Ken Kwapis

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Ken Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director and scriptwriter. He was born in Belleville, Illinois^[1], attended St. Louis University High School, studied film first at Northwestern University, then on the graduate level at USC School of Cinema-Television.^[2] Kwapis helped define the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s.^[3]

Contents 1 Career history 2 Influences 3 Trivia 4 Select TV work 5 Theatrical film work 6 References

[edit] Career history

His thesis film For Heaven's Sake, a variation on a Mozart opera, won a Student Academy Award. He started making teen-oriented TV movies before working on acclaimed series such as The Larry Sanders Show. Since then he's mixed theatrical features with TV work.^[4] In 2005, he directed his first feature-length film (Sexual Life) that was based on his own original screenplay.

[edit] Influences

Kwapis ran a film society while in college and his knowledge of film history is evident in his work. For example, Dunston Checks In is virtually an homage to Ernst Lubitsch.^[5] And The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants features a clip from Frank Borzage's Three Comrades. In Sisterhood's DVD commentary Kwapis remarks on Borzage's influence on his work.

[edit] Trivia

• Kwapis has a cameo in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as a piano player at a ballet recital.
• Kwapis went to the prominent high school, Saint Louis University High School, in St. Louis, MO.

[edit] Select TV work

• The Office (US) (2005)
• Watching Ellie (2002)
• The Bernie Mac Show (2001)
• Grounded for Life (2001)
• Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
• Freaks and Geeks (1999)
• The Larry Sanders Show (1992)

[edit] Theatrical film work

• License to Wed (completed shooting in July 2006; currently editing)
• I'm Fine!: A Really Helpful Guide to the First 100 Days After Your Breakup (in development)
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
• Sexual Life (2005)
• The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
• Dunston Checks In (1996)
• He Said, She Said (1991, co-directed with Marisa Silver, whom he married soon after)
• Vibes (1988)
• Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird (1985)
• The Beniker Gang (1985)

[edit] References

1. ^ Anderson, Carla Keller. "Before they were stars...", Belleville News-Democrat, 29 April 2005. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
2. ^ Notable Alumni. USC School of Cinema-Television. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
3. ^ Longwell, Todd. "Big 'Mac'", Hollywood Reporter, 2 February 2006. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
4. ^ Ken Kwapis at the Internet Movie Database
5. ^ Interview with director Ken Kwapis. Truly Moving Pictures. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.