Ken Kwapis
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| Ken Kwapis | |
| Born | August 17, 1957 Belleville, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | film and television director and scriptwriter |
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]
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[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.
[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
- ^ Anderson, Carla Keller. "Before they were stars...", Belleville News-Democrat, 29 April 2005. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
- ^ Notable Alumni. USC School of Cinema-Television. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
- ^ Longwell, Todd. "Big 'Mac'", Hollywood Reporter, 2 February 2006. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
- ^ Ken Kwapis at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Interview with director Ken Kwapis. Truly Moving Pictures. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
