Alan Bradford Curtiss is an assistant director and producer of Hollywood films who has been active in the Directors Guild of America, after starting as a location manager in 1978. [1] He is a resident of Manhattan Beach, California. [2]
Curtiss has been a member of at least three directorial teams nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film, for The Truman Show (1998), [3] The Green Mile (1999), [4] and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). [5] He is especially known for close collaborations with director Peter Weir, [6] including two of those three DGA nominations. The DGA elected Curtiss to several terms as an Associate Member of its National Board of Directors (2011–2019). [7] [8] [9] [10]
Curtiss also served as executive producer of Master and Commander. He and Oscar winner Barrie M. Osborne were among the lead producers who released the major Hispanic film Gloria (2014), a biopic about the controversial Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi. [11] [12]
The DGA has recognized Curtiss for his long mentorship of assistant directors (ADs), unit production managers (UPMs), and production assistants (PAs). As he described in a 2004 forum spotlighting directorial teams: "It is called the 'director's team' and I think there's a reason for that... Currently my key 2nd is somebody who I've done ten films with but he started off as a set PA and then over the years moved up. Probably five of my former key 2nds are now out 1st AD-ing and production managing, so it's been a normal cycle of experience and knowledge; as they've gone up the ladder, other people have come to the fore." [6]
Curtiss is credited for the following films: [1]
Alan Smithee is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) when directors, dissatisfied with the final product, proved to the satisfaction of a guild panel that they had not been able to exercise creative control over a film. The director was also required by guild rules not to discuss the circumstances leading to the movie or even to acknowledge being the project's director.
Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz, known as Gloria Trevi, is a Mexican singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, television hostess, music video director and businesswoman known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop". Since 1998, her name has been linked to the Trevi-Andrade Clan, an organization with cult-like overtones accused of sexual abuse, corruption of minors and labor exploitation, led by Trevi's former representative, Sergio Andrade.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merged with the Radio and Television Directors Guild in 1960 to become the modern Directors Guild of America.
"Below-the-line" is a term derived from the top sheet of a film budget for motion pictures, television programs, industrial films, independent films, student films and documentaries as well as commercials. The "line" in "below-the-line" refers to the separation of production costs between script and story writers, producers, directors, actors, and casting and the rest of the crew, or production team.
Barrie Mitchell Osborne is an American film producer, production manager and director.
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are an American screenwriting duo, recognized for their unique approach to biopics. They introduced the term "anti-biopic" to describe their distinctive style of storytelling, which focuses on individuals who might not traditionally be considered worthy of a biographical film. Instead of highlighting conventional "great men," their work often centers on lesser-known figures within American pop culture. Their notable films in this genre include Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, Big Eyes, Dolemite Is My Name, and the series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Paris K. C. Barclay is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Glee, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Watcher, and American Horror Story: NYC. He also serves as an executive producer on many of the shows he directs, and occasionally as a writer or co-creator as well. From 2013 to 2017, Barclay served two terms as the President of the Directors Guild of America.
In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non-DGA productions might call it the production manager or production supervisor. They work closely with the line producer. Sometimes the line producer is the UPM. A senior producer may assign a UPM more than one production at a time.
Karen Gaviola is an American television producer and director. She is the winner of the 2007 NAACP Image Award for directing "The Whole Truth" episode of the ABC hit series Lost. She was also nominated for the 2013 WIN Award for best directing of the "Georgia on My Mind" episode of the Shonda Rhimes series Private Practice.
Jesús Salvador Treviño is an American television director of Mexican descent.
The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards presented by the Directors Guild of America. With 3 wins out of 13 nominations, Steven Spielberg is both the most awarded and most nominated director of this category in the history of DGA, and the first director to receive DGA nominations in six consecutive decades. Additionally, Alejandro G. Iñárritu is the only director to win twice successively; he was awarded in 2015 and 2016 for his directorial achievements for Birdman or and The Revenant, respectively. Three directing teams have shared the award: Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story (1961), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007), and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).
Randall Miller is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and occasional actor.
Kathleen Garretson is an American television director, producer and podcaster. Garretson has directed episodes of the sitcoms Frasier, 2 Broke Girls, Fuller House and the season one finale of the Punky Brewster reboot in 2021, among others, as well as producing Hallmark's Garage Sale Mystery movies. She received the Frank Capra Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in 2012. Garretson also hosted the hit podcast "Mojo Girl Madness."
The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by Directors Guild of America. It was first awarded at the 68th Directors Guild of America Awards.
Sofía Espinosa Carrasco is a Mexican actress, writer and director. She began her artistic preparation at the National Conservatory of Music, and followed with studies at Casazul in Mexico, Claudio Tolcachir's school in Argentina, the Stella Adler Studio in New York City, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She received recognition for her role of Mati in the Mexican film La Niña en la Piedra (2006), for which she was nominated for an Ariel Award for Best Actress. She subsequently starred in the TV series Capadocia (2010) and Bienvenida Realidad (2011).
The Frank Capra Achievement Award is an American film award established by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) honoring assistant directors and unit production managers for career achievement and service to the DGA. Named after the American director Frank Capra (1897–1991), it was first awarded at the 32nd Directors Guild of America Awards in 1980.