Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris | |
---|---|
Spheeris in 2013 | |
Born | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | December 2, 1945
Occupation(s) | Film director, film producer, screenwriter |
Years active | 1968–present |
Children | Anna Fox |
Relatives | Jimmie Spheeris (brother) Chris Spheeris (cousin) Costa-Gavras (cousin) |
Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945)[1] is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization, each covering an aspect of Los Angeles underground culture,[2] and Wayne's World, her highest-grossing film.[3]
Early life
[edit]Spheeris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her Greek-immigrant father owned the Magic Empire Shows carnival and was a side-show strong man. Her mother, of Irish heritage, was raised in Kansas and later worked as a ticket taker for the carnival. Her father was 40 years old and her mother was 19 when they began a relationship.[4] Spheeris has three full siblings, plus a number of older half-siblings from her father's first marriage.[5] She is a sister of singer Jimmie Spheeris[6] and a first cousin of musician Chris Spheeris[6] and Greek-French director Costa Gavras,[6] which she says has made her consider that a genetic component exists to her vocation.[6]
Spheeris told author Paul Stenning, "I believe each of us is born with certain characteristics that we genetically inherit, some of which are good, some not so good. My mother was extremely compassionate, my father more of a barbarian. My father was passionately ambitious, where my mother was not. The most significant traits I learned from my parents were a strong sense of survival and unfaltering tenacity."[7]
Spheeris spent her first seven years traveling around the American South and American Midwest with her father's carnival.[8] Her father was murdered in Troy, Alabama, after intervening in a racial dispute. In a 2015 interview, Spheeris stated that her father had come to the aid of an African-American man who had been struck on the back of the head with a cane by a white man over a dispute about cutting in front of him in line. The white man soon after returned and stabbed Spheeris' father. She states that her father's killer served no jail time, the man's legal defense apparently resting entirely on the claim that he was justified in murdering Spheeris senior as "he was defending a black."[5]
After her father's death, Spheeris and her three siblings moved with their mother to California, generally living in trailer parks with a succession of stepfathers.[9] She spent her teenaged years in Orange County, graduating from Westminster High School, where she was named 'most likely to succeed'.[citation needed] After high school, Spheeris attended California State University Long Beach, where she majored in art. She admired the teachings of George Falcon, a behavioral scientist. From his influence, Spheeris went on to study psychobiology at the University of California, Irvine, in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles.[10]
Working as a waitress at Denny's and IHOP, she put herself through film school. She majored in film and has a master of fine arts degree in theater arts from UCLA.[11]
Career
[edit]Spheeris launched her career by producing short subjects for comedian Albert Brooks, many of them being highlights in the first season of the television series Saturday Night Live. Her first feature film was The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), a punk rock documentary that she produced and directed. She followed up with Suburbia in 1983, produced by Roger Corman, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, this time about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1988, with footage and interviews of legendary metal bands such as Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Megadeth, and Motörhead. She later returned to the streets of Los Angeles and the punk rock scene in 1998 for the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part III. She was offered the chance to direct This is Spinal Tap, but declined.[12]
In addition, she worked as a writer for the television series Roseanne (1988-1997). In the 1990s, she directed Wayne's World, a comedy based on Mike Myers' sketches from Saturday Night Live. The movie grossed over $183 million and became a popular hit. She directed the Wayne's World music video work for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which earned a Grammy Award nomination.[11] She had difficulty working with Myers, while acknowledging him as "profoundly talented," and in an Entertainment Weekly article stated she believes Myers dissuaded Paramount Pictures from hiring her for the sequel.[13]
In 1996, she directed We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll, a documentary about the Ozzfest, produced by Sharon Osbourne, which explored life on the road.[11]
Other films Spheeris has directed include The Beverly Hillbillies; The Little Rascals (for which she co-wrote the screenplay); the Chris Farley/David Spade comedy Black Sheep; the Marlon Wayans-David Spade team-up Senseless;[11] and The Kid & I starring Tom Arnold.[11] In 2006, she was set to direct the still-unfilmed Gospel According to Janis, about Janis Joplin.[11]
The Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival named Spheeris its guest of honor for 2013.[14]
The moving image collection of Penelope Spheeris is held at the Academy Film Archive.[15] The Academy Film Archive has preserved several of Penelope Spheeris' films, including Bath, Hats Off To Hollywood, and Shit.[16]
Personal life
[edit]Spheeris has a daughter, director Anna Spheeris Fox, born in 1969.[17]
Since September 9, 1998,[18] Spheeris has been in a relationship with a man known as Sin,[19] whom she met while filming the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part III.[20] In a 2015 interview, she revealed that he was in an institution in Florida after he stopped taking his medication (he has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and ended up in jail.[21] She has described him as the love of her life.[22]
Radio and podcast appearances
[edit]Spheeris appeared on WTF with Marc Maron on June 29, 2015.[23]
She appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor podcast on October 18, 2016.
In December 2021, she appeared on the fourteenth episode of The Ghost of Hollywood, where she discussed her work career in filmmaking, with a focus on Suburbia in particular.[24][25]
An interview with Penelope Spheeris and journalist Barney Hoskyns appeared on the Rock's Backpages web site.[26]
Awards
[edit]Spheeris' work has received recognition from the Directors Guild of America, The Recording Academy, Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Deep Ellum Film Festival, the LA Femme International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Temecula Valley International Film Festival.[27]
- 1983 Won - Chicago International Film Festival award - Silver Hugo for Best First Feature Film (Suburbia)
- 1992 Nominated - Grammy Award for Best Music Video - Long Form ("Bohemian Rhapsody (Wayne's World Version)")
- 1993 Won - The Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Resurrection of a Television Show (The Beverly Hillbillies)
- 1998 Won - Chicago Underground Film Festival award - Jury award for Best Documentary (The Decline of Western Civilization Part III)
- 1998 Nominated - Sundance Film Festival Award - Grand Jury award for Documentary (The Decline of Western Civilization Part III)
- 1998 Won - Sundance Film Festival Award - Freedom of Expression Award (The Decline of Western Civilization Part III)
- 2001 Won - Deep Ellum Film Festival award - Pioneer Filmmaker award
- 2001 Won - Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival award - Spirit of Silver Lake award
- 2001 Won - Melbourne International Film Festival award - Most Popular Documentary (We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll)
- 2003 Won - Temecula Valley International Film Festival award - Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2005 Won - LA Femme International Film Festival award - Maverick Award
- 2009 Won - Los Angeles Greek Film Festival award - Honorary Award
- 2012 Nominated - Directors Guild award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Miniseries (Five)
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Feature films
[edit]Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Producer | Writer | |||
1969 | Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales | Yes | Yes | No | student film |
1972 | I Don't Know | Yes | No | No | short Film |
1979 | Real Life | No | Yes | No | |
1984 | Suburbia | Yes | No | Yes | |
1985 | The Boys Next Door | Yes | No | No | |
1986 | Hollywood Vice Squad | Yes | No | No | |
1987 | Dudes | Yes | No | No | |
Summer Camp Nightmare | No | No | Yes | ||
1992 | Wayne's World | Yes | No | No | |
1993 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Yes | Yes | No | |
1994 | The Little Rascals | Yes | No | Yes | |
1996 | Black Sheep | Yes | No | No | |
1998 | Senseless | Yes | No | No | |
2005 | The Kid & I | Yes | Yes | No | |
2011 | Balls to the Wall | Yes | No | No |
Documentary
[edit]Year | Title | Credited as | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Producer | Writer | ||
1981 | The Decline of Western Civilization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1988 | The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years | Yes | No | No |
1990 | Thunder and Mud | Yes | No | No |
Banned in the U.S.A. | Yes | No | No | |
1998 | The Decline of Western Civilization Part III | Yes | No | No |
1999 | Hollywierd | Yes | No | No |
2001 | We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll | Yes | No | No |
Acting roles
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | Naked Angels | Shirley | |
1971 | The Ski Bum | Star the Witch | |
1973 | Brothers | Penny | |
1974 | The Second Coming of Suzanne | Margo, Logan's Film Group | |
1989 | Wedding Band | Nicky's Mom | |
1992 | Wayne's World | uncredited |
Unproduced projects
[edit]- The Thing in Bob's Garage – A script was written but never made into a film[28]
- The Gospel According to Janis – An autobiography about Janis Joplin was developed by Spheeris for 15 years, and she had received help from David Dalton on the script. In 2004, the project finally began moving forward when singer Pink was cast in the lead role. Peter Newman had helped finance.[29][30] Zooey Deschanel replaced her two years later.[31] In 2009, Deschanel declared the project dead.[32]
- Closers – A romantic comedy distributed by Dimension Films, written by Monica Johnson and Josh Stolberg, and produced by Kevin Messick. The plot describes a man who signs up for a secret service in order to get a girl, only to realize that they assassinated her boyfriend.[33]
- Posers – A comedy distributed by Miramax about three guys who have to save their uncle's adult bookstore from being seized by launching their own porn site.[34]
- Spam on Rye – An action/comedy from Franchise Pictures, written by Sal Stabile and Andrew Wasser. The plot was about a guy who steals a mobster's car to impress a date and finds himself living the life of the one he stole from. David Arquette was being looked at to star.[35][36]
- Flashbacks – Based on the autobiography of the same name by Timothy Leary, produced by Interscope Communications and written by Randall Jahnson.[37]
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Producer | Writer | |||
1975-1976 | Saturday Night LIVE! | No | Yes | No | 9 episodes |
1989-1990 | Roseanne | No | No | Yes | 24 episodes (story editor) Episode: "Fender Bender" (writer) |
1993 | Danger Theatre | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 episodes (director) 7 episodes (executive producer) 5 episodes (writer) |
2003 | 75th Academy Awards | Yes | Yes | No | segment "Tribute to Documentaries" |
2004 | Cracking Up | Yes | No | No | Episode: "Prom Night" |
TV movies
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1991 | Prison Stories: Women on the Inside | Segment "3" |
Visitors from the Unknown: UFO Abductions | ||
UFO Abductions: A Global Phenomenon | ||
1998 | Applewood 911 | |
2000 | Dear Doughboy | |
2003 | The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron | |
2011 | Five | Segment "Cheyanne" |
2012 | The Real St. Nick |
Music videos
[edit]Year | Title | Artist |
---|---|---|
1987 | "Wake Up Dead" | Megadeth |
1988 | "I Did It for Love" | Night Ranger |
1989 | "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | Megadeth |
1992 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Wayne's World Version) | Queen |
Reception
[edit]Critical, public, and commercial reception to films Spheeris has directed.
Film | Rotten Tomatoes[38] | Metacritic[39] | CinemaScore | Budget | Box office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Decline of Western Civilization | 100 | 93 | — | — | — |
Suburbia | 91% | — | — | — | — |
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years | 86% | 58 | — | — | — |
Wayne's World | 86% | 57 | A- | $20 million | $183 million |
The Beverly Hillbillies | 23% | 37 | B+ | $25 million | $57.4 million |
The Little Rascals | 23% | 45 | A- | — | $67.3 million |
Black Sheep | 28% | — | B+ | — | $32.4 million |
Senseless | 6% | 36 | B+ | — | $12.8 million |
The Decline of Western Civilization - Part III | 100% | 77 | — | — | — |
The Kid & I | — | 37 | — | — | — |
References
[edit]- ^
- Rombes, Nicholas (2010). A Cultural Dictionary of Punk. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 9781441105059.
- "The Punk Director: Penelope Spheeris Revisits Her Decline of Western Civilization Trilogy". Pitchfork. July 15, 2015.
- Nelmes, Jill; Selbo, Jule (2015). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137312372.
- Tietjen, Jill; Bridges, Barbara (2019). Hollywood Her Story, An Illustrated History of Women and the Movies. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 9781493037063.
- Mattson, Kevin (2020). We're Not Here to Entertain. Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780190908256.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris". Woman's Hour. 21 July 2006. BBC. Radio 4. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ Diamond, Jamie (April 12, 1992). "FILM; Penelope Spheeris: From Carny Life To 'Wayne's World'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- ^ "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast Marc Maron Comedy Episode 615 Penelope Spheeris 06 29 15". WTF with Marc Maron. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ a b "Episode 615 - Penelope Spheeris". WTF with Marc Maron. 29 June 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- ^ Paul Stenning (November 24, 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. p. 72. In Flight Books. ISBN 978-1628475869.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
- ^ "Episode 615 - Penelope Spheeris". WTF with Marc Maron. 29 June 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ Paul Stenning (November 24, 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. Pg.73. In Flight Books. ISBN 978-1628475869.
- ^ a b c d e f "Penelope Spheeris biodata". PenelopeSpheeris.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris interview 2011". legendaryrockinterviews.com. 20 July 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- ^ Rottenberg, Josh (June 16, 2008). "Mike Myers: Man of Mystery". ew.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
I hated that bastard for years," says Spheeris, who believes Myers dissuaded Paramount from hiring her for Wayne's World 2. "But when I saw Austin Powers, I went, 'I forgive you, Mike.'" She pauses, voice choked with emotion. "'You can be moody, you can be a jerk, you can be things that others of us can't be—because you are profoundly talented. And I forgive you.'
- ^ "Interview: Wayne's World director Penelope Spheeris". wwweek.com. 6 March 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris Collection". Academy Film Archive (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Preserved Projects (Penelope Spheeris)". Academy Film Archive (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (23 June 2015). "The Resurrection of 'The Decline of Western Civilization': Director Penelope Spheeris's Definitive L.A. Music Trilogy Is Back". Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "THE LOUDMOUTHS". www.rockinvan.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ "Wayne's World director Penelope Spheeris on leaving Hollywood behind: "They can blow me"". Film. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ Friedman, Ann (23 August 2015). "Penelope Spheeris: 'I sold out and took the money'". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Friedman, Ann (2015-08-23). "Penelope Spheeris: 'I sold out and took the money'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ "On The Corner of Lookout and Wonderland: A Profile of Penelope Spheeris in Present Day Los Angeles". MUBI. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ^ "Episode 615 - Penelope Spheeris â€" WTF with Marc Maron Podcast". Wtfpod.com. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ "Suburbia Revisited with Penelope Spheeris". KBOO. 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "Season Two". The Ghost of Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "AUDIO: Penelope Spheeris (1993)". rocksbackpages.com/. 1993. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
- ^ Chandler, John (2013-03-06). "Q&A: Director Penelope Spheeris". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ^ Moss, Corey (April 15, 2004). "Is Pink The Reincarnation Of Janis Joplin? Penelope Spheeris Thinks So". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (April 1, 2004). "Joplin biopic in the Pink". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Deschanel to tell The Gospel According to Janis". September 19, 2006. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ "Zooey Deschanel Declares Janis Joplin Biopic "Kind of Dead" – TwentyFourBit". 7 September 2009. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
- ^ Brodesser, Claude; Fleming, Michael (August 29, 2000). "Spheeris set to helm Dimension's 'Closers'". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ Brodesser, Claude (October 13, 2000). "Helmer Spheeris circles 'Posers'". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP!!! It's Here!!! Really!". Ain't It Cool News. February 18, 2001. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ Swanson, Tim; Dunkley, Cathy (October 4, 2001). "Disney digs 'Stuntman' pitch, drafts Sheridan". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (December 5, 1996). "Interscope pays up to 'Blast Off'". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
- ^ "Penelope Spheeris". Metacritic. 1981. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
External links
[edit]- 1945 births
- Living people
- American documentary film directors
- American people of Greek descent
- American people of Irish descent
- American television directors
- American television writers
- American women television directors
- Writers from New Orleans
- UCLA Film School alumni
- American women screenwriters
- American women television writers
- Screenwriters from Louisiana
- American women documentary filmmakers
- 21st-century American women
- American comedy film directors
- Women in punk