Leslye Headland
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Leslye Headland (born 1980) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, and playwright. She is known for the play and 2012 film ''
Bachelorette ''Bachelorette'' (/ˌbætʃələˈrɛt/) is a term used in American English for a single, unmarried woman. The term is derived from the word ''bachelor'', and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some individuals. ...
'' and 2015 film '' Sleeping with Other People''. She co-created the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Russian Doll Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
'', along with
Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she r ...
and
Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...
.


Early life and education

Headland, raised in suburban Maryland, graduated in 1999 from
Staples High School Staples High School is a public high school located in the town of Westport, Connecticut, United States. Staples High School is named after Horace Staples, who founded the school on April 26, 1884. Westport is one of eight school districts in Dis ...
. She received her BFA in drama from the
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
in 2002.


Career

Upon graduating college, Headland spent six years working as an assistant at
Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...
, a year of which was spent as
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
's personal assistant. Her experience during that time is what inspired her 2012 play ''Assistance''. As a playwright, she is best known for her Seven Deadly Sins cycle: ''Cinephillia'' (lust), ''Bachelorette'' (gluttony), ''Assistance'' (greed), ''Surfer Girl'' (sloth), ''Reverb'' (wrath), ''The Accidental Blonde'' (envy), and ''Cult of Love'' (pride). Part of the inspiration for the Seven Deadly Plays came from her Christian upbringing. Her final play in the series, ''Cult of Love'', opened in 2018. She has also written a neo-noir style play ''The Layover'' which received mixed reviews in 2016. Headland got her first job in the television industry in 2010 as a staff writer on the FX series ''
Terriers Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary gr ...
.'' She wrote and directed the 2012
film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of her play ''Bachelorette,'' which was her debut as a feature film director. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. ''Bachelorette'' co-starred
Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her rol ...
,
Lizzy Caplan Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...
, and
Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal ...
as three troubled women who reunite for the wedding of a friend played by
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
, who was ridiculed in high school. Headland's play '' Assistance'' premiered in 2008 and was staged in 2012 at the New York theatre space
Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...
. Television rights were acquired by NBC in 2013, to be executive-produced by
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...
and Adam McKay;
Krysten Ritter Krysten Alyce Ritter (born December 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She came to prominence when she appeared as Jane Margolis in the AMC drama series '' Breaking Bad'' (2009–2010) and its spinoff film '' El Camino'' (2019). She the ...
of the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
series ''
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' is an American television sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan and starring Krysten Ritter that aired on ABC for two seasons from April 11, 2012 to January 15, 2013 and July 19 to September 6, 2014. Original ...
'' was set to both star and executive produce.
Dramatists Play Service Dramatists Play Service (also known as The Play Service) is a theatrical-publishing and licensing house, established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Authors' Representatives. DPS publishes English-language ...
published ''Assistance'' in late 2013. Headland is the screenwriter of the 2014 remake of the film ''
About Last Night About Last Night may refer to: Film and television * ''About Last Night'' (1986 film), an American comedy-drama directed by Edward Zwick * ''About Last Night'' (2014 film), an American remake of the 1986 film, directed by Steve Pink * "About Las ...
'', itself an adaptation of the 1974
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
play ''
Sexual Perversity in Chicago ''Sexual Perversity in Chicago'' is a play written by David Mamet that examines the sex lives of two men and two women in the 1970s. The play is filled with profanity and regional jargon that reflects the working-class language of Chicago. The c ...
''. In 2015, Headland directed '' Sleeping with Other People'' based on her own script, which starred
Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...
and
Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...
. At the premier of the film, Headland said in an interview with The Wrap that her "elevator" pitch for the movie was, "Like ''
When Harry Met Sally ''When Harry Met Sally...'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally. The story follows the title characters from the time they meet ...
'' for assholes." The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. Headland has directed episodes of the television series ''
Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...
'' (for which she also served as an executive producer) and two consecutive episodes of the 2016 Starz TV series ''
Blunt Talk ''Blunt Talk'' is an American sitcom on the Starz cable network starring Patrick Stewart, created by Jonathan Ames, and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane. The series' first two episodes were released online on August 15, 2015, and premiered on ...
,'' starring Patrick Stewart. She has also directed episodes for ''
SMILF ''SMILF'' is an American sitcom starring, created, written, and directed by Frankie Shaw. It was based on her short film of the same title. The series premiered on Showtime on November 5, 2017. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term "MIL ...
'' and ''
Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
''. Headland directed four episodes and co-wrote three episodes of ''
Russian Doll Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
'', which she co-created for
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
with
Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she r ...
and
Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...
. ''Russian Doll'' is the first television series that Headland co-created, and she was the last of the three women to come on board for the project. The series premiered on February 1, 2019. On the female driven narrative of ''Russian Doll'', Headland stated, "It was really important to explore a show about a female protagonist that asked spiritual and existential questions, as opposed to a show that was about a woman finding romance, a woman finding balance between her personal life and her love life... those are all worthy endeavors and excellent shows are made about all of those things, but we were just thinking 'What hasn't been done?'" Headland was hired by Netflix to direct the upcoming film ''Tell Me Everything'', a thriller about marriage based on the young adult novel of the same name. She is also set to executive produce and direct a film based on the novel ''American Huckster:'' ''How Chuck Blazer Got Rich from-and Sold Out-the Most Powerful Cabal in World Sports'' for HBO Films starring Will Ferrell. She is additionally anticipated to executive produce and direct the first episode of the upcoming Fox series ''Sisters''. Headland has alluded to being involved in a second season of ''Russian Doll'', though no details on the season have been confirmed. In 2019, she signed a deal with Fox 21 Television Studios. On April 22, 2020, it was unofficially announced through
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
that Headland would be the showrunner and writer for an upcoming ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' series on the
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streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
. The series would be female-centric and would take place in a different part of the "''Star Wars''" timeline than other projects in the franchise. On May 4, 2020 (
Star Wars Day ''Star Wars'' Day is an informal commemorative day observed annually on May4 to celebrate the ''Star Wars'' media franchise created by founder, former chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm, George Lucas. Observance of the day spread quickly through m ...
), it was officially announced that Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for her own ''Star Wars'' series for
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
, entitled '' The Acolyte'', which takes place during the final days of the High Republic.


Influences and themes

Leslye Headland was brought up in a strict religious home and grew up watching the
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
and
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
musicals. Headland notes that
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's film ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film st ...
'' was the first time she saw the camera as a tool and realized what a director did. Later in life as she was completing her BFA at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, Headland notes the difficulty and dark time faced due to the 9/11 attack and names
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
's ''
Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...
'' as the reason she has a lifelong artistic need to make a joke about what is truly painful. Much of Headland's work focuses on cultural vandalism. Addiction is also a theme that plays heavily into her projects. Regarding her work Headland has stated, "I'm attracted to stories about people who have created prisons for themselves and are trying to get out of them."


Personal life

Headland identifies as a lesbian and married actress Rebecca Henderson in September 2016.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


See also

*
List of female film and television directors This is a list of female film and television directors. Their works may include live action and/or animated features, shorts, documentaries, telemovies, TV programs, or videos. A * Jennifer Abbott (Canada) * Sarah Abbott (Canada * Jenni ...
*
List of lesbian filmmakers This is a list of lesbian filmmakers. The names listed include directors, producers, and screenwriters of feature films, television movies, documentaries and short films; and have received coverage or been recognized in reliable, authoritative me ...


References


External links

* *
''The New York Times'' on Headland's ''Assistance'' (2012)


* ttps://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/09/08/why-bachelorette-director-leslye-headland-hates-the-bachelor/ ''Wall Street Journal'' on Leslye Headland {{DEFAULTSORT:Headland, Leslye 1980 births Living people 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers American women dramatists and playwrights American women film directors American women screenwriters Lesbian artists American lesbian writers Film directors from Connecticut Film directors from Maryland Writers from Connecticut Writers from Maryland People from Westport, Connecticut Tisch School of the Arts alumni Staples High School alumni