Tamara Jenkins | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Jenkins in 2013 | |
| Born | (1962-05-02)May 2, 1962 (age 63) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature filmsSlums of Beverly Hills (1998),Private Life (2018), andThe Savages (2007). She received anAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination for the latter.
Jenkins was born inPhiladelphia, the daughter of Lillian and Manuel Jenkins.[1] Her father is Jewish, and her mother isItalian American.[2][3] After her parents divorced, her father, a former nightclub owner, took custody of her and her three brothers, moving the family to California to work as a car salesman.[4][5] She lived inBeverly Hills with her father and brothers, and attended Beverly Hills High for a year and a half.
In the 1980s, Jenkins moved to New York City where she performed in various productions, including the first national tours ofChicago,Les Miserables, andCats, as well as the 1993 Broadway Revival ofMy Fair Lady.[6] She enrolled in the graduate filmmaking program atNew York University'sTisch School of the Arts in the 1990s.[7] Winner of aGuggenheim Fellowship for filmmaking, Jenkins also attended the Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Filmmakers Lab.[8] While in film school, Jenkins worked various jobs, including as a waitress and an assistant.[9]
Jenkins began her career with a short film, 1991'sFugitive Love, which screened at theSundance Film Festival. Afterwards, she completed a congressional mandate associated withPBS to bring diverse programming to public television that was funded by the Independent Television Service.[8] Another black-and-white short, 1993'sFamily Remains, followed, which received a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Short Filmmaking at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.[10]
Her debut feature film, 1998's semi-autobiographicalSlums of Beverly Hills, which she wrote and directed, played at both Sundance and theCannes Film Festival.[11] Based on her own experience growing up inBeverly Hills in the 1970s, the film is a dark comedy about a nomadic family in Los Angeles. Using photographs Jenkins had kept from her time atBeverly Hills High School, art director Scott Plauch and production designer Dena Roth were able to create an accurate period depiction of Beverly Hills, while also staying true to the autobiographical element which is key to the film's success.[12]
StarringAlan Arkin,Natasha Lyonne andMarisa Tomei,Slums of Beverly Hills was nominated for twoIndependent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay). Jenkins took a nearly decade-long hiatus to complete her next feature film.[7] In the nine-year gap between her two films, she worked on an eventually abandoned screenplay about photographerDiane Arbus.[4] Before returning to her next feature film, Jenkins branched out to explore theater, essay publications, and nonprofit film and TV work. In 2003, she directedThe New Group's theater production ofA Likely Story, written and performed byDavid Cale.[13]
Shortly after her marriage, Jenkins went toYaddo, the artists' colony inSaratoga Springs, New York, to work on the screenplay that would eventually become 2007'sThe Savages.[11] For this tragicomedy about adysfunctional family dealing with the aftershocks of its patriarch's elderly dementia, Jenkins took inspiration from her experiences with her grandmother and father, both of whom were in nursing homes withdementia.[14] Jenkins' father, who was much older than Jenkins’ mother, first needed care when she was in her 30s.[15] Additionally, Jenkins built upon her theater work at The New Group, departing from her previously straight dramas to something far more absurd. The film layers a bright, doll-like color palette upon a bleak and often morbid story, relying on the savage wit of her screenplay to tie the film together.[16]
The project was initially withFocus Features, which she says had given her a "blind deal" to write any script she wanted, but she sought to get a deal elsewhere after what she characterized as a disagreement over casting.[4]Fox Searchlight picked up the film with a modest budget ($8 million) and compressed shooting schedule of 30 days.[4] StarringLaura Linney (who received her thirdAcademy Award nomination for her role) andPhilip Seymour Hoffman, the film became a critical success after screening at numerous film festivals, including Sundance and theToronto International Film Festival. Jenkins was nominated for an Academy Award forBest Original Screenplay.
After the success ofThe Savages, it took Jenkins eleven years to make her third feature film,Private Life. When discussing the more than a decade-long hiatus, Jenkins noted that successful female directors do not often produce films at the same pace as their male counterparts, stating “It’s systemic. It’s gotta be systemic. There is something in the water.”[17]
Private Life, which starredPaul Giamatti,Kathryn Hahn,Molly Shannon, andKayli Carter, was also written by Jenkins. The film began production in April 2017,[18] and was given a limited release in theaters on October 5, 2018, byNetflix, which also streamed the film.[19][20]Private Life follows a couple dealing with infertility, and is based on Jenkins’ own struggles to have a child.[21]Rolling Stone magazine described the movie as "not only about infertility... a tender but unflinching portrait of a couple in the throes of a midlife crisis."[19] Jenkins was nominated at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay for the film.[22]Private Life holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Jenkins' highest-rated film on the site.[23]
In addition to her work in film, Jenkins' writing has been published inZoetrope: All-Story andTin House Magazine. Most recently her essay, "Holy Innocents" appeared in the bookLisa Yuskavage: Small Paintings 1993-2004. She has also directed theater atThe New Group, worked with teens creating a sex-education film for the nonprofit organization Scenarios, and directed a series of public service announcements forAmnesty International.[10]
Her process as a filmmaker often begins with images, as she came to filmmaking from the experimental-theatre scene. Her earliest use of film was using slide projectors to project still images as part of a performance piece.[24] SeeingStranger Than Paradise byJim Jarmusch inspired her to switch from performance art to filmmaking.[25]She takes inspiration from Lorrie Moore, Lynda Barry, Spalding Gray. Her favorite movies includeDog Day Afternoon and400 Blows.[26]
Jenkins has been married to fellow screenwriter,Jim Taylor, since 2002—himself anAcademy Award winner forSideways (2004), among other nominations.[27] They have one daughter and live in New York City as of 2019[update].[28] The couple co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film,Juliet, Naked (adapted fromNick Hornby'shomonymous novel), along with Evgenia Peretz—sister of the film's director,Jesse Peretz.[29]
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Slums of Beverly Hills | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2007 | The Savages | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2018 | Private Life | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2018 | Juliet, Naked | No | Yes | No |
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Fugitive Love | Yes | Yes |
| 1993 | Family Remains | Yes | Yes |
| 2004 | Choices: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly | Yes | No |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Screenplay | Slums of Beverly Hills | Nominated | |
| Best First Feature | Nominated | ||||
| 2008 | Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | The Savages | Nominated | |
| Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Director | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
| 2018 | Gotham Awards | Best Screenplay | Private Life | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Nominated |
Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor, who are married, have a slew of credits to their names individually. The couple also contributed to the adaptation of Nick Hornby's bookJuliet, Naked.
Jenkins lives in New York City with her husband—the screenwriter Jim Taylor—and their daughter, Mia.
Evgenia Peretz: 'So, Jim Taylor and Tamara Jenkins are a married couple. They did a first draft of it before I ever got involved, probably two or three years ago.'
