Lauren Lazin
Encyclopedia
Lauren Lazin is an award-winning filmmaker whose first feature film, Tupac: Resurrection
was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award. Her follow-up film, I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust was nominated for two 2006 Emmy Awards, and was named Best Documentary by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture
.
Her most recent film, Last Days of Left Eye, was the opening night movie for the 2007 Urban World and Atlanta Film festivals. It premiered on VH1 in the spring of 2007 to critical acclaim and stellar ratings.
She is executive producing the documentary film Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America for VH1
, and the Teen Nick Awards (hosted by Nick Cannon
and featuring Justin Timberlake
, Hayden Panettiere
and Alicia Keyes) set for air in late 2009.
Lazin directed and executive produced the landmark television event Get Schooled: You Have the Right, which aired on 33 cable channels September 8, 2009. The documentary features Kelly Clarkson
, Lebron James
, and President Barack Obama
.
Lazin is also directing a feature documentary film about the rock band The Police
, as told from the point of view of its celebrated guitarist, Andy Summers
. The film is being produced by Nicolas Cage
and Yari Films, and is based on Summers’ memoir One Train Later.
Lazin’s first film, The Flapper Story (1985), premiered at the Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films series and won a Student Academy Award. Her documentary Journey of Dr. Dre
was nominated for two 2001 Emmy Awards.
Lazin has directed, produced, written and edited over forty documentaries for MTV and PBS. In 1990, she created Sex in the 90’s, which became MTV’s longest running documentary series--now a cult favorite among young audiences. In 1992, she formed the MTV News and Specials department where she directed, produced and executive produced the documentary series MTV Rockumentary (including bio-pics on The Who
, Robbie Robertson
, The B-52’s, Janet Jackson
and many others), MTV Cribs
, Diary
, My Super Sweet 16
, and award-winning MTV News specials on topics ranging from drug abuse and racism, to religious intolerance and sexual health.
Lazin is executive producing documentary series and specials for a variety of MTV Networks
. Her series Transgeneration
(a co-production of Logo
and The Sundance Channel) was awarded Best Documentary at the 2006 GLAAD Awards. Her documentary series Rags To Riches
profiled Snoop Dogg
, Macy Gray
, Akon
and Nick Cannon
, and was nominated for a 2007 NAMIC Award.
She created and oversees This Movie is Me for MTV
and the hit series Dissed for MTV Mobile. Other recent series of note include Creep me Out for MTV, Born Country for CMT, and Coming Out Stories for Logo (2007 IDA Award nominee)
Lazin also oversees special episodes of True Life
, a critically acclaimed documentary series she created about social issues affecting young people, as well as many of MTV’s pro-social documentaries. She won a 2006 Environmental Media Award for her special Break the Addiction. In 1999 the network’s anti-violence campaign Fight For Your Rights was awarded an Emmy.
Outside of MTV, Lazin has directed films for the National Organization for Women, induction pieces for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum (for the Supremes
and the Rolling Stones
), and an award-winning documentary, Seven Deadly Sins, which was featured on PBS’s experimental television series, Alive From Off Center.
Her films have also won Ace Awards, Monitor Awards, and Cine Golden Eagles, with honors for Best Directing and Best Editing. The National Association of Minorities in Communications, the NAACP, and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency have honored her work. She also received the Ryan White Youth Service Award and the Ribbon of Hope Award for her outstanding contributions to the fight against teen HIV/AIDS. In 1995, Fight Back, her film about child sexual abuse, was featured in a special screening for Congress.
She is prominently featured in the reference books The Art of Documentary Film (2005), The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook (2006) and Tupac Remembered (2008), and has been a guest lecturer for documentary film classes at Duke and Stanford Universities.
Lazin graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Smith College
in 1982 and received a Master’s Degree in Documentary Film Production from Stanford University
in 1985. She recently received an honorary doctorate from Smith College. In 1996 the Women’s College Coalition named Lazin as a “Role Model” and featured her in their national Ad Council campaign promoting women’s education.
Tupac: Resurrection
Tupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003...
was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award. Her follow-up film, I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust was nominated for two 2006 Emmy Awards, and was named Best Documentary by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture
National Foundation for Jewish Culture
The Foundation for Jewish Culture is the leading advocate for Jewish cultural life and creativity in the United States....
.
Career
Lazin is also an Executive Producer for The U.S. vs. John Lennon, which was distributed theatrically by Lionsgate Entertainment, and for Jihad for Love (a feature film about gay Muslims) which premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival and the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. It recently won a GLAAD award for Outstanding Documentary.Her most recent film, Last Days of Left Eye, was the opening night movie for the 2007 Urban World and Atlanta Film festivals. It premiered on VH1 in the spring of 2007 to critical acclaim and stellar ratings.
She is executive producing the documentary film Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America for VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, and the Teen Nick Awards (hosted by Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
and featuring Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
, Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
and Alicia Keyes) set for air in late 2009.
Lazin directed and executive produced the landmark television event Get Schooled: You Have the Right, which aired on 33 cable channels September 8, 2009. The documentary features Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
, Lebron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
, and President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Lazin is also directing a feature documentary film about the rock band The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, as told from the point of view of its celebrated guitarist, Andy Summers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
. The film is being produced by Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
and Yari Films, and is based on Summers’ memoir One Train Later.
Lazin’s first film, The Flapper Story (1985), premiered at the Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films series and won a Student Academy Award. Her documentary Journey of Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
was nominated for two 2001 Emmy Awards.
Lazin has directed, produced, written and edited over forty documentaries for MTV and PBS. In 1990, she created Sex in the 90’s, which became MTV’s longest running documentary series--now a cult favorite among young audiences. In 1992, she formed the MTV News and Specials department where she directed, produced and executive produced the documentary series MTV Rockumentary (including bio-pics on The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, The B-52’s, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
and many others), MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs
MTV Cribs and CMT Cribs, depending on which channel it airs, is a franchise reality television program that originated on the MTV Networks' MTV. It later aired on its CMT channel that features tours of the houses and mansions of celebrities. The first show aired September 2000...
, Diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
, My Super Sweet 16
My Super Sweet 16
My Super Sweet 16 is an MTV reality series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and UK, who usually have wealthy parents that throw huge coming of age celebrations. Parties include the quinceañera , the sweet 16, and other birthdays including a My Super Sweet 21 ...
, and award-winning MTV News specials on topics ranging from drug abuse and racism, to religious intolerance and sexual health.
Lazin is executive producing documentary series and specials for a variety of MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
. Her series Transgeneration
TransGeneration
TransGeneration is an eight episode documentary series depicting the lives of four transgender college students during the 2004/2005 school year as they attempt to balance college, their social lives, and their struggle to merge their internal and external selves while gender transitioning.Two of...
(a co-production of Logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
and The Sundance Channel) was awarded Best Documentary at the 2006 GLAAD Awards. Her documentary series Rags To Riches
Rags To Riches
Rags to Riches is an American musical comedy drama series that was broadcast on NBC for two seasons from 1987 to 1988. Set in the 1960s, the series tells the story of Nick Foley, a self-made millionaire who adopts five orphan girls...
profiled Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...
, Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
and Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
, and was nominated for a 2007 NAMIC Award.
She created and oversees This Movie is Me for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and the hit series Dissed for MTV Mobile. Other recent series of note include Creep me Out for MTV, Born Country for CMT, and Coming Out Stories for Logo (2007 IDA Award nominee)
Lazin also oversees special episodes of True Life
True Life
True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
, a critically acclaimed documentary series she created about social issues affecting young people, as well as many of MTV’s pro-social documentaries. She won a 2006 Environmental Media Award for her special Break the Addiction. In 1999 the network’s anti-violence campaign Fight For Your Rights was awarded an Emmy.
Outside of MTV, Lazin has directed films for the National Organization for Women, induction pieces for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum (for the Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
), and an award-winning documentary, Seven Deadly Sins, which was featured on PBS’s experimental television series, Alive From Off Center.
Her films have also won Ace Awards, Monitor Awards, and Cine Golden Eagles, with honors for Best Directing and Best Editing. The National Association of Minorities in Communications, the NAACP, and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency have honored her work. She also received the Ryan White Youth Service Award and the Ribbon of Hope Award for her outstanding contributions to the fight against teen HIV/AIDS. In 1995, Fight Back, her film about child sexual abuse, was featured in a special screening for Congress.
She is prominently featured in the reference books The Art of Documentary Film (2005), The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook (2006) and Tupac Remembered (2008), and has been a guest lecturer for documentary film classes at Duke and Stanford Universities.
Lazin graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
in 1982 and received a Master’s Degree in Documentary Film Production from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1985. She recently received an honorary doctorate from Smith College. In 1996 the Women’s College Coalition named Lazin as a “Role Model” and featured her in their national Ad Council campaign promoting women’s education.
Filmography
- Journey of Dr. Dre (2000)
- Tupac: ResurrectionTupac: ResurrectionTupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003...
(2003) - I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (2005)
- The Last Days of Left EyeThe Last Days of Left EyeThe Last Days of Left Eye is a documentary directed by Lauren Lazin which premiered on VH1 and VH1 Soul on May 19, 2007. It is centered around the life, last days spent in spiritual retreat in Honduras, and April 25, 2002 accidental death of rapper/singer/actress Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes , featuring...
(2007) - One Train Later (2009)
Nominations
- 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Features for Tupac: ResurrectionTupac: ResurrectionTupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003...
(shared nomination with Karolyn Ali) - 2000 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special, MTV Uncensored
- 2001 Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy AwardThe Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Outstanding Special Class Special, 2000 MTV Movie Awards - 2003 IDA AwardInternational Documentary AssociationInternational Documentary Association , founded in 1982, is a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media, to support the efforts of documentary filmmaking and video production makers around the world and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the...
for Feature Documentaries, Tupac: ResurrectionTupac: ResurrectionTupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003... - 1999 News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story - Programs, "True LifeTrue LifeTrue Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
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