on projects today.
Among his notable works is the festival hit "The Jacket," a classic yet innovative coming-of-age film that received wide acclaim on the festival circuit and earned a Short Film Oscar nomination. This project exemplifies his talents as a writer and director. He later earned multiple festival award nominations as a producer for the short film "Move" and served as Second Unit Director on the series New York Undercover.
Recruited by producers Don Kurt and Arthur Forney, Peter created special music video openings and action sequences for various episodes of New York Undercover. He also wrote and directed "Champions," a stylized, low-budget cult fight film set in the world of Ultimate Fighting, starring Louis Mandylor, Danny Trejo, and Ken Shamrock. The film remains a cable and rental favorite among fight fans worldwide.
Peter wrote, directed, and co-produced HBO’s "Butter," widely acclaimed as one of the best urban cable movies to date. Starring Terence Howard, Nia Long, Ernie Hudson, and Donnie Wahlberg, it sold over 400,000 Video/DVD units. It was HBO’s first film to feature a soundtrack, which he established and executive produced for Sony Records. He adapted Leon Bing’s bestselling book "Do or Die" into a teleplay for NBC, produced by Quincy Jones and Joel Simon.
He adapted the novel "White Rush, Green Fire" for the screen and produced Showtime’s historical expose "Scottsboro Man" starring Louis Gossett Jr., also serving as executive producer. Additional screenplays include "Neosoul," a New York underground music drama for Soul Kitchen Productions; "Coach Jake" (Universal); and the action thriller "In A Silent Way" (Sony).
Peter wrote and directed "The Playmaker," a taut, prophetic thriller exploring the worlds of urban gang culture and the NFL. Currently, he is attached to direct a remake of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Glengarry Glen Ross" through his own company. He has also written and will direct an international political thriller titled "Banana Republic," set in Washington think tanks and developing nations, slated for production in 2016 with Empire Film Group. Additionally, three other projects are in development: a political/sexual thriller co-created with New York performance artist Margaret H. Baker; "The Deportables," a series pilot for HBO; and "Cold Cruel World," an art world thriller planned as both a major video game and feature film. He is also developing a project based on Christopher Hitchens, inspired by his late friend, and co-writing a second series pilot, "Naked," with Ms. Baker.
Peter is deeply committed to social issues, which is reflected in his work. He has written policy speeches for various political campaigns, including MoveOn.org, Demos, the 2008 primary and presidential campaigns for Barack Obama, and former Governor David Paterson, among others. Peter Gathings Bunche is represented by Mark Lichtman of The Lichtman Group in Los Angeles, California.
