Susan Seidelman
Encyclopedia
Susan Seidelman is an American director, producer, writer, and actress.
in 1969 , and went on to study fashion and arts at Drexel University
in Philadelphia. Her first forays into movie-making at New York University
resulted in a slew of awards.
In 1982, she made her feature film debut with Smithereens
, which was the first American independent film to be selected for competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
. The film was written by Ron Nyswaner
, who would lated receive an Academy Award nomination for Philadelphia
in 1994. In the same year she was a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival
.
Her second film Desperately Seeking Susan
, featuring then-rising star Madonna, was a major box-office success for Seidelman, and launched the film careers of co-stars Rosanna Arquette
and Aidan Quinn
.
Seidelman's subsequent movies, however--Making Mr. Right
starring John Malkovich
; Cookie
with Peter Falk
; and She-Devil
, the film version of Fay Weldon
's bestselling novel with Roseanne Barr
and Meryl Streep
, failed to gain any traction at the box-office or garner significant critical acclaim. Seidelman found greater success as a director of episodic television, helming the pilot of Sex and the City
as well as various episodes of the first season.
In 2002, Seidelman returned to film with Gaudi Afternoon
, a gender-bending detective story set in Barcelona
, starring Judy Davis
, Marcia Gay Harden
, Juliette Lewis
and Lili Taylor
. Despite the formidable cast, it was relegated to straight-to-video status. However, her 2006 follow-up Boynton Beach Club
(one of the first movies to deal with sexuality and the aging "Baby Boomer
" generation), did enjoy a brief theatrical run.
Career
Susan Seidelman belongs to the first wave of female independent film makers in the American cinema of the 1980s. She graduated Abington Senior High SchoolAbington Senior High School
Abington Senior High School is a three-year co-educational high school in Abington, Pennsylvania. The school was a two-year high school known as Abington South Campus until June 1983. In September 1984, Abington South Campus became a three-year high school and eventually changed its name to...
in 1969 , and went on to study fashion and arts at Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
in Philadelphia. Her first forays into movie-making at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
resulted in a slew of awards.
In 1982, she made her feature film debut with Smithereens
Smithereens (film)
Smithereens is a 1982 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Susan Berman, Brad Rinn, and punk rock icon Richard Hell. The film follows a narcissistic young woman from New Jersey who comes to New York to join the punk subculture, only to find that it's gravitated towards Los Angeles; in...
, which was the first American independent film to be selected for competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
1982 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Giorgio Strehler *Jean-Jacques Annaud *Suso Cecchi d'Amico *Geraldine Chaplin *Gabriel García Márquez *Florian Hopf *Sidney Lumet *Mrinal Sen...
. The film was written by Ron Nyswaner
Ron Nyswaner
Ronald L. Nyswaner is an American screenwriter and film director.Nyswaner wrote his first screenplay for the Susan Seidelman film Smithereens. After two other notable screenplays for Swing Shift and Mrs...
, who would lated receive an Academy Award nomination for Philadelphia
Philadelphia (film)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
in 1994. In the same year she was a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival
44th Berlin International Film Festival
The 44th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to 21, 1994.-Jury:* Jeremy Thomas * Chinghiz Aitmatov* María Luisa Bemberg* Hsu Feng* Morgan Freeman* Francis Girod* Corinna Harfouch* Carlo Lizzani...
.
Her second film Desperately Seeking Susan
Desperately Seeking Susan
Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna.-Plot:...
, featuring then-rising star Madonna, was a major box-office success for Seidelman, and launched the film careers of co-stars Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and producer.-Early life:Arquette was born in New York City, the daughter of Brenda Olivia "Mardi" , an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor and director. Her paternal...
and Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
.
Seidelman's subsequent movies, however--Making Mr. Right
Making Mr. Right
Making Mr. Right is a science fiction/comedy film, directed by Susan Seidelman and starring John Malkovich as Jeff Peters/Ulysses and Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone.This film is primarily about an android and a woman's misadventures.-Plot:...
starring John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
; Cookie
Cookie (film)
-Plot:Cookie Voltecki is the illegitimate daughter of mobster Dino Capisco , who has just finished thirteen years in prison. Since being released from jail, all that Dino wants is to settle some old scores, and make up for lost time with his daughter.Cookie's mother, Lenore Voltecki , has been...
with Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
; and She-Devil
She-Devil (film)
She-Devil is a 1989 American film starring Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr. It was directed by Susan Seidelman. It is the second adaptation of the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by British writer Fay Weldon, after a BBC TV adaptation was first broadcast in 1986.-Plot:Ruth is a frumpy,...
, the film version of Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
's bestselling novel with Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
and Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, failed to gain any traction at the box-office or garner significant critical acclaim. Seidelman found greater success as a director of episodic television, helming the pilot of 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...
as well as various episodes of the first season.
In 2002, Seidelman returned to film with Gaudi Afternoon
Gaudi Afternoon
Gaudi Afternoon is a 2001 comedy film based on Barbara Wilson's novel and directed by Susan Seidelman. The film focuses on an expatriate American book translator living in Barcelona, Spain, who is hired by a mysterious woman to locate her lost husband...
, a gender-bending detective story set in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, starring Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
, Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...
, Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...
and Lili Taylor
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress notable for her appearances in such award-winning indie films as Mystic Pizza, Say Anything..., Short Cuts and I Shot Andy Warhol, and the acclaimed TV show Six Feet Under....
. Despite the formidable cast, it was relegated to straight-to-video status. However, her 2006 follow-up Boynton Beach Club
Boynton Beach Club
Boynton Beach Club is a 2005 film directed by Susan Seidelman, produced by her and her mother Florence. Based on experiences of Florence and her widowed friend David Cramer at an adult enclave in Boynton Beach , the film was scripted by Susan Seidelman and Coral Gables, Florida writer Shelly...
(one of the first movies to deal with sexuality and the aging "Baby Boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
" generation), did enjoy a brief theatrical run.
Awards and nominations
- Cesar Awards Nomination (Foreign language film) - Desperately Seeking Susan
- Academy Award Nomination - Best Short Subject - The Dutch Master
- Golden Palm Nomination - Smithereens
Filmography
- SmithereensSmithereens (film)Smithereens is a 1982 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Susan Berman, Brad Rinn, and punk rock icon Richard Hell. The film follows a narcissistic young woman from New Jersey who comes to New York to join the punk subculture, only to find that it's gravitated towards Los Angeles; in...
(1982) - Desperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna.-Plot:...
(1985) - Making Mr. RightMaking Mr. RightMaking Mr. Right is a science fiction/comedy film, directed by Susan Seidelman and starring John Malkovich as Jeff Peters/Ulysses and Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone.This film is primarily about an android and a woman's misadventures.-Plot:...
(1987) - CookieCookie (film)-Plot:Cookie Voltecki is the illegitimate daughter of mobster Dino Capisco , who has just finished thirteen years in prison. Since being released from jail, all that Dino wants is to settle some old scores, and make up for lost time with his daughter.Cookie's mother, Lenore Voltecki , has been...
(1989) - She-DevilShe-Devil (film)She-Devil is a 1989 American film starring Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr. It was directed by Susan Seidelman. It is the second adaptation of the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by British writer Fay Weldon, after a BBC TV adaptation was first broadcast in 1986.-Plot:Ruth is a frumpy,...
(1989) - The Barefoot ExecutiveThe Barefoot ExecutiveThe Barefoot Executive is a live-action Disney film released by Buena Vista Distribution in 1971 starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Wally Cox, Heather North and John Ritter , about a pet chimpanzee, named Raffles, who can predict the popularity of television programs...
(1995) (TV) - Tales of EroticaTales of Erotica- Shorts featured :* The Dutch Master *The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch *Vroom Vroom Vroom *Wet...
(with Bob RafelsonBob RafelsonRobert "Bob" Rafelson is an Emmy Award winning American film director, writer and producer. He was an early member of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s and is most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of...
, Ken RussellKen RussellHenry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
and Melvin Van PeeblesMelvin Van PeeblesMelvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
) (1996) ("The Dutch Master") - Early EditionEarly EditionEarly Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this...
(1996) (TV) - 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...
(1998) (TV) - A Cooler ClimateA Cooler ClimateA Cooler Climate is a Showtime Original movie. It originally aired on August 22, 1999. It is based on a book with the same name by Zena Collier. Sally Field and Judy Davis were both nominated for their performance in the film during the 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding...
(1999) (TV) - Now And AgainNow and AgainNow and Again is an American television series that aired in the US from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government engineering the perfect human body for use in espionage, but not being able to yet perfect the brain...
(1999) (TV) - Gaudi AfternoonGaudi AfternoonGaudi Afternoon is a 2001 comedy film based on Barbara Wilson's novel and directed by Susan Seidelman. The film focuses on an expatriate American book translator living in Barcelona, Spain, who is hired by a mysterious woman to locate her lost husband...
(2002) - Power and Beauty (2002) (TV)
- The Ranch (2004) (TV)
- StellaStella (TV series)Stella was a short-lived television series that originally ran from June 28, 2005 to August 30, 2005 on the American television channel Comedy Central, created by and starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, the three members of the sketch comedy troupe of the same name and...
(2005) - Boynton Beach ClubBoynton Beach ClubBoynton Beach Club is a 2005 film directed by Susan Seidelman, produced by her and her mother Florence. Based on experiences of Florence and her widowed friend David Cramer at an adult enclave in Boynton Beach , the film was scripted by Susan Seidelman and Coral Gables, Florida writer Shelly...
(2006) (also Co-Writer, with Shelly Gitlow) - The Electric CompanyThe Electric Company (2009 TV series)The Electric Company is an American children's educational series for young children aged 4–8 on PBS, derived from the 1971 series. The series premiered as a four-episode mini-marathon on PBS on January 19, 2009, then became a weekly series with an episode shown each Friday. On September 7, 2009,...
(2009-2010) (TV) - Musical ChairsMusical chairsMusical chairs is a game played by a group of people , often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party...
(2011)