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Lisa Cholodenko
American screenwriter and director

Lisa Cholodenko is an American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the films High Art (1998), Laurel Canyon (2002), and The Kids Are All Right (2010). She has also directed television, including the miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014) and Unbelievable (2019). She has been nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe and has won an Emmy and a DGA Award.

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Early life and education

Cholodenko is from the San Fernando Valley, and grew up in a liberal Jewish family.45 Her paternal grandfather emigrated from USSR.6

Cholodenko received a BA in anthropology and ethnic studies from San Francisco State University, where she was a teaching assistant for Angela Davis. In the early 1990s, she was an apprentice editor on John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood.7 She also worked as an assistant editor on Beeban Kidron's Used People, Brett Leonard's The Lawnmower Man, and Gus Van Sant's To Die For. In 1997, Cholodenko received an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts in screenwriting and directing.89 While at Columbia, Cholodenko wrote and directed a number of short films, including Souvenir (1994) and Dinner Party (1997), which won the British Film Institute's Channel 4 TX prize and aired on UK, French, and Swiss television.10

Career

Film

While at Columbia, Cholodenko wrote and directed her feature film debut High Art. High Art won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedy's performance. High Art premiered at Cannes Director's Fortnight and was distributed by October Films.

Her next film Laurel Canyon, starring Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, and Kate Beckinsale, premiered at Cannes Director's Fortnight. It was nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards and was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Cholodenko directed the 2004 film Cavedweller for Showtime; it earned Independent Spirit Award nominations for cast members Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn.

Cholodenko next co-wrote and directed The Kids Are All Right. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film was nominated for another 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical. Filmed in 23 days, Cholodenko directed the film on a $3.5 million budget, a much smaller amount than her fellow 2011 Oscar nominees. The film was made with three different sources of equity financing, with Focus Features picking up the film for distribution.1112

Television

In 2014, Cholodenko directed the HBO four-part mini-series Olive Kitteridge starring Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins. Olive Kitteridge is based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth Strout.13 Bill Murray, Jesse Plemons, Zoe Kazan, and John Gallagher Jr. co-starred.14 Olive Kitteridge premiered at the 2014 Venice Film Festival to overwhelmingly positive reviews.1516 The show received widespread critical acclaim when it premiered on television in November. It received three Golden Globe nominations, and Cholodenko received a Directors Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for her work on the miniseries.1718

In 2018, Cholodenko was an executive producer and directed the first three episodes of Netflix's limited series Unbelievable. Based on the 2015 news article "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" written by Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, the show received universal acclaim when it premiered in October 2019. It received three Golden Globe nominations, three Emmy nominations, and won the Peabody Award.

Cholodenko has also directed episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, Six Feet Under, The L Word, Hung, and Here and Now. Cholodenko was an executive producer, and directed the first episode, of the 2015 eight-part NBC miniseries The Slap, which was based on the Australian miniseries of the same name.19

Cholodenko directed and executive produced the first two episodes of the Hulu series The Girl from Plainville, starring Elle Fanning.2021

Personal life

Cholodenko has a son with musician Wendy Melvoin.2223

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1994CrawlYes
SouvenirYesYesYes
1997Dinner PartyYesYesAlso editor

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorWriter
1998High ArtYesYes
2002Laurel CanyonYesYes
2004CavedwellerYes
2010The Kids Are All RightYesYes

TV series

YearTitleDirectorExecutiveProducerNotes
1999Homicide: Life on the StreetYesEpisode "The Same Coin"
2001Six Feet UnderYesEpisode "Familia"
2002Push, NevadaYesEpisode "The Letter of the Law"
2005The L WordYesEpisode "Lynch Pin"
2010HungYesEpisode "Beaverland"
2014Olive KitteridgeYesEpisodes "Pharmacy", "Incoming Tide", "A Different Road" and "Security"
2015The SlapYesYesEpisode "Hector"
2018Here and NowYesEpisodes "Fight, Death" and "Wake"
2019UnbelievableYesYes3 episodes
2022The Girl from PlainvilleYesYesEpisode "Star-Crossed Lovers and Things Like That"

Awards and nominations

See also

References

  1. Tabach-Bank, Lauren (August 13, 2014). "Flipping the Script: Lisa Cholodenko". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403001201/http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/female-directors-hollywood-sam-taylor-johnson-jennifer-yuh-nelson-ava-duvernay-sarah-polley-lisa-cholodenko/#Cholodenko ↩

  2. Olozia, Jeff (August 13, 2014). "Sam Taylor-Johnson, Lisa Cholodenko, Sarah Polley and Other Female Directors on the Movies That Influenced Them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20140820135216/http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/sam-taylor-johnson-lisa-cholodenko-sarah-polley-and-other-female-directors-on-the-movies-that-influenced-them/#Cholodenko ↩

  3. Li, Shirley (September 13, 2019). "Netflix's Unbelievable Is a Different Sort of Drama About Sexual Assault". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/09/netflixs-unbelievable-different-sort-rape-drama/597946/ ↩

  4. Gross, Terry (July 8, 2010). "Director Lisa Cholodenko On Conceiving 'The Kids'". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved September 17, 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128106766 ↩

  5. Greenberg, Brad A. (June 3, 2009). "State Senate Hearing on Madoff Losses". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2014. http://www.jewishjournal.com/community_briefs/article/anti-semitic_incidents_drop_nationally_climb_21_percent_in_california_20090 ↩

  6. "Dateline New York: New Yorkers bring culture to Catskills by Helen Smindak". The Ukrainian Weekly (Press release). September 13, 1998. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054104/http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/1998/379820.shtml ↩

  7. Gross, Terry (July 8, 2010). "Director Lisa Cholodenko On Conceiving 'The Kids'". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved September 17, 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128106766 ↩

  8. "Lisa Cholodenko". Columbia University School of the Arts: Film. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211151415/http://arts.columbia.edu/film/lisa-cholodenko ↩

  9. Simpson, David (December 20, 2010). "Awards Watch Roundtable: The Directors (full video)" (video interview). The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/video-awards-watch-roundtable-directors-full-video-61705 ↩

  10. "Cast & Crew: Lisa Cholodenko, Director/Screenplay". The Kids Are Alright. Focus Features. Retrieved October 29, 2013. http://www.focusfeatures.com/the_kids_are_all_right/castncrew?member=lisa_cholodenko ↩

  11. Simpson, David (December 20, 2010). "Awards Watch Roundtable: The Directors (full video)" (video interview). The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/video-awards-watch-roundtable-directors-full-video-61705 ↩

  12. Anderson, Jeffrey M. "Interview: Lisa Cholodenko: Feelin' All Right". Combustible Celluloid. Retrieved October 29, 2013. http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/interviews/lisac.shtml ↩

  13. Guidry, Ken (May 2, 2013). "Lisa Cholodenko To Direct HBO Miniseries 'Olive Kitteridge' Starring Frances McDormand & Richard Jenkins". Indiewire. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130521005534/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/lisa-cholodenko-to-direct-hbo-miniseries-olive-kitteridge-starring-frances-mcdormand-richard-jenkins-20130502 ↩

  14. Dionne, Zach (August 15, 2013). "HBO's Olive Kitteridge Adds Jesse Plemons". New York. Retrieved October 29, 2013. https://www.vulture.com/2013/08/hbo-olive-kitteridge-jesse-plemons.html ↩

  15. Bray, Catherine (September 2, 2014). "Review: Frances McDormand's new mini-series 'Olive Kitteridge' is a perfect storm of talent". HitFix. Retrieved September 3, 2014. http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/review-frances-mcdormand-new-mini-series-olive-kitteridge-is-a-perfect-storm-of-talent ↩

  16. Christie, Tom (September 1, 2014). "Lisa Cholodenko & Frances McDormand's 'Olive Kitteridge' Impresses in Venice". Indiewire. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140902233908/http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/lisa-cholodenko-frances-mcdormands-olive-kitteridge-impresses-in-venice-20140901 ↩

  17. "Directors Guild Award Winners 2015". Deadline Hollywood. February 7, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015. https://deadline.com/2015/02/directors-guild-award-winners-2015-dga-winner-list-dga-awards-1201368698/ ↩

  18. "Emmy Awards 2015: The complete winners list". CNN. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/entertainment/emmy-awards-2015-winners-list-feat/ ↩

  19. Andreeva, Nellie (May 19, 2014). "The Slap". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 3, 2014. https://deadline.com/2014/05/lisa-cholodenko-to-direct-nbc-miniseries-the-slap-733382/ ↩

  20. "Alumna Lisa Cholodenko '97 Directs for New Hulu Series, 'The Girl From Plainville'". Columbia University School of the Arts. Retrieved March 25, 2025. https://arts.columbia.edu/news/alumna-lisa-cholodenko-97-directs-new-hulu-series-girl-plainville ↩

  21. "The Girl From Plainville' Is Disturbing. It's Also Eye-Opening. Beyond true crime, this is a story about fantasy gone too far". Grazia. Retrieved March 25, 2025. https://graziamagazine.com/articles/girl-from-plainville-review/ ↩

  22. Hirschberg, Lynn (December 1, 2010). "The Family Issue". W. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160620104810/http://www.wmagazine.com/people/celebrities/2010/12/family_issue_portfolio_ss-2/photos/slide/12 ↩

  23. Toumarkine, Doris (June 28, 2010). "Family dynamic: Lisa Cholodenko explores modern parenthood in 'The Kids Are All Right'". Film Journal International. Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100702005409/http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/features/movies/e3iee6a0d1f3ba0fce7e981ab1df6fc91f1 ↩

  24. "Past Recipients: Crystal Award". Women in Film. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20110630083646/http://wif.org/past-recipients ↩

  25. Smith, Damon (July 7, 2010). "Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right"". Filmmaker Magazine. http://filmmakermagazine.com/10368-lisa-cholodenko-the-kids-are-all-right/ ↩