Jamie Babbit

Infobox actor


imagesize = 150px
name = Jamie Babbit
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1970|11|16
birthplace = Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States
deathdate =
deathplace =
restingplace =
restingplacecoordinates =
othername =
occupation = Film director
yearsactive = 1986–present
domesticpartner = Andrea Sperling
children =
parents =
influences =
influenced =
website =
academyawards =
afiawards =
arielaward =
baftaawards =
cesarawards =
emmyawards =
filmfareawards =
geminiawards =
goldenglobeawards =
goldenraspberryawards =
goyaawards =
grammyawards =
iftaawards =
laurenceolivierawards =
naacpimageawards =
nationalfilmawards =
sagawards =
tonyawards =
awards =

Jamie Babbit (born November 16 1970 in Shaker Heights, Ohio) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She directed the films "But I'm a Cheerleader", "The Quiet" and "Itty Bitty Titty Committee". She has also directed episodes of television programs including "Gilmore Girls", "Malcolm in the Middle", "Nip/Tuck" and "The L Word". She is involved with film production company POWER UP.

Biography

Babbit grew up in Cleveland, Ohio with her father, a lawyer and law school professor, and her mother who ran a treatment program for teenagers with drug and alcohol problems,cite book
last =Dixon
first =Wheeler Winston
authorlink =Wheeler Winston Dixon
coauthors =Gerald Duchovnay (Ed.)
title =Film Voices: Interviews from Post Script
publisher =State University of New York Press, Albany
year =2004
pages =pp. 153-165
isbn = 0-7914-6156-4 ] before her death in 2006. Called New Directions, it provided inspiration for the fictional "reparative therapy" (conversion therapy) camp "True Directions" in "But I'm a Cheerleader". Babbit began acting at the Cleveland Play House at the age of seven, later moving into stage management and lighting. She studied West African Studies at Barnard College (graduating in 1993) [cite web
last =Krach
first =Aaron
authorlink =Aaron Krach
title =INTERVIEW: Happy Camp-er, Jamie Babbit, Comes Out with "Cheerleader"
work =indieWIRE
url =http://www.indiewire.com/people/int_Babbit_Jamie_000710.html
accessdate =2007-09-08 ] [cite web
title =The Quiet - about the Director
publisher =Seattle Post-Intelligencer
url =http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movietimes/moviepn.asp?movieID=54413
accessdate =2007-08-12 ] and began taking film classes at New York University during her summer vacations.

Babbit's partner is producer Andrea Sperlingcite web
last =Warn
first =Sarah
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Interview with Jamie Babbit
publisher =AfterEllen.com
month =June | year =2004
url =http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/People/interviews/62004/jamiebabbit.html
accessdate =2007-05-14 ] with whom she has collaborated on several projects. They live in Los Angeles with their daughter and new baby.cite video
people = Dick, Kirby (director)
year = 2006 | title = This Film Is Not Yet Rated
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493459/
medium = Motion picture (DVD)
publisher = IFC Films
location = New York, NY
accessdate = 2007-06-16
quote = ] cite web
last =Belge
first =Kathy
title =Jamie Babbit Interview
publisher =LesbianLife.com
date =2007-06-24
url =http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/artistswriterset1/a/JamieBabbit.htm
accessdate =2007-10-22 ] [cite web
last = Ryder
first = Caroline
title = We Rabbit With Babbit
publisher = OurChart.com
date = 2008-01-18
url = http://www.ourchart.com/node/262286
accessdate =2008-01-18 ]

Career

After graduating from Barnard in 1993, Babbit's first job was as a production assistant for Martin Scorsese on "The Age of Innocence". After that she worked as a production assistant on John Sayles's "The Secret of Roan Inish" where she worked with fellow aspiring filmmakers Karyn Kusama and Jasmine Kosovic.

Babbit's next job was as script supervisor on John Duigan film "The Journey of August King" - a job that with little experience she "lied her way into". This was followed by Su Friedrich's television film "Hide and Seek". In 1996, after working on "If These Walls Could Talk", where she met her future partner Andrea Sperling, Babbit got a job as script supervisor on David Fincher's film "The Game". This proved to be influential to her career as a director.

hort films

In 1996, Babbit, with Ari Gold, directed "Frog Crossing", a short film about an animal rights activist who protects frogs as they hop across a highway. She followed this with 1999 comedy short "Sleeping Beauties". While working on "The Game", she discussed her idea for a short film based on a fairy tale with Fincher. He was interested in the project, which would be "Sleeping Beauties", and gave Babbit about 6,000 feet of 35 mm film. His editor gave her free use of an Avid editing machine. The star of "The Game", Michael Douglas, wrote to Paramount and asked them to let Babbit access to their costume department. As a result she was able to make "Sleeping Beauties" for about $10, 000. Based on the classic fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty", the film is about a young woman (Sarah Lassez) who works as a makeup artist at a funeral home. Obsessed with an unavailable ex-girlfriend, she eventually meets and falls in love with a photographer's assistant (Clea DuVall).

"But I'm a Cheerleader"

In 1999, Babbit directed her first feature film, "But I'm a Cheerleader". Starring Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall, it is a romantic comedy about a high school cheerleader who is sent to a so-called "reparative therapy" camp when her parents suspect she is a lesbian. The film was inspired by an article that Babbit read about a man who had been sent to a similar camp.Citation
last =Stukin
first =Stacie
title =But she's serious
newspaper =The Advocate
year =2000
date =2000-07-04
accessdate =2007-05-20
url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2000_July_4/ai_63059697 ] The camp in the film was partly based on a halfway house for young people with drug and alcohol problems run by her mother.Citation
last =Gideonse
first =Ted
title =The New Girls Of Summer
newspaper =Out
pages =56
date = July 2000
url =http://cleaduvall.net/press/magazine-out-0700.php ] Babbit appeared in "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" discussing this film and her struggle to get it rated R. In 2000, the film won the Audience Award and the Graine de Cinéphage Award at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival, an annual French festival which showcases the work of female directors.Citation
last =Sullivan
first =Monica
title = But I'm a Cheerleader-- Jamie Babbit Wins Créteil Films de Femmes 'Prix du Public'
newspaper =Movie Magazine International
year =2000
accessdate=2007-05-26
url =http://www.shoestring.org/mmi_revs/but-im-a-cheerleader.html ]

"The Quiet"

Babbit's second film was 2005 thriller film "The Quiet". Starring Elisha Cuthbert and Camilla Belle, the plot revolves around a deaf girl who, when sent to live with her godparents, discovers some dark secrets about the family.

"Itty Bitty Titty Committee"

Babbit's latest film is 2007 comedy "Itty Bitty Titty Committee".

Television

Babbit has directed episodes of several television programs including "Undressed", "Popular", "Maybe It's Me", "The Bernie Mac Show", "Malcolm in the Middle", "Miss Match", "Nip/Tuck", "Gilmore Girls", "Alias", "Ugly Betty", "Dirty Sexy Money" and "The L Word". She enjoys working in television because it helps her to "keep her skills up". She says that because television directors have less overall responsibility than film directors, she is able to concentrate on working with actors. Television work also enables her to earn money while pursuing her long term goals of making feature films.

POWER UP

Babbit is on the board of directors of non-profit organization and film production company POWER UP.cite web
publisher =POWER UP
title =POWER UP! Feel the Surge!
url =http://www.power-up.net/about.html
accessdate =2007-05-20 ] Founded in 2000 by Stacy Codikow and Amy Shomer, POWER UP promotes the visibility of lesbians in entertainment and the media.cite web
last =Gomez
first =Enrique
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Interview with Jamie Babbit and Lisa Thrasher
publisher =Quirkee.com
date =2007-04-04
url =http://www.quirkee.com/content/view/783/131/
accessdate =2007-05-14 ] Two of Babbit's films, "Stuck" and "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" were produced by POWER UP. She has also been involved with feminist group Guerrilla Girls and pro-choice groups.

Filmography

Director

Film

* 1996: "Frog Crossing" (short)
* 1999: "Sleeping Beauties" (short)
* 1999: "But I'm a Cheerleader"
* 2001: "Stuck" (short)
* 2004: "A Memoir to My Former Self" (short)
* 2005: "The Quiet"
* 2007: "Itty Bitty Titty Committee"

Television

* 1999: "Undressed"
* 1999: "Popular"
* 2001: "Maybe It's Me"
* 2001: "The Bernie Mac Show"
* 2001–2007: "Gilmore Girls" (18 episodes)
* 2002: "Ed"
* 2002–2003: "Malcolm in the Middle" (3 episodes)
* 2003: "Miss Match"
* 2003–2004"Nip/Tuck" (3 episodes)
* 2004: "Wonderfalls"
* "Inconceivable"
* 2006: "Alias"
* 2006: "Ugly Betty"
* 2007–2008: "The L Word" (2 episodes)
* 2007: "The Riches"
* 2007: "Gossip Girl"
* 2007: "Dirty Sexy Money"
* 2007: "Notes from the Underbelly"
* 2008: "The Assistants"

References

External links

*

Persondata
NAME=Babbit, Jamie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Film director
DATE OF BIRTH=November 16 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH=Shaker Heights, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=