Talk:Matthew Akers

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The following Wikipedia contributor has declared a personal or professional connection to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include conflict of interest and neutral point of view. MudMatthew (talk · contribs) This user has not edited the article. This user has declared a connection. (Discloses as the article subject in the edit request)

Requested update to Matthew Akers article

Hello, I’m Matthew Akers. I’ve prepared an updated, fully sourced version of my biography in my sandbox to correct and expand the information about my film and television career.

The draft includes verified citations from reliable outlets (Peabody Awards, PBS, The New York Times, Deadline, Billboard, Variety, National Geographic, The Guardian, etc.) and corrects outdated or incomplete credits.

You can view the proposed updated version here: User:MudpuppyFilms/sandbox

Would an uninvolved editor be willing to review the sandbox draft and, if appropriate, replace the current article with this sourced version? Thank you. MudpuppyFilms (talk) 13:06, 11 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Update to the “Matthew Akers” article – proposed rewritten and sourced version

The user below has a request that a significant addition or re-write be made to this article for which that user has an actual or apparent conflict of interest. The backlog is very high. Please be extremely patient. There are currently 276 requests waiting for review. Please read the instructions for the parameters used by this template for accepting and declining them, and review the request below and make the edit if it is well sourced, neutral, and follows other Wikipedia guidelines and policies.

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Matthew Akers
Born	(1975-11-19) November 19, 1975 (age 50) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Film director, producer, cinematographer, editor, photographer

Matthew Akers (born November 19, 1975) is an American film director, producer, cinematographer, editor, and photographer. He is known for directing the documentary Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present (2012), which received a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award,^[1][2] and for his long-running collaboration with magician David Blaine on projects including Real or Magic (2013), Beyond Magic (2016), and Ascension (2020).^[3][4][5]

Early life and education

Akers was born in Dallas, Texas, and studied fine art and sculpture at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.^[6]

Career

Akers began his career as an editor before transitioning into cinematography. Over the next several years he shot dozens of documentary feature films for networks including PBS, HBO, Sundance Channel, Discovery, MTV, and National Geographic, traveling globally to capture stories ranging from musicians and artists to war veterans, prisoners, gangs, spies, and hackers.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

In 2008, he was hired to field produce the Emmy Award-winning ten-part PBS series Carrier, during which he lived aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for six months.^[14] He then served as producer and cinematographer of the six-part PBS series Circus (2010), which followed the Big Apple Circus on tour over the course of a year.^[15]

He gained international recognition as the director of the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning feature documentary Marina Abramović The Artist is Present (2012), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was praised for its intimacy and visual precision.^[16][17]

Following that success, Akers collaborated with David Blaine on a series of projects. For ABC, he directed, shot, wrote, and executive produced David Blaine: Real or Magic (2013)^[18] and David Blaine: Beyond Magic (2016).^[19]

In 2020, he executive produced and wrote The Magic Way, an ABC primetime special made during the pandemic,^[20] and helped produce and served as creative director on David Blaine: Ascension, a three-hour live YouTube Originals event that drew over 770,000 concurrent viewers, becoming YouTube Originals’ most-watched live broadcast at the time.^[21]

In 2021, Akers produced David Blaine’s Studio, a masterclass-style instructional series exploring Blaine’s creative process and techniques.^[22]

Since 2014, Akers has been directing a feature-length documentary about David Blaine, incorporating previously unseen footage captured over more than a decade. The film chronicles Blaine’s development, training, and experimentation in preparation for what became his only international tour to date—spanning the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Africa—followed by two U.S. tours (2017/2018) and Blaine’s first Las Vegas residency, In Spades, at Resorts World (2022).^[23]

Outside his collaborations with Blaine, Akers has contributed to a range of documentary and commercial projects, serving as co-executive producer of the Peacock documentary series Orlando Bloom: To the Edge (2024),^[24] directing the YouTube Originals BookTube series,^[25] shooting additional feature documentaries such as The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem (2024)^[26][27], the transhuman-age documentary Cyborg (2024),^[28] and the cryptocurrency-focused film directed by Ben McKenzie (2025).^[29] He has also worked as second unit or social-first for major brand campaigns, including several Super Bowl ads such as Nissan’s Thrill Driver (2022),^[30] Crypto.com’s The Moment of Truth starring LeBron James (2022),^[31] and Squarespace’s Sally Seashells starring Zendaya (2022).^[32]

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Carrier	Field Producer / Camera	PBS; Emmy Award-winning documentary series
2010	Circus	Producer / Cinematographer	PBS documentary series
2012	Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present	Director / Cinematographer	Peabody and Emmy Award-winning feature documentary
2013	David Blaine: Real or Magic	Director / Cinematographer / Writer / Executive Producer	ABC special
2016	David Blaine: Beyond Magic	Director / Cinematographer / Executive Producer	ABC special
2019	BookTube	Director	YouTube Originals
2020	The Magic Way	Executive Producer / Writer / Cinematographer	ABC special
2020	David Blaine: Ascension	Producer / Creative Director / Cinematographer	YouTube Originals live event
2021	David Blaine’s Studio	Director	Studio.com
2024	Orlando Bloom: To the Edge	Co-Executive Producer / Camera (uncredited)	Peacock docuseries
2025	David Blaine: Do Not Attempt	Co-Creator / Executive Producer / Director / Camera	National Geographic / Disney+

External links

• Official website
• Matthew Akers at IMDb

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:American film directors Category:American documentary film producers Category:American cinematographers Category:American film editors Category:American photographers Category:People from Dallas Category:School of Visual Arts alumni

References

1. "Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present". Peabody Awards. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
2. Brody, Richard (June 18, 2012). "Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Once Again Present". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
3. Genzlinger, Neil (November 17, 2013). "The Magician Returns, Confounding Celebrities". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
4. Stasi, Linda (November 15, 2016). "David Blaine shows A-list stars his best tricks yet". New York Post. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
5. Hale, James (September 3, 2020). "David Blaine's 'Ascension' Soars To 770K Concurrent Viewers". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
6. "School of Visual Arts Alumni". School of Visual Arts. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
7. "EGG, the Arts Show". Wikipedia. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
8. "Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell". Fader Films. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
9. "Back in the Hood: Gang War 2". Variety. June 17, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
10. "In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams". PBS. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
11. "I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA". Wikipedia. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
12. "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists". Wikipedia. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
13. Stanley, Alessandra (June 13, 2004). "Capturing the Rosenbergs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
14. "CARRIER: The Crew". PBS. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
15. "CIRCUS on PBS". PBS. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
16. "Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present". Peabody Awards. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
17. Sanders, Jane (July 8, 2012). "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – review". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
18. Genzlinger, Neil (November 17, 2013). "The Magician Returns, Confounding Celebrities". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
19. Stasi, Linda (November 15, 2016). "David Blaine shows A-list stars his best tricks yet". New York Post. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
20. "David Blaine Returns to ABC With 'The Magic Way'". Deadline. April 1, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
21. Hale, James (September 3, 2020). "David Blaine's 'Ascension' Soars To 770K Concurrent Viewers, Making It YouTube's Most-Watched Live Original". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
22. "David Blaine – Magic". Studio. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
23. "David Blaine to Make Las Vegas Residency Debut at Resorts World Theatre". Billboard. September 27, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
24. "Orlando Bloom To Star In Peacock Adventure Docuseries 'To The Edge'". Deadline. May 3, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
25. "YouTube's 'BookTube' Series Brings Authors Like Michelle Obama And Margaret Atwood To The Platform". Tubefilter. November 21, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
26. "The Antisocial Network (film)". Wikipedia. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
27. "The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem". IMDb. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
28. "Cyborg – a documentary review: man who hears colours is leading transhuman age". The Guardian. September 18, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
29. "Ben McKenzie Makes Directing Debut on Crypto Documentary". Deadline. April 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
30. "2022 Nissan – Thrill Driver with Eugene Levy, Brie Larson, Danai Gurira and Dave Bautista". SuperBowl-Ads.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
31. "2022 CRYPTO.COM – The Moment of Truth". SuperBowl-Ads.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
32. "Squarespace Teams up with Zendaya for 2022 Super Bowl Campaign". Squarespace. February 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2025.

• Why it should be changed:

The current article is outdated and missing many verifiable credits and references. I’ve rewritten it using reliable, independent sources to improve neutrality, structure, and sourcing. I’m the subject of the article and therefore making this edit request per Wikipedia’s COI guidelines rather than editing directly.

MudMatthew (talk) 13:15, 13 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]