Alan Ball | |
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 Ball in 2008 | |
| Born | Alan Erwin Ball (1957-05-13)May 13, 1957 (age 68) Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | University of GeorgiaFlorida State University |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, director, producer |
| Known for | Screenwriter ofAmerican Beauty |
| Television | Six Feet Under True Blood Banshee |
| Partner | Peter Macdissi |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay American Beauty (1999) |
Alan Erwin Ball (born May 13, 1957)[1] is an American writer and director for film and television. Ball is best known for writing the screenplay for the dramedy filmAmerican Beauty (1999), for which he won theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the72nd Academy Awards ceremony. He also created theHBO drama seriesSix Feet Under (2001–2005) andTrue Blood (2008–2014), and served as an executive producer on theCinemax action drama seriesBanshee (2013–2016). He wrote and directed the filmsTowelhead (2007) andUncle Frank (2020).
Ball was born inMarietta, Georgia to Frank and Mary Ball, both of whom were aircraft inspectors. His older sister, Mary Ann, was killed in a car accident when Ball was 13; he was in the passenger seat at the time.[2] He attended Marietta High School inMarietta, Georgia and went to college at theUniversity of Georgia andFlorida State University. Ball graduated from Florida State in 1980 with a degree intheater arts.[3][4]
After college, Ball began work as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theater Company inSarasota, Florida.[5]
Ball broke into television as a writer and story editor on the sitcomsGrace Under Fire andCybill.[6]
Ball wrote two film scripts that ended up indevelopment hell prior toAmerican Beauty (1999).[7] He won theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay forAmerican Beauty. He has written two further films:Towelhead (2007) andUncle Frank (2020), the latter of which he also produced and directed. He is also the creator, writer and executive producer of theHBO drama seriesSix Feet Under andTrue Blood.[8] Ball was theshowrunner forTrue Blood for its first five seasons.[9]
In 2010, Ball began work on a television adaptation of the crime noir novelThe Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death byCharlie Huston, to be titledAll Signs of Death.[10][11] In December 2010, after several months of pre-production, HBO cancelled production.[12]
Ball was one of the executive producers of theCinemax seriesBanshee.[13]
In July 2016, it was announced that Ball's family dramaHere and Now had been ordered to series byHBO.[14] StarringTim Robbins andHolly Hunter,[15][16] the show was cancelled in April 2018 after one ten-episode season.
Ball has discussed his Buddhist faith in numerous interviews, noting how it has influenced his filmmaking. In an interview with Amazon.com, Ball commented on the plastic bag scene inAmerican Beauty, stating: "I had an encounter with a plastic bag! And I didn't have a video camera, like Ricky does... There's a Buddhist notion of the miraculous within the mundane, and I think we certainly live in a culture that encourages us not to look for that."[17] Ball also discussed how his Buddhism shaped themes inSix Feet Under andTrue Blood.[18][19]
Ball is gay and has been called "a strong voice for [the]LGBT community".[20][21] In 2008, he madeOut magazine's annual list of the 100 most impressive gay men and women.[22]
For his work in television and film, Ball has received critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations, including anAcademy Award, anEmmy aGolden Globe, and awards from theWriters,Directors, andProducers Guilds.[23]
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| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Road to Paris, Texas" | 1994 |
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| "Grace vs. Wade" | 1994 | Writer | |
| "A Night at the Opera" | 1995 | Writer | |
| "Memphis Bound" | 1995 | Writer, with Marc Flanagan |
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Zing!" | 1995 | Teleplay, with Lee Aronsohn | |
| "To Sir, with Lust" | 1996 | Writer | |
| "Three Women and a Dummy" | 1996 | Writer | |
| "Venice or Bust" | 1996 | Writer | |
| "Buffalo Gals" | 1996 | Writer | |
| "Name That Tune" | 1997 | Teleplay, with Michael Langworthy | |
| "Mother's Day" | 1997 | Story | |
| "Regarding Henry" | 1997 | Story | Season 4 premiere |
| "Halloween" | 1997 | Teleplay, with Mark Hudis | |
| "Where's a Harpoon When You Need One?" | 1997 | Teleplay, with Kim Friese | |
| "Bakersfield" | 1998 | Story | |
| "Oh Brother!" | 1998 | Teleplay, with Mark Hudis | |
| "Dream Date" | 1998 | Story |
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Pilot" | 1999 | Writer | Series premiere |
| "Good Pop, Bad Pop" | 1999 | Writer |
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Pilot" | 2001 |
| Series premiere |
| "An Open Book" | 2001 | Writer | |
| "Knock Knock" | 2001 |
| Season 1 finale |
| "In The Game" | 2002 | Writer | Season 2 premiere |
| "Someone Else's Eyes" | 2002 | Writer | |
| "The Last Time" | 2002 | Director | Season 2 finale |
| "Perfect Circles" | 2003 | Writer | Season 3 premiere |
| "Nobody Sleeps" | 2003 | Writer, with Rick Cleveland | |
| "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" | 2003 | Director | Season 3 finale |
| "Can I Come Up Now?" | 2004 | Writer | |
| "Untitled" | 2004 | Director | Season 4 finale |
| "Everyone's Waiting" | 2005 |
| Series finale |
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| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Strange Love" | 2008 |
| Series premiere |
| "The First Taste" | 2008 | Writer | |
| "Mine" | 2008 | Writer | |
| "You'll Be the Death of Me" | 2008 | Director | Season 1 finale |
| "Shake and Fingerpop" | 2009 | Writer | |
| "Frenzy" | 2009 | Writer | |
| "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" | 2010 | Writer | |
| "Evil is Going On" | 2010 | Writer | Season 3 finale |
| "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?" | 2011 | Writer | |
| "Spellbound" | 2011 | Writer | |
| "Hopeless" | 2012 | Writer | |
| "Save Yourself" | 2012 | Writer | Season 5 finale |
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Eleven Eleven" | 2018 |
| Series premiere |
| "It's Coming" | 2018 | Writer | |
| "It's Here" | 2018 | Writer |
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Beauty | 1999 |
| |
| Towelhead | 2007 |
| |
| The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | 2017 |
| Television film |
| Uncle Frank | 2020 |
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| Title | Year | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Women Wearing the Same Dress | 1993 |
| [24] |
| All That I Will Ever Be | 2007 |
| [24] |
He is also openly gay & a strong voice for our LGBT community.
Ball has been lauded as a strong and significant voice for the American gay community.
