Rodman Flender | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | June 9, 1962
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Occupations |
|
Spouse | Amy Lippman [1] |
Children | 1 |
Relatives |
|
Rodman Flender (born June 9, 1962) is an American actor, writer, director and producer.
Born and raised in a Jewish family in New York, Flender's early experiences in the arts included roles on Broadway and PBS series. He honed his acting skills at New York's High School of Performing Arts and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, before pursuing higher education at Harvard University. At Harvard, he contributed to The Harvard Lampoon and studied documentary filmmaking, which laid the foundation for his diverse career in entertainment.
Starting his professional journey in the advertising department of Roger Corman's Concorde-New Horizons Films, Flender transitioned into production and direction, making his debut with the thriller "The Unborn." His directing credits include feature films such as "Leprechaun 2" and "Idle Hands," as well as television episodes for shows like "The Office," "Ugly Betty," and "Gilmore Girls." Flender's documentary work includes "Let Them Eat Rock," a musical portrait of the band The Upper Crust, and "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop," which documents Conan O'Brien's tour following the 2010 Tonight Show conflict. The latter was recognized by Roger Ebert as one of the best documentaries of 2011.
In addition to directing, Flender has returned to character-based drama and ventured into romantic comedy and horror, as seen in his feature film "Eat, Brains, Love," which premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival]to positive reviews and won Best Picture at the 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Flender's personal life includes his marriage to writer and producer Amy Lippman, and he is the uncle to actors Timothée and Pauline Chalamet.
Flender was born and raised in a Jewish family [2] [3] in New York City, the son of Enid (née Rodman), a former Broadway dancer, and Harold Flender (1924—1975), a writer and screenwriter. [4] Flender's early acting roles included Mischa in the Broadway production of Zalmen or the Madness of God [5] and Charles Francis Adams in the PBS series The Adams Chronicles . He graduated from the drama department of New York's High School of Performing Arts and studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, United Kingdom. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon . Flender majored in Visual and Environmental Studies and studied documentary filmmaking with Ed Pincus and Ross McElwee, who inspired him with an enthusiasm for the documentaries.
Independent filmmaker Roger Corman hired Flender out of college to run the advertising department of his Concorde-New Horizons Films. With his goal toward directing, Flender moved into production and was Corman's Vice President of Production for two years. [6] He produced or co-produced titles including Body Chemistry, Streets , and Full Fathom Five . Flender made his feature directing debut with the Corman-produced thriller The Unborn , which received favorable reviews. [7] Flender next wrote and directed In The Heat of Passion, also for Roger Corman.
Over the next decade, Flender's feature directing credits included Leprechaun 2 for Trimark, and the Columbia Pictures release Idle Hands . Flender became a busy director of television episodes and pilots. TV credits include multiple episodes of the comedies The Office and Ugly Betty ; dramas that include Chicago Hope , Gilmore Girls and The O.C. ; and horror with HBO's Tales From The Crypt . As a writer, Flender's credits include Tales From The Crypt and the feature film Roger Corman’s Dracula Rising.
In 1998, he began filming a musical portrait of the Boston-based rock band The Upper Crust, and directed Dawson's Creek episode "The Scare", a parody of Scream . Developments within the band led Flender to continue shooting on and off for the next five years. The resulting documentary, Let Them Eat Rock , played film festivals in 2005 and 2006 [8] to mostly positive notices. [9] [10] Following the 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Flender joined Conan O'Brien (whom he knew since their days at Harvard) on the road, as part of the Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, and filmed the ongoings behind-the-scenes, onstage and between shows. The documentary, titled Conan O'Brien Can't Stop , was released in select theatres on June 24, 2011, which Roger Ebert featured on his list of best documentaries of 2011. [11]
With the documentary completed, Flender returned to directing television in multiple genres, including episodes of the comedies Suburgatory and Super Fun Night in 2014, the drama Finding Carter and multiple episodes of the thriller Scream in 2015 and 2016. Flender directed two episodes of the 2016-2017 science fiction series People of Earth and returned to character-based drama in 2019, directing Kirsten Dunst in the Showtime original series On Becoming a God in Central Florida . [12]
Rodman Flender completed his next feature film in 2019, when he mixed romantic comedy, horror and the road movie with Eat, Brains, Love . It premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival [13] to positive reviews [14] [15] and won Best Picture at the 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival. [16] In 2022, footage from "The Scare" was incorporated into the Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett film Scream .
He is married to American writer and producer Amy Lippman. [17] His nephew is Academy Award-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet and his niece actress Pauline Chalamet, who appeared in The Sex Lives of College Girls and The King of Staten Island. His son is Haskell Flender. Haskell also attended Harvard University and was a member of the Harvard Lampoon. [18] [19]
Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about a florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The film stars Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, and Dick Miller, who had all worked for Corman on previous films. Produced under the title The Passionate People Eater, the film employs an original style of humor, combining dark comedy with farce and incorporating Jewish humor and elements of spoof. The Little Shop of Horrors was shot on a budget of $28,000. Interiors were shot in two days, by utilizing sets that had been left standing from A Bucket of Blood.
Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, its 1972 sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and several films based on those books. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor of the Wonka Chocolate Factory.
Richard Miller was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corman, including Joe Dante, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese, with the distinction of appearing in every film directed by Dante. He was known for playing the beleaguered everyman, often in one-scene appearances.
Richard Bruce Kind is an American actor and comedian. His television roles include Dr. Mark Devanow in Mad About You, Paul Lassiter in Spin City (1996–2002), Andy in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002–2021), and Captain Stan Yenko in East New York (2022–2023). He appeared in the films Johns (1996), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006), Big Stan (2007), A Serious Man (2009), The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014), All We Had (2016), Rifkin's Festival (2020), Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021), and The Out-Laws (2023).
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed.
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has also been host of the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018 and starred in the 2024 travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max.
Dan Mintz is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Bob and Linda's oldest daughter, Tina Belcher, on the animated show Bob's Burgers. As a comedian, he is known for his extremely deadpan delivery, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead and never looking toward the camera or audience due to natural stage fright.
Night of the Blood Beast is a 1958 American science-fiction horror film about a team of scientists who are stalked by an alien creature, which implants its embryos in an astronaut's body during a space flight. Produced by exploitation filmmaker Roger Corman and his brother Gene, it was one of the first films directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and was written by first-time screenwriter Martin Varno, who was 21 years old. It starred several actors who had regularly worked with Roger Corman, including Michael Emmet, Ed Nelson, Steve Dunlap, Georgianna Carter and Tyler McVey. The film was theatrically released in December 1958 as a double feature with She Gods of Shark Reef.
Watchers II is the 1990 sequel to the 1988 horror film Watchers. Starring Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins, the film is loosely based on the 1987 novel Watchers by Dean Koontz. It was released on August 16, 1990.
Monster from the Ocean Floor is an American 1954 science fiction film about a sea monster that terrorizes a Mexican cove. The film was directed by Wyott Ordung and starred Anne Kimbell and Stuart Wade.
The Unborn is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by Rodman Flender and starring Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga, James Karen, K Callan, and Jane Cameron. The film's plot concerns a couple who cannot have children; they attempt in-vitro fertilization, but strange things start happening to the mother while she is pregnant.
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop is a 2011 documentary film by Rodman Flender featuring Conan O'Brien and focusing on his comedy tour, The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which took place in 2010 following his departure from The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien due to the controversial 2010 Tonight Show conflict.
Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda is the sequel to the 2010 SyFy original monster film Sharktopus and premiered on August 2, 2014. The film was produced by Roger Corman, who directed the Conan O'Brien cameo, and stars Robert Carradine, Katie Savoy, and Rib Hillis. O'Brien makes his acting debut in a scene described as "truly violent, patently disgusting and darkly humorous". It is the second film in the Sharktopus franchise.
Timothée Hal Chalamet is an American and French actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and three BAFTA Film Awards.
Let Them Eat Rock is a 2004 documentary film by Rodman Flender that follows five eventful years in the Boston-based rock band The Upper Crust.
Bones and All is a 2022 romantic horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by David Kajganich, based on the 2015 novel Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis. Set in the late 1980s, the film stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as a pair of young cannibals who develop feelings for each other on a road trip across the United States. Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, David Gordon Green, Jessica Harper, Jake Horowitz, and Mark Rylance appear in supporting roles.
Eat Brains Love, also stylized as Eat, Brains, Love, is a 2019 American romantic comedy horror film directed by Rodman Flender. Based on the 2013 book of the same name by Jeff Hart, the film stars Jake Cannavale, Angelique Rivera, Sarah Yarkin, Jim Titus and Patrick Fabian.
Pauline Hope Chalamet is an American–French actress and producer. She made her feature film debut in Judd Apatow's comedy The King of Staten Island (2020). Since 2021, she has starred in the HBO Max teen comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls.