Terry Zwigoff | |
---|---|
Born | Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. | May 18, 1949
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison [1] |
Occupation(s) | Director, producer |
Years active | 1979–present |
Spouse | Melissa Axelrod [2] |
Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949)[ citation needed ] is an American film director whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with Louie Bluie (1985) and Crumb (1995). After Crumb, Zwigoff moved on to write and direct fiction feature films, including the Academy Award-nominated Ghost World (2001) and Bad Santa (2003).
Zwigoff was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family of dairy farmers. [3] He was raised in Chicago.
Zwigoff moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and met cartoonist Robert Crumb, who shared his interest in pre-war American roots music. Zwigoff, who plays cello and mandolin (as well as the saw, and the Stroh violin), joined Crumb's string band R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, with whom he recorded several records.
Zwigoff's friendship with Crumb led to his involvement in the underground comix scene. He initially edited the one-shot Funny Aminals #1 (Apex Novelties, 1972), the groundbreaking comic in which Art Spiegelman first introduced the characters and themes that would become Maus . In 1972–1973, Zwigoff operated Golden Gate, a small retailer and underground comix publisher [4] [5] (located at 429 Brazil Street in San Francisco). [6] Golden Gate Publishing released three comics during this period, all of which heavily featured Crumb's work:
Zwigoff later sold Golden Gate's publishing rights to Kitchen Sink Press. [5]
From 1981 to 1984, Zwigoff helmed the letter column of Weirdo , a comics anthology edited by Crumb. "Weirdo's Advice to the Lovelorn" was written by Zwigoff, operating under the nom de plume of "Prof. T. E. Zwigoff".
Zwigoff began his film career making documentary films, starting with 1985's Louie Bluie , a one-hour documentary about the blues and string band musician Howard Armstrong. Zwigoff had been inspired to locate and interview him after listening to a 30s recording, "State Street Rag", on which Armstrong played the mandolin.
Zwigoff worked on a documentary about R. Crumb and his two brothers for nine years, during which Zwigoff said he was "averaging an income of about $200 a month and living with back pain so intense that I spent three years with a loaded gun on the pillow next to my bed, trying to get up the nerve to kill myself". [7] He completed Crumb in 1994; the critically acclaimed film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, [8] the DGA award, [9] the NY Film Critics Circle Award, [10] the LA Film Critics Award, [11] and the National Society of Film Critics Award. [12] Additionally, critic Gene Siskel named Crumb the best film of 1995 [13] as did over ten other major film critics. [14] It appeared on over 150 Ten Best Lists of important critics. [15] When Crumb failed to receive an Oscar nomination, there was an outcry from the media which forced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to revamp their documentary nomination process that previously had been dominated by the distributors of documentary films. [15] [16] [17]
Zwigoff's first fiction feature film was the comedy-drama Ghost World , based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name. For this, Zwigoff and co-writer Clowes were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay [18] and won the Independent Spirit Award. [19] Ghost World was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards [20] and two AFI awards. [21] USA Today and The Washington Post called it the best film of the year. [22] [23] Ghost World appeared on over 150 Ten Best Lists. [15]
Zwigoff's next film was the 2003 black comedy Bad Santa whose star, Billy Bob Thornton, was nominated for a Golden Globe award. [24] The film cost $23 million to make and grossed over $76 million worldwide. [25]
His latest feature film was Art School Confidential , whose best-known stars are John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, and Anjelica Huston. [26] Art School Confidential was Zwigoff's second collaboration with writer Daniel Clowes.
In 2009, Zwigoff signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a then 13-year-old girl. [27]
According to Vice , Zwigoff and Robert Crumb wrote an unproduced screenplay titled Sassy. [28]
Zwigoff turned down the offer to direct Elf (2003) in favor of directing Bad Santa. [29]
In July 2006, it was reported that Zwigoff was to write and direct a film adaptation of the French novel Happy Days by Laurent Graff. Jerry Stahl was to have co-written the script with Zwigoff and the film was to have been produced by Johnny Depp via Infinitum Nihil and Graham King via Initial Entertainment Group. [30] [31]
In September 2007, it was reported that Zwigoff was to direct and co-write with Daniel Clowes a film titled The $40,000 Man for New Line Cinema. [32] [33]
In a 2012 interview with IndieWire, Zwigoff claimed he attempted to write and direct a film adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel Maximum Bob . [34]
In June 2013, it was reported that Zwigoff was to direct Fred Armisen in a film he co-wrote with Melissa Axelrod titled Justice for Al. [35] [36]
In July 2013, it was reported that Zwigoff was to direct a film he co-wrote with Melissa Axelrod titled Lost Melody with Edward R. Pressman producing and Nicolas Cage slated to star. [37] [38] [39]
Zwigoff confirmed in a 2017 interview with Vanity Fair that he attempted to make Lem Dobbs’ unproduced script titled Edward Ford into a film with Michael Shannon slated to star. According to Zwigoff, the film was never made because "the money fell through". [40]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Louie Bluie | Yes | Yes | No | Documentary |
1995 | Crumb | Yes | Yes | No | |
2001 | Ghost World | Yes | No | Yes | Nominated- Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
2003 | Bad Santa | Yes | No | No | |
2006 | Art School Confidential | Yes | No | No | |
2017 | Budding Prospects | Yes | Yes | No | Amazon pilot |
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański is a French and Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, ten César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or.
Robert Dennis Crumb is an American cartoonist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture.
Eightball is a comic book by Daniel Clowes and published by Fantagraphics Books. It ran from 1989 to 2004. The first issue appeared soon after the end of Clowes's previous comic book, Lloyd Llewellyn. Eightball has been among the best-selling series in alternative comics.
Bad Santa is a 2003 American Christmas black comedy crime film directed by Terry Zwigoff, written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and starring Billy Bob Thornton in the title role, with a supporting cast of Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, Lauren Tom, John Ritter, and Bernie Mac. It was Ritter's last live-action film appearance before his death on September 11, 2003. The film was dedicated to his memory. The Coen brothers are credited as executive producers. The film was released in North America on November 26, 2003, and was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It received positive reviews and was a commercial success.
Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in Eightball, a solo anthology comic book series. An Eightball issue typically contained several short pieces and a chapter of a longer narrative that was later collected and published as a graphic novel, such as Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (1993), Ghost World (1997), David Boring (2000) and Patience (2016). Clowes's illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Newsweek, Vogue, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. With filmmaker Terry Zwigoff, Clowes adapted Ghost World into a 2001 film and another Eightball story into the 2006 film, Art School Confidential. Clowes's comics, graphic novels, and films have received numerous awards, including a Pen Award for Outstanding Work in Graphic Literature, over a dozen Harvey and Eisner Awards, and an Academy Award nomination.
Crumb is a 1994 American documentary film about the noted underground cartoonist R. Crumb and his family and his outlook on life. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell, it won widespread acclaim. It was released on the film festival circuit in September 1994 before being released in the USA on April 28, 1995, having been screened at film festivals that year. Jeffery M. Anderson placed the film on his list of the ten greatest films of all time, labeling it "the greatest documentary ever made." The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on August 10, 2010.
Weirdo was a magazine-sized comics anthology created by Robert Crumb and published by Last Gasp from 1981 to 1993. Featuring cartoonists both new and old, Weirdo served as a "low art" counterpoint to its contemporary highbrow Raw, co-edited by Art Spiegelman.
Ghost World is a graphic novel by Daniel Clowes. It was serialized in issues #11–18 of Clowes's comic book series Eightball, and was published in book form in 1997 by Fantagraphics Books. It was a commercial and critical success and developed into a cult classic.
Sophia Violet "Sophie" Crumb is an American-French comics artist.
The 5th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 2001, were held on 20 December 2001.
The 6th San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, given by the San Diego Film Critics Society on 18 December 2001, honored the best in film for 2001.
The 22nd Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, honoring the best in film in 2001, were given on 16 December 2001.
Art School Confidential is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Joel Moore, Nick Swardson, Adam Scott, and Anjelica Huston. About Jerome (Minghella) who enrolls in art school and is loosely based on the comic of the same name by Daniel Clowes. The film is Zwigoff's second collaboration with Clowes, the first being 2001's Ghost World. It was a critical and box office bomb.
R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders are an American retro string band playing songs from, and in the style of, the 1920s: old-time music, ragtime, "evergreen" jazz standards, western swing, country blues, Hawaiian, hokum, vaudeville and medicine show tunes. Underground cartoonist Robert Crumb was the band's frontman and album cover artist. Other members of the band include fellow cartoonist Robert Armstrong and filmmaker Terry Zwigoff.
Ghost World or Ghostworld may refer to:
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Mia Farrow as a young wife living in Manhattan who becomes pregnant, but soon begins to suspect that her elderly neighbors are members of a Satanic cult who are grooming her in order to use her baby for their rituals. The film's supporting cast includes John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Patsy Kelly, Angela Dorian, and Charles Grodin in his feature film debut.
Ghost World is a 2001 black comedy film co-written and directed by Terry Zwigoff. Based on the 1990s comic book Ghost World by Daniel Clowes, the story focuses on the lives of teenage outsiders Enid and Rebecca, who face a rift in their friendship as Enid takes an interest in an older man named Seymour, and becomes determined to help his romantic life.
Glenn Ficarra is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He has frequently collaborated with John Requa.
Joel and Ethan Coen, collectively referred to as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, and have edited almost all of them under the collective pseudonym Roderick Jaynes.
The People's Comics is a single-issue underground comic book drawn and written largely by Robert Crumb, with a young Harvey Pekar writing a back cover feature. The book is notable for containing the death sequence of Fritz the Cat following Crumb's disappointment with Ralph Bakshi's 1972 film involving the character.