Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer born in Omaha, Nebraska on February 10, 1961. He is best known for the films About Schmidt, Election, The Descendants, Downsizing, Sideways, and Nebraska. Payne attended the high school Creighton Prep and wrote a humor column for the school’s newspaper and was the editor of the high school yearbook. He received his MFA from the UCLA Film School in 1990. His thesis film The Passion of Martin received attention from people in the film industry and he got a writing and directing deal with Universal Pictures. In 1996 he released his first full length film that he co-wrote and directed titled The Catastrophe of Success. He has since worked on the films Citizen Ruth, Election, Jurassic Park III, About Schmidt, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Sideways, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, King of California, The Savages, Cedar Rapids, The Descendants, Nebraska, Wilson, Downsizing, and Crash Pad. Payne has won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and has been nominated three times for Academy Awards for Best Director.