Zoe Cassavetes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zoe Cassavetes | |
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| Born | Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes June 29, 1970 Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Actress, screenwriter, director |
| Years active | 1991 - present |
Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes (born 29 June 1970 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film director, screenwriter and actress best known for her 2007 film Broken English and as the daughter of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands.
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[edit] Career
Cassavetes' first experience with the filmmaking business was at the age of one, when she had an uncredited role in her late father John Cassavetes' film Minnie and Moskowitz as a baby girl,[1] but it was not until 1991 that she had her first acting role in a film, Ted and Venus, which was followed with minor roles in the films Noises Off and The Thing Called Love. In 1994, she and her filmmaking friend Sofia Coppola created and hosted the Comedy Central television series Hi Octane,[2] a skit and variety show that featured guests including Keanu Reeves, The Beastie Boys and Martin Scorsese. Hi Octane only lasted for one season but is remembered as one of the first series to be entirely shot in digital video.[2]
Her directorial debut was in 2000 on the Sundance Film Festival-featured short film Men Make Women Crazy Theory,[2] but she is best known as the director and writer of the 2007 comedy-romance film Broken English, which featured Parker Posey and Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes' mother.[1] Her inspiration for Broken English came from her perception of other people's impression that happiness can only come from being in love with someone,[3] saying: "I got caught up and swept up in the whole idea that I didn't have any worth until I found that person ... So I just wanted to make a nice, little portrait about what happens to someone when they get caught up in all of that."[4] She was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay but lost to Diablo Cody for Juno.
[edit] Personal life
Cassavetes comes from a family of filmmakers: her father John Cassavetes an actor, screenwriter and director; her mother Gena Rowlands an actress; her brother Nick Cassavetes an actor and director; her sister Alexandra Cassavetes an actress; and her grandmother Katherine Cassavetes an actress.[3] She says that the relationship problems the main character encounters in Broken English are mostly autobiographical, saying: "I’m obsessed with the idea of love on many different levels – love through family, love your friends, love yourself and who you give that love to, who you can take it from."[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b David Ehrenstein (24 May 2007). French Lessons. Los Angeles CityBeat. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b c Zoe Cassavetes. Tokion. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b Emma Rosenblum (11 January 2007). Celluloid Heir: Zoe Cassavetes. New York Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b Sheila Roberts. Zoe Cassavetes & Parker Posey Interview, Broken English. MoviesOnline.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
