Tommy O'Haver

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Tommy O'Haver (born October 24, 1968) is an American film director and screenwriter.

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Early life

O'Haver grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis.[ citation needed ] He graduated from Carmel High School and matriculated at Indiana University with a joint degree in Journalism and Comparative Literature.[ citation needed ]

In the mid-1990s, he attended the MFA Film program at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. [1]

Career

Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss , featuring Sean Hayes, was O'Haver's feature film directorial debut. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss played in competition at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, [2] and received mostly positive reviews from critics. [3]

His follow-up film, titled Get Over It , featured Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldana in a teen comedy about a school theater production; it was released in 2001, [4] and received mixed reviews from critics. [5] [6] [7] [8] O'Haver's third film, Ella Enchanted , starred Anne Hathaway, was released in 2004, [9] [10] [11] and also received mixed reviews from critics. [12]

His fourth feature film, which was eventually released as a television film, starred Catherine Keener, Elliot Page, and James Franco; the film, titled An American Crime , premiered at Sundance in 2007, and was based on a true story of Gertrude Baniszewski, an Indiana woman charged in 1965 with the murder of Sylvia Likens. The initial reaction at Sundance was mixed, [13] but the film later garnered some critical praise, with Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times called it "one of the best television movies to appear in years". [14]

In June 2013, O'Haver directed the music video "Rollin'" for MiBBs. [15]

On April 2, 2015, the seventh episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden was broadcast from O'Haver's house. [16]

In 2017, O'Haver's fifth film, The Most Hated Woman in America , was released; it starred Melissa Leo as Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2017. [17] [18] It was released on March 24, 2017, by Netflix. [19] It received mostly negative reviews from critics. [20]

Filmography

YearFilmCredited asRole, notes, references
DirectorWriterProducerActorOther
1998 Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss YesYesYesFoley walker
2001 Get Over It YesYesLove Matters Director
2004 Ella Enchanted YesYesSquirrel-on-a-Stick Vendor
2007 An American Crime YesYes
The Loop YesEpisode: "Stride"
2009 United States of Tara YesEpisode: "Possibility"
2017 The Most Hated Woman in America YesYesYes

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References

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  2. "Spring 1998: FESTIVAL ROUNDUP". Filmmaker. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  4. "Get Over It (12)". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  5. Cockrell, Eddie (March 9, 2001). "Get Over It". Variety . Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  6. Scott, A. O. (March 10, 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Ditched Lover Gets On With the Show" . The New York Times . Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  7. LaSalle, Mick (March 10, 2001). "'Get Over It' a Teen Flick With Wit and Energy" . San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  8. Hardy, Ernest. "Get Over It". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on September 8, 2001. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  9. "Ella Enchanted". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  10. Brueggemann, Tom (2020-04-12). "The Easter When 'The Passion of the Christ' Beat 'Hellboy' for #1 at the Box Office". IndieWire . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  11. "Weekend Box Office Results for April 9-11, 2004". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database. April 12, 2004. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  12. "Ella Enchanted". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  13. "An American Crime". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  14. Bellafonte, Ginia (May 10, 2008). "Home-Grown, Everyday Sadism". The New York Times . Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  15. Poulsen, Drew (2013-07-02). "Mibbs, 'Rollin": Exclusive Video Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  16. Stampler, Laura (3 April 2015). "James Corden Decided to Host 'The Late Late Show' From a Stranger's House". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  17. D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 31, 2017). "SXSW 2017 Lineup: 'Baby Driver', 'Free Fire', 'Muppet Guys Talking' & Docus That Matter In Trump Era". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  18. "The Most Hated Woman In America". South by Southwest . Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  19. Wiebe, Sheldon (March 24, 2017). "Two Netflix Original Films Bound for SXSW!". Eclipse.
  20. "The Most Hated Woman in America | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.