Alexander Payne

 ( 1961 Births ) 

Payne co-wrote and directed his first full-length film, Citizen Ruth, which was released in 1996. The film is a satirical black comedy revolving around the issue of abortion rights. The film stars Laura Dern as a dim-witted woman with substance abuse issues who happens to get pregnant. She unexpectedly becomes a pawn of figures from both sides of the abortion debate. The film co-stars Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, and Tippi Hedren. The film premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival where it received favorable reviews. In Janet Maslin of The New York Times review she wrote, "There's no easy way out of this predicament, though Mr. Payne does beg the question with skill. And Citizen Ruth can easily be forgiven for not finding a fully satisfying ending. It delivers more than enough lively, gutsy satire along the way."

In 2000, Payne completed an uncredited polish-up of the screenplay for the comedy film Meet the Parents. In 2001, Payne wrote a draft of Jurassic Park III. In 2002, Payne's film About Schmidt, about a recently retired widower who embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, was released. The film starred Jack Nicholson as the title character, Warren Schmidt, and its script was based on the novel of the same name by Louis Begley. The film also co-starred Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, and Kathy Bates. The film premiered at the 55th Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews, with critics highlighting Nicholson's performance. Payne received a Golden Globe for the screenplay, which was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. To the surprise of many who kept track of Hollywood news, Payne and Jim Taylor were not nominated for an Oscar for the About Schmidt screenplay.

In 2004, Payne followed About Schmidt with Sideways, a film about two middle-aged men who embark on a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara County wine country to celebrate Jack's upcoming wedding. The film stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church as the two friends, with Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received rave reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars, saying: "what happens during the seven days adds up to the best human comedy of the year – comedy, because it is funny, and human, because it is surprisingly moving." Chicago Sun Times by Roger Ebert. Payne won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe in 2005 for Best Adapted Screenplay, while the film also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. In total, Sideways received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

In 2007 Payne served as an executive producer on the films King of California and The Savages. He also collaborated once again with writing partner Jim Taylor to write a draft of the screenplay for the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), a comedy directed by Dennis Dugan, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Payne disliked the final product, stating that Adam Sandler rewrote so much of the story that almost all of what Payne and Taylor wrote was gone.

In 2009, Payne signed a petition calling for the release of film director Roman Polanski, who had been arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Payne returned to directing in 2011 after a seven-year hiatus with the film The Descendants, a film about a man dealing with the aftermath of a boating accident involving his wife, leaving her in a coma. The film starred George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster. The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival where it received near universal praise ending up on many critics top 10 list of the year. Critics also hailed George Clooney's performance with many citing it as his best. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Payne as a director writing, "Payne knows the difference between lightness and frivolity, between seriousness and solemnity, between different kinds of cloud...Within a single scene the film can tap into deep feelings of pain, switch into comic modes as various as farce and satire, and confront and evade moral challenges." Payne also co-wrote the screenplay along with Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash who all won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Payne executive produced the short film Run Fast. Anna Musso, his long-time assistant and protégé, wrote and directed the film, which shot in March 2014. The project was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Payne was also executive producer of the acclaimed 2014 film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter directed by David Zellner. Payne's Nebraska starred veteran character actor Bruce Dern (who received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor) and Saturday Night Live alumnus Will Forte. It was released on November 15, 2013. The film received critical acclaim with David Edlestein of NPR describing it as a "superb balancing act" and adding, "it's a special kind of triumph". The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture with Payne receiving a Best Director nomination, ultimately losing to Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity.

In 2024, Payne was said to be in production on—and targeting a 2025 release for—a Documentary film feature about film scholar Jeanine Basinger. However, no updates have been given since.

Payne is also currently set for directing a Danish-language film to be shot in Denmark, fully funded by European sources. This was later revealed to be titled Somewhere Out There, with Renate Reinsve joining in a supporting role and Searchlight Pictures acquiring worldwide distribution rights. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in 2026.

In 2025, Payne presided as the Jury President for the main competition of the 82nd edition of Venice Film Festival.

In 2000, it was reported that Payne was to co-write and direct an untitled film inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, nothing more was heard of this project.

At one point, Payne was in talks to direct the remake of the 1966 heist comedy Gambit, after the Coen brothers did a rewrite of the film in 2003. He planned to reunite with Reese Witherspoon for the project, but he ultimately decided against it, reluctant to direct a script he didn't write.

In November 2010, it was reported that Payne would possibly direct the film adaptation of Daniel Clowes's graphic novel Wilson. Then in November 2011, Payne confirmed that he was to direct Wilson next after Nebraska (2013). However, Payne officially confirmed in a 2014 interview with Parade that he was no longer attached to the Wilson project.

It was reported in 2011 that Payne was to direct a film titled Fork in the Road. That project was to have been an adaptation of a novel by Denis Hamill.

In 2012, it was reported that Payne and Jim Taylor wrote a script titled The Lost Cause, which was said to be an expansion of Taylor's 2004 short film of the same name.

In November 2013, Payne was in talks to direct a film titled The Judge's Will for Fox Searchlight Pictures. The project was to have been based on a New Yorker article written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala about an elderly judge from Delhi who wants to make sure his much younger wife will be taken care of after his death. In May 2018, it was reported that James Ivory would write the screenplay of the project for Payne. In June 2018, it was reported that Payne will possibly shoot The Judge's Will in Chicago.

In November 2014, it was announced that Payne would direct a film titled La Vida Norteña. The project was to have been about a Latin music promoter who befriends a Nebraskan mayor.

In April 2015, it was reported that Payne was interested in directing Septillion to One, a contemporary romantic comedy inspired by the true story of Joan Ginther, who won the Texas State Lottery four times. Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack's spec script was purchased by OddLot Entertainment, who intended to produce and finance the film. Payne was not officially committed to directing at the time, due to his preoccupation with the production of Downsizing (2017). In September 2016, Mark Romanek signed on to direct the film.

In February 2016, it was announced that Payne was to direct a film titled My Saga, which is based on a pair of articles written by Karl Ove Knausgård and published by The New York Times Magazine. The articles cover Knausgård tracing the Vikings' voyages in North America. The film was to have been distributed by Netflix and star Mads Mikkelsen. In October 2019, the production was cancelled a week before filming was to begin due to Knausgard objecting to his life story being turned into a feature film.

In March 2018, Payne was in talks to direct a legal drama film for Amazon Studios titled The Burial. The project was based on the true story of Mississippi-based lawyer Willie Gary, who takes on the case of Jeremiah O'Keefe, an owner of a chain of funeral homes who claimed he was swindled by a major funeral parlor conglomerate. Maggie Betts took over as director and the film premiered in 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It was reported in February 2019 that Payne was attached to direct the comedy horror film The Menu for Gary Sanchez Productions. The plot concerns a young couple that attends an exclusive restaurant in a tropical island only to experience some "shocking surprises." By April 2019, Emma Stone and Ralph Fiennes were set to star in the film. By May 2020, Mark Mylod replaced Payne on The Menu.

On December 2, 2019, it was announced that Payne was attached to direct an American remake of the 1987 Oscar-winning Danish film Babette's Feast. Payne's version is said to be set in Minnesota.

On December 20, 2019, it was announced that Payne was going to direct the HBO miniseries Landscapers. However, in October 2020, it was announced that Payne dropped out of the project due to a schedule conflict and was replaced by Will Sharpe.

In 2021, Payne said that one of his upcoming projects, which he planned to follow The Holdovers, would be a comedy set in Paris based on the true story of rival antique chair dealers, and that he was using the pandemic downtime to craft the screenplay. In 2023, Payne told IndieWire that he was working with Jim Taylor and a French screenwriting team, and that their script is "maybe 65 percent there". Project is based on the 2018 Vanity Fair article "The Chairmen".

In 2022, soon after the publication of Tracy Flick Can't Win, the sequel novel to Election, a film adaptation was announced to be in works at Paramount+ with Reese Witherspoon set to reprise her role as Tracy Flick and Payne returning to direct and co-write.

While promoting The Holdovers, Payne announced that he was collaborating with scribe David Hemingson yet again on a long-time dream to make a Western film. "I finally found a creative partner who shares the same zeal that I have for Westerns", Payne said. The film is said to be set in 1886 Custer County, Nebraska, and will feature Paul Giamatti in a currently undisclosed role. Payne has cited the Westerns of Anthony Mann as an influence on the project.

On a 2023 episode of Happy Sad Confused, Payne revealed that one of his favorite scripts which had not been produced was a rewrite with Jim Taylor on a film called Tucker Ames as Himself, which he described as "sort of a parody of a Bill Gates guy who gets his comeuppance in some way." In the same interview, Payne reiterated that he and Taylor were still discussing how to adapt Tracy Flick Can't Win, attributing his desire to add Matthew Broderick's character from the first film and veer away from "making high school movies," since the novel is set at a high school again.