Alan Erwin Ball (born May 13, 1957) is an American writer and director for film and television. Ball is best known for writing the screenplay for the dramedy film '' American Beauty'' (1999), for which he won the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. He also created the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005) and '' True Blood'' (2008–2014), and served as an executive producer on the

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box ...

action drama series '' Banshee'' (2013–2016). He wrote and directed the films '' Towelhead'' (2007) and '' Uncle Frank'' (2020).

Early life

Ball was born in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

to Frank and Mary Ball, both of whom were aircraft inspectors. His older sister, Mary Ann, was killed in a car accident when Ball was 13; he was in the passenger seat at the time. He attended Marietta High School in

and went to college at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Ball graduated from Florida State in 1980 with a degree in

theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. After college, Ball began work as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theater Company in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

Career

Ball broke into television as a writer and story editor on the sitcoms '' Grace Under Fire'' and '' Cybill''. Ball wrote two film scripts that ended up in development hell prior to '' American Beauty'' (1999). He won the

for ''American Beauty''. He has written two further films: '' Towelhead'' (2007) and '' Uncle Frank'' (2020), the latter of which he also produced and directed. He is also the creator, writer and executive producer of the

drama series '' Six Feet Under'' and '' True Blood''. Ball was the showrunner for ''True Blood'' for its first five seasons. In 2010, Ball began work on a television adaptation of the crime noir novel ''The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death'' by Charlie Huston, to be titled '' All Signs of Death''. In December 2010, after several months of pre-production, HBO cancelled production. Ball was one of the executive producers of the

series '' Banshee''. In July 2016, it was announced that Ball's family drama '' Here and Now'' had been ordered to series by

. Starring

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...

and Holly Hunter, the show was cancelled in April 2018 after one ten-episode season.

Personal life

Ball has discussed his Buddhist faith in numerous interviews, noting how it has influenced his filmmaking. In an interview with Amazon.com, Ball commented on the plastic bag scene in ''American Beauty'', stating: "I had an encounter with a plastic bag! And I didn't have a video camera, like Ricky does... There's a Buddhist notion of the miraculous within the mundane, and I think we certainly live in a culture that encourages us not to look for that." Ball also discussed how his Buddhism shaped themes in '' Six Feet Under'' and '' True Blood''. Ball is gay and has been called "a strong voice for he

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community". In 2008, he made ''Out'' magazine's annual list of the 100 most impressive gay men and women.

Accolades

For his work in television and film, Ball has received critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations, including an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

a Golden Globe, and awards from the

Writers A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short stori ...

, Directors, and Producers Guilds. ;Awards * 2000

– '' American Beauty'' * 2000 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – ''American Beauty'' * 2000

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Best Original Screenplay – ''American Beauty'' * 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Drama Series – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2002

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2004 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series – ''Six Feet Under'' ;Nominations * 2000 BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Screenplay – ''American Beauty'' * 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2004 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2006 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series – ''Six Feet Under'' * 2009 Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series – ''True Blood'' * 2010 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series – ''True Blood''

Works

Television

Film

Theatre

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Alan 1957 births Living people 21st-century American Buddhists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state) American male screenwriters American television directors Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Florida State University alumni American gay writers Gay Buddhists Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay screenwriters GLAAD Media Awards winners Primetime Emmy Award winners American showrunners American LGBTQ screenwriters American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Writers from Atlanta Writers Guild of America Award winners Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Directors Guild of America Award winners LGBTQ people from Georgia (U.S. state) American male television writers American television writers American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) American LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors 21st-century American LGBTQ people