Brett D. Morgen (born October 11, 1968) is an American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

maker. His directorial credits include '' The Kid Stays in the Picture'' (2002), '' Crossfire Hurricane'' (2012), '' Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' (2015), '' Jane'' (2017), and ''

Moonage Daydream "Moonage Daydream" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally recorded in February 1971 at Radio Luxembourg's studios in London and released as a single by his short-lived band Arnold Corns in May 1971 on B&C R ...

'' (2022).

Early life

Morgen was born October 11, 1968, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. He was named after USC football lineman Britt Williams, who was team captain in 1961, but his parents misspelled the name. He was raised in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, primarily in Studio City, where his father worked as a high school

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher. According to Morgen, he was an avid movie fan from a young age, and knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. He attended the Crossroads School in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. Morgen attended

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

, where he earned a B.A. in history in 1987, before graduating with an MFA in filmmaking from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1991.

Career

Morgen made ''Ollie's Army'' while a student at New York University. The film focuses on the exploits of the

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

College Republicans during Oliver North's senatorial campaign of 1994. '' On the Ropes'' was nominated for 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 ...

in 2000 for Best Documentary. The boxing documentary was directed by Morgen and Nanette Burstein, and examined the lives of three aspiring prizefighters and their coach. The film won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary by the Directors Guild of America. '' The Kid Stays in the Picture'' is a documentary biopic about film producer Robert Evans, focusing on his major hits, like ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', and his tumultuous personal life. Once again, Morgen teamed with Nanette Burstein. '' Chicago 10'' is a film about the Chicago Eight. The film uses animation and celebrity voice-overs from Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte,

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...

, Liev Schreiber, James Urbaniak, and Jeffrey Wright. '' June 17th, 1994'' aired on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

as an episode of '' 30 for 30'' and featured on-air commentary by Morgen. It was the only ''30 for 30'' episode to date that included no interviews or voice-overs, consisting solely of the actual TV footage on June 17, 1994. This was the date of the O. J. Simpson slow-moving police chase, and the other important sports stories of that day that were mostly ignored, due to the American public's fascination with Simpson. Next, Morgan directed '' Crossfire Hurricane'' (2012), a documentary on

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, followed by the

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

documentary film '' Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' (2015). His next film was '' Jane'' (2017), which follows the life of primatologist Jane Goodall, produced by ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

''. Morgen began working on the

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

documentary ''

'' in 2017. The film was released theatrically in 2022 after premiering at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Personal life

Morgen is married to filmmaker Debra Eisenstadt, with whom he has three children: Sky, Max and Jasper. On January 5, 2017, while working on the film ''Moonage Daydream'', Morgen suffered a near-fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and flatlined three times while receiving medical care. The heart attack resulted in Morgen being in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

for a week, but he survived. In a 2022 interview, Morgen attributed his heart attack to years of

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

, stress, and lack of exercise.

Filmography

Feature-length films

* ''Ollie's Army'' (1996) * '' On the Ropes'' (1999) (

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

nomination) * '' The Kid Stays in the Picture'' (2002) * ''The Sweet Science'' (2003) * '' Chicago 10'' (2007) * ''Truth in Motion'' (2010) * '' June 17th, 1994'' (2010) ( 30 for 30) * '' Crossfire Hurricane'' (2012) * '' Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' (2015) ( Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program nomination) * '' Jane'' (2017) ( Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program winner) * ''

'' (2022)

Television series

* ''On Tour'' (1997) * ''Say It Loud'' (2001) * "Nimrod Nation" (2007) Won Peabody Award (2008) * '' Marvel's Runaways'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Year ! Title ! Award ! Result , - , rowspan=5, 2023 , , rowspan=5 , ''Moonage Daydream'' , , Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program , , - , Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program , , - , Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program , , - , Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) , , - ,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Music Film , , - , rowspan=14, 2018 , , rowspan=19 , ''Jane'' , , Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award , , - , BAFTA Film Award for Best Documentary , , - , Cinema Eye Audience Choice Award , , - , Copenhagen International Documentary Festival Politiken's Audience Award , , - , Gold Derby Award for Best Documentary Feature , , - , International Online Cinema Award for Best Documentary , , - , OFTA Best Documentary Picture , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming , , - , Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking , , - , Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures , , - , Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival WWF Award , , - , Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay , , - , rowspan=5 , 2017 , , Amsterdam International Film Festival Audience Favorite Award , , - , Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Documentary Feature , , - , BFI London Film Festival Grierson Award for Best Documentary , , - , Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award , , - , Philadelphia Film Festival Student Choice Award , , - , rowspan=5 , 2016 , , rowspan=11 , ''Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' , American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary Feature , , - , Cinema Eye Audience Choice Award , , - , Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing , , -' , Seattle Film Critics Award , , - , Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay , , - , rowspan=6 , 2015 , , Ashland Independent Film Award for Best Editing: Feature Length Documentary , , - , International Documentary Association Creative Recognition Award for Best Editing , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special , , - , Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming , , - , 2013 , ''Crossfire Hurricane'' , FOCAL Award for Best Use of Footage in a Production Featuring Music , , - , rowspan=1 , 2009 , , rowspan=4 , ''Chicago 10'' , Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay , , - , rowspan=2 , 2008 , , Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production , , - , SLFCA Award Best Animated Film , , - , rowspan=1 , 2007 , , Silver Hugo Award for Best Documentary Feature , , - , rowspan=2 , 2003 , , rowspan=2 , ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' , International Online Cinema Award for Best Documentary , , - , OFTA Film Award , , - , rowspan=3 , 2000 , , rowspan=9 , ''On the Ropes'' , Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature , , - , Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary , , - , Film Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award , , - , rowspan=6 , 1999 , , International Documentary Association Award for Best Documentary Feature , , - , Silver Spire Award for Film & Video - Society and Culture , , - , Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Documentary , , - , Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Documentary , CNN - Winners at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival - February 1, 1999
/ref> , - , Taos Talking Picture Festival Land Grant Award , , - , Urbanworld Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Documentary , , - , 1996 , ''Ollie's Army'' , UFVA Film Festival First Prize ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgen, Brett 1968 births American directors American documentary filmmakers Collage filmmakers Directors Guild of America Award winners Film directors from Los Angeles Living people Crossroads School alumni Grammy Award winners Hampshire College alumni New York University alumni People from Studio City, Los Angeles Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners