Ben Younger (born October 7, 1972) is an American screenwriter and film director.

Biography

Early life and career

Younger was born in Brooklyn, and raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish household in

Eltingville, Staten Island Eltingville is a neighborhood in the Staten Island borough of New York City, United States. It is located on Staten Island's South Shore, Staten Island, South Shore, immediately to the south of Great Kills, Staten Island, Great Kills and north ...

and in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the boro ...

. He attended a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

, before entering

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

, part of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

, where he studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. While at university, he started performing comedy. After leaving university, he set his sights on a career in politics, taking on a role as a policy analyst for the New York City

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

's office, where he served as a legislative aide to

Alan Hevesi Alan George Hevesi (January 31, 1940 – November 9, 2023) was a convicted felon and American politician who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2001, and as New York State Comptro ...

. After that, he successfully managed the State Assembly campaign for Queens Democrat

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a ...

, becoming, at 21, the city's youngest ever campaign manager. Despite his success, Younger became disenchanted with politics, and by 1995 started to seek a creative outlet that would rekindle the excitement he felt as a stand-up comedian. He wrote and directed a short film, ''L & M'', as well as working on a number of feature films as a grip, and directing music videos and commercials.

''Boiler Room''

In 1995, he attended an interview for a job in a brokerage firm, and immediately conceived the idea that went on to become his first film, '' Boiler Room''. He spent two years researching the underground telemarketing brokerage industry as background for his screenplay. ''Boiler Room'' was released in 2000. A corporate drama in the mold of ''

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

'' and '' Glengarry Glen Ross'', with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

, the film exposed the shady world of " chop shops" (underground brokerage firms), and starred Giovanni Ribisi,

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...

, Nicky Katt, Jamie Kennedy, and

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

''Prime''

Younger's second film, ''

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

'' (2005), is a romantic comedy about the relationship between a young

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

man and an older

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

woman. The film stars

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

. The movie was prominently featured in 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 ...

show ''

Unscripted ''Unscripted'' is an American comedy drama series that aired on HBO in early 2005. The series was largely improvised by its performers. It was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov. ''Unscripted'' is the sec ...

'' because

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series '' How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role in ''The Mindy Project''. He also had a recurring rol ...

, star of ''Unscripted'' was also the male lead in ''

''. Younger appeared as himself in the episodes where the movie was featured.

''Bleed for This''

Younger's third film '' Bleed for This'' is an American biographical drama based on the life of former World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza. Younger both wrote and directed. The film stars Miles Teller, Katey Sagal, Amanda Clayton and Aaron Eckhart, and is executive produced by Martin Scorsese. The film was released on November 18, 2016.

Other projects

In addition to his film projects, Younger has been published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', and has sold numerous television pilots to FX, NBC, ABC and Fox, to name a few. Younger is a keen

motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

enthusiast, and has expressed a desire to make a film about

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

.Soup :: Ben Younger: But, What I Really Want To Do Is Direct (A Motorcycle Racing Movie)

Filmography

Director

* '' Boiler Room'' (2000) * ''The Hit Man and the Investigator'' (2001) * ''The Car Thief and the Hit Man'' (2001) * ''Toothpaste'' (2004) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' (1 episode, 2007) * '' Bleed for This'' (2016) * '' The Vince Staples Show'' (2 episodes, 2024)

Producer

* ''Maestro'' (1998)

Writer

* '' Boiler Room'' (2000) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Bleed for This'' (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Bard of the Boiler Room – ''New York Metro'' feature

The Prime of Ben Younger

Interview at SuicideGirls.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Ben 1972 births Living people American male screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters American television directors Film producers from New York (state) Queens College, City University of New York alumni People from Eltingville, Staten Island People from Staten Island Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews