Nicole Holofcener
Encyclopedia
Nicole Holofcener is an American film and television director. She has directed four feature films, most recently Please Give
.
, and a set decorator
mother (Carol), Holofcener's parents divorced when she was one year old. When she was eight, her mother married film producer Charles H. Joffe
, who moved the family to Hollywood. Since her stepfather produced Woody Allen
's films, Nicole spent enough time on Allen's sets to be an extra in Sleeper
and Take the Money and Run
. Joffe was responsible for Holofcener's first "real" job in the movie industry: a production assistant on Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
in 1982. She moved up to apprentice editor for Hannah and Her Sisters
(1986).
Holofcener's first experiences with film as a child left her either frightened or sad; she recalled her fright at Jerry Lewis
' The Nutty Professor
. Returning East to college, Holofcener originally wanted to become an artist like her father, but felt she wasn't as talented as others in her classes. From there she gravitated into taking some film courses. She studied film at Columbia University
, and made two shorts titled Angry and It's Richard I Love. While at Columbia, she was taught by Martin Scorsese
. After viewing one of her college works, her stepfather wondered aloud if she shouldn't make a career change. Disappointed, she became a clerk at a video store for a while, then entered Columbia's graduate school program. At the time of his death in 2008, Charles Joffe had become one of the most ardent fans of his stepdaughter's work. Angry received critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival.
Holofcener made her feature film writing and directing debut with Walking and Talking
, which starred Catherine Keener
, Anne Heche
, Todd Field
, Liev Schreiber
, and Kevin Corrigan
. The film was critically acclaimed. Her understanding of modern, professional women made her an ideal choice to direct female-centric television shows like Sex and the City
, Leap of Faith
and Gilmore Girls
.
She followed in 2001 with her second feature, Lovely and Amazing. Featuring performances by Catherine Keener
, Brenda Blethyn
, Emily Mortimer
and newcomer Raven Goodwin, the film was not only critically acclaimed but did well at the box office.
After directing two episodes of the series Six Feet Under, Holofcener began work on her third film, Friends with Money
, which featured Jennifer Aniston
, Joan Cusack
, Frances McDormand
and, once again, Catherine Keener
. The film opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
and its screenplay was nominated for the 2006 Independent Spirit Award, while Frances McDormand
won the award for Best Supporting Female.
Holofcener's fourth feature film, Please Give
, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
and the Tribeca Film Festival
. It stars Keener in the duo's fourth collaboration and was released in 2010. The film also features Oliver Platt
, Rebecca Hall
, Amanda Peet
and Sarah Steele
.
Please Give
Please Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
.
Career
The daughter of an artist father, Lawrence HolofcenerLawrence Holofcener
Lawrence Holofcener is an American poet, lyricist, playwright, artist, novelist, actor, director and sculptor. He has dual British and American nationality.-Songwriter and musical writer:...
, and a set decorator
Set decorator
A set decorator is in charge of the set dressing on a film set, which includes the furnishings, wallpaper, lighting fixtures, and many of the other objects that will be seen in the film. Props and set dressing often overlap, but are provided by different departments...
mother (Carol), Holofcener's parents divorced when she was one year old. When she was eight, her mother married film producer Charles H. Joffe
Charles H Joffe
Charles H. Joffe was an American film producer. He is most well known as being, in partnership with Jack Rollins, the producer, and sometimes also executive producer, of virtually all of the films directed by Woody Allen. Joffe won the 1977 Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of Allen's...
, who moved the family to Hollywood. Since her stepfather produced Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's films, Nicole spent enough time on Allen's sets to be an extra in Sleeper
Sleeper
A sleeper is a person who is sleeping. It may also refer to:-Music:* Sleeper , a Britpop band in the 1990s* The Sleepers , a punk/post-punk band active from 1978 until 1981...
and Take the Money and Run
Take the Money and Run
Take the Money and Run is a 1969 comedy film written by Woody Allen and Mickey Rose, and directed by and starring Woody Allen. It is an early mockumentary, chronicling the life of Virgil Starkwell, a bungling petty thief...
. Joffe was responsible for Holofcener's first "real" job in the movie industry: a production assistant on Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is a 1982 film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen.The plot is loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night. This was the first of 13 movies that Allen would make starring Mia Farrow...
in 1982. She moved up to apprentice editor for Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
(1986).
Holofcener's first experiences with film as a child left her either frightened or sad; she recalled her fright at Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
' The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
. Returning East to college, Holofcener originally wanted to become an artist like her father, but felt she wasn't as talented as others in her classes. From there she gravitated into taking some film courses. She studied film at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and made two shorts titled Angry and It's Richard I Love. While at Columbia, she was taught by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
. After viewing one of her college works, her stepfather wondered aloud if she shouldn't make a career change. Disappointed, she became a clerk at a video store for a while, then entered Columbia's graduate school program. At the time of his death in 2008, Charles Joffe had become one of the most ardent fans of his stepdaughter's work. Angry received critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival.
Holofcener made her feature film writing and directing debut with Walking and Talking
Walking and Talking
Walking and Talking is a 1996 independent film starring Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Liev Schreiber and Kevin Corrigan.Walking and Talking is a story about two women best friends and how they deal with their changing relationship as one prepares to get married and the other struggles...
, which starred Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
, Anne Heche
Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,...
, Todd Field
Todd Field
William Todd Field, known professionally as Todd Field is an American actor and writer/director. He has received three Academy Award nominations.-Background and personal life:...
, Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber , commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of...
, and Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
. The film was critically acclaimed. Her understanding of modern, professional women made her an ideal choice to direct female-centric television shows like Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith (TV series)
Leap of Faith is a half-hour single-camera comedy that aired on NBC during early 2002. It aired right after Friends on NBC's Thursday comedy block, Must See TV...
and Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
.
She followed in 2001 with her second feature, Lovely and Amazing. Featuring performances by Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
, Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
and newcomer Raven Goodwin, the film was not only critically acclaimed but did well at the box office.
After directing two episodes of the series Six Feet Under, Holofcener began work on her third film, Friends with Money
Friends with Money
Friends with Money is a 2006 film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2006 and went into limited release in North America on April 7, 2006.-Plot:...
, which featured Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
, Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
and, once again, Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
. The film opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and its screenplay was nominated for the 2006 Independent Spirit Award, while Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
won the award for Best Supporting Female.
Holofcener's fourth feature film, Please Give
Please Give
Please Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
and the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. It stars Keener in the duo's fourth collaboration and was released in 2010. The film also features Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
, Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Maria Hall is an English actress.In 2003, Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for her debut stage performance in a production of Mrs. Warren's Profession...
, Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet is an American actress, who has appeared on film, stage, and television. After studying with Uta Hagen at Columbia University, Peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995...
and Sarah Steele
Sarah Steele
Sarah Jane Steele is an American actress who got her first break into the film industry by beating thousands of young hopeful females for the role of Bernice in the 2004 film, Spanglish.- Life and career :...
.
Director
- 2011: Parks and RecreationParks and RecreationParks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
(2 episodes, 2011) - 2010: Please GivePlease GivePlease Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
- 2009: Bored to DeathBored to DeathBored to Death is an American comedy series, which premiered on HBO on September 20, 2009. , three seasons have aired, each consisting of eight episodes. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames – a writer based in Brooklyn, New York...
(1 episode, 2009) - 2006: Friends with MoneyFriends with MoneyFriends with Money is a 2006 film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2006 and went into limited release in North America on April 7, 2006.-Plot:...
- 2003: Six Feet Under (2 episodes, 2003–2004)
- 2002: Leap of FaithLeap of Faith (TV series)Leap of Faith is a half-hour single-camera comedy that aired on NBC during early 2002. It aired right after Friends on NBC's Thursday comedy block, Must See TV...
TV series (unknown episodes) - 2002: Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
(1 episode, 2002) - 2001: Lovely & AmazingLovely & AmazingLovely & Amazing is a 2001 American dramedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener.-Plot:The story focuses on Jane Marks, her adult daughters Michelle and Elizabeth, and her pre-teen adopted African American daughter Annie, each of whom allows her personal insecurities to affect her life...
- 1998: Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(4 episodes, 1998–2000) - 1999: Cold FeetCold Feet (U.S. TV series)Cold Feet is an American television series produced by Kerry Ehrin Productions and Granada Entertainment USA for NBC. Based on the British TV series of the same name, the series follows three Seattle couples, each at different stages of their romantic relationships. It premiered on September 24,...
TV series (1 episode, 1999) - 1996: Walking and TalkingWalking and TalkingWalking and Talking is a 1996 independent film starring Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Liev Schreiber and Kevin Corrigan.Walking and Talking is a story about two women best friends and how they deal with their changing relationship as one prepares to get married and the other struggles...
- 1991: Angry
Writer
- 2010: Please GivePlease GivePlease Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
(writer) - 2006: Friends with MoneyFriends with MoneyFriends with Money is a 2006 film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2006 and went into limited release in North America on April 7, 2006.-Plot:...
(written by) - 2001: Lovely & AmazingLovely & AmazingLovely & Amazing is a 2001 American dramedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener.-Plot:The story focuses on Jane Marks, her adult daughters Michelle and Elizabeth, and her pre-teen adopted African American daughter Annie, each of whom allows her personal insecurities to affect her life...
(written by) - 1996: Walking and TalkingWalking and TalkingWalking and Talking is a 1996 independent film starring Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Liev Schreiber and Kevin Corrigan.Walking and Talking is a story about two women best friends and how they deal with their changing relationship as one prepares to get married and the other struggles...
(written by) - 1993: Ready or Not (5 episodes, 1993–1994)
Actress
- 1993: Mi Vida LocaMi Vida LocaMi Vida Loca is a 1993 American drama film directed and written by Allison Anders. This film includes Jason Lee's first performance as an actor in a small role alongside director Spike Jonze as a drug buyer....
.... Warden - 1982: Rollercoaster to Hell .... Vera