David Gordon Green | |
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![]() Green at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival | |
Born | Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | April 9, 1975
Alma mater | University of North Carolina School of the Arts |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1997–present |
David Gordon Green (born April 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker. Green began his career in 1997 and gained fame with the independent film George Washington (2000). He directed two additional independent dramas, All the Real Girls (2003) and Snow Angels (2007), as well as the thriller Undertow (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote.
In 2008, Green transitioned into Hollywood studio comedies, directing the films Pineapple Express (2008), Your Highness and The Sitter (both 2011). He briefly returned to his dramatic roots with the independent films Prince Avalanche (2013), Joe (2013), and Manglehorn (2014). Following this departure, he returned to studio films with Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) and Stronger (2017). Green directed a trilogy of slasher films for the Halloween franchise: Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022), which he co-wrote with frequent collaborator Danny McBride. Most recently, Green directed The Exorcist: Believer (2023) and the Christmas comedy Nutcrackers (2024).
Green has also directed episodes of the comedy series Eastbound & Down (2009–2013), Red Oaks (2014–17), Vice Principals (2016–17), and The Righteous Gemstones (2019–present), on all of which he additionally served as executive producer.
Green, one of four children, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in Richardson, Texas. His mother, Jean Ann (née Hunter), was a Lamaze instructor, and his father, Hubert Gordon Green, Jr., was a medical school dean. [1] [2] Green attended Richardson High School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied film directing. [3] He currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina. [4]
As a college student, Green made the two short films, Pleasant Grove and Physical Pinball, at the North Carolina School of the Arts prior to his feature film debut in 2000, the critically acclaimed George Washington , which he both wrote and directed. He followed that with All the Real Girls in 2003 and Undertow in 2004. In 2007, he directed Snow Angels , his first adaptation, based on the Stewart O'Nan novel. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival [5] and stars Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was released by Warner Independent Pictures. [6]
In 2008, Green's career transitioned when he directed the Seth Rogen buddy comedy Pineapple Express , and the HBO series Eastbound & Down , for which he directed twelve episodes and served as a consulting producer. In 2011, he co-created the animated series Good Vibes and directed the comedies Your Highness and The Sitter , both of which received negative reviews.
In 2013, Green briefly returned to independent film when he directed and co-wrote Prince Avalanche and Joe . He followed these films with Manglehorn (2014), Our Brand Is Crisis (2015), and Stronger (2017).
In 2018, Green directed the horror sequel Halloween , produced by Jason Blum, executive produced by John Carpenter, and co-written by Green and Danny McBride. [7] [8] He also directed its sequels Halloween Kills , released in October 2021, and Halloween Ends , released in October 2022.
In December 2020, it was announced Green will direct a new installment of The Exorcist franchise which will be a direct sequel to William Friedkin's 1973 film adaptation of the 1971 novel. [9] [10] [11] The Exorcist: Believer was released in October 2023. [12]
Green subsequently directed the Christmas-set comedy Nutcrackers , which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. [13] Of the film, Green stated; "This movie is a lot of things. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a horror movie. But for me, it's a reason to dance, you know, I just wanted to start moving, move my body a little bit, and get out to the farm and kick some pig shit." [14]
Green's favorite films are, in order, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot , 2001: A Space Odyssey , The Gravy Train , The Bad News Bears , Deliverance , Nashville and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . [15]
It has been suggested, even by the director himself, that Green's early films (most notably George Washington ) take influence from the works of Terrence Malick. [16] Malick himself served as an executive producer of Green's 2004 film Undertow .
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | George Washington | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2003 | All the Real Girls | Yes | Yes | No |
2004 | Undertow | Yes | Yes | No |
2007 | Snow Angels | Yes | Yes | No |
2008 | Pineapple Express | Yes | No | No |
2011 | Your Highness | Yes | No | No |
The Sitter | Yes | No | No | |
2013 | Prince Avalanche | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Joe | Yes | No | Yes | |
2014 | Manglehorn | Yes | No | Yes |
2015 | Our Brand Is Crisis | Yes | No | No |
2016 | Goat | No | Yes | No |
2017 | Stronger | Yes | No | No |
2018 | Halloween | Yes | Yes | Executive |
2021 | Halloween Kills | Yes | Yes | Executive |
2022 | Halloween Ends | Yes | Yes | Executive |
2023 | The Exorcist: Believer | Yes | Yes | Executive |
2024 | Nutcrackers | Yes | No | Executive |
Executive producer
| Producer
|
Actor
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2022 | The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent | Himself |
Bones and All | Brad | |
2023 | I'm a Virgo | Bartender |
Year(s) | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009-2013 | Eastbound & Down | Yes | Yes | 12 episodes |
2011 | Good Vibes | No | Yes | Also writer and co-creator |
2014 | Chozen | No | Yes | |
2014-2017 | Red Oaks | Yes | Yes | 6 episodes |
2016-2017 | Vice Principals | Yes | Yes | 8 episodes |
2017 | There's... Johnny! | Yes | Yes | Episodes "Andy Goes to Hollywood" and "Dog Day Afternoon" |
Tarantula | No | Yes | ||
2019-present | The Righteous Gemstones | Yes | Yes | 9 episodes |
2019 | Dickinson | Yes | Yes | Episodes "Because I could not stop" and "I have never seen 'Volcanoes'" |
2020 | Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet | Yes | Yes | Episodes "Pilot", "The Casino" and "The Convention" |
2021 | The Sex Lives of College Girls | Yes | Yes | Episode: "Welcome to Essex" |
2023 | Telemarketers | No | Yes | |
2025 | Scarpetta | Yes | Yes |
Morgan Creek Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, former sales agent and investor, that has released box-office hits including Young Guns, Dead Ringers, Major League, True Romance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Crush, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Last of the Mohicans. The studio was co-founded in 1987 by James G. Robinson and Joe Roth. Robinson leads the company as chairman and CEO. His two sons, Brian Robinson and David C. Robinson, run the day-to-day operations. The company name comes from Roth's favorite film, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Their most recent film is The Exorcist: Believer, which was released on October 6, 2023.
Regan Teresa MacNeil is a fictional character in the 1971 novel The Exorcist and one of the supporting characters in its 1973 film adaptation and the 1977 film Exorcist II: The Heretic, while being one of the main protagonists in the first season of the television series The Exorcist (2016–2017). She was portrayed by Linda Blair in both films and by Geena Davis in the television series. Blair reprised the role in the 2023 film The Exorcist: Believer.
Michael Patrick Dougherty is an American writer, director, animator, and producer known for his work in a variety of genre films, both big and small.
Halloween is an American slasher media franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as novels, comic books, a video game and other merchandise. The films primarily focus on Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Throughout the series various protagonists try to stop Myers including, most notably Laurie Strode and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis. The original Halloween, released in 1978, was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill—the film's director and producer respectively. The film, itself inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas, is known to have inspired a long line of slasher films.
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American buddy stoner action comedy film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco alongside Gary Cole, Rosie Perez and Danny McBride. The plot centers on a process server and his marijuana dealer as they are forced to flee from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after witnessing them commit a murder. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story.
Daniel Richard McBride is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. The accolades he has received include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Satellite Awards.
This Is the End is a 2013 American apocalyptic fantasy comedy film written, directed and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their directorial debuts. It is a feature-length film adaptation of Rogen and Goldberg's short film Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse (2007), which was directed by Jason Stone, who serves as an executive producer on the film. Starring an ensemble cast including James Franco, Jonah Hill, Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson, the film centers on fictionalized versions of its cast in the wake of a global biblical apocalypse in Los Angeles.
Ben Stiller is an American actor, comedian, director, producer and screenwriter. He has mostly appeared in comedy films. Stiller is an Emmy Award winner for his television show The Ben Stiller Show, which he directed, produced, and wrote on.
The Exorcist is an American horror media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adaptation of the novel, and many subsequent prequels and sequels. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.
Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride. It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series and a sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, while disregarding all previous sequels. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis who reprises her role as Laurie Strode. James Jude Courtney portrays Michael Myers, with Nick Castle returning to the role for a cameo. Halloween also stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer, and Virginia Gardner. Its plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face an escaped Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she survived his killing spree.
Halloween Kills is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to Halloween (2018) and the twelfth installment in the Halloween franchise. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, and Anthony Michael Hall. The film begins on the same night where the previous film ended with James Jude Courtney reprising his role as Michael Myers whose presence has become apparent to the residents of Haddonfield.
The following is a list of unproduced David Gordon Green projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director David Gordon Green has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled.
Halloween Ends is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to Halloween Kills (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, and the final film in the trilogy of sequels that started with the 2018 film, which directly follows the 1978 film. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, and James Jude Courtney. The plot follows the outcast Corey Cunningham who falls in love with Laurie Strode's granddaughter while a series of events, including crossing paths with Michael Myers, drives him to become a serial killer.
The Exorcist: Believer is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler from a story by Scott Teems, Danny McBride, and Green. The sixth installment in The Exorcist franchise, it serves as a direct sequel to The Exorcist (1973). The film stars Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewett, Olivia O‘Neill in her film debut, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, and Ann Dowd. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair reprise their roles from the original film. Its plot follows a photographer who must confront the nadir of evil when his daughter and her best friend are possessed.
Scott Teems is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on That Evening Sun (2009), The Quarry (2020), Halloween Kills (2021), Firestarter (2022) and Insidious: The Red Door (2023).
Halloween is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film Halloween, which is the eleventh installment in the Halloween franchise and a sequel to the 1978 film of the same name. The film was directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who reprise their roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, with stuntman James Jude Courtney, who also portrays Myers.
Rough House Pictures is an American television and film production company founded by Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, and Jody Hill in 2009.
Nutcrackers is a 2024 American comedy drama film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Leland Douglas, and starring Ben Stiller.