Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer.

Early work

Almereyda studied art history at Harvard but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strength of a spec script about

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
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A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

'', based on Mikhail Lermontov's novel of the same title. Shot in 1985, it was finished in 1987 and screened in the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Early screenplays include '' Cherry 2000'' (1987), the first draft for Wim Wenders’ ''

Until the End of the World ''Until the End of the World'' (german: Bis ans Ende der Welt; french: Jusqu'au bout du monde) is a 1991 science fiction adventure drama film directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders. Set at the turn of the millennium in the shadow of a world ...

'' (1991), and uncredited work on '' Total Recall'' (1990). Almereyda's films range across many genres, styles, and formats. His first feature, ''

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'' (1989), based on Mary Robison’s novel Oh, was a comedy about a dysfunctional mid-Western family. '' Another Girl Another Planet'' (1992) was a romantic chamber piece, a black-and-white, one-hour featurette shot with a Fisher-Price Pixelvision camera. ''Nadja'' (1994) was a comic vampire film shot on

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with Pixelvision inserts. ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (2000) was shot on Super 16mm and featured

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in '' Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...

and

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

. The adaptation layered a contemporary New York setting on Shakespeare's text.

2000s

Almereyda directed features set in pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans: '' Happy Here and Now'' (2002) and '' New Orleans, Mon Amour'' (2008). In 2004, he directed an episode of the HBO series '' Deadwood'', His most recent work has mainly involved documentaries and shorts. '' William Eggleston in the Real World'' (2005) was nominated for a

Gotham Award The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

for Best Documentary from the

Independent Filmmaker Project The Gotham Film & Media Institute (also simply the Gotham), formerly known as the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent film. It offers programs that assist independent fil ...

,Gotham Awards Nominations Announced
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Filmmaker (magazine) ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP ( Independent Fi ...

. Accessed 8 August 2014.'Brokeback,' 'Capote' Get Gotham Award Nods
, Fox News Channel. Accessed 8 August 2014. as was the sketchbook film ''

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...

'' (2009). He has recently returned to fiction film with a 2013 adaptation of Shakespeare’s ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'', a spiritual successor to his earlier ''Hamlet''. '' Experimenter'' (2015), was based on the life of Stanley Milgram, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and received critical acclaim. ''

Marjorie Prime ''Marjorie Prime'' is a 2017 American science-fiction film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, based on Jordan Harrison's play of the same name. It stars Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins, Geena Davis, and Lois Smith. Footage was screened for buyers ...

'' (2017), a philosophical science-fiction film based on Jordan Harrison's play of the same name, again screened at Sundance and won the Sloan Feature Film Prize. Most recently, he has directed a documentary on

Hampton Fancher Hampton Lansden Fancher (born July 18, 1938) is an American actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker, best known for co-writing the 1982 neo-noir science fiction film ''Blade Runner'' and its 2017 sequel '' Blade Runner 2049,'' based on the novel '' ...

and adapted his Tesla spec script into a 2020 film of the same name. Almereyda edited and contributed texts for ''Night Wraps the Sky: Writings by and About Mayakovsky'', published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

in 2008, and ''William Eggleston: For Now'', published by Twin Palms in 2010. He has written criticism and commentary for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'', ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...

'', ''

Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature that was based in New York City, New York. The magazine was founded in 1994 and announced in December of 2022 it would cease publishing after 2 ...

'', '' The Believer'', and ''

Triple Canopy Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by United States Army, ...

''. In 2015 Almereyda received the Moving Image

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

Award. Almereyda frequently uses the same actors. He has worked more than once with Suzy Amis, Karl Geary,

Jared Harris Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...

, Isabelle Gillies,

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

Lois Smith Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film ''East of Eden (film), East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles i ...

Hannah Gross Hannah Gross (born ) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Debbie Mitford in the Netflix drama '' Mindhunter''. Early life Gross grew up in Toronto. She is the daughter of actors Martha Burns and Paul Gross. She attended N ...

, and

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1985) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Another Girl Another Planet'' (1992) * '' Nadja'' (1994) * '' At Sundance'' (1995) * ''

The Rocking Horse Winner "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a short story by D. H. Lawrence. It was first published in July 1926, in ''Harper's Bazaar'' and subsequently appeared in the first volume of Lawrence's collected short stories. It was made into a full-length film di ...

'' (1997) * '' The Eternal'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Happy Here and Now'' (2002) * '' This So-Called Disaster'' (2004) * '' William Eggleston in the Real World'' (2005) * '' New Orleans, Mon Amour'' (2008) * '' Big River Blues'' (2008) * '' Tonight at Noon'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009) * '' The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes'' (2011) * '' The Ogre's Feathers'' (2012) * ''

Skinningrove Skinningrove is a village in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. Its name is of Old Norse etymology and is thought to mean ''skinners' grove or pit''. History The village had an agricultural and fishing economy until the opening ...

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2014) * '' Experimenter'' (2015) * ''

'' (2017) * ''

Escapes Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'' (2017) * '' Tesla'' (2020)

References

External links

*
Fleeting Joy
A website devoted to Almereyda's work.

by Jeremiah Kipp, Senses of Cinema website
King of Infinite Space
''Filmmaker Magazine'', Winter 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Almereyda, Michael American film directors American male screenwriters Harvard College alumni 1959 births Living people English-language film directors Alfred P. Sloan Prize winners