Kansas Bowling (born August 2, 1996) is an American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and actress. She is best known for directing '' B.C. Butcher'' (2016) and acting in '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' (2019).

Early life

Bowling was born and raised in Hollywood, California. At age 13, she received a Super 8 film camera as a Christmas gift and immediately started shooting short films with her sister.

Career

''B.C. Butcher''

Bowling directed '' B.C. Butcher'' (2016) starring Kato Kaelin,

Rodney Bingenheimer Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of ''Rodney on the ROQ'', a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he also m ...

, Natasha Halevi, and

Kadeem Hardison Kadeem Hardison (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on ''A Different World'', a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show''. He starred in the Disney Channel series ''K.C. Under ...

. The film was produced by

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featur ...

and distributed by

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

on their streaming service ''Troma Now'' on

VHX VHX was a digital distribution platform targeting independent filmmakers. The platform allows artists to sell content directly from their own website, providing design, social media integration, search engine optimization, and analytics tools. ...

. The movie had its theatrical premiere on March 3, 2016, at

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater located at 6706 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace and is noted as having been the site of the first-ever Hollywood ...

in Hollywood, California. The premiere had a musical performance by

Count Smokula Count Smokula is a comedic fictional character created and portrayed by Robert "Smokey" Miles. He has made numerous live appearances, roles in movies, TV shows and internet videos. Count Smokula and Smokesylvania As imagined by Miles, Count Smokul ...

and

Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list. Jeremy has also made a number of non-pornographic m ...

. Bowling was the first inductee into the ''

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

Institute For Gifted Youth'' and listed as one of ''W'' Magazine's 42 up-and-comers in their April 2016 "Next in Line" issue. Bowling has stated that ''B.C. Butcher'' is inspired by ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...

'', ''

Switchblade Sisters ''Switchblade Sisters'' is a 1975 American exploitation action film detailing the lives of high school-aged female gang members. It was directed by Jack Hill and stars Joanne Nail, Robbie Lee and Monica Gayle. The film is also known as ''The J ...

'',

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

, Doris Wishman, and

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

. Critics have described ''B.C. Butcher'' as a " feminist

slasher movie A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

Music videos

Bowling has directed over 25

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for various artists (shot on 8mm or

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ed ...

film). In the music video for Kat Meoz's "Here I Wait", Bowling shot the only existing footage of Richard Brautigan's papier-mâché bird Willard who was the subject of his 1975 novel '' Willard and His Bowling Trophies''. On April 13, 2018, German band Drangsal released a controversial video for their song "Magst Du Mich" directed by and starring Bowling and her sister Parker Love Bowling referencing

pizzagate "Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police. In March 2016, the p ...

conspiracy theories and acting as "

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's sex slaves". On August 15, 2018, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' released a video Bowling directed for the Death Valley Girls' song "Disaster (Is What We're After)". The video is four minutes of musician Iggy Pop eating a hamburger. The video is an homage to

Jørgen Leth Jørgen Leth (; born 14 June 1937) is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his documentary ''A Sunday in Hell'' (1977) and his surrealistic short film '' Th ...

's 1982 film ''66 Scenes of America'', where

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

eats a hamburger. Yahoo Entertainment named it one of their favorite videos of the year. On October 2, 2018, Stereogum premiered another video Bowling directed for the Death Valley Girls for their song "One Less Thing (Before I Die)". Bowling attended the home-made rocket launch for the daredevil and limo driver Mad Mike Hughes and filmed his successful attempt at launching in the sky. Included in the video is footage from Noize TV of Mad Mike Hughes kissing Bowling after being put on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. Galore Magazine premiered a video October 26, 2018, Bowling directed for the band Collapsing Scenery's song "Resort Beyond the Last Resort". The video is based on

Boyd Rice Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the ''Partridge Family Temple'' religious group, co-founder of ...

's 1994 pro-rape manifesto "Revolt Against Penis Envy" which appeared in the controversial ''

Answer Me! ''Answer Me!'' (typically rendered ''ANSWER Me!'') was a magazine edited by Jim Goad and Debbie Goad and published between 1991 and 1994. It focused on the social pathologies of interest to the Los Angeles–based couple. ''Answer Me!'' also f ...

'' magazine. The video reverses the narrative of the essay and has Rice getting raped by a woman.

Acting

Bowling and her sister Parker Love Bowling starred in Jared Master's biblical period film ''Absolute Vow'' alongside

Aki Aleong Assing "Aki" Aleong (born December 19, 1934) is a Trinidad and Tobago–born American character actor and singer who has also been active in songwriting and musical production. His first important role was in the 1957 movie '' No Down Paymen ...

. The film was deemed controversial for mixing exploitive themes with religion. June 22, 2017, Bowling appeared on season 2; episode 3 of the

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

show '' Party Legends'' directed by

Lance Bangs Lance Bangs (born September 4, 1972) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel, Green Day, Arcade Fire, The Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Ye ...

. Kansas' segment, "Swat Team Believer", is about a time she went to a concert by

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

and after meeting

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

accidentally gets caught in a SWAT shoot-out. The episode is titled "Breaking Bad Vibes" and also features

Theophilus London Theophilus Musa London (born February 23, 1987) is an American rapper and singer. A frequent collaborator of Kanye West, London was a producer on the 2022 album Donda 2 and was featured on West's 2015 single " All Day" which was nominated for sev ...

Derek Waters Derek Matthew Waters (born July 30, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Drunk History'' (2013–2019), which earned him eight Primetime Emmy Award ...

Nikki Glaser Nicole Rene Glaser (born June 1, 1984) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, radio host, and television host. She was the host of the television series '' Not Safe with Nikki Glaser'', which premiered on Comedy Central and Much ...

, and Duncan Trussell. In 2018, Bowling produced and acted in the short film ''Swamp Women Kissing Booth'' which went on to be nominated in both the Austin Spotlight Film Festival and the Los Angeles CineFest. ''Swamp Women Kissing Booth'' was the first film to feature actress

Kathleen Hughes Kathleen Hughes (born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan; November 14, 1928) is an American actress. Early life Hughes' uncle, F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored ''Kiss and Tell'' and ''The Moon Is Blue''. Her desire to act was inspired ...

, star of ''

It Came from Outer Space ''It Came from Outer Space'' is a 1953 American science fiction horror film, the first in the 3D process from Universal-International. It was produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. The film stars Richard Carlson and Barbara ...

'', in a starring role since 1958. In 2019, she portrayed

Sandra Good Sandra Collins Good (born February 20, 1944) is a long-time member of the Manson Family and a close friend of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. Good's Manson Family nickname is "Blue", which was given to her by Charles Manson to represent clean air and ...

, a member of the Manson family, in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' and appeared in Glenn Danzig's ''

Verotika ''Verotika'' is a 2019 American anthology horror film written, directed and scored by Glenn Danzig. Based on a line of comic books published by Danzig's company Verotik, the film stars Rachel Alig, Alice Haig, Natalia Borowsky, Sean Kanan, Sco ...

'' as well. In early 2020,

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

released a music video for their first single "Caution" off their new album ''Imploding the Mirage'' starring Bowling and

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is kn ...

. In 2020, Bowling starred as the protagonist, Nancy Banana alongside Bill Weeden in the parody film, ''Psycho Ape!''.

Personal life

She is the older sister of actress Parker Love Bowling.

Filmography

Film Television Music videos

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowling, Kansas Living people 1996 births People from Hollywood, Los Angeles American women screenwriters American women film directors Horror film directors Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California 21st-century American women