Gren Wells

Last updated
Gren Wells
Gren Wells at diff 2015.jpg
Wells at diff 2015]]
Born
Occupation(s) Filmmaker, screenwriter, actor
Known for A Little Bit of Heaven , The Road Within

Gren Wells is a Kentucky-born filmmaker, screenwriter, and actress who works and resides in Los Angeles.

Contents

Early life

Wells was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. [1] After attending Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, Wells moved to New York City, where she starred in six indie films over a two-year span, one of which, Man About Town, won Best Short Film at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. [2] After moving to Los Angeles, Wells became a stand-up comic and wrote her first feature script, A Little Bit of Heaven.

Career

Her first script, A Little Bit of Heaven , was sold to 20th Century Fox. [3] This script later found a home at The Film Department and starred Kate Hudson, Gael García Bernal, Kathy Bates, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lucy Punch, Romany Malco, and Peter Dinklage. [4]

Her second film, The Road Within , was Wells' directorial debut. [5] After premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival [5] it was acquired by Well Go USA. It stars Zoë Kravitz, Dev Patel, Robert Sheehan, Robert Patrick, and Kyra Sedgwick and was released on April 17, 2015. [6]

Wells directed the 2022 film, Dear Zoe . [7]

Awards

Wells was chosen as one of Variety's Top 10 Directors to Watch for 2014.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Hudson</span> American actress (born 1979)

Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for an Academy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Beckinsale</span> British actress (born 1973)

Kathrin Romany Beckinsale is an English actress. She has gained acclaim for her roles in action films, romance films, and period dramas. Beckinsale made her film debut in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She gained prominence taking leading roles in numerous British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996), and The Golden Bowl (2000). She challenged herself taking roles in films such as The Last Days of Disco (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), Pearl Harbor (2001), Serendipity (2001), Tiptoes (2003), The Aviator (2004) and Click (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristen Stewart</span> American actress (born 1990)

Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Field</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1964)

William Todd Field is an American filmmaker and actor. He is known for directing In the Bedroom (2001), Little Children (2006), and Tár (2022), which were nominated for a combined fourteen Academy Awards. Field has personally received six Academy Award nominations for his films; two for Best Picture, two for Best Adapted Screenplay, one for Best Director, and one for Best Original Screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Mara</span> American actress (born 1983)

Kate Rooney Mara is an American actress. She is known for work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama House of Cards, computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in the Fox thriller series 24 (2006), wronged mistress Hayden McClaine in the FX miniseries American Horror Story: Murder House (2011), Patty Bowes in the first season of the FX drag ball culture drama series Pose (2018), and a teacher who begins an illicit relationship with an underage student, in the FX miniseries A Teacher (2020). For the latter, she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best New Scripted Series as an executive producer.

<i>Go Fish</i> (film) 1994 film by Rose Troche

Go Fish is a 1994 American comedy drama film written by Guinevere Turner and Rose Troche and directed by Rose Troche. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, and was the first film to be sold to a distributor, Samuel Goldwyn, during that event for $450,000. The film was released during Pride Month in June 1994 and eventually grossed $2.5 million. The film was seen as groundbreaking for celebrating lesbian culture on all levels, and it launched the career of director Troche and Turner. Go Fish is said to have proved the marketability of lesbian issues for the film industry.

<i>Revolutionary Road</i> (film) 2008 film by Sam Mendes

Revolutionary Road is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as Frank and April Wheeler, with Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, and Kathy Bates in supporting roles. Set in the mid-1950s, the Wheelers struggle to cope with their personal problems and the ensuing breakdown in their marriage. Revolutionary Road is the second onscreen collaboration for DiCaprio, Winslet, and Bates, all of whom previously co-starred in 1997's Titanic. The film soundtrack was composed by Thomas Newman, his fourth collaboration with Mendes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Kazan</span> American actress (born 1983)

Zoe Swicord Kazan is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film Swordswallowers and Thin Men (2003) and later acted in films such as The Savages (2007), Revolutionary Road (2008), and It's Complicated (2009). She starred in Happythankyoumoreplease (2010), Meek's Cutoff (2010), Ruby Sparks (2012), What If (2013), The Big Sick (2017), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and She Said (2021). She also wrote Ruby Sparks and co-wrote Wildlife (2018) with her partner Paul Dano.

<i>Happythankyoumoreplease</i> 2010 American film

Happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film features Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, in the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to balance love, friendship, and their encroaching adulthoods.

Reel Moments is an annual film series project by the magazine Glamour. The program entails a competition where its readers submit short stories with three being selected to be made into short films. The short stories submitted are all personal non-fiction essays. Actors, directors, and crew all donate their time to the project. Sponsors fund scripting, production, and screening costs. Proceeds benefit a charity chosen by each director, such as FilmAid International. It is hoped that the directing experience will open doors for female directors.

<i>Lovelace</i> (film) 2013 film directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein

Lovelace is a 2013 American biographical drama film centered on porn actress Linda Lovelace, star of Deep Throat, a landmark 1972 film at the forefront of the Golden Age of Porn. Lovelace covers her life from age 21 to 32.

<i>Smashed</i> (film) 2012 film directed by James Ponsoldt

Smashed is a 2012 American drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Ponsoldt and Susan Burke, and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul. Winstead and Paul play a married couple, Kate and Charlie Hannah, both alcoholics. After a series of embarrassing incidents caused by her drinking habit, Kate decides to get sober with the help of a coworker and a sponsor from Alcoholics Anonymous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Shaw</span> American actress, writer and director (born 1981)

Rachel Frances Shaw is an American actress, writer and director. She is best known for playing Bridgette Bird on the Showtime series SMILF, based on the 2015 short film of the same title, which she wrote, directed and starred in. Shaw is also known for playing Mary Jo Cacciatore on the 2010–2011 Spike TV series Blue Mountain State, and her recurring role as Shayla Nico in the first season of the USA Network television series Mr. Robot.

<i>Wish I Was Here</i> 2014 American comedy-drama film

Wish I Was Here is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Zach Braff and co-written with his brother Adam Braff. The film stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Josh Gad, Pierce Gagnon, Ashley Greene, Kate Hudson, Joey King, Jim Parsons, and Mandy Patinkin. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014 and was given a limited release on July 18, 2014 by Focus Features. This marked the final film appearances for James Avery and Allan Rich before their deaths on December 31, 2013 and August 22, 2020 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aja Naomi King</span> American film and television actress

Aja Naomi King is an American actress. She began her career in guest-starring roles on television, and starred as Cassandra Kopelson in short-lived The CW medical comedy-drama, Emily Owens, M.D. (2012–13). She also has starred in the films Four (2012) and Reversion (2015).

<i>Dear White People</i> 2014 film by Justin Simien

Dear White People is a 2014 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several black students. It stars Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P. Bell, Brittany Curran, Marque Richardson and Dennis Haysbert.

<i>The Road Within</i> 2014 American film

The Road Within is a 2014 American film written and directed by Gren Wells in her feature directorial debut. The film is a remake of the 2010 German film, Vincent Wants to Sea. The film premiered at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival and was picked up by Well Go USA Entertainment and given a theatrical release in April 2015.

<i>Wiener-Dog</i> (film) 2016 American film by Todd Solondz

Wiener-Dog is a 2016 American anthology comedy film directed and written by Todd Solondz. Starring an ensemble cast led by Ellen Burstyn, Kieran Culkin, Julie Delpy, Danny DeVito, Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts, and Zosia Mamet, the film serves as a spin-off from Solondz's 1995 film Welcome to the Dollhouse, which also features the character of Dawn Wiener. The film is also inspired by the 1966 French drama Au Hasard Balthazar, directed by Robert Bresson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Baena</span> American screenwriter and film director

Jeff Baena is an American screenwriter and film director known for Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017), Horse Girl (2020), Spin Me Round (2022), and for co-writing I Heart Huckabees (2004). He is known for his frequent collaborations with actresses Alison Brie and his wife Aubrey Plaza.

<i>What They Had</i> 2018 American drama film directed by Elizabeth Chomko

What They Had is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Elizabeth Chomko in her feature directorial debut. Starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, Blythe Danner, Taissa Farmiga, and Josh Lucas, the film follows two siblings in conflict with their father over whether or not to put their mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, in a nursing home.

References

  1. Plyer, Will (1 October 2004). "Gren Wells". Done Deal Professional. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. "Man About Town". Sundance Institute . Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. "Executive Profiles: John Davis". Variety . 17 December 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. Dargis, Manohla (3 May 2012). "Dancing on Her Own Grave With a Spring in Her Step: 'A Little Bit of Heaven,' With Kate Hudson". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 Silverstein, Melissa (18 June 2014). "LAFF Women Directors: Meet Gren Wells (The Road Within)". IndieWire . Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. Punter, Jennie (4 September 2014). "Well Go USA Nabs Rights to Gren Wells' 'The Road Within'". Variety. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. Dear Zoe at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg