Rodman Flender | |
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| Born | (1962-06-09)June 9, 1962 (age 63) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Amy Lippman |
| Relatives |
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Rodman Flender (born June 9, 1962) is an American filmmaker and actor. Born and raised in a Jewish family in New York City, Flender's early experiences in the arts included roles onBroadway andPBS series. He developed his acting skills at New York'sHigh School of Performing Arts and theWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, before pursuing higher education atHarvard University. At Harvard, he contributed toThe Harvard Lampoon and studieddocumentary filmmaking, which laid the foundation for his career in entertainment.
Starting his career in the advertising department ofRoger Corman'sConcorde-New Horizons Films, Flender transitioned into production and direction, making his debut with the thrillerThe Unborn (1991). His directing credits include the feature filmsLeprechaun 2 (1994) andIdle Hands (1999), as well as television episodes for series such asThe Office,Ugly Betty andGilmore Girls. Flender's documentary work includesLet Them Eat Rock (2004), a musical portrait of the bandThe Upper Crust, andConan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011), which documentsConan O'Brien's comedy tour following the2010 Tonight Show conflict. The latter was recognized byRoger Ebert as one of the best documentaries of 2011.
In recent years, Flender has returned to character-based drama and ventured intoromantic comedy and horror, as seen in his feature filmEat, Brains, Love, which premiered at theFrightFest film festival in London to positive reviews and won Best Picture at the 2019Screamfest Horror Film Festival.
Flender was born and raised inNew York City, the son of Enid (née Rodman) (1927–2022), a former Broadway dancer, and Harold Flender (1924–1975), a writer and screenwriter, whose bookParis Blues (1957), was adapted into the1961 film of the same name, starringSidney Poitier andPaul Newman.[1][2] He is of halfRussian Jewish descent on his mother's side and halfAustrian Jewish on his father's side.[3][4] He grew up in an apartment onRiverside Drive on theUpper West Side, with his older sister Nicole,[5][6] but after their father died in 1975 they moved with their mother to the federally subsidized artists' buildingManhattan Plaza inHell's Kitchen, under theMitchell–Lama program, one of the first families to do so.[7][6] His sister has described their family as "culturally Jewish but not religiously observant".[6] Flender's early acting roles included Mischa in the Broadway production ofZalmen or the Madness of God[8][9] andCharles Francis Adams in the PBS seriesThe Adams Chronicles.[10]
Flender graduated from the drama department of New York'sHigh School of Performing Arts[7] and studied acting at theWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art inLondon. Flender attendedHarvard University where he majored in visual and environmental studies, and studied documentary filmmaking withEd Pincus andRoss McElwee, who inspired him with an enthusiasm for the documentaries.[11][12] During that time, Flender was a writer forThe Harvard Lampoon, where he met close friendConan O'Brien.[13][14][15] He graduated in 1984.[16]
Independent filmmakerRoger Corman hired Flender out of university to run the advertising department of hisConcorde-New Horizons Films. With his goal toward directing, Flender moved into production and was Corman's Vice President of Production for two years.[17] He produced or co-produced titles includingBody Chemistry,Streets, andFull Fathom Five. Flender made his feature directing debut with the Corman-produced thrillerThe Unborn, which received favorable reviews.[18] Flender next wrote and directedIn The Heat of Passion, also for Roger Corman.
Over the next decade, Flender's feature directing credits includedLeprechaun 2 forTrimark and theColumbia Pictures releaseIdle Hands. Flender became a director of television episodes and pilots. TV credits include multiple episodes of the comediesThe Office andUgly Betty, dramas that includeChicago Hope,Gilmore Girls andThe O.C., and horror withHBO'sTales From The Crypt. As a writer, Flender's credits includeTales From The Crypt and the feature filmRoger Corman’s Dracula Rising.
In 1998, Flender began filming a documentary on theBoston-based rock bandThe Upper Crust and directed theDawson's Creek episode "The Scare", aparody ofScream. Developments within the band led Flender to continue shooting on and off for the next five years. The resulting documentary,Let Them Eat Rock, was played at film festivals in 2005 and 2006[19] to mostly positive notices.[20][21] Following the2010 Tonight Show conflict, Flender joined Conan O'Brien on the road, as part ofthe Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, and filmed the ongoings behind-the-scenes, onstage and between shows. The documentary, titledConan O'Brien Can't Stop, was released in select theatres on June 24, 2011.Roger Ebert included it on his list of best documentaries of 2011.[22]
With the documentary completed, Flender returned to directing television, including episodes of the comediesSuburgatory andSuper Fun Night in 2014, the dramaFinding Carter and multiple episodes of the thrillerScream in 2015 and 2016. Flender directed two episodes of the 2016-2017 science fiction seriesPeople of Earth and returned to character-based drama in 2019, directingKirsten Dunst in theShowtime original seriesOn Becoming a God in Central Florida.[23]
In 2019, Flender completed the filmEat, Brains, Love, which mixes romantic comedy, horror and road movie. It premiered at theFrightFest film festival[24] to positive reviews[25][26] and won Best Picture at the 2019Screamfest Horror Film Festival.[27] In 2022, footage from theDawson's Creek episode "The Scare", which Flender directed, was incorporated into theMatt Bettinelli-Olpin andTyler Gillett filmScream.
Flender lives in Los Angeles with his wife, writer and producerAmy Lippman.[28] They also own a house inCarpinteria, California.[29][30] They have a son, Haskell, who also attended Harvard University and was a member ofThe Harvard Lampoon.[31] He was named after cinematographerHaskell Wexler.[32]
Flender is the uncle of actorsTimothée andPauline Chalamet.[33]
