Alexander Payne

Started by MacGuffin, July 02, 2003, 08:30:23 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MacGuffin

'Sideways' Director Gets Hometown Honor



"Sideways" film director Alexander Payne received an honorary degree in humane letters from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Payne, 43, who was born and raised in Omaha, was presented with the honorary degree at winter graduation ceremonies Friday. The university hosted a film festival honoring Payne's work last week.

"Sideways" received a leading seven Golden Globe nominations, including best comedy or musical film, best director for Payne and best screenplay for Payne and Jim Taylor.

Payne's feature film debut was "Citizen Ruth" in 1996, a satire about the abortion rights war. Payne also directed "Election" in 1999 and "About Schmidt" in 2002. All three movies were filmed in Nebraska.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

ono

You forgot these:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104512/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238304/

I mean, I don't know about anyone else, but I want to check these out ASAP.  I truly hope Payne returns to his original form one of these days.  Sideways was a step in the right direction.

Slick Shoes

Last night I went to a screening of a film called The Breaking Point directed by Michael Curtiz. It was part of a series where Curtis Hanson invites people he admires to pick a film that influenced them and get up and talk about it afterwards. This time it was Alexander Payne. He also picked a cartoon called What's Brewin' Bruin? I was going to ask him a question about the film Inside Out but I wasn't called on. I knew he was influenced by 70s films and Italian cinema of the 60s so it was cool hearing him talk about classic Hollywood films and why he likes them so much. He said he likes the sturdy craftsmanship of the old studio pros like Curtiz and Raoul Walsh and admires the economy with which they tell a story.

Bethie

Payne's 44th Birthday is today.

Me to Cine a little while ago:

Me: hey! today (thursday) is alexander payne's birthday!
Cine: ohh!
Cine: tell him i said "i went sideways when i found out it was your birthday! have a good one!"
Me: "hope your birthday is all About.... "
Me: open up the card
Me: "YOU!!"
Cine: "an election was made... and its been decided: its YOUR birthday!"
Me: "ALL citizens would love to wish you a happy birthday!!"
who likes movies anyway

modage

lenghty interview here with Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor from the MOMA event recently: http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=19467
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

rustinglass

ALEXANDER PAYNE, PRESIDENT OF THE JURY FOR UN CERTAIN REGARD


Press release 24th February 2005

Alexander Payne will be the president of the Un Certain Regard Jury, an official selection of the Festival de Cannes, from May 11th to 22nd.
An American filmmaker, Alexander Payne directed Citizen Ruth, his first feature, in 1996. In 2002, About Schmidt, the lead played by Nicholson, was selected at Cannes then nominated for an Oscar before being awarded the Golden Globe for best screenplay. He received the same award again in 2005 for his latest film, Sideways, which has been a great popular and critical success. Sideways has been nominated for five of the Oscars which will be awarded on February 27th of this year: best film, best director, best actress and best actor in a supporting role and best adapted screenplay.
"In Serbia a lot of people hate me because they want to westernise, not understanding that the western world is bipolar, with very good things and very bad things. Since they don't have experience of the west, they even believe that western shit is pie."
-Emir Kusturica

Myxo

'Sideways' Director, Actress-Wife Split

NEW YORK - Director Alexander Payne and wife Sandra Oh have gone from "Sideways" to parting ways, a spokeswoman told People magazine on Saturday. The Hollywood couple "have mutually decided to separate," the spokeswoman said. "They will remain friends."

The couple met five years ago and married in 2003.

Payne wrote and directed "Sideways," the comedy about two friends on a wine-tasting road trip through California.

The film was nominated for five Oscars (news - web sites), and he shared the Academy Award with his writing partner for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Oh, a former co-star on the HBO series "Arli$$," was one of the stars of the film.

Pubrick

Quote from: flagpolespecialwow. that would be pretty devasting i think.
sure, but not devastating.

cos on the scale of relationship breakups, a mutual separation is probably the least devastating way to go.
under the paving stones.

Garam

I love Payne and his movies and i can't wait for Nebraska. He really has a knack for making films with very-flawed protagonists.

ono

It's amazing what clicking that "Previous" link and scrolling down can do for you.  Allow me... http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=167766#167766

Then again, IMDb lies, and I've heard I do, too.

Garam

Either way, he's still making it, and i still can't wait.

72teeth

Doctor, Always Do the Right Thing.

Yowza Yowza Yowza

MacGuffin

SIDEWAYS Pair Rolls to Searchlight
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor team up with Jim Burke to for Ad Hominem Enterprises, which will now be set up at Fox Searchlight.
Source: FilmStew.com

The Oscar-winning writing team behind Sideways, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, have stepped into the Searchlight. According to Daily Variety, Payne and Taylor, who also collaborated on Oscar-nominated films such as About Schmidt and Election, have signed a three-year, first-look production deal with Fox Searchlight, the specialty arm of 20th Century Fox. In the process of the deal, Payne and Taylor will partner up with Jim Burke to form the production shingle Ad Hominem Enterprises.

In a statement released by the filmmakers, Payne said, "Since we typically write our screenplays in Latin, then translate them into English, the name seemed like a natural fit." The statement joked, "The moniker for the Santa Monica-based company, taken literally from the Latin 'to the man' and meaning in rhetoric 'to appeal to the feelings rather than the intellect,' is meant to be pretentious."

Searchlight released Sideways, co-written by Payne and Taylor and directed by Payne, in 2004. The film earned the pair the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, while also earning Payne a nod as Best Director.

"Alexander and Jim are unique, special talents with a proven track record. We're thrilled to see what corner of humanity they'll choose to illuminate next...as long as they keep the budget low," noted Searchlight President Peter Rice.

Burke, who served as a co-producer on Election, has producing credits that include Kingpin, The Breed and Walking Tall, among others.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

modage

Quote from: MacGuffin on November 11, 2005, 12:31:16 PM"Alexander and Jim are unique, special talents with a proven track record. We're thrilled to see what corner of humanity they'll choose to illuminate next...as long as they keep the budget low," noted Searchlight President Peter Rice.
i can't believe he said that.   :doh:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

polkablues

Quote from: modage on November 11, 2005, 01:26:18 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on November 11, 2005, 12:31:16 PM"Alexander and Jim are unique, special talents with a proven track record. We're thrilled to see what corner of humanity they'll choose to illuminate next...as long as they keep the budget low," noted Searchlight President Peter Rice.
i can't believe he said that.   :doh:

I'm sure he said it with a little laugh, to make it seem like a good-natured ribbing, but then followed it with a sharp glance over at Alexander and Jim to make sure they got the message.
My house, my rules, my coffee