Marielle Heller
Marielle Heller | |
---|---|
Born | Marielle Stiles Heller October 1, 1979 Marin County, California, U.S. |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2000–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Emily Heller (sister) |
Marielle Stiles Heller /ˈmɑːriɛl/ (born October 1, 1979) is an American director, screenwriter and actress.[1] She is best known for directing the films The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), as well as acting in The Queen’s Gambit (2020).
Early life
Heller was born in
With time, she graduated to community theater, as well as productions at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School.
Career
After returning to the US, she worked as an actor at the Magic Theatre, the American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the La Jolla Playhouse.[3] She was in the world premiere of David Edgar’s Continental Divide directed by Tony Taccone.[12] She also acted in shows Spin City and Single Dads."[13]
Heller's writing credits include screenplays, theatrical plays, and pilots for
Heller next directed
In January 2018, it was announced that Heller would direct A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a film that chronicles an interview Tom Junod conducted with child entertainer Fred Rogers for Esquire magazine, and how the encounter impacted the journalist's life.[19] The screenplay was written by Emmy-nominated producers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.[22] Tom Hanks, who portrays Mr. Rogers, agreed to join the project once Heller signed on as director, as they had met previously through Hanks' son, Colin.[23][3] It was filmed in Pittsburgh.[3]
Heller played a breakout acting role in the Netflix show The Queen's Gambit as Alma Wheatley.[24][25] Heller is friends with the director Scott Frank and was going to play the part of Beth's biological mother, until the original actress fell out.[25]
Media image and directing style
Heller has said she is drawn to stories about people "trying to talk about something that people are uncomfortable talking about" and "human beings trying to navigate through the world."[8] Drawn to storytelling, she progressed from an actor, to a writer, finally beginning to direct when she dreaded turning her screenplay for Diary to someone else.[13] She has said that becoming a mother made her change the kind of stories she tells, because she wants "to do good in the world".[8]
In 2020, she was listed, among others, as one of the several female directors snubbed for Academy Awards and Golden Globes nominations for Best Directing, as only men were nominated. Fellow director Greta Gerwig, who also was not nominated, included Heller in her list of women who could have been competing for the Golden Globe. Actress Natalie Portman, as a sign of protest, wore a dress embroidered with the names of these women, including Heller, on the 2020 Oscars red carpet.[26]
Filming days for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood adhered to a shooting schedule of 10-hour days that did not break for lunch so that Heller and other cast and crew members could potentially still have nights with their children. She believes sustainable working hours on film sets will allow more female directors to continue working after they have families.[27]
Personal life
Heller is married to comedian
Heller's brother, Nate, is a musician who composed the scores for all three of her feature films.[3] Her sister, Emily Heller, is a stand-up comic, as well as a producer and writer for the HBO comedy series Barry.[3] Her brother-in-law, Asa Taccone, is the lead singer of the band Electric Guest, and her father-in-law, Tony Taccone, is a theater director. When asked about her greatest source of inspiration, she answered, "Every member of my family, each of whom is completely their own person, and works on being thoughtful and creative every day. And I find inspiration in all of my friends, and my husband, all of whom are working toward living life as an artist every day."[12]
Filmography
Director
Film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | The Diary of a Teenage Girl | Yes | Yes | |
2018 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Yes | No | |
2019 | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | Yes | No | |
2024 | Nightbitch | Yes | Yes |
Television
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2015 | Transparent | Episode: "New World Coming" |
2016 | Casual | 2 episodes |
2020 | What the Constitution Means to Me | Filmed play |
Actor
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | The Liberation of Everyday Life | Flora | Short film |
2010 | MacGruber | Clocky | |
2014 | A Walk Among the Tombstones | Marie Gotteskind | |
2016 | Paper Anchor | Caroline | |
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Documentary Crew Member |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | White Power | Party People | Short |
2002 | Spin City | Carrie | Episode: "Eyes Wide Open" |
2005 | Awesometown | Waitress | Short |
2008 | All-For-Nots | Heather | 2 episodes |
2009 | Single Dads | Jill | Episode: "Meeting Girls in the Park" |
2020 | The Queen's Gambit | Alma Wheatley | Series regular |
2021 | MacGruber | MacGruber's mother | Recurring |
Theatre
This list is adapted from her biography on The Nervous Breakdown:[12]
- Continental Divide (by David Edgar)
- Hamlet – Ophelia
- King Lear – Cordelia (San Diego Rep)
- Much Ado About Nothing – Hero (Theatricum Botanicum)
- Peninsula (by Madelyn Kent) – starred (SoHo Rep)
Awards and nominations
Critics' Choice Television Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 |
Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actress | The Queen's Gambit | Nominated | [30] |
Actors' awarded performances
Under Hellers's direction, these actors have received the Academy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles.
Year | Performer | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Award for Best Actress | |||
2019 | Melissa McCarthy | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Nominated |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |||
2019 | Richard E. Grant | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Nominated |
2020 | Tom Hanks | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | Nominated |
References
- ^ SAITO, STEPHEN (August 5, 2015). "Interview: Marielle Heller on Seeing Herself in "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Register". FamilySearch. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Guthmann, Edward (October 15, 2018). "Alameda's Marielle Heller Is One Hot Hollywood Director". Oakland Magazine. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Marielle Heller Annie Stiles-Heller Photostream".
- ^ "Alameda's Marielle Heller Is One Hot Hollywood Director". November 1, 2018. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Cast and crew of 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' felt deep connection to city with Tree of Life tragedy".
- ^ "Marielle Heller's Land of Make-Believe". The New Yorker. December 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Dawn, Randee. "Seeing truth in the fraud". Los Angeles Times. New York. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Marielle Heller '97". Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Marielle Heller". Playscripts, Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ^ "MD Film Fest | About The Festival | Producers Club". www.md-filmfest.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ^ a b c "21 Questions with Marielle Heller". June 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Majumdar, Antora (September 6, 2018). "TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller — "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"". Women and Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- ^ SMITH, C. MOLLY (January 29, 2016). "'Diary of a Teenage Girl' challenged perceptions of young women and sex". EW. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Handler, Rachel (August 6, 2015). ""The Diary of a Teenage Girl" Director Marielle Heller Is Here to Remind You: Women Have Sexual Thoughts Too". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ Davis, E., "Watch: Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgård, & Bel Powley Star In The New U.K. Trailer For Diary Of A Teenage Girl", IndieWire, July 1, 2015.
- ^ Heller, Marielle (June 7, 2012). "MARIELLE HELLER AT THE SUNDANCE DIRECTORS LAB, PART ONE". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Prizes & Honours 2015". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ .
- ^ MORFOOT, ADDIE (September 8, 2018). "Archer Gray Projects Take on Female Colors". Variety: 1–23.
- ^ a b Ford, Rebecca (September 5, 2018). "WE GET SCARED WHEN WOMEN CHARACTERS ARE IDIOSYNCRATIC': Director Marielle Heller on Melissa McCarthy going to 'really dark places' as a washed-up writer in Can You Ever Forgive Me?". Hollywood Reporter. 424 (29): 66. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (March 19, 2018). "Marielle Heller insists Tom Hanks' 'beautiful' Mr. Rogers movie 'not a biopic,' reveals plot details". MSN. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ Desta, Yohana (March 20, 2018). "Soulful, Inspiring Mister Rogers Movie Trailer Just Might Make You Cry". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ "The Queen's Gambit". IMDB.
- ^ a b "In Hollywood, Women are seen as 'a Risk'". The New York Times. November 30, 2020.
- TheGuardian.com. February 10, 2020.
- ^ "'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood's' Marielle Heller Pushes for 'Sustainable' Hours on Movie Sets". November 22, 2019.
- ^ Goldstein, Gregg (January 3, 2015). "10 Directors to Watch: Secrets of Marielle Heller's Sundance 'Diary'". Variety. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ McNary, Dave (May 31, 2016). "Melissa McCarthy to Play Novelist and Literary Forger Lee Israel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- Gold Derby. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
External links
- Media related to Marielle Heller at Wikimedia Commons
- Quotations related to Marielle Heller at Wikiquote
- Marielle Heller at IMDb