Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class American
suburbia
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
", a reflection of his own background in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
.
His work includes ''
Welcome to the Dollhouse
''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age black comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz. An independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and launched the careers of Solondz and H ...
'' (1995), ''
Happiness
Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...
'' (1998), ''
Storytelling
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...
'' (2001), ''
Palindromes'' (2004), ''
Life During Wartime'' (2009), ''
Dark Horse
A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...
'' (2011), and ''
Wiener-Dog'' (2016). He is also a professor at
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 ...
.
Background
Solondz was born in 1959 in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, and grew up in its nearby suburbs.
He wrote several screenplays while working as a delivery boy for the
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...
. Solondz earned his undergraduate degree in English from Yale and attended
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 ...
's
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
program in film and television, but did not complete a degree.
During the early 1990s, Solondz worked at
NYANA as a teacher of
English as a second language
English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...
to Russian immigrants in New York City and described the experience as positive.
Solondz is an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. In ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' article "Is There a God?", he answered the question "Well, me, I'm an atheist, so I don't really believe there is. But I suppose I could be proven wrong."
, Solondz lives in New York City, in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
.
[ He and his wife have two children.]
Career
1980s
Solondz's student short film ''Schatt's Last Shot'' was produced in 1985, and was shown at least once in 1986. The title character is a high schooler who wants to get into Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, but his gym teacher hates him. The teacher fails him because he cannot make a shot in basketball. He has no luck with the girl of his dreams, but he wishes he was more like the coach, whom he challenges to a game of one-on-one.
In 1989 Solondz wrote and directed '' Fear, Anxiety & Depression'', an episodic comedy about fledgling playwright Ira (played by Solondz) and his frustrating interactions with women. The film contains several musical interludes, including three songs written for the film. Stanley Tucci appears in one of his early roles as an old, disliked acquaintance of Ira, who takes up playwriting on a whim and becomes the toast of Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
.
1990s
The frustrations of his first feature led Solondz to swear off further involvement with the industry. More than five years later, an attorney friend urged Solondz to give filmmaking another go, and promised partial finance for any project Solondz came up with. The result was 1995's ''Welcome to the Dollhouse
''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age black comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz. An independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and launched the careers of Solondz and H ...
'', which went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
. The dark comedy follows the travails of Dawn Wiener, a bespectacled, toothy, and shy 7th-grade girl who is mercilessly teased at school and treated to alternating contempt and neglect at home. It was distinct from most earlier films about adolescent abuse due to its complex characterization. It gave a balanced and sometimes sympathetic portrayal of the bully antagonist Brandon, and its depiction of Dawn, the ostensible protagonist and victim of the story, showed her as deeply flawed and sometimes cruel and selfish. The film was a major success among critics, and a moderate success at the box office. It was a festival hit, with screenings all over the world.
Solondz's next piece was ''Happiness'' (1998), a highly controversial film due to the themes explored in it, which range from rape, pedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...
, incest
Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
, suicide, and murder to a bizarre sexual phone caller. After the original distributor October Films dropped it, the film was distributed by Good Machine Releasing. The movie received numerous awards, including International Critics' Prize 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 ...
, and yielded strong critical praise for Solondz.
2000s
In 2001, Solondz released ''Storytelling'', which premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
The 54th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was named Jury President for the main competition. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti won the ''Palme d'Or'' for the drama film '' The Son's ...
. It is a film separated into two parts, entitled "Fiction" and "Nonfiction." The two stories share two thematic elements, but deal with each in an autonomous manner. Solondz used this format because he wanted to "find a fresh structure, a fresh form, and a different way of tackling what may be identical geographical material."[Interview at Salon.com, 1/30/2002](_blank)
When Solondz initially presented the film to the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...
, he was told that if he wished to receive a rating other than NC-17, he would have to remove a scene of explicit sex involving a white female and a black male. However, a clause in Solondz's contract allowed him to cover part of the actors with a bright red box. "For me it's a great victory to have a big red box, the first red box in any studio feature ..it's right in your face: You're not allowed to see this in our country." Solondz did, however, remove a portion of the film (which has variously been reported as either a subplot of the second story, or a third story entirely) which contained a sex scene involving two male actors (one of whom was James Van Der Beek
James David Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom '' Don't Trus ...
).
Solondz's next film, ''Palindromes'' (2004), raised the eyebrows of many pundits and reviewers due to its themes of child molestation, statutory rape
In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...
and abortion. Like all of Solondz's previous films, ''Palindromes'' is set in suburban New Jersey. It was released unrated in the US.
''Life During Wartime'' (formerly known as ''Forgiveness'') was produced by John Hart and Evamere Entertainment and released in 2009. Solondz said the film is a companion piece to ''Happiness'' and ''Welcome to the Dollhouse''. ''Life During Wartime'' has characters in common with the two earlier films, but played by different actors and with loose continuity. Information about the characters in the film, and their differences from those of its predecessor ''Happiness'', first emerged in August 2009. The film features Ally Sheedy, Renée Taylor, Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens (; ; August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman.
Born in Peekskill, New York and raised in both Oneonta, New York and Sarasota, Flo ...
, Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love ...
, Shirley Henderson, Michael Lerner, Michael Kenneth Williams, Charlotte Rampling
Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging London, Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'', which starred Lynn ...
, Allison Janney, Rich Pecci and Chris Marquette.
The film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado, during Labor Day, Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 51st Telluride Film Festival, 51st edition took place on August 30–September ...
in September 2009; it was nominated for the Golden Lion
The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...
at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
in August–September 2009, and it won the Osella award there for Best Screenplay.
In 2009, Solondz became an adjunct professor on the faculty of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
. , he is a tenured professor teaching classes on writing and directing.
2010s
In July 2010, Solondz completed the script of his next film, ''Dark Horse
A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...
'', which was filmed in the fall of 2010. To Solondz's surprise, the Creative Artists Agency appreciated the script, the first time for a movie of his. Solondz commented that he realized this is because "there's no rape, there's no child molestation, there's no masturbation
Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...
, and then I thought, 'omg, why didn't I think of this years ago?'"
Exclusive: Todd Solondz's Next Picture 'Dark Horse' Shoots This Fall
' December 7, 2010[Simone]
"Dark Horse: il prossimo film di Todd Solondz,"
badtaste.it, July 12, 2010, retrieved July 15, 2010: "ho realizzato che non ci sono stupri, molestie ai bambini, non c'è masturbazione, e ho pensato 'oddio, perchè non li ho fatto anni fa?'."
On September 5, 2011, ''Dark Horse'' was presented at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
. On October 14, 2011, ''Dark Horse'' made its European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. The film received a mixed reception. On April 23, 2012, ''Dark Horse'' was announced as the Closing Night selection for Maryland Film Festival
The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each March in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festiv ...
2012.
'' Wiener-Dog'' premiered at Sundance 2016. The film tells the story of a dog, as she travels from home to home. Amazon purchased the film at the festival. Starring an ensemble cast led by Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...
, Kieran Culkin
Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. Known for portraying distasteful yet sympathetic characters across stage and screen, List of awards and nominations received by Kieran Culkin, his accolades include an Academy A ...
, Julie Delpy, Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...
, Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts, and Zosia Mamet
Zosia Mamet (; born February 2, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for her breakout role as Shoshanna Shapiro in the HBO series '' Girls''.
Mamet also starred as Annie Mouradian in the HBO Max original series '' The Flight Attendant'' an ...
, the film serves as a spin-off from Solondz's 1995 film ''Welcome to the Dollhouse'', which also features the character of Dawn Wiener. It was released in the US on June 24, 2016, to positive reviews.
In 2017, it was reported that Penélope Cruz and Edgar Ramírez were attached to star Solondz's next film ''Love Child'', a darkly comedic twist on the story of Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...
.
In 2018, Solondz premiered his debut play, titled ''Emma and Max''. The production began previews October 1, opened on October 14, and ran through November 4. It starred Ilana Becker, Zonya Love, Matt Servitto
Matthew Joseph Servitto (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor known for his roles as Dwight Harris, Special Agent Dwight Harris on the HBO crime series ''The Sopranos'', Trask Bodine on ''All My Children'' (1989–1990), Deputy Brock Lotus on ...
, and Rita Wolf.
In May 2019, Solondz spent a week as the filmmaker in residence at the Centre for Film and Screen at the University of Cambridge.
2020s
In 2021, Solondz was in the process of arranging financing for ''Love Child''. He described the project as "my first movie with a plot and my first movie taking place in Texas", shaped by the Hollywood films that made him want to become a filmmaker. At this time, Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970) is an English actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, several awards, including an Academy Award, ...
and Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
were announced to star as the leads, in place of Cruz and Ramírez.
By 2024, it was reported that Charles Melton and Elizabeth Olsen were now cast to star in the main roles. Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
was scheduled to begin in late 2024 in New York City and Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, but in June, the production was abruptly cancelled due to lack of funding.[
]
Filmography
Feature films
Short films
Performances
Recurring characters
Themes
Solondz has included portraits of and some satire of Jews and Jewish life in his work. Set in Florida, Life During Wartime portrayed pro-Israel activists. Set in New Jersey, ''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' included traditional-Jewish-influenced music befitting a bar mitzvah being played at a wedding anniversary party.
Awards
In 2007, Solondz was honored with the Filmmaker on the Edge Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival.
References
Further reading
*Moore, Michelle E. "If It Was a Rape, Then Why Would She Be a Whore?: Rape in Todd Solondz' Films." ''Rape in Art Cinema''. Ed. Dominique Russell. New York: Continuum Press, 2010. 129–144.
External links
*
ToddSolondz.com
– Website dedicated to the films of Todd Solondz
Gothamist interview
– with Todd Solondz, April 2005
A review of ''Life During Wartime''
by Andréa Grunert (in French)
Literature on Todd Solondz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solondz, Todd
1959 births
20th-century American screenwriters
21st-century American screenwriters
American atheists
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
Film directors from New Jersey
Jewish American atheists
Jewish American screenwriters
Living people
People from Greenwich Village
Pingry School alumni
Sundance Film Festival award winners
Tisch School of the Arts faculty
Writers from Newark, New Jersey
Yale University alumni