Lisa Cholodenko | |
|---|---|
| Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | San Francisco State University Columbia University |
| Occupations | Film director,screenwriter |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Notable work | High Art Laurel Canyon The Kids Are All Right Olive Kitteridge Unbelievable |
| Children | 1 |
Lisa Cholodenko is an American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the filmsHigh Art (1998),Laurel Canyon (2002), andThe Kids Are All Right (2010).[1][2] She has also directed television, including the miniseriesOlive Kitteridge (2014) andUnbelievable (2019).[3] She has been nominated for anAcademy Award and aGolden Globe and has won anEmmy and aDGA Award.
Cholodenko is from the San Fernando Valley, and grew up in a liberalJewish family.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather emigrated fromUSSR.[6][failed verification]
Cholodenko received aBA in anthropology and ethnic studies fromSan Francisco State University, where she was a teaching assistant forAngela Davis. In the early 1990s, she was an apprentice editor onJohn Singleton'sBoyz n the Hood.[4] She also worked as an assistant editor onBeeban Kidron'sUsed People,Brett Leonard'sThe Lawnmower Man, andGus Van Sant'sTo Die For. In 1997, Cholodenko received anMFA fromColumbia University School of the Arts in screenwriting and directing.[7][8] While at Columbia, Cholodenko wrote and directed a number of short films, includingSouvenir (1994) andDinner Party (1997), which won theBritish Film Institute's Channel 4 TX prize and aired on UK, French, and Swiss television.[9]
While at Columbia, Cholodenko wrote and directed her feature film debutHigh Art.High Art won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at theSundance Film Festival as well as the National Society of Film Critics award forAlly Sheedy's performance.High Art premiered at CannesDirector's Fortnight and was distributed by October Films.[citation needed]
Her next filmLaurel Canyon, starringFrances McDormand,Christian Bale, andKate Beckinsale, premiered at Cannes Director's Fortnight. It was nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards and was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
Cholodenko directed the 2004 filmCavedweller forShowtime; it earnedIndependent Spirit Award nominations for cast membersKyra Sedgwick andAidan Quinn.[citation needed]
Cholodenko next co-wrote and directedThe Kids Are All Right. She was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film was nominated for another 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won aGolden Globe for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical. Filmed in 23 days, Cholodenko directed the film on a $3.5 million budget, a much smaller amount than her fellow 2011 Oscar nominees. The film was made with three different sources of equity financing, withFocus Features picking up the film for distribution.[8][10]
In 2014, Cholodenko directed theHBO four-part mini-seriesOlive Kitteridge starringFrances McDormand andRichard Jenkins.Olive Kitteridge is based on thenovel of the same name byElizabeth Strout.[11]Bill Murray,Jesse Plemons,Zoe Kazan, andJohn Gallagher Jr. co-starred.[12]Olive Kitteridge premiered at the 2014Venice Film Festival to overwhelmingly positive reviews.[13][14] The show received widespread critical acclaim when it premiered on television in November. It received threeGolden Globe nominations, and Cholodenko received aDirectors Guild Award and aPrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Directing for her work on the miniseries.[15][16]
In 2018, Cholodenko was an executive producer and directed the first three episodes of Netflix's limited seriesUnbelievable. Based on the 2015 news article "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" written by Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, the show received universal acclaim when it premiered in October 2019. It received threeGolden Globe nominations, threeEmmy nominations, and won thePeabody Award.[citation needed]
Cholodenko has also directed episodes ofHomicide: Life on the Street,Six Feet Under,The L Word,Hung, andHere and Now. Cholodenko was an executive producer, and directed the first episode, of the 2015 eight-partNBC miniseriesThe Slap, which was based on the Australianminiseries of the same name.[17]
Cholodenko directed and executive produced the first two episodes of theHulu seriesThe Girl from Plainville, starringElle Fanning.[18][19]
Cholodenko has a son with musicianWendy Melvoin.[20][21]
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Crawl | Yes | |||
| Souvenir | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1997 | Dinner Party | Yes | Yes | Also editor |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | High Art | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Laurel Canyon | Yes | Yes |
| 2004 | Cavedweller | Yes | |
| 2010 | The Kids Are All Right | Yes | Yes |
TV
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Yes | Episode "The Same Coin" | |
| 2001 | Six Feet Under | Yes | Episode "Familia" | |
| 2002 | Push, Nevada | Yes | Episode "The Letter of the Law" | |
| 2005 | The L Word | Yes | Episode "Lynch Pin" | |
| 2010 | Hung | Yes | Episode "Beaverland" | |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Yes | Episodes "Pharmacy", "Incoming Tide", "A Different Road" and "Security" | |
| 2015 | The Slap | Yes | Yes | Episode "Hector" |
| 2018 | Here and Now | Yes | Episodes "Fight, Death" and "Wake" | |
| 2019 | Unbelievable | Yes | Yes | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | The Girl from Plainville | Yes | Yes | Episode "Star-Crossed Lovers and Things Like That" |
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