Naomi McDougall Jones

Last updated
Naomi McDougall Jones
Born19 May 1987
Colorado, United States
Occupation(s)Writer, Actress and Producer
Years active2006–present

Naomi McDougall Jones is an American actress, writer and producer. [1] [2]

Contents

She is best known for her work on films Bite Me, Imagine I'm Beautiful, The New Yorker Presents and more. [3] [4]

Life and career

Naomi grew up in Aspen, Colorado. She studied acting at Cornell University and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. [5]

Naomi wrote, produced, and starred for Imagine I'm Beautiful, directed by Meredith Edwards. [6] She won The Don Award for Best Independently Produced Screenplay at the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival and Special Jury Award for Best Performance at the Arizona International Film Festival in 2014. [7] [8] She is a vocal advocate and activist for bringing gender parity to film, both on and off screen. [9] In 2016, Naomi gave a TED Talk on the subject at TEDxBeaconStreet. [10]

Naomi served as a writer on Amazon's original series, The New Yorker Presents , which premiered at Sundance 2016. [11] She wrote and produced the 2019 feature film Bite Me, also directed by Meredith Edwards, in which she co-stars alongside Christian Coulson, Naomi Grossman and Annie Golden. [12] Bite Me is a subversive romantic comedy about a real-life vampire and the IRS agent who audits her. In the spirit of transparent filmmaking, Naomi created the Fear(ful)less: Filmmaking from the Edge podcast to document the process of making Bite Me from pre-production through post-production. [13] The film premiered at Cinequest, won Best Feature Film at VTXIFF, and was then self-distributed online with partner Seed & Spark and across the United States on the Joyful Vampire Tour of America, a 51-screening, 40-city, three-month release roadshow that incorporated the film, live Q&As with the cast and creative team, and "Joyful Vampire Ball" parties. [14] The entire tour was filmed by documentary filmmaker Kiwi Callahan for a YouTube docu-series with each episode released week-by-week during the tour. The release strategy behind the Joyful Vampire Tour of America was intended by Naomi and producing partner Sarah Wharton to be a case study for improving the indie film distribution landscape, to create a more economically sustainable ecosystem. [15]

She is currently at work on a book, The Wrong Kind of Women: Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of Hollywood, which will be published by Beacon Press on February 4, 2020. [16] Inspired by the TED Talk, The Wrong Kind of Woman examines the systemic exclusion of women in film—an industry with massive cultural influence—and how, in response, women are making space in cinema for their voices to be heard. [17]

She is also at work on her third feature screenplay, Hammond Castle, a magical realism film that explores themes of identity, legacy and gender through a modern-day seven-month pregnant woman's unexpected interaction with the brilliant, eccentric and deceased inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr. [18] For the screenplay, Naomi became the first recipient of the artist-in-residency program at Ernest Hemingway House, author Ernest Hemingway's final home in Sun Valley, Idaho. [19]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleNotes
2006The World's Astonishing NewsJoannaTV series
2010Out of FocusKate HendersonFeature Film
2011Blood MoonClaireShort Film
2011The Path of AvariceMariahShort Film
2011 Boardwalk Empire Screaming SecretaryTV series
2011The Night Before She Walked Down the AisleNaomiFeature Film
2011FridayShort Film
2011Come Home RaquelNinaFeature Film
2012StunodsEmilyTV series
2012The Perfect SecretCeciliaShort Film
2012Like Ingrid BergmanTaylorShort Film
2014IndigoLizzyFeature Film
2014Imagine I'm BeautifulLanaFeature Film
2016'79 PartsAndreaFeature Film
2017WomanWoman 6Short Film
2019Nothing About ChloeChloeFeature Film
2019Bite MeSarahFeature Film

As writer

As producer

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Watts</span> British actress (born 1968)

Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama For Love Alone (1986). She appeared in three television series, Hey Dad..! (1990), Brides of Christ (1991), and Home and Away (1991), and the film Flirting (1991). Ten years later, Watts moved to the United States, where she initially struggled as an actress. She took roles in small-scale films until she starred in her breakthrough role as an aspiring actress in David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mazursky</span> American director, screenwriter, and actor (1930-2014)

Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), An Unmarried Woman (1978), Harry and Tonto (1974), and Enemies, A Love Story (1989). He is also known for directing such films as Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Moon over Parador (1988), and Scenes from a Mall (1991).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Fuqua</span> American film director

Antoine Fuqua is an American film director known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with The Replacement Killers. His critical breakthrough was the 2001 crime thriller Training Day, winning the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director.

<i>Nanking</i> (2007 film) 2007 American film

Nanking is a 2007 documentary film about the Nanjing Massacre, committed in 1937 by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. It was inspired by Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking (1997), which discussed the persecution and murder of the Chinese by the Imperial Japanese Army in the then-capital of Nanjing at the outset of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). The film draws on letters and diaries from the era as well as archive footage and interviews with surviving victims and perpetrators of the massacre. Contemporary actors play the roles of the Western missionaries, professors, and businessmen who formed the Nanking Safety Zone to protect the city's civilians from Japanese forces. Particular attention is paid to Nazi Party member John Rabe, a German businessman who organized the Nanking Safety Zone, Robert O. Wilson, a surgeon who remained in Nanjing to care for legions of victims, and Minnie Vautrin, a missionary educator who rendered aid to thousands of Nanjing's women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Dobrev</span> Canadian actress (born 1989)

Nina Kamenova Dobreva, credited professionally as Nina Dobrev, is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in the CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries (2009–2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Carroll</span> American actress (born 1996)

Madeline Carroll is an American actress known for starring as Juli Baker in Flipped, as Molly Johnson in Swing Vote, as Farren in The Spy Next Door, and as Willow O'Neil in The Magic of Belle Isle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Baker (filmmaker)</span> American director, producer and screenwriter

Sean Baker is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing independent feature films about the lives of sex workers, including Take Out (2004), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), Red Rocket (2021), and Anora (2024), the last of which won him the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He is also known for creating the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006) and its spin-offs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Seimetz</span> American actress, writer, director

Amy Seimetz is an American actress and filmmaker. She has appeared in several productions, including AMC's The Killing, HBO's Family Tree, and films like Upstream Color, Alien: Covenant, Pet Sematary, and No Sudden Move.

Martha Stephens is an American film writer and director.

<i>Thou Wast Mild and Lovely</i> 2014 experimental thriller film

Thou Wast Mild and Lovely is a 2014 experimental thriller film written and directed by Josephine Decker and starring Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub, and Robert Longstreet.

<i>Butter on the Latch</i> 2013 American film

Butter on the Latch is a 2013 experimental psychological thriller/drama film written, produced, and directed by Josephine Decker. It tells the story of Sarah and Isolde attending a Balkan music camp, the eroding friendship between them, and the budding romance between Sarah and a male camper named Steph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Lily Amirpour</span> American filmmaker

Ana Lily Amirpour, is an Iranian-American film-maker, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for her feature film debut A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, self-described as "the first Iranian vampire spaghetti western," which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, and which was based on a previous short film that she wrote and directed, which won Best Short Film at the 2012 Noor Iranian Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thuc Doan Nguyen</span> American film director

Thuc Doan Nguyen is a writer and producer. She founded "The Bitch Pack", a group dedicated to promoting female-driven screenplays through Twitter and other social media sites. Nguyen is the winner of a 2020 Sundance Institute Inclusion Initiative Fellowship which enabled her to attend the Sundance Film Festival that year, the same year her screenplay "Scent of the Delta" was in Round 2 of the Development Labs (semi-finalist). She is also the founder of the original "#StartWith8Hollywood" which expands opportunities for women creators of color. Nguyen is also the founder of the online portal Spooky Spaces. Nguyen is also the founder and captain of the first ever Vietnamese American Mardi Gras Krewe since the carnival began. She appears on the original Ringer/Spotify 2023 series "The Big Picture" regarding "Vietnam Vogue" along with Oliver Stone and Brian De Palma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Moss (filmmaker)</span> American documentary filmmaker

Jesse Moss is an American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer known for his cinéma vérité style. His 2014 film, The Overnighters, was shortlisted for best documentary feature at the Oscars. He has directed four independent, feature-length films, and three television documentaries and has produced 15 documentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Fogel</span> American director, screenwriter and author

Susanna Fogel is an American director, screenwriter and author, best known for co-writing the 2019 film Booksmart and for co-writing and directing the 2018 action/comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me. Her many accolades include a DGA Award and nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards and the WGA Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fronza Woods</span> American filmmaker

Fronza Woods is an American filmmaker best known for her short films including Killing Time (1979) and Fannie's Film (1982).

Nikyatu Jusu is an American independent writer, director, producer, editor and assistant professor in film and video at George Mason University. Jusu's works center on the complexities of Black female characters and in particular, displaced, immigrant women in the United States. Her work includes African Booty Scratcher (2007), Flowers (2015), Suicide By Sunlight (2019), and Nanny, which received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. She has endorsed the use of Generative artificial intelligence in filmmaking and uses the technology in her work.

<i>Minding the Gap</i> 2018 documentary film directed by Bing Liu

Minding the Gap is a 2018 documentary film directed by Bing Liu and produced by Liu and Diane Moy Quon through Kartemquin Films. It chronicles the lives and friendships of three young men growing up in Rockford, Illinois, united by their love of skateboarding. The film received critical acclaim, won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.

<i>Bite Me</i> (2019 film) 2019 American film

Bite Me is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Meredith Edwards and written by Naomi McDougall Jones. The film stars Christian Coulson, Naomi McDougall Jones, Annie Golden and Naomi Grossman. The film premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Safdie</span> American actor and director

Benjamin Safdie is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and film editor best known for working with his older brother Josh as a filmmaker. His directorial works include Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). Transitioning towards acting, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in Good Time and has since taken on roles in films such as Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Oppenheimer. He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the television show The Curse (2023).

References

  1. ↑ "Why It's a Great Time to Be an Independent Filmmaker". indiewire.com. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  2. ↑ ""Your Obstacles are Basically Everything": Writer/Actress/Producer Naomi McDougall Jones Talks Grassroots Female Filmmaking". filmmakermagazine.com. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  3. ↑ "IMAGINE I'M BEAUTIFUL (NR)". laweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  4. ↑ "Vampire Comedy 'Bite Me': A Love Song to the Weirdos". indiewire.com. 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  5. ↑ "Lauren Sowa's October Installment Profiles Filmmaker and Activist Naomi McDougall Jones". independent-magazine.org. 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  6. ↑ "Imagine I'm Beautiful". independent-globalnews.ca. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  7. ↑ "CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS". cfifn.org. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  8. ↑ "From a Dream to the Big Screen: Filmmaker Naomi McDougall JonesReturns to Aspen with Film Premiere". aspendailynews.com. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  9. ↑ "What it's like to be a woman in Hollywood". ted.com. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  10. ↑ Jones, Naomi McDougall (24 October 2017), What it's like to be a woman in Hollywood , retrieved 2019-09-30
  11. ↑ "How 'The New Yorker Presents' Got Made for Amazon Streaming". indiewire.com. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  12. ↑ "Christian Coulson To Topline Indie Film 'Bite Me'; Kevin William Paul Cast In 'Stano'". deadline.com. 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  13. ↑ "Naomi McDougall Jones on her film, Bite Me, and why she skipped traditional distribution in favor of a 50-city tour". Mirror Box Films. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  14. ↑ "Joyful Vampire Tour Of America". Bite Me | Official Movie Site. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  15. ↑ Williams, Mac. "Bite Me Interview with Naomi McDougall Jones". Fanboy Planet. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  16. ↑ "How Gender Inequality in Hollywood Affects Everyone, with Naomi McDougall Jones". speaking.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  17. ↑ Jones, Naomi Mcdougall (2020). The Wrong Kind of Woman: Dismantling the Gods of Hollywood. ISBN   978-0807033456.
  18. ↑ Catherine (2019-07-30). "Bite Me indie film screening at Hammond Castle #GloucesterMA & candlelit tours". Good Morning Gloucester. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  19. ↑ "Artists take up residence in Hemingway House". Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.