Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck | |
---|---|
![]() Fleck (left) and Boden in 2008 | |
Born | Anna Boden October 20, 1979 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Alma mater | Columbia University |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Years active | 2000–present |
Children | 1 |
Born | Ryan K. Fleck September 20, 1976 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | New York University Tisch School of the Arts |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Years active | 2000–present |
Anna Boden [1] [2] and Ryan K. Fleck are an American filmmaking duo. The duo rose to prominence for their work on the 2004 short film Gowanus, Brooklyn, which earned the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. They went on to collaborate on the Academy Award-nominated film Half Nelson. [3] Their film Sugar (2008) was honored as one of the Top 10 for 2009 at the American Film Institute Awards; and one of the Top Independent Films at the National Board of Review Awards 2009. They are best known for writing and directing Captain Marvel, which grossed over $1 billion and is one of the highest-grossing films of all time; which made Boden the first woman to direct a live-action movie that has grossed $1 billion. [4] [5]
The duo received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as executive producers on the limited television series Mrs. America (2020). [6] They are also known for their films It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Mississippi Grind (2015), [7] [8] Captain Marvel (2019) and Freaky Tales (2024).
Boden is originally from Massachusetts and grew up in Newton while Fleck graduated from Castro Valley High School. [9] Before attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he studied film, Fleck went to Diablo Valley College to study science and math. [9] Boden attended Columbia University. [10] [11] [12] The two met on the set of a student film where they bonded over the works of Robert Altman and, [13] after Fleck had finished his thesis short film Struggle, they decided to collaborate. [14]
Fleck was born in Berkeley, California and raised there and in Oakland. [15] Fleck had grown up on classic fan favorites such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future .
Boden has said that while there was no specific film that inspired her to pursue film making, she had a fondness for watching movies as a child and cites learning about Robert Altman as a turning point in how she viewed film as a medium. [16]
Together they made the short documentaries Have You Seen This Man? and Young Rebels before they wrote and directed the short film Gowanus, Brooklyn, a sample feature aiming to attract potential financiers to their undeveloped script, Half Nelson . [14] [17]
The short won a prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and Boden and Fleck were subsequently invited to the Sundance Writer's Lab to receive professional feedback on the Half Nelson screenplay. [18] The film did not receive adequate financing for years, and while trying to initiate the project, Fleck explains: "We were trying to get it off the ground so we had plenty of time to keep writing and rewriting. I think the time was valuable because I think we made it as good as we could." [19] Though Fleck was the only of the pair to receive directing credit for the film, he has gone on record and said that the work was an equal divide. [16]
In spite of the effort in making the script "as good as we could" prior to filming, Fleck encouraged Half Nelson's actors to ad lib and improvise, although he and lead actor Ryan Gosling compromised many scenes in the rehearsal process as Fleck thought that Gosling's ideas were too different from the script in some cases. [19] He also had several disagreements with Boden while writing; though he claims their "back and forth" system of rewriting each other's work has always worked well. [19] Half Nelson was well received by critics and got nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Ryan Gosling. Many other nominations went to Ryan Gosling for his role as Dan Dunne.[ citation needed ]
Boden and Fleck have since co-written and co-directed the 2008 film Sugar , which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, about a 19-year-old Dominican man who immigrates to the United States to play minor league baseball. The two wrote the screenplay after researching about many Dominican immigrants who arrive in America to play in minor league towns, saying: "The stories we heard were so fascinating that it became what we were writing before we'd even decided it was our next project". [20] They also collaborated on a screen adaptation of Ned Vizzini's young adult novel It's Kind of a Funny Story , which was released on October 8, 2010. [21] [22]
In 2012, the duo began work on a gambling movie called Mississippi Grind . The idea for the film came when they would visit riverboat casinos in Iowa. By this point in their career, Boden and Fleck had fully committed to each other, "In the early days of our partnership we had to navigate a lot of issues concerning trust and ego. Nowadays, those issues are almost entirely gone. Having a creative partner who you can wholly trust is a wonderful asset." [23]
In April 2017, Boden and Fleck were hired to direct the Marvel Studios film Captain Marvel . [24] They were previously considered to direct another Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy . [25] Producer Kevin Feige said of them, "We met with lots and lots of people... and Anna and Ryan just had an amazing way of talking about Carol Danvers and talking about her journey... We want filmmakers that can help us focus on and elevate the character journey so it doesn't get lost amongst the spectacle." [26] The film was released in March 2019, and became a box office success, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide. In May 2019, it was revealed they would direct the first two episodes and produce the television show Mrs. America starring Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly. [27] As of January 2020 [update] Boden and Fleck were in talks to direct a Marvel Disney+ series. [28]
Boden and Fleck formerly dated, [29] however, contrary to popular belief they are not a married couple (though multiple sources [30] [31] continue to erroneously report it). Boden was pregnant at the time of Mississippi Grind's release. [32] Boden is Jewish. [33]
Anna Boden
| Ryan Fleck
|
Anna Boden
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | The Big C | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
2014 | 30 for 30 | No | No | Yes | Episode: "The Day the Series Stopped" |
2014–2015 | The Affair | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes [2] |
2016–2017 | Billions | Yes | No | No | 3 episodes [2] |
2017 | Room 104 | Yes | Yes | No | Episode: "Red Tent" |
2020 | Mrs. America | Yes | No | Yes | 4 episodes [2] |
2024 | Masters of the Air | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
Ryan Fleck
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | In Treatment | Yes | No | No | 7 episodes |
2011 | The Big C | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
2014 | 30 for 30 | Yes | No | No | Episode: "The Day the Series Stopped" |
2014–2015 | Looking | Yes | No | No | 3 episodes |
The Affair | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes | |
2016–2017 | Billions | Yes | No | No | 3 episodes |
2017 | Room 104 | Yes | Yes | No | Episode: "Red Tent" |
2020 | Mrs. America | Yes | No | Yes | 4 episodes |
2024 | Masters of the Air | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor. Prominent in both independent films and major studio features, his films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Gosling has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for three Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.
Eva de la Caridad Méndez, known professionally as Eva Mendes, is an American actress. Her acting career began in the late 1990s with a series of roles in films such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000).
Half Nelson is a 2006 American drama film directed by Ryan Fleck and written by Fleck and Anna Boden. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie. It was scored by Canadian band Broken Social Scene. 26-year-old Gosling was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, becoming the seventh-youngest nominee in the category at the time.
Jamie Patricof is a movie and television producer and co-founder of Electric City Entertainment and Hunting Lane Films.
Castro Valley High School is located in the unincorporated suburban community of Castro Valley, California, United States. It is a high school for grades 9 to 12. Named a National Exemplary School in 1984–85 and 1988–89, it was a California Distinguished School in 1987–88, 2000–01, and 2009.
The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sugar is a 2008 sports drama film written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It follows the story of Miguel Santos, also known as Sugar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life's ambition.
Tze Chun is an American film and TV producer, director, writer, painter, and comic book publisher. He was born in Chicago and raised outside of Boston, and graduated from Milton Academy in 1998. He received his bachelor's degree in film studies at Columbia University.
Elliot C. Graham is an American film editor and producer known for his work on Milk (2008), Steve Jobs (2015), Captain Marvel (2019), and No Time to Die (2021).
Algenis Perez Soto is a Dominican actor. He is best known for his title role in the film Sugar (2008) and his portrayal of Att-Lass in the film Captain Marvel (2019).
Jeremy Kipp Walker is an independent film producer and director. His recent producing credits include the Oscar nominated films The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani and Half Nelson (THINKFilm) starring Ryan Gosling as well as Table 19 starring Anna Kendrick; Mississippi Grind (A24) starring Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds; It's Kind of a Funny Story starring Zach Galifianakis; Cold Souls starring Paul Giamatti; Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's Dominican baseball odyssey Sugar ; Moroccan-based thriller The Passage (THINKFilm) and the space thriller Europa Report. Walker recently directed his first feature film The History of Future Folk, about the acoustic space duo Future Folk. The Independent Spirit Award nominated film was co-directed with J. Anderson Mitchell with whom he previously directed the award-winning short films Super Powers and Goodnight Bill. His physical production credits include the Oscar nominated film Maria Full of Grace as well as the HBO Films projectsEveryday People and Angel Rodriguez.
Jacqueline Schaeffer is an American screenwriter and producer best known for her 2009 feature film debut TiMER and for her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe creating the Disney+ television miniseries WandaVision and co-writing the initial story to the film Black Widow.
It's Kind of a Funny Story is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, an adaptation of Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel of the same name. The film stars Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, and Viola Davis. It was released in the United States on October 8, 2010, and received generally positive reviews.
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.
Andy Nicholson is an English production designer who has worked on various films, including Gravity, Divergent, Assassin's Creed, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Nicholson has also worked as an art director for numerous films, including several by director Tim Burton.
Mississippi Grind is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It stars Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds, Sienna Miller, Lio Tipton, Alfre Woodard and Robin Weigert. The film was released by A24 on September 25, 2015.
Captain Marvel is a 2019 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 21st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck from a screenplay they co-wrote with Geneva Robertson-Dworet. It stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law. Set in 1995, the story follows Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel after Earth is caught in a galactic conflict.
Nia DaCosta is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She made her feature film debut as a writer and director for her crime thriller film Little Woods (2018). Nia garnered wide acclaim for winning the Nora Ephron Prize for Female Filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Festival. DaCosta became the first black female director to debut at No. 1 at the U.S. box office, for the weekend opening of her horror mystery film Candyman (2021). She was the first black woman to direct a Marvel film, The Marvels (2023), which set records for being the largest box-office bomb to date and the highest-grossing film directed by a black woman. She is currently in production on an adaptation of Hedda Gabler.
Freaky Tales is a 2024 American drama film written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Boden and Fleck's longtime collaborator Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Dominique Thorne, singer Normani in her film debut, Jack Champion, and Angus Cloud in one of his final roles.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)