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, immediately to the south of Great Kills and north of Annadale. The main commercial area of Eltingville ex ...

and in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and a bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 34,940, which constituted a 7.7% increase from ...

. He attended a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; 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 stu ...

, before entering

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

, part of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pr ...

, 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, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. 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 accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level exec ...

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

Alan Hevesi Alan G. Hevesi (born January 31, 1940) is a former American politician and convicted felon 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 Comptroller from 200 ...

. 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 Grip(s) or The Grip may refer to: Common uses * Grip (job), a job in the film industry * Grip strength, a measure of hand strength Music * Grip (percussion), a method for holding a drum stick or mallet * ''The Grip'', a 1977 album by Arthur Bl ...

, 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 an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

'' and ''

Glengarry Glen Ross ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a play by David Mamet that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts ...

'', with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to

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

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

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), '' Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (20 ...

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. Diesel began auditi ...

Nicky Katt Nicky Katt (born May 11, 1971) is an American actor. Katt often plays unsympathetic characters, such as an irascible motorhead in ''Dazed and Confused,'' an ill-fated white supremacist child rapist in ''A Time to Kill'', and an embittered busi ...

Jamie Kennedy James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He has played Randy Meeks in the '' Scream'' franchise (1996–2000) and a multitude of characters in '' The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'' (2002–2004) on The WB. His ot ...

, and

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. 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 way ...

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

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

man and an older

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

woman. The film stars

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. 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 an ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

. The movie was prominently featured in the HBO 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 seco ...

'' because

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, 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 as Jake Jagielski in the WB series ''One Tree ...

, 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 weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

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

motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. ...

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

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

.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)

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 Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews