Alexander Payne Filmography

Born:: February 10, 1961
Occupation:: Actor, Director, Executive Producer, Producer, Screenwriter
Biography:: Director and screenwriter Alexander Payne made his big-screen debut directing one of nine vignettes about love and relationships in the 1992 film Inside Out. Four years later, he gained praise and recognition for Citizen Ruth, a bitingly satirical look at the abortion debate which starred Laura Dern...Read More

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The Savages

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Peter Friedman, David Zayas

Synopsis: A pair of siblings are forced to set aside their discomfort with one another for the sake of their father in this low-key comedy drama from writer/director Tamara Jenkins. Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) is a struggling playwright living in New York City who works a day job to support herself and Read More

11/28/07
The King of California

Crew: Producer

Actors: Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood, Willis Burks II, Laura Kachergus, Paul Lieber, Kathleen Wilhoite

Synopsis: Michael Douglas stars as a treasure-hunting eccentric in this Alexander Payne-produced comedy from director Michael Cahill. Recently released from a mental institution and reunited with his teenage daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), Charlie (Douglas) decides there's century's old gold buried Read More

9/14/07
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Dan Aykroyd, Ving Rhames

Synopsis: When two testosterone-fueled firemen attempt to register as domestic partners in order to bypass the bureaucratic red tape preventing one of them from naming his own two children as his life-insurance beneficiaries, their low-key ruse turns into headline news in this quirky matrimonial comedy Read More

7/20/07
Paris, je t'aime

Crew: Director

Synopsis: Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris Je T'aime features eighteen short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in Read More

5/4/07
Gray Matters

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Cumming, Molly Shannon

Synopsis: "Sibling rivalry" takes on a whole new meaning in this offbeat comedy from first-time writer and director Sue Kramer. Sam (Tom Cavanagh) and his sister Gray (Heather Graham) are siblings who share a passionate interest in the music and styles of the 1940's, especially movie musicals of the era Read More

2/23/07
14ème Arrondissement

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Margo Martindale

Synopsis: This short film was director Alexander Payne's contribution to the anthology film Paris, Je T'Aime. Focusing on the area of the City of Lights called Montparnasse, it stars Margo Martindale as an American visiting Paris alone. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide Read More

2006
Père-Lachaise

Actors: Emily Mortimer, Rufus Sewell, Alexander Payne

Synopsis: Master of horror Wes Craven offers a lighter and more whimsical take on the supernatural in this short film, which transpires in the Pere-Lachaise cemetery. It concerns a young man who receives romantic advice from a most unexpected source. Part of the anthology film Paris, Je T'Aime Read More

2006
The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Michael Wincott, Mykelti Williamson, Naomi Watts

Synopsis: The true story of a man who, on February 22, 1974, was thwarted from an ambitious plan for political assassination provides the basis for this striking psychological drama. Sam Bicke (Sean Penn) is a salesman for an office-supply company whose life is slowly beginning to unravel. Bicke's job is Read More

12/29/04
Sideways

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh

Synopsis: Directed by Alexander Payne, Sideways follows Miles (Paul Giamatti), who is distressed about his lack of success as a novelist, and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an equally unsuccessful actor with a rapidly approaching wedding. In a last-ditch effort to sow their wild oats, Jack and Miles take off Read More

10/22/04
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Synopsis: The Z Channel wasn't America's first premium cable outlet specializing in feature films, and it wasn't the most commercially successful, but few, if any, had as strong an impact on the film industry or a more influential list of customers. Based in California and blanketing sections of the state Read More

10/15/04
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

Actors: James Cameron, Joe Dante, Dede Allen, Jerry Bruckheimer, Conrad Buff, Donn Cambern, Richard Chew, Anne V. Coates, Rob Cohen, Chris Columbus, Wes Craven, Jodie Foster, Antony Gibbs, Mark Goldblatt, Paul Hirsch, Alan Heim, Tina Hirsch, Peter Honess, Joe Hutshing, Michael Kahn, Lawrence Kasdan, Chris Lebenzon, Carol Littleton, George Lucas, Richard Marks, Craig McKay, Sally Menke, Anthony Minghella, Walter Murch, Alexander Payne, Sean Penn, Tom Rolf, Howard Smith, Pietro Scalia, Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Zach Staenberg, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Tent, Michael Tronick, Frank J. Urioste, Paul Verhoeven, Jay Cassidy, Kevin Tichenor, Kathy Bates

Synopsis: The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing teaches the viewer how editors compile strips of film in order to create memorable moviegoing experiences. In addition to interviews with a variety of respected and award-winning editors, the movie offers clips form some of the most memorable films in the Read More

2004
A Decade Under the Influence

Actors: Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Ellen Burstyn

Synopsis: In the late '60s, American culture experienced a period of change as the youth movement challenged conventional attitudes about politics, sex, drugs, and gender issues, while the advancement of the Vietnam War found many citizens questioning the actions and wisdom of their government for the first Read More

4/25/03
About Schmidt

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates

Synopsis: Jack Nicholson plays retiring insurance actuary Warren Schmidt in Alexander Payne's About Schmidt. Schmidt has settled into a dormant life. He has an unfulfilling marriage to Helen (June Squibb), and conspires to spend as much time away from her as possible. Schmidt's daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) Read More

12/13/02
Jurassic Park III

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan

Synopsis: Director Joe Johnston takes over the creative reins from Steven Spielberg for this third installment in the thriller franchise. Sam Neill returns as Dr. Alan Grant, a scientist who's tricked by wealthy couple Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) into a fly-over of Isla Sorna. The Read More

7/18/01
Election

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik

Synopsis: In this satirical comedy, a hotly contested high school election becomes a metaphor for the current state of American politics. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is a popular and well-respected instructor at George Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska, but lately he's been unhappy in Read More

4/23/99
Citizen Ruth

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place, Kelly Preston

Synopsis: The divisive issue of abortion is at the center of Citizen Ruth, a political satire that attempts to subject both pro-choice and pro-life forces to equal ridicule. Laura Dern portrays Ruth Stoops, an irresponsible, unemployed woman who's addicted to inhaling household chemicals and has becomes Read More

1996
The Passion of Martin

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Charles Hayward, Lisa Zane

1990