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Todd Solondz is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter and Producer American born on 14 march 1959 at Newark (USA)
Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is an American independent film screenwriter and director known for his style of dark, thought-provoking, socially conscious satire. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia," a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Happiness (1998), Storytelling (2001), Palindromes (2004), Life During Wartime (2009), and Dark Horse (2012).
During the early 1990s, Solondz worked as a teacher of English as a second language to newly arrived Russian immigrants at NYANA, a refugee resettlement agency in New York City (his co-workers there included Alexander Gelman, Gary Shteyngart and Roman Turovsky), an experience he has described as deeply rewarding. In his film Happiness, the character Joy finds a similar experience to be traumatic. It leads her to be more sympathetic to workers' strikes.
Solondz is an atheist. In The A.V. Club's article "Is There a God?", he answered the question "Well, me, I'm an atheist, so I don't really believe there is. But I suppose I could be proven wrong.
Source : Wikidata
Todd Solondz
Biography
Solondz was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is of Jewish descent. Solondz wrote several screenplays while working as a delivery boy for the Writers Guild of America. Solondz earned his undergraduate degree in English from Yale and attended New York University's (NYU) Graduate MFA Program in film and television, but did not complete a degree.During the early 1990s, Solondz worked as a teacher of English as a second language to newly arrived Russian immigrants at NYANA, a refugee resettlement agency in New York City (his co-workers there included Alexander Gelman, Gary Shteyngart and Roman Turovsky), an experience he has described as deeply rewarding. In his film Happiness, the character Joy finds a similar experience to be traumatic. It leads her to be more sympathetic to workers' strikes.
Solondz is an atheist. In The A.V. Club's article "Is There a God?", he answered the question "Well, me, I'm an atheist, so I don't really believe there is. But I suppose I could be proven wrong.
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Filmography of Todd Solondz (11 films)
Actor
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Happiness (1998)
, 2h14Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Horror
Themes Films about children, Films about families, Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction, Films about pedophilia
Actors Jane Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris
Roles Doorman (uncredited)
Rating76%
Trish Maplewood, the eldest Jordan sister, is an upper middle class housewife happily married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood and has three children. Unbeknownst to Trish, however, Bill is a pedophile who is obsessed with 11-year-old Johnny Grasso, a classmate of their son, Billy. When Johnny comes to the Jordan house for a sleepover, Bill drugs and rapes him. Later, Bill learns that another boy, Ronald Farber, is home alone while his parents are away in Europe. Under the guise of attending a PTA meeting, Bill drives to the boy's house and rapes him as well. After Johnny is taken to the hospital and found to have been sexually abused, the police arrive at the Maplewood residence to question Bill. After alerting his wife to the police presence, Bill begins by asking the two detectives, "You said something about Ronald Farber?" The two detectives, looking puzzled, say nothing. Bill then stammers, "I mean, Johnny Grasso." Out on bail, he tearfully admits to Billy that he "fucked" the boys, that he enjoyed it, and that he would do it again. When Billy asks, "Would you ever fuck me?", his father replies, "No... I jerk off instead.
As Good as It Gets (1997)
, 2h12Directed by James L. Brooks
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Musical films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Shirley Knight, Skeet Ulrich
Roles Man on Bus
Rating76%
Melvin Udall is a misanthrope who works at home as a best-selling novelist in New York City. He suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder which, paired with his misanthropy, alienates nearly everyone with whom he interacts. He avoids stepping on sidewalk cracks while walking through the city due to a superstition of bad luck, and eats breakfast at the same table in the same restaurant every day using disposable plastic utensils he brings with him due to his pathological mysophobia. He takes an interest in his waitress, Carol Connelly, the only server at the restaurant who can tolerate his behavior.
Fear, Anxiety and Depression (1989)
, 1h24Directed by Todd Solondz
Genres Comedy
Themes Films about writers
Actors Todd Solondz, Stanley Tucci, Jill Wisoff
Roles Ira Ellis
Rating60%
The comedic adventures of a neurotic young playwright in the East Village of Manhattan.
Married to the Mob (1988)
, 1h43Directed by Jonathan Demme
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Action, Crime, Romance
Themes Mafia films, Films about sexuality, Gangster films
Actors Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, Alec Baldwin, Charles Napier
Roles The Zany Reporter
Rating61%
Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the wife of mafia up-and-comer Frank "The Cucumber" de Marco (Alec Baldwin), who gets violently dispatched by Mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo (Dean Stockwell) when he is discovered in a compromising situation with the latter's mistress Karen (Nancy Travis). Angela wants to escape the mafia scene with her son, but is harassed by Tony who puts the moves on her at Frank's funeral. This clinch earns her the suspicion of FBI agents Mike Downey (Matthew Modine) and Ed Benitez (Oliver Platt), and also of Tony's wife Connie (Mercedes Ruehl), who repeatedly confronts Angela with accusations of stealing her husband. To further complicate things, Mike Downey is assigned to monitor all of Angela's movements as part of an undercover surveillance operation, but cannot resist becoming romantically involved with Angela himself. Angela's attempts to break away from the Mob result in comic mayhem and a climactic showdown in a honeymoon suite in Miami.
Director
Wiener-Dog (2016)
Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about animals, Films about dogs
Actors Greta Gerwig, Brie Larson, Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Zosia Mamet, Danny DeVito
Rating58%
Le portrait d’un teckel et de tous ceux auxquels il apporte un bref instant de bonheur au cours de son voyage.
Dark Horse (2012)
, 1h26Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha, Aasif Mandvi
Rating58%
Abe (Jordan Gelber), a man in his thirties who suffers from arrested development, meets suicidal Miranda (Selma Blair) who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career and a divorce. While waiting outside Miranda's house for their first date Marie (his secretary) runs up and tells him to give up the girl, he has no shot but then he wakes with a start revealing it was a dream.
Life During Wartime (2010)
, 1h38Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about families, Films about sexuality, Films about pedophilia
Actors Ally Sheedy, Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Michael K.Williams, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Marquette
Rating63%
The plot revolves around the Jordan sisters featured in Happiness: Trish, Joy, and Helen.
, 3h29Directed by Tim Burton, Alexander Payne, Todd Solondz, Gus Van Sant, George Lucas, Maya Deren, Adam Davidson, D. A. Pennebaker, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Peter Sollett, Andy Warhol, Mike Mills
Origin USA
Palindromes (2005)
, 1h40Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Adventure, Romance
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about families, Pregnancy films, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, La sexualité des mineurs, Films about pedophilia, Films about Jews and Judaism, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Will Denton, Matthew Faber, Sharon Wilkins, Shayna Levine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hillary B. Smith
Rating66%
The film opens with a funeral for a young woman; the deceased is Dawn Wiener, the protagonist from Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse, who went to college, gained a lot of weight, became pregnant, and committed suicide. Her brother Mark (Matthew Faber, reprising his role) reads the eulogy while Dawn's tearful parents (Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell) sit in the audience.
Storytelling (2001)
, 1h27Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about families, Films about disabilities
Actors Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Paul Giamatti, Robert Wisdom, Maria Thayer, Angela Goethals
Rating67%
The film consists of two stories that are unrelated and have different actors, titled "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction". College and high school serve as the backdrop for these two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.
Happiness (1998)
, 2h14Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Horror
Themes Films about children, Films about families, Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction, Films about pedophilia
Actors Jane Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris
Rating76%
Trish Maplewood, the eldest Jordan sister, is an upper middle class housewife happily married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood and has three children. Unbeknownst to Trish, however, Bill is a pedophile who is obsessed with 11-year-old Johnny Grasso, a classmate of their son, Billy. When Johnny comes to the Jordan house for a sleepover, Bill drugs and rapes him. Later, Bill learns that another boy, Ronald Farber, is home alone while his parents are away in Europe. Under the guise of attending a PTA meeting, Bill drives to the boy's house and rapes him as well. After Johnny is taken to the hospital and found to have been sexually abused, the police arrive at the Maplewood residence to question Bill. After alerting his wife to the police presence, Bill begins by asking the two detectives, "You said something about Ronald Farber?" The two detectives, looking puzzled, say nothing. Bill then stammers, "I mean, Johnny Grasso." Out on bail, he tearfully admits to Billy that he "fucked" the boys, that he enjoyed it, and that he would do it again. When Billy asks, "Would you ever fuck me?", his father replies, "No... I jerk off instead.
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
, 1h28Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about families
Actors Heather Matarazzo, Brendan Sexton III, Eric Mabius, Christina Vidal, Ken Leung, Matthew Faber
Rating73%
Eleven-year-old Dawn Wiener is a shy, unattractive, unpopular seventh grader living in a middle-class suburban community in New Jersey. Her 17-year-old brother Mark is a nerdy, snooty high school student who plays clarinet in a garage band and shuns girls in order to prepare for college. Dawn's younger sister, 8-year-old Missy, is a spoiled, manipulative little girl who pesters Dawn and dances happily all around the house in a tutu. Their mother is a shrewish, overbearing woman who dotes on Missy and always sides with her in disputes with Dawn. Their father is a meek, immature, selfish man who always sides with Dawn's mother in her arguments with Dawn. Dawn's only friend is an effeminate fifth-grade boy named Ralphy, with whom she shares a dilapidated clubhouse in her backyard.
Fear, Anxiety and Depression (1989)
, 1h24Directed by Todd Solondz
Genres Comedy
Themes Films about writers
Actors Todd Solondz, Stanley Tucci, Jill Wisoff
Rating60%
The comedic adventures of a neurotic young playwright in the East Village of Manhattan.
Scriptwriter
Wiener-Dog (2016)
Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about animals, Films about dogs
Actors Greta Gerwig, Brie Larson, Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Zosia Mamet, Danny DeVito
Roles Writer
Rating58%
Le portrait d’un teckel et de tous ceux auxquels il apporte un bref instant de bonheur au cours de son voyage.
Dark Horse (2012)
, 1h26Directed by Todd Solondz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow, Justin Bartha, Aasif Mandvi
Rating58%
Abe (Jordan Gelber), a man in his thirties who suffers from arrested development, meets suicidal Miranda (Selma Blair) who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career and a divorce. While waiting outside Miranda's house for their first date Marie (his secretary) runs up and tells him to give up the girl, he has no shot but then he wakes with a start revealing it was a dream.