American film director
Jessica Sharzer
(born October 26, 1972)
[1]
is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and editor.
She is known for her work on the
Showtime
drama series
The L Word
and the
FX
horror series
American Horror Story
. She wrote the screenplays for the films
Nerve
(2016),
Dirty Dancing
(2017), and
A Simple Favor
(2018).
Life and career
[
edit
]
She was born in
Iowa City, Iowa
to a
Jewish
family.
[2]
She grew up in
New York City
, graduated from the
Horace Mann School
, Wesleyan University, and studied film at
New York University
.
Sharzer was all set for a career in academia, until she took a summer film course at
New York Film Academy
. Realizing then that she was "not meant for academia," Sharzer left
Berkeley
and enrolled in NYU Film School. In 2002, she won the school's
Wasserman Award
for her graduate thesis film,
The Wormhole
.
[3]
She was a crew member on the film
Happiness
, then went on to be an assistant director on the short film
Billy Twist
. She finished out the 1990s as a crew member on several short films.
In 2003, Sharzer met
Paul Gutrecht
at a luncheon for the
Los Angeles Film Festival
. They married in 2005.
[4]
She co-produced, directed, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2004
independent film
Speak
, based on the
novel of the same name
. The film garnered her a nomination for a
Writers Guild of America Award
in children's television scriptwriting, a nomination for the
Directors Guild of America
Award for
outstanding directorial achievement in children's programs
, and won her the
Woodstock Film Festival
's Audience Award for best narrative feature.
In 2007, she directed an episode for the
Showtime
television
drama
,
The L Word
. She also wrote the 2010 television movie,
Turn the Beat Around
, which was produced by
Paramount Pictures
and
MTV
. In 2011, she became an episode writer and supervising producer for the
serial
horror
-
drama
television series
American Horror Story
, created by
Ryan Murphy
and
Brad Falchuk
. The series airs on the cable television channel
FX
.
[5]
The
Horror Writers Association
awarded her the 2011
Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
for her episode "
Afterbirth
".
[6]
In 2016, she wrote the screenplay of the feature film
Nerve
,
[7]
based on the
novel of the same name
, as well as the musical
Dirty Dancing
, a television remake of the
1987 hit film
.
[8]
She adapted Darcey Bell's novel
A Simple Favor
into a screenplay for a
2018 film of the same name
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Roberts, Jerry.
Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors
- ^
"Abigail Breslin to Star in 'Dirty Dancing' Musical"
.
The Forward
. 9 December 2015
. Retrieved
Sep 15,
2019
.
- ^
Macaulay, Scott (2003).
"25 NEW FACES OF INDIE FILM 2003"
.
Filmmaker Magazine
. Retrieved
December 15,
2011
.
- ^
Carrington, Daisy (October 5, 2010).
"Countdown to Bliss"
. observer.com
. Retrieved
July 15,
2017
.
- ^
Goldberg, Lesley (August 3, 2011).
"
'American Horror Story' Adds Tim Minear, 3 More Writers (Exclusive)"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
December 16,
2011
.
- ^
"Past Bram Stoker Nominees & Winners"
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2016
. Retrieved
Sep 15,
2019
.
- ^
"Dave Franco and Emma Roberts to Star in YA Thriller 'Nerve' ? Variety"
. 27 January 2015
. Retrieved
Sep 15,
2019
.
- ^
"Katey Sagal Boards ABC's 'Dirty Dancing' Remake"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. 4 April 2016
. Retrieved
Sep 15,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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