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Nicole Kassell

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Nicole Kassell
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
New York University (MFA)
OccupationFilmmaker
RelativesLauren Kassell

Nicole Kassell (born 1972) is an American filmmaker. She made her film debut with the drama film The Woodsman (2004), for which she was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Kassell has also worked on television shows such as Vinyl, The Leftovers and Watchmen.

For her work on Watchmen, Kassell received numerous accolades, including a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for the episode "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice" and, as an executive producer, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, including a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

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Kassell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Charlottesville, VA where she attended St. Anne's-Belfiield School. Her father, Dr. Neal Kassell, a University of Virginia medical professor, performed two brain surgeries on Joe Biden in 1988 to repair his aneurysm and the two have remained friends ever since.[5][6][7][8][9]

She earned a BA in Art history from Columbia University,[10] and received her MFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.[11][12] While a student at NYU, she made three short films, including The Green Hour, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002.[11] While attending NYU she received full scholarship for two years.

Career

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Film

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A year earlier, she had won the Slamdance Screenplay Competition[13] for her first feature-length project, The Woodsman (2004 film),[12][14] adapted from Steven Fechter's 1997 minimalist play she had seen staged at The Actors Studio in New York City. Her enthusiasm for it convinced Lee Daniels, one of the producers of Monster's Ball, to help her get funding for the film version. When he approached Kevin Bacon, the actor was so impressed by the script, about a convicted child molester forced to deal with social prejudice and the fear he will not be able to control his dark urges after he is released from prison, that he suggested he star in the movie opposite wife Kyra Sedgwick. The Woodsman competed at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival, was featured in the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and eventually was released to the public in 2004. Kassell's second feature film, A Little Bit of Heaven, a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Gael García Bernal, had its first release in February 2011 in the UK.[citation needed]

She has adapted Arthur Miller's play The Ride Down Mt. Morgan for the big screen. The project has been in pre-production since 2004 and will reportedly feature a cast that includes Diane Keaton, Emily Blunt and Michael Douglas if it goes into production. Douglas would also serve as executive producer.[citation needed]

In February 2021, Kassell was chosen to direct a new adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at New Line Cinema.[15][16]

Television

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Kassell has directed episodes of the series Cold Case and 3 lbs (both on CBS), The Closer (on TNT), The Killing (on AMC), Vinyl (on HBO)[17][18] and The Americans (on FX). She also is writing an adaptation of the book Bad Medicine for HBO.[citation needed]

In 2018, it was announced that Kassell would direct the pilot for the HBO series Watchmen.[19][20] In January 2020, Kassell won the Directors Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series for directing the Watchmen episode "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice".[1]

Kassell signed with WME in 2018.[21]

Personal life

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Kassell is now living in New York City, with her husband and two children.[11] In an interview for a Complex article, Kassell described part of her ethnic identity and how it informed her work on the Watchmen series: "My father is Jewish and I am half-Jewish. We all lived in Charlottesville, and I’m just realizing in talking with you, that my ancestors escaped the pogroms of Ukraine. How much is there actually in my DNA history that I’m not even aware of that I am pouring into this?."[22]

Filmography

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Short films

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Jamie Director
Spent Nation Producer
2001 Slo-Mo Producer
2002 The Green Hour Director, Producer, Writer

Feature films

Year Title Role Notes
2004 The Woodsman Director, Writer [23]
2011 A Little Bit of Heaven Director

Television

Year Title Episode(s) Notes
2006 3 lbs "Disarming"
2006-2008 Cold Case "One Night"
"Sabotage"
2009-2010 The Closer "Elysian Fields"
"High Crimes"
2011-2014 The Killing "Missing"
"Keylela"
"72 Hours"
"Six Minutes"
"Blood in the Water"
2013 Suits "Zane vs. Zane"
2013-2015 The Following "Havenport"
"Reflection"
"Unmasked"
"Home"
"The Edge"
Rectify "Modern Times"
"The Future"
2013-2017 The Americans "Covert War"
"Dinner for Seven"
"The World Council of Churches"
2015 Better Call Saul "Alpine Shepherd Boy"
2015-2016 American Crime "Episode Six"
"Season Two: Episode Ten"
2015-2017 The Leftovers "No Room at the Inn"
"It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World" 		[24]
2016 Vinyl "Cyclone"
2017 Claws "Tirana"
"Teatro"
2018 Westworld "Les Écorchés"
Castle Rock "Romans"
2019 Watchmen "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice"
"Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship"
"A God Walks into Abar" 		[25]
2021 The Baby Episode #1.1 [26][27]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Notes
2020 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Watchmen Won [3][4]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Nominated [3][4]
Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directorial

Achievement in Dramatic Series

Won [2][1]
2002 Humanitas Prize The Woodsman Won
London Film Festival The Satyajit Ray Award Nominated [11]
Deauville Film Festival The Jury Prize Won
The Cannes Film Festival CACAE (art house award)

at the Directors' Fortnight

Won
Slamdance Screenplay

Competition

Won [11]
1999 DGA Student Female

Filmmaker Prize

Jaime Won [28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "'1917' Director Takes Home Top Prize At DGA Awards". www.patch.com. Patch. January 26, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b January 25, Lauren Huff; EST, 2020 at 10:00 PM. "DGA Awards 2020 winners: Here's what they mean for the top Oscar categories". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c "Nicole Kassell Awards & Nominations - The Television Academy Database". Television Academy. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  4. ^ a b c July 28, Marcus Jones; EDT, 2020 at 01:38 PM. "Stars react to their 2020 Emmy nominations". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Daly, Michael (2020-11-08). "Surgeon Who Saved Biden's Life Recalls Fateful Prediction". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  6. ^ Olurunnipa, Toluse (October 24, 2020). "Both Biden and Trump have questioned the other's physical and mental fitness. Here's what we know about their health". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  7. ^ "Neal Kassell - Focused Ultrasound Foundation". www.fusfoundation.org. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  8. ^ Cochran, Cheryl (2016-04-08). "How an obscure medical technology caught the eye of Joe Biden. And John Grisham". STAT. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  9. ^ Tina Nguyen. "Neurosurgeon: I've Seen Biden's Brain and It's Perfectly Fine". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  10. ^ "AitN: August 10, 2020". Columbia College Today. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Nicole Kassell". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  12. ^ a b "Going out on a limb". LA Times. 14 November 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Slamdance Names Ten Winners of Screenplay Competition". Indie Wire. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  14. ^ Scott, A. O. (24 December 2004). "Released From Prison but Never Really Free". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  15. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2021-02-09). "Nicole Kassell to Direct 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz' Adaptation for New Line". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  16. ^ Mehrtens, Michelle (February 10, 2021). "Wizard of Oz Remake In The Works From Watchmen TV Show Director". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Nicole Kassell on". Indie Wire. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Seasoned TV Directors Field Wide Array of Job Offers". Variety. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Watchmen' Is A Go: Damon Lindelof's Pilot Picked Up To Series By HBO". Deadline. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Watchmen' HBO Series Taps Nicole Kassell to Direct Pilot". Variety. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  21. ^ "WME signs director Nicole Kassell". WME. Hollywood Reporter. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Anatomy of a Scene: How 'Watchmen' Director Nicole Kassell Recreated the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots." Clark, Kevin L. Complex. www.complex.com Published October 30, 2019. Accessed August 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Meyer, Andrea (2005-01-04). "Nicole Kassell & Steven Fechter". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  24. ^ Kit, Lesley Goldberg,Borys; Goldberg, Lesley; Kit, Borys (2018-01-30). "'Watchmen' Enlists 'The Leftovers' Favorite to Direct Pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-08-12). "Emmy-Nominated Filmmaker Nicole Kassell On The "Fine Line To Dance" In 'Watchmen' Pilot – Crew Call Podcast". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  26. ^ Low, Elaine (2020-12-09). "Nicole Kassell to Direct HBO-Sky Co-Production 'The Baby,' Set to Film in 2021". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  27. ^ Jackson, Leigh-Ann (2022-06-10). "In 'The Baby,' Killing With Cuteness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  28. ^ "Awards / Students". www.dga.org. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
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