First they were writers, then they were writer/directors.
May 14, 2016 1:13 PM Subscribe
There are plenty of successful writer-directors out there, but I'm curious about successful directors who started out as writers only (screenplays, novels, plays etc) before they transitioned to directing. I'm especially interested in minority or female directors.
Best answer: There are lots of people with that trajectory. The first one that came to mind for me was Paul Schrader, and here's an article about screenwriters' directorial debuts. All men so far, I think. (I only skimmed that article, so I could have missed someone.)
Somehow, I can't think of any women who fit that off the top of my head. I'll come back if I do.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:30 PM on May 14, 2016
Somehow, I can't think of any women who fit that off the top of my head. I'll come back if I do.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:30 PM on May 14, 2016
Sorry for them being all white men, but John Hughes, Oliver Stone, and Charlie Kaufman come to mind.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:41 PM on May 14, 2016
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:41 PM on May 14, 2016
Best answer: OK, I thought of Diablo Cody and Miranda July. They both started out writing.
I've thought of several women directors who I thought started out writing, but I keep being wrong.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:45 PM on May 14, 2016
I've thought of several women directors who I thought started out writing, but I keep being wrong.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:45 PM on May 14, 2016
Another white man, but Shane Black falls into the "started as a writer, now also directs."
posted by dismas at 1:47 PM on May 14, 2016
posted by dismas at 1:47 PM on May 14, 2016
Best answer: Holy cats, how did I miss Margarethe von Trotta? She wrote and acted before she started directing.
Catherine Breillat as well. She published her first novel, which was adapted for film by someone else, when she was 17, then went on to direct her own films shortly after.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:22 PM on May 14, 2016
Catherine Breillat as well. She published her first novel, which was adapted for film by someone else, when she was 17, then went on to direct her own films shortly after.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:22 PM on May 14, 2016
Best answer: Lots of people sell a book or a spec screenplay and then go on to direct. Sometimes, once is enough (Diablo Cody has said directing is not thing and she doesn't plan to do it again.) Robin Swicord, Callie Khouri, Maya Angelou, Diane English, Jennifer Lynch, Elaine May (who was also a performer which is a more usual route for women), Kay Mellor, Phyllis Nagy, Nell Scovell, Jill Soloway.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:46 PM on May 14, 2016
posted by Ideefixe at 2:46 PM on May 14, 2016
Best answer: Callie Khouri won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Thelma & Louise (her first produced script). It took over ten years for her to get her first feature directing gig, even though she had directed music videos before T&L, and the bump to director for an Oscar-winning male screenwriter would have been an assumed perq and would have happened much faster. She's done several interviews opening discussing the sexism she faced.
posted by ljshapiro at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2016
posted by ljshapiro at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2016
Best answer: Alex Garland -- a couple novels, then a few screenplays, then directed Ex Machina (from his own script) with more in production.
posted by chimpsonfilm at 7:44 AM on May 15, 2016
posted by chimpsonfilm at 7:44 AM on May 15, 2016
Matilde Landeta started as a script girl in 1930s Mexico. Is that like a screen writer? Matilde Soto Landeta (September 20, 1910 or 1913 – January 26, 1999) was a Mexican pioneer filmmaker and screenwriter during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her films centred on the portrayal of strong, realistic female protagonists in a patriarchal world.
posted by glasseyes at 2:57 PM on May 15, 2016
posted by glasseyes at 2:57 PM on May 15, 2016
Script girl is like continuity/script supervisor. Mimi Leder started as a script supervisor.
posted by Ideefixe at 6:28 PM on May 15, 2016
posted by Ideefixe at 6:28 PM on May 15, 2016
John Patrick Shanley (Joe vs the Volcano, Doubt)
Lorene Scafaria (a writer, then adapted a screenplay for "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist", then wrote and directed "Seeking A Friend for the End of the World", then wrote and directed "The Meddler.")
posted by seasparrow at 10:49 PM on May 15, 2016
Lorene Scafaria (a writer, then adapted a screenplay for "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist", then wrote and directed "Seeking A Friend for the End of the World", then wrote and directed "The Meddler.")
posted by seasparrow at 10:49 PM on May 15, 2016
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posted by puritycontrol at 1:22 PM on May 14, 2016