Born on April 27, 1966, Matthew Reeves is a writer, director and producer, known for his directorial work on Cloverfield (2008), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War of the Planet of the Apes (2017). Reeves was born in in Rockville Center, New York and was childhood friends with director J.J.Abrams. Following his studies at the University of Southern California, he landed his breakout role as director of Cloverfield in 2008 which was produced by his long time friend, Abrams. Reeves later went on to direct Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and is set to return as director for the third installment in the franchise, War of the Planet of the Apes in 2017.