Biography
Mark was born in Manila, Philippines, and raised in San Jose, California. At age 7, Leonardo DiCaprio, Spielberg, and 1930s horror films got him into the cinematic arts which led to a high interest in filmmaking. Mark's silent crime drama Pitch Black Heist (2012) was inspired by J.J. Abrams TED Talks speech: "The Mystery Box" & Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Mark directed Castlemont (2025) during the Covid-19 pandemic. A late '90s period drama exploring loss, grief, divorce, and the creative arts. The film features Steve Wilcox (Swamp Thing), Jamie Pasquinelli (The Black Phone), and introduces Isaac Smelcer-Zhang. The original story was inspired by his childhood growing up in Northern, California, and the wisdom he gained from Ethan Hawke in 2018. Schoonmaker recently obtained the film rights to the crime novel, Darkest at Dawn (2026) and is slated to direct the crime drama thriller next with actors, Kevin Durand (The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), Ethan Hawke (Sinister), and Scott Speedman (Underworld, The Strangers) to headline. At age 23 Mark was mentored by filmmaker, Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men). Bryan taught Mark a lot about the business side of filmmaking. Mark also learned from him that "Actors" equal "Production Value." When Mark was attending college studying film, one of the most important pieces of advice he gained from J.J. Abrams was to figure out what to make movies about than how to make movies. That quote and mindset have forever stuck with Schoonmaker. Mark considers Tom Huckabee, Mark Sanderson, Marc Joubert and Mark Heidelberger his professional mentors.
Schoonmaker was originally developing Amaranth, a coming-of-age sci-fi adventure drama with producers, Amy Soto, Ryan Carnes & screenwriter, Tom Huckabee for actor, Bill Paxton (Aliens, Twister). Originally, Schoonmaker had producer John J. Kelly (Deadpool, Warrior) read an initial draft of "Amaranth." Kelly was the first studio producer to give his time to read what Mark developed. Soto and Huckabee were close friends with Paxton to help gain his involvement, unfortunately, Bill's untimely death put the project on hold, and Schoonmaker pursued other creative endeavors. Dread Central announced in May 2019 Schoonmaker was set to direct mid-90s horror crime thriller, 'Pitch Black Heist'. The film was slated to feature Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Crash), Speedman, and Evan Jonigkeit (The Empty Man, The Night House). The feature is based on his 8-min student-made short of the same title from 2012. Bryan Singer was the one who gave Schoonmaker the idea to make Pitch Black Heist on a low budget. Schoonmaker has also developed a coming-of-age drama mystery thriller, A Touch of Evil in which he is circling Katherine Waterston and Patrick Wilson to lead the project which will explore alienation, identity, adoption, bullying; and has sought-after Oscar-nominated producer, Howard Barish.
Schoonmaker has built experience making short films and has produced several projects in the short film category. His latest short film Gridlock (2020), a noir mystery crime drama stars - Wilcox, and Rollins. Gridlock was a Semi-Finalist at Los Angeles CineFest 2020. Asian Movie Pulse critic, Adam Symchuk wrote "Gridlock's visual presentation feels on par with bigger productions. There is a certain degree of commitment and reserve to the performances which compliments the production." Schoonmaker is building his filmography and set out to work with industry professionals as he continues to produce original material. At the age of 17, Mark began studying film production at American University in 2008. He produced his first student-made short film on an Arriflex 16mm film camera. He was taught by Jon Alderman, Steve Erdman, and Sarah Menke-Fish. For an internship opportunity in high school, Schoonmaker's first academic mentors in Film/Journalism were Nick Clooney & Menke-Fish at American University. Further film instructors were screenwriting professor, Jonathan Eig, and film production/editing professor, Perry Schwartz at Montgomery Community College. In his late teens, Schoonmaker produced & directed Hindrance (2012), a supernatural horror thriller which was an homage to 1979's Alien & 2001's Thirteen Ghosts. He also produced a black & white skateboard dramedy titled Rockville (2011) which was inspired by his experiences growing up around skateboarders in San Jose, California and also Spike Jonze's skate video, "Mouse."
