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Karyn Kusama is a Director and Writer American born on 21 march 1968 at Brooklyn (USA)

Karyn Kusama

Karyn Kusama
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Birth name Karyn K. Kusama
Nationality USA
Birth 21 march 1968 (56 years) at Brooklyn (USA)

Karyn Kusama (born March 21, 1968) is an American film director who had her breakthrough with Girlfight, her first feature film. She wrote the screenplay and directed the film at age 27. It was released in 2000 and won the Director's Prize and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Prix de la Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival. The independent feature film with a budget of around US$1 Million was critically well received. It only brought in US$1,667,000.

It took two years to find financing for the film. After financing fell through shortly before shooting began, Girlfight was fully financed by film-maker John Sayles whom she worked for as an assistant at that time.

Biography

En 2000, elle est révélée par son premier long métrage comme scénariste et réalisatrice, Girlfight, porté par l'actrice Michelle Rodriguez. Le film remporte le Grand prix du jury au Festival du film de Sundance.

Sollicitée par Hollywood, elle dévoile en 2005 l'adaptation cinématographique de la série télévisée d'animation Æon Flux, créée par le réalisateur de dessin animé américano-coréen, Peter Chung. Le long-métrage, porté par Charlize Theron, est éreinté par la critique.

La réalisatrice part mettre en scène des épisodes de la série The L Word, puis se voit cependant confier un second projet, plus indépendant, Jennifer's Body, basé sur un scénario de l'oscarisée Diablo Cody. Cette satire est portée par la jeune star Megan Fox et la valeur montante Amanda Seyfried, dans les rôles d'adolescentes liées par un traité surprenant sur le côté sombre de l'amitié féminine. Le film divise fortement la critique.

Il faut attendre quatre ans pour voir la réalisatrice dévoiler son prochain film, un projet indépendant : The Invitation est un thriller intimiste à petit budget, sorti en 2015. Le long-métrage raconte les relations d'un couple après la perte de leur enfant. Le film est salué par la critique.

Par la suite, elle réalise des épisodes de séries prestigieuses.

En 2017, aux côtés des réalisatrices Annie Clark, Jovanka Vuckovic et Roxanne Benjamin, elle dirige l'un des segments de XX, une anthologie d'horreur exclusivement féminine. Her Only Living Son se veut être une spéculation sur le sort de Rosemary et de son bébé, dont la narration se situe près de 18 années avant le long métrage Rosemary's Baby de Roman Polanski.

L'année 2018 est marquée par la sortie de son cinquième long-métrage, le film d'action indépendant Destroyer, porté par Nicole Kidman. Les critiques sont encore une fois très positives.

Usually with

John Sayles
John Sayles
(1 films)
Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody
(1 films)
Mike Doyle
Mike Doyle
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Karyn Kusama (6 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

Destroyer
Destroyer (2019)

Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Actors Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford
Rating61% 3.09693.09693.09693.09693.0969
À cause d'une enquête, l'inspectrice du Los Angeles Police Department Erin Bell doit se confronter à son passé où elle a été infiltrée dans un gang.
XX
XX (2017)
, 1h34
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Horror
Actors Melanie Lynskey, Natalie Brown, Angela Trimbur, Christina Kirk, Breeda Wool, Sheila Vand
Rating46% 2.3070452.3070452.3070452.3070452.307045
L'anthologie est encadrée par des segments animés en stop motion représentant une maison de poupée créée par Sofia Carrillo et présente dans la séquence de crédits du film et lors des différents interstices.
The Invitation, 1h40
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror
Actors Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Mike Doyle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, John Carroll Lynch
Rating65% 3.298953.298953.298953.298953.29895
While attending a dinner party at his former home, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) thinks his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband David (Michiel Huisman) have sinister intentions for their guests.
Jennifer's Body, 1h42
Directed by Karyn Kusama, Mason Novick
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror, Black comedy
Themes L'adolescence, Dance films, Films about education, Films about children, Feminist films, Films about sexuality, Sports films, Bisexuality-related films, LGBT-related films, La sexualité des mineurs, Demons in film, Political films, Comedy horror films, Buddy films, Children's films, Films about school violence, Teen movie, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody
Rating55% 2.7549052.7549052.7549052.7549052.754905
Anita "Needy" Lesnicki, once an insecure and bookish teenager living near Devil's Kettle, Minnesota, is now a violent mental inmate who narrates the story as a flashback while in solitary confinement. She has been friends with a selfish and popular cheerleader, Jennifer Check, since childhood, despite having little in common. One night, Jennifer takes Needy to a local dive bar to attend a concert by indie rock band Low Shoulder. A suspicious fire engulfs the bar, killing several people, and Jennifer, who is in shock, agrees to leave with the band despite Needy's protests. Later that evening, Jennifer, covered in blood, appears in Needy's kitchen and proceeds to eat food from the refrigerator. Unable to digest the matter, she vomits a trail of black, spiny fluid and then leaves in a hurry as Needy calls after her.
Girlfight
Girlfight (2000)
, 1h50
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Le boxe anglaise
Actors Michelle Rodríguez, Paul Calderon, Ray Santiago, Louis Guss, Tara Strong, Shannon Walker Williams
Rating66% 3.3462753.3462753.3462753.3462753.346275
Diana Guzman is a Brooklyn teenager whose hot temper gets her into trouble at school as she repeatedly starts fights with other students. Her frustration stems from her unhappy home life; she lives in a public housing estate with her brother Tiny and their single father, Sandro. Sandro pays for Tiny's boxing training in hopes of his becoming a professional boxer, although Tiny would prefer to be an artist. After visiting Tiny's gym and intervening in a spar to defend him, Diana asks the trainers to let her box, too. She is told she can train there, but not compete in actual fights. When she learns that she cannot afford coaching from Tiny's trainer, Hector Soto, she asks her father for an allowance but he tells her to get a job. She resorts to stealing his money instead and returns to the gym, where Hector begins to teach her the basics of boxing.

Scriptwriter

XX
XX (2017)
, 1h34
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Horror
Actors Melanie Lynskey, Natalie Brown, Angela Trimbur, Christina Kirk, Breeda Wool, Sheila Vand
Roles Writer
Rating46% 2.3070452.3070452.3070452.3070452.307045
L'anthologie est encadrée par des segments animés en stop motion représentant une maison de poupée créée par Sofia Carrillo et présente dans la séquence de crédits du film et lors des différents interstices.
Girlfight
Girlfight (2000)
, 1h50
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Le boxe anglaise
Actors Michelle Rodríguez, Paul Calderon, Ray Santiago, Louis Guss, Tara Strong, Shannon Walker Williams
Roles Writer
Rating66% 3.3462753.3462753.3462753.3462753.346275
Diana Guzman is a Brooklyn teenager whose hot temper gets her into trouble at school as she repeatedly starts fights with other students. Her frustration stems from her unhappy home life; she lives in a public housing estate with her brother Tiny and their single father, Sandro. Sandro pays for Tiny's boxing training in hopes of his becoming a professional boxer, although Tiny would prefer to be an artist. After visiting Tiny's gym and intervening in a spar to defend him, Diana asks the trainers to let her box, too. She is told she can train there, but not compete in actual fights. When she learns that she cannot afford coaching from Tiny's trainer, Hector Soto, she asks her father for an allowance but he tells her to get a job. She resorts to stealing his money instead and returns to the gym, where Hector begins to teach her the basics of boxing.