Lorene Scafaria
{{short description|American actress and filmmaker (born 1978)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Lorene Scafaria
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1978|05|01}}
| birth_place = Holmdel, New Jersey, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Filmmaker|playwright|musician|actress}}
| years_active = 1999–present
}}
Lorene Scafaria (born May 1, 1978) is an American filmmaker, playwright, musician, and actress. She wrote and directed the films Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), The Meddler (2015), and Hustlers (2019), as well as writing the film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008).
Scafaria directed the Succession (2018–2023) episodes "Too Much Birthday", "Honeymoon States", and "Living+". She earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Too Much Birthday" and "Living+", in addition to a nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for "Too Much Birthday".
Early life
Scafaria was born in Holmdel, New Jersey, on May 1, 1978, the daughter of Gail (née Kiernan){{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?n=irene-kiernan&pid=149561533|title=Irene Kiernan Obituary|website=Asbury Park Press|date=March 23, 2011|access-date=October 13, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014035112/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?n=irene-kiernan&pid=149561533|url-status=live}} and Joseph Scafaria (1939–2009).{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/app/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-r-scafaria&pid=136100348|title=Joseph R. Scafaria Obituary|website=Asbury Park Press|date=November 18, 2009|access-date=October 13, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034636/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/app/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-r-scafaria&pid=136100348|url-status=live}} Her mother is a Canadian-American, while her father was an Italian immigrant from Gioia Tauro.{{Cite web |url=http://www.eonefilmsmedia.ca/pdfs/SAFFTEOTWNotesEONE_fufsau0d.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511003400/https://www.eonefilmsmedia.ca/pdfs/SAFFTEOTWNotesEONE_fufsau0d.pdf |url-status=dead|website=Entertainment One}} She has a brother named Vincent. She became interested in writing when she began making a book report on a fake book every month in order to win Pizza Hut gift certificates from her school.{{cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Gerry |title=From Pizza Thieving to Sizzle Reels |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/from-pizza-thieving-to-sizzle-reels/ |access-date=June 28, 2022 |work=Paste |date=May 20, 2016 |archive-date=June 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628191913/https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/from-pizza-thieving-to-sizzle-reels/ |url-status=live }} By the age of 17, she had written and staged her first play in Red Bank, New Jersey.{{cite web| url = http://www.donedealpro.com/members/details.aspx?object_id=127&content_type=1§ion_id=11| title = Interviews: Lorene Scafaria| access-date = October 6, 2008| date = April 27, 2005| publisher = Done Deal Professional| first = Will| last = Plyer| archive-date = October 11, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181011133324/http://www.donedealpro.com/members/details.aspx?object_id=127&content_type=1§ion_id=11| url-status = live}} After graduating from Holmdel High School in 1995, she attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Unable to afford the tuition fees, she soon transferred to Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, where she earned a BA in English with a minor in theater.{{cite news |last1=Bourbeau |first1=Mary Ann |title=Holmdel Writer Brings Her Story to Hollywood |url=https://tworivertimes.com/holmdel-writer-brings-her-story-to-hollywood/ |access-date=February 5, 2018 |work=The Two River Times |date=May 25, 2016 |quote=After graduating from Holmdel High School in 1995, Scafaria studied English with a writing concentration and a theater minor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and later transferred to Montclair State University, where she earned her degree. |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206131616/http://tworivertimes.com/holmdel-writer-brings-her-story-to-hollywood/ |url-status=live }}
Career
After moving to New York City, Scafaria wrote and directed a play at the Producer's Club Theatre called That Guy and Others Like Him, in which she also acted. She had a small role in the acclaimed short film Bullet in the Brain, which won awards at festivals and was produced by CJ Follini. Her writing agent had still yet to find her a job, so she took on more acting roles, appearing in many theater productions in addition to films such as Big Helium Dog and A Million Miles.
Seeking new representation for her writing career, she sent out queries to 20 different agents; one of the agents who replied said that they required her to move to Los Angeles. Although she did not anticipate real success with the agent, she moved there and became roommates with screenwriter Bryan Sipe, whom she had previously met while making a film in her native New Jersey. Neither of their work was considered "commercial" enough by studios, so they paired up to write a children's adventure film called Legend Has It. The screenplay was purchased by Revolution Studios; however, after the studio asked the pair to make changes to the script which Scafaria described as "far less interesting", the project was shelved.
In 2005, Scafaria was hired by Focus Features to adapt the book Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist into a film of the same name. It was her ninth screenplay but her first adaptation.{{cite web|url=http://blog.spout.com/2008/09/19/lorene-scafaria-interview-nick-and-norahs-infinite-playlist-toronto-2008/ |title=Lorene Scafaria Interview, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Toronto 2008 |access-date=October 6, 2008 |date=September 2008 |website=Spout.com |first=Kevin |last=Kelly |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126170634/http://blog.spout.com/2008/09/19/lorene-scafaria-interview-nick-and-norahs-infinite-playlist-toronto-2008/ |archive-date=November 26, 2009 }} She told MovieMaker, "I grew up in suburban New Jersey, so I immediately identified with the characters, especially Norah. Everything from feeling uncomfortable in my own skin to having a father who's larger than life (even if only in your mind), her plight really spoke to me and seemed like it would speak to a lot of young girls. It wasn't hard to get inside the characters' heads—the authors' voices are so strong." She said the film Before Sunrise was a big inspiration for the structure of her adaptation and said that she wanted to bring a nostalgic take on the teen comedy: "It was just a real challenge to kind of bring it back to those movies that I grew up on in the '80s, John Hughes movies and Cameron Crowe."{{Cite web|url=https://www.moviemaker.com/lorene-scafaria-nick-and-norahs-infinite-playlist-20081005/|title=Lorene Scafaria Makes A Date With Nick & Norah|last=Forte|first=Kristin|date=October 6, 2008|website=MovieMaker Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803220955/https://www.moviemaker.com/lorene-scafaria-nick-and-norahs-infinite-playlist-20081005/|url-status=live}}
In 2012, the "Fempire" (a trio of writers consisting of Scafaria and her close friends Diablo Cody and Liz Meriwether) received the Athena Film Festival Award for Creativity and Sisterhood.{{cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Gordon |title=Athena awards for Cody, Taymor |url=https://variety.com/2012/film/news/athena-awards-for-cody-taymor-1118048427/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |work=Variety |date=January 11, 2012 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609111212/https://variety.com/2012/film/news/athena-awards-for-cody-taymor-1118048427/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=2012 Athena Award Winners |url=https://athenafilmfestival.com/award-winners/2012-athena-award-winners/ |website=Athena Film Festival |date=December 6, 2013 |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003181012/https://athenafilmfestival.com/award-winners/2012-athena-award-winners/ |url-status=live }} Scafaria wrote the Iraq War docudrama Sweet Relief for Paramount Pictures and The Mighty Flynn, a spec script which she set up at Warner Brothers.{{cite magazine| url = https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117960570.html?categoryid=13&cs=1| title = Muccino mans Universal's Wife| access-date = October 6, 2008| date = March 5, 2007| magazine = Variety| first = Michael| last = Fleming|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308100243/https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117960570.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1|archive-date=March 8, 2007|url-status=dead}} She also wrote the film Man and Wife, which had Gabriele Muccino attached to direct.
During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Scafaria recorded an album called Garden Party, featuring original songs she sang and played on the piano. The 2009 film Whip It! features her song "28" in the closing credits. She released her second album, Laughter and Forgetting, in April 2010.
In 2009, Mandate Pictures bought Scafaria's script Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,{{cite web|last=Parker|first=Cat|url=http://movieweb.com/lorene-scafaria-to-direct-seeking-a-friend-for-the-end-of-the-world/|title=Lorene Scafaria to Direct Seeking a Friend for the End of the World|date=October 6, 2008|website=MovieWeb|access-date=October 13, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034924/http://movieweb.com/lorene-scafaria-to-direct-seeking-a-friend-for-the-end-of-the-world/|url-status=live}} a romantic comedy focusing on a man's quest for a meaningful connection during the apocalypse. It was the first film Scafaria also directed, and was released in June 2012. In an interview, she said, "Two people at the end of the world—all the chaos that's around them that they're sort of wheeling through—and obviously some people are just mowing their lawn and other people are doing heroin... but there's something to me that becomes even more romantic, and that's what I was excited to explore and see. I love relationships. I love intimate stories about people; whether it's a guy and a girl or whatever it is, I like intimate stories of people and how they relate to each other."{{Cite web|url=http://www.films42.com/chats/ScafariaChatSAF.pdf|title=Jan Chats With Writer/Director Lorene Scafaria|last=Huttner|first=Jan|date=June 20, 2012|website=FF2 Media|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-date=May 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507162710/http://www.films42.com/chats/ScafariaChatSAF.pdf|url-status=live}}
In 2015, Scafaria wrote and directed the comedy-drama film The Meddler.{{cite news|last1=Fleming|first1=Mike Jr.|title=Lorene Scafaria Helms The Meddler With Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, JK Simmons|url=https://deadline.com/2015/03/the-meddler-susan-sarandon-rose-byrne-jk-simmons-lorene-scafaria-1201387635/|access-date=August 7, 2015|work=Deadline|date=March 6, 2015|archive-date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621194444/https://deadline.com/2015/03/the-meddler-susan-sarandon-rose-byrne-jk-simmons-lorene-scafaria-1201387635/|url-status=live}} The film tells the story of a mother and daughter trying to move on with life after the loss of their husband and father. Scafaria told The New York Times, "There's a reason that it's all from [the daughter] Marnie's perspective because I never wanted to get a break from her. More than anything I wanted it to inspire empathy from people who might find themselves in this situation, whether it's through loss or some other circumstance that creates strife. Once I started showing people the script, that there was something so relatable about being the adult child of someone and trying to stay best friends."{{Cite news|last=Murphy|first=Mekado|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/movies/lorene-scafaria-narrates-a-scene-from-the-meddler.html|title=Lorene Scafaria Narrates a Scene From The Meddler|date=April 21, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 20, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211155628/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/movies/lorene-scafaria-narrates-a-scene-from-the-meddler.html|url-status=live}}
In 2019, Scafaria wrote and directed the crime drama film Hustlers, which was based on a 2015 New York magazine article by Jessica Pressler.{{cite web|last=Wiseman|first=Andreas|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/cardi-b-lili-reinhart-keke-palmer-julia-stiles-constance-wu-jennifer-lopez-hustlers-1202578260/|title=Hustlers: Cardi B, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer & Julia Stiles Join Constance Wu & Jennifer Lopez in Avenging Strippers Pic|website=Deadline|date=March 19, 2019|access-date=October 13, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320005443/https://deadline.com/2019/03/cardi-b-lili-reinhart-keke-palmer-julia-stiles-constance-wu-jennifer-lopez-hustlers-1202578260/|url-status=live}} The film was a critical and commercial success. Scafaria said to Vox on the real story, "There are a lot of movies that I think have touched upon these themes—The Wolf of Wall Street or movies like The Big Short—which explain [financial downturns] from the bullpen. But I'm really interested in seeing the impact that the 2008 recession had on these women who worked in Wall Street's backyard." When mentioning the relationship between Destiny and Ramona, she said, "It felt like there was something more in between the lines—the story of these two women who became friends and formed this business together, and then here they are being interviewed separately years later."{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/8/20847906/hustlers-director-lorene-scafaria-interview-strippers|title=Hustlers director Lorene Scafaria on making a movie about strippers "from the neck up"|last=Wilkinson|first=Alissa|date=September 8, 2019|website=Vox|language=en|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624095124/https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/8/20847906/hustlers-director-lorene-scafaria-interview-strippers|url-status=live}} In a 2019 interview, the real-life stripper who went through the events of the film told her side of the story and discussed how accurate it was while praising Scafaria.{{Cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Brie|url=https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a29038947/roselyn-keo-hustlers-movie-response/|title=What Rosie Keo, the Stripper Who Inspired Hustlers, Has Been up to Since Her Arrest|website=Oprah Daily|date=September 13, 2019|access-date=June 15, 2022|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706094133/https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a29038947/roselyn-keo-hustlers-movie-response/|url-status=live}}
Between 2021 and 2023, Scafaria directed three episodes of the HBO series Succession. For its third season, she directed the episode "Too Much Birthday",{{cite web |last1=Zoller Seitz |first1=Matt |title='God, I'm Crying Over Kendall?' A guided tour of Succession{{'}}s descent into birthday hell with director Lorene Scafaria |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/lorene-scafaria-succession-season-3-episode-7-interview.html |website=Vulture |access-date=June 15, 2022 |date=November 29, 2021 |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129235151/https://www.vulture.com/article/lorene-scafaria-succession-season-3-episode-7-interview.html |url-status=live }} for which she received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series{{cite news |last1=Chuba |first1=Kirsten |last2=Gajewski |first2=Ryan |last3=Lewis |first3=Hilary |title=DGA Awards: Jane Campion and The Power of the Dog Take Top Honor |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dga-awards-2022-winners-list-1235109846/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 12, 2022 |archive-date=March 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313033130/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dga-awards-2022-winners-list-1235109846/ |url-status=live }} as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.{{cite news |last1=Moreau |first1=Jordan |last2=Schneider |first2=Michael |title=Emmys 2022: The Complete Nominations List |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/awards/emmys-nominations-list-2022-1235313788/ |access-date=July 13, 2022 |work=Variety |date=July 12, 2022 |archive-date=July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712160603/https://variety.com/2022/tv/awards/emmys-nominations-list-2022-1235313788/ |url-status=live }} For the fourth and final season of the series, Scafaria directed the episodes "Honeymoon States" and "Living+",{{cite news |last1=Strause |first1=Jackie |title=Succession Director on Filming That Surprise Cameo and Tying Up Her Kendall Trilogy |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/succession-director-logan-roy-return-kendall-season-4-episode-6-1235405575/ |access-date=May 1, 2023 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=April 30, 2023}} with the latter earning her another nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.{{cite news |last1=Moreau |first1=Jordan |last2=Schneider |first2=Michael |title=Emmys 2023: The Complete Nominations List |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/2023-emmy-nominations-list-1235666521/ |access-date=July 16, 2023 |work=Variety |date=July 13, 2023}}
Personal life
Scafaria lives in Los Angeles. She dated comedian Bo Burnham from 2013 until 2022.{{cite magazine|last=Luscombe|first=Belinda |title=How Bo Burnham Turns Anxiety Into a Work of Art|date=July 12, 2018 |url=https://time.com/5336639/bo-burnham-eighth-grade/ |magazine=Time|access-date=June 5, 2021 |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717204221/http://time.com/5336639/bo-burnham-eighth-grade/ |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/bo-burnham-and-the-possibilities-of-the-cinematic-selfie |title=Bo Burnham and the Possibilities of the Cinematic Selfie |last=Brody |first=Richard |magazine=The New Yorker |date=June 9, 2021 |accessdate=July 8, 2021 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610020652/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/bo-burnham-and-the-possibilities-of-the-cinematic-selfie |archivedate=June 10, 2021 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=rebecca mitchell, Ava |title=It's Official: Phoebe Bridgers And Bo Burnham Hard Launch Their Relationship |url=https://www.elle.com.au/celebrity/phoebe-bridgers-bo-burnham-dating-28122 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=ELLE |date=November 12, 2023 |language=en}}
Filmography
=Films=
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||||
| Year | Title | Actress | Writer | Director | Producer | Composer | Role | class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Big Helium Dog | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Chastity | |
| rowspan="3"|2001 | A Million Miles | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Jodi | |
| Mayhem Motel | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Abby | ||
| Bullet in the Brain | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Eager Student | |Short film | |
| 2004 | Unbound | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Girl | Short film |
| 2007 | The Nines | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Game Night Guest | |
| 2008 | Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Drunk Girl in Yugo | Soundtrack credit: "12 Gays of Christmas" |
| rowspan="2"|2009 | Whip It | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Soundtrack: "28" | |
| 1045 Mercy Street | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Short film | ||
| 2012 | Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | ||
| 2013 | Coherence | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Lee | |
| rowspan="2"|2015 | Ricki and the Flash | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Executive producer | |
| The Meddler | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |||
| 2019 | Hustlers | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Co-producer | |
| 2022 | Jennifer Lopez: Halftime | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Herself | Documentary |
| 2023 | Under the Boardwalk | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Executive producer |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| Year | Title | Writer | Director | Producer | Role | class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Childrens Hospital | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Episode: "Show Me on Montana" | |
| rowspan="2"|2012 | Made in Hollywood | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | Herself | Episode #7.30 |
| Ben and Kate | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Writer ("Career Day") Consulting producer (3 episodes) Soundtrack writer (2 songs) | ||
| 2013–2014 | New Girl | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | 3 episodes | |
| 2021–2023 | Succession | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | 3 episodes |
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
{{Lorene Scafaria}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scafaria, Lorene}}
Category:American women film directors
Category:American film actresses
Category:Screenwriters from New Jersey
Category:Holmdel High School alumni
Category:Lafayette College alumni
Category:Montclair State University alumni
Category:People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey
Category:American women screenwriters
Category:American women dramatists and playwrights
Category:American writers of Italian descent
Category:People of Calabrian descent
Category:Film directors from New Jersey
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:Writers from Monmouth County, New Jersey