Alexander Payne

Biography

Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an Oscar-winning filmmaker whose work has helped define modern-day American cinema. He is best known for the features Election (1999), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), About Schmidt (2002), Nebraska (2013) and The Holdovers (2023). His movies have garnered a total of 24 Academy Award nominations, including four times for Best Picture and three times for Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay (Sideways, The Descendants), and two of his films have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. His most recent film, The Holdovers, earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Five of his movies were shot at least partially in Nebraska, where he continues to live, dividing his time between there and Los Angeles. An Omaha native, Payne studied History and Spanish Literature at Stanford before earning an MFA in Film at UCLA. He serves on the boards of the Telluride Film Festival and The Film Foundation.

Known For

Paris Je T'aime

as Oscar Wilde (Pere-Lachaise)

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

as Self

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

as Self

Trespassing Bergman

as Self

Hal

as Self

Frank Capra: Mr. America

as Self

Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil

as Self

Berlanga!!

as Self - Filmmaker

Program Notes: An Introduction To The Last Detail By Alexander Payne

as Self

About a Trip: Alexander Payne on Hal Ashby's 'The Last Detail'