Alan Rudolph
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Alan Steven Rudolph (born December 18, 1943) is an American film director and screenwriter.


Early life

Rudolph was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Oscar Rudolph (1911–1991), a television director and actor, and his wife. He became interested in film and was a protégé of director
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...
. Rudolph worked as an assistant director on Altman's film adaptation of
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
's '' The Long Goodbye'' and later on ''
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...
''.


Career

Rudolph's films focus upon isolated and eccentric characters and their relationships, and frequently are ensemble pieces featuring prominent
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and fantasy. He has written almost all of his films. In addition, he has repeatedly worked with actors Keith Carradine and
Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...
, and composer
Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and ...
(see
list of film director and composer collaborations * The following film directors and film score composers have worked together on multiple projects. A Ali Abbasi *Martin Dirkov **'' Shelley'' (2016) **''Border'' (2018) J. J. Abrams * Michael Giacchino **''Alias'' (2001–2006) **''Lost ...
). Director Rudolph came to prominence with '' Choose Me'' (1984), the story of the sexual relationships among a handful of lonely, but charming, people – an ex-prostitute bar owner ( Lesley Ann Warren), an emotionally repressed radio talk show hostess (Bujold), and a disarmingly honest madman (Carradine). '' Trouble in Mind'' (1985) featured
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...
as well as Bujold, Carradine and
Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...
, in a rare, out of female drag, performance. The film was entered into the
36th Berlin International Film Festival The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with ''Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film ...
. ''
The Moderns ''The Moderns'' is a 1988 film by Alan Rudolph, which takes place in 1926 Paris during the period of the Lost Generation and at the height of modernist literature. The film stars Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone, and Geneviève Bu ...
'' (1988) is a fictional love story set in 1926 Paris among well-known American expatriates such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, whom the film's characters briefly encounter. Expatriate American artist (Carradine) re-ignites his love for his former wife ( Linda Fiorentino), despite her marriage to a sinister, philistine art collector played by John Lone. In 1990, Rudolph wrote and directed the private eye love story ''Love at Large'', filmed in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
. After the thriller '' Mortal Thoughts'' (1991) starring
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...
, he directed ''
Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
'' (1992), with Matthew Modine playing a pair of separated twins. His ''
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle ''Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle'' is a 1994 American biographical drama film directed by Alan Rudolph from a screenplay written by Rudolph and Randy Sue Coburn. The film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as writer Dorothy Parker and depicts the mem ...
'' (1994), was a biopic of
Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...
, with
Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...
in the title role. '' Breakfast of Champions'' (1999) was an adaptation of
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and stor ...
al novel, with
Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960 ...
as the wildly prolific but terminally under-appreciated writer
Kilgore Trout Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. In Vonnegut's work, Trout is a notably unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels. "Trout" was inspired by the name of the author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut's ...
. The film was entered into the
49th Berlin International Film Festival The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with '' Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by ...
. Rudolph has also turned to painting, and In April 2008, presented a solo show of his paintings at Gallery Fraga,
Bainbridge Island, Washington Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...
. In 2017, he directed ''Ray Meets Helen,'' a love story between two quirky outsiders, depicted by veteran Rudolph actor Keith Carradine and Sondra Locke, in her final film.


Films as director

*'' Premonition'' (1972) *'' Nightmare Circus'' (1974, as "Gerald Cormier") *'' Welcome to L.A.'' (1976, also writer) *'' Remember My Name'' (1978, also writer) *''
Roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This ca ...
'' (1980, also story) *''
Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
'' (1982) *'' Return Engagement'' (1983) *'' Choose Me'' (1984, also writer) *''
Songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
'' (1984) *'' Trouble in Mind'' (1985, also writer) *'' Made in Heaven'' (1987) *''
The Moderns ''The Moderns'' is a 1988 film by Alan Rudolph, which takes place in 1926 Paris during the period of the Lost Generation and at the height of modernist literature. The film stars Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone, and Geneviève Bu ...
'' (1988, also writer) *''
Love at Large ''Love at Large'' is a 1990 American romance and mystery film directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins and Anne Archer. Plot Set in a present that feels more like the past, Harry Dobbs is a private detective surrou ...
'' (1990, also writer) *'' Mortal Thoughts'' (1991) *''
Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
'' (1992, also writer) *''
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle ''Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle'' is a 1994 American biographical drama film directed by Alan Rudolph from a screenplay written by Rudolph and Randy Sue Coburn. The film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as writer Dorothy Parker and depicts the mem ...
'' (1994, also writer) *''
Afterglow An afterglow in meteorology consists of several atmospheric optical phenomena, with a general definition as a broad arch of whitish or pinkish sunlight in the twilight sky, consisting of the bright segment and the purple light. Purple light mai ...
'' (1997, also writer) *'' Breakfast of Champions'' (1999, also writer) *'' Trixie'' (2000, also writer) *''
Investigating Sex ''Investigating Sex'' is a 2001 comedy-drama film written and directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Neve Campbell, Til Schweiger, Nick Nolte and Dermot Mulroney. The film is based on ''Investigating Sex: Surrealist Research 1928-1932'', a book of S ...
'' (2001, also writer) *''
The Secret Lives of Dentists ''The Secret Lives of Dentists'' is a 2002 drama film directed by Alan Rudolph. The screenplay was written by Craig Lucas, based on the novella ''The Age of Grief'' by Jane Smiley. It had its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film F ...
'' (2002) *'' Ray Meets Helen'' (2017, also writer)


Recurring collaborators


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph, Alan 1943 births American male screenwriters Living people Writers from Los Angeles Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California