About Deon Taylor
Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Gary, Indiana, Deon Taylor is an up-and-coming film and television director with broad vision and fiery passion. During his high school years he played basketball which earned him a full tuition scholarship to San Diego State University, where he received his degree in Biology. His passion for basketball continued, leading him into a prestigious placement in the NBA Entertainment League. While playing basketball in Germany for a team called the Kemkatz, Deon Taylor wrote his first script for a movie that is now titled Dead Tone (originally it was titled 7eventy 5ive).
Deon Taylor states in several interviews that the one motivation to become an independent director was all the free time he had in Germany. “I’d buy thirty DVDs at a time,” Taylor says, “I would watch them once to see the film and story, and then I would watch the behind-the-scenes extras to see how they were made. This intrigued me. I thought to myself, ‘I can do this.’”
“In my early days, most of what I learned about directing was from dozens of behind-the-scenes DVD extras.”
Deon took a season to create his first independent record label in Northern California. He was quick to change his mind, feeling as if he wasn’t following his dream or passion. He quoted, “I was selling someone else, and that was the artist.” Taylor had far too much drive to invest in someone else, realizing the one he needed to promote was himself.
Taylor made the decision to commit fully into his dreams, vision and passion by putting his initial script for Dead Tone to the success. He formed Deon Taylor Enterprises with business partner Roxanne Avent, and shortly after Dead Tone was completed.
In the years that followed he produced and directed several other entertainment features, such as Nite Tales the Series, Nite Tales the Movie, Chain Letter, and The Hustle. In addition to directing, he branched out his staff and acquired an all-inclusive marketing company called Ether Marketing. Ether works on-site at Deon’s Sacramento office, and they service marketing needs for athletes, celebrities, local and international businesses, as well as host a multitude of events such as comedy tours and their yearly Halloween party, One Scary Night.
In 2010 Deon Taylor partnered with the American Basketball Association (ABA) to bring the league back in action. The ABA is currently scheduled to re-launch Summer 2012.