Alan Ball (screenwriter)

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Alan Ball
BALL Allan-24x30-2008b.jpg
Alan Ball in 2008
Born (1957-05-13) May 13, 1957 (age 67)
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Education University of Georgia, Florida State University
Occupation Screenwriter, director, producer
Notable work American Beauty (1999)
Six Feet Under (2001–2005)
True Blood (2008-2014)
Television Grace Under Fire, Cybill
Partner(s) Peter Macdissi

Alan Erwin Ball (born May 13, 1957)[1] is an American writer, director, and producer for television, film, and theatre.

He is particularly notable for writing American Beauty and True Blood and for creating Six Feet Under, work which earned him an Academy Award, an Emmy, and awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds.

Early life

Ball was born in Marietta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker. He attended high school in Marietta, and went on to attend the University of Georgia and Florida State University, from which he graduated in 1980 with a degree in theater arts.[2][3] After college, he began work as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theater Company in Sarasota, Florida.[4]

Film and television career

Ball broke into television as a writer and story editor on the situation comedies Grace Under Fire and Cybill.[5]

Ball has written two films, American Beauty (1999) and Towelhead (2007), the latter of which he also produced and directed. He is also the creator, writer and executive producer of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and True Blood.[6] He was showrunner for True Blood for its first five seasons.[7]

In 2010 Ball began work on a television adaptation of the crime noir novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston, to be titled All Signs of Death.[8][9] In December 2010, after several months of pre-production, HBO cancelled production on All Signs of Death.[10]

He is also one of the executive producers of the Cinemax series Banshee.

In January 2015, it was announced that Ball's period musical drama Virtuoso had had a pilot ordered by HBO. The pilot will be executively produced by Elton John. Confirmed actors to be starring in the show include Peter Macdissi, Iva Babic, Francois Civil, Lindsay Farris, Nico Mirallegro and Alex Lawther.[11]

Personal life

Ball has discussed his Buddhist faith in numerous interviews, noting how it has influenced his film making. In an interview with Amazon.com, Ball commented on the iconic scene in American Beauty with the plastic bag, stating, "I had an encounter with a plastic bag! And I didn't have a video camera, like Ricky does... There's a Buddhist notion of the miraculous within the mundane, and I think we certainly live in a culture that encourages us not to look for that."[12] Ball has also discussed how his Buddhism has shaped themes in Six Feet Under and True Blood which he has substantially contributed to.[13][14]

Ball is gay and has been called "a strong voice for [the] LGBT community".[15][16] In 2008 he made Out magazine's annual list of the 100 most impressive gay men and women.[17] He lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Peter Macdissi, who has starred in several of Ball's works.[18]

Accolades

For his work in television and film, Ball has received critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, an Emmy a Golden Globe, and awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds.[19]

Works

Television

Grace Under Fire
Title Year Credit Notes
"The Road to Paris, Texas" 1994 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Teleplay
  • Story, with Brett Butler
"Grace vs. Wade" 1994 Writer
"A Night at the Opera" 1995 Writer
"Memphis Bound" 1995 Writer, with Marc Flanagan
Cybill
Title Year Credit Notes
"Zing!" 1995 Teleplay, with Lee Aronsohn
"To Sir, with Lust" 1996 Writer
"Three Women and a Dummy" 1996 Writer
"Venice or Bust" 1996 Writer
"Buffalo Gals" 1996 Writer
"Name That Tune" 1997 Teleplay, with Michael Langworthy
"Mother's Day" 1997 Story
"Regarding Henry" 1997 Story Season 4 premiere
"Halloween" 1997 Teleplay, with Mark Hudis
"Where's a Harpoon When You Need One?" 1997 Teleplay, with Kim Friese
"Bakersfield" 1998 Story
"Oh Brother!" 1998 Teleplay, with Mark Hudis
"Dream Date" 1998 Story
Oh, Grow Up
Title Year Credit Notes
"Pilot" 1999 Writer Series premiere
"Good Pop, Bad Pop" 1999 Writer
Six Feet Under
Title Year Credit Notes
"Pilot" 2001 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Writer
  • Director
 Series premiere
"An Open Book" 2001 Writer
"Knock Knock" 2001 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Writer
  • Director
 Season 1 finale
"In The Game" 2002 Writer Season 2 premiere
"Someone Else's Eyes" 2002 Writer
"The Last Time" 2002 Director Season 2 finale
"Perfect Circles" 2003 Writer Season 3 premiere
"Nobody Sleeps" 2003 Writer, with
Rick Cleveland
"I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" 2003 Director Season 3 finale
"Can I Come Up Now?" 2004 Writer
"Untitled" 2004 Director
"Everyone's Waiting" 2005 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Writer
  • Director
 Series finale
Ball with True Blood star Anna Paquin in July 2012
True Blood
Title Year Credit Notes
"Strange Love" 2008 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Writer
  • Director
 Series premiere
"The First Taste" 2008 Writer
"Mine" 2008 Writer
"You'll Be the Death of Me" 2008 Director Season 1 finale
"Shake and Fingerpop" 2009 Writer
"Frenzy" 2009 Writer
"I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" 2010 Writer
"Evil is Going On" 2010 Writer Season 3 finale
"If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?" 2011 Writer
"Spellbound" 2011 Writer
"Hopeless" 2012 Writer
"Save Yourself" 2012 Writer Season 5 finale

Film

Title Year Credit Notes
American Beauty 1999 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Writer
  • Co-producer
Towelhead 2007 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Screenwriter
  • Director

Theatre

Title Year Credit Notes
"Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" 1993 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Playwright
 [20]
"All That I Will Ever Be" 2007 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Author
 [20]

References

Specific citations
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  5. ↑ Alan Ball at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Alan Ball at the Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
General references
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External links

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