Mary Harron

Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="caenc">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She co-wrote the screenplay and directed American Psycho,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Notorious Bettie Page<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and I Shot Andy Warhol.

Early life

Born in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada,<ref name=":33"/> Harron grew up with a family with numerous connections to the arts. She is the daughter of Gloria Fisher and Don Harron, a Canadian actor, comedian, author and director. Her parents divorced when she was six years old.<ref name=":13">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Harron spent her early life residing between Toronto and Los Angeles.<ref name=caenc/> Harron's first stepmother, Virginia Leith, was discovered by Stanley Kubrick and acted in his first film Fear and Desire and was also featured in the 1962 cult classic The Brain That Wouldn't Die. Leith's brief acting career partly inspired Harron's interest in making The Notorious Bettie Page.Template:Citation needed Harron's stepfather is the novelist Stephen Vizinczey. Harron's second stepmother is the Canadian singer Catherine McKinnon.

Harron moved to England when she was thirteen and later attended St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she received a Bachelors in English.<ref name=":13" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> While in England, she dated Tony Blair, later the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Chris Huhne, another Oxford student who later became a prominent politician.<ref name=Reuters2007-06-27/><ref name=theguardian2009-03-06/><ref name=independent2006-02-19/><ref name=oxfordstudent2015-05-10/><ref name=AVClub2017-12-08/> She then moved to New York City and was part of its 1970s punk scene.

Influences

During her adolescence, Harron was exposed to many different forms of art and film. In a 2020 interview with The New School, Harron states: "My parents took us to whatever films they wanted to see so I saw a lot of art films that would not be considered suitable for a child." She goes on to explain that her largest influences, especially as a child around the age of ten, were Alfred Hitchcock, Bergman, and Satyajit Ray. After she had moved to London in her teen years she began attending the National Film Theatre where she was exposed to other international filmmakers like Fritz Lang, Howard Hawks, Claude Chabrol, and Roman Polanski. She was also exposed to noir films, namely Double Indemnity.

As an adult she was inspired by the films Blue Velvet, Drugstore Cowboy and The Piano, directed by Jane Campion. While she said that she had plenty of exposure to Hollywood films, she was enticed by these types of films because they were, in her words, the "forerunners of independent film."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Early writing work

In New York, Harron helped start and write for Punk magazine as a music journalist; she was the first journalist to interview the Sex Pistols for an American publication. She grew up in the early punk scene of America. She found the culture easy for her to fit into and was constantly evolving and spreading into new demographics.<ref name=":13"/> During the 1980s, she was a drama critic for The Observer in London for a time, as well as working as a music critic for The Guardian and the New Statesman. In the late 1980s, Harron participated and began her film career writing and directing BBC Documentaries.<ref name=":13"/>

During the 1990s, Harron moved back to New York where she worked as a producer for PBS's Edge, a program dedicated to exploring American pop culture. It was at this time that Harron became interested in the life of Valerie Solanas, the woman who attempted to kill Andy Warhol. Harron suggested making a documentary about Solanas to her producers, who in turn encouraged her to develop the project into what would be her first feature film.<ref>Hurd, Mary. Women Directors and Their Films. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2007. Print.</ref> Harron says she owes her success with her first film to Andy who helped to sell the controversial focus on the attempted murderess, Solanas.<ref name=":04"/>

I Shot Andy Warhol

Harron's feature film directorial debut, I Shot Andy Warhol, released in 1996, is the partially imagined story of Valerie Solanas' failed assassination attempt on Andy Warhol.Template:Sfn She explains her interest in Solanas' life:

For Solanas, there was this fierce, outsider quality to her unhappiness and frustration. That was a time in my life when I was frustrated myself in my work. I wanted to direct. I had the idea years before I got to direct myself. So I think there were elements of my own frustration and elements of what it was like growing up with an unfair attitude towards women ... and Valerie was an extreme example of that. There was also the intellectual interest of how someone can be so brilliant and her life goes so wrong, and also, that she was so forgotten and misunderstood. In both cases, I felt like Valerie had been consigned to history as this lunatic, almost nothing written about her.<ref>Kaufman, Anthony (December 3, 2009). "Decade: Mary Harron on 'American Psycho'". indieWire. Retrieved November 29, 2011.</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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In an interview Harron did for CBC’s Newsworld’s On the Arts in 1996, she told film critic Christopher Heard that "It was Valerie that really impelled [her] to make this film, because of the mystery of her story. [...] Not knowing who she was ... the lack of information about her."<ref name="cbc.ca">“Why Director Mary Harron Made a Movie about the Woman Who Shot Andy Warhol | CBC.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 5 Aug. 2021, www.cbc.ca/archives/mary-harron-director-movie-valerie-solanas-1.6124201.</ref> Solanas's existence was "a real piece of lost history" and an "unknown story" that she sought to explore deeper.<ref name="cbc.ca"/>

As far as Harron's amusement with Warhol went, she stated "As I was growing up, Warhol was the most famous artist in the world, apart from Picasso [...] My mother [disapproved] of him, so that made him even more interesting."<ref name="cbc.ca"/> Also regarding her interest in Warhol’s story, she felt that he, before and after the shooting, were two vastly different people. This is her reason for viewing Warhol’s shooting as a “turning point” in his life.”

The film opened the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first feature film.<ref>“Mary Harron.” Film Fatales, www.filmfatales.org/directors/maryharron. Accessed Mar. 2024.</ref> It also won the sole acting award at that year's Sundance Film Festival for Lili Taylor's performance as Solanas.<ref>The 1996 Sundance Film Festival|EW.com</ref>

American Psycho

Harron's second film, American Psycho, released in 2000, is based on the book of the same title by Bret Easton Ellis, which is notorious for its graphic descriptions of torture and murder.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The protagonist, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), is an investment banker who goes on a killing spree. The New York TimesTemplate:' Stephen Holden wrote of the film:

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The film was mired in controversy before production began,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> due in large part to the legacy of the book's release.<ref name="LN">Marcus, Lydia. "The Pent Up and the Pinup." Lesbian News. April 2006: p. 43. Print.</ref> Harron has a liking for darker and more controversial topics, such as Valerie Solanas, but it was the satirical nature of the book that "inspired her film about perfunctory violence and obsessive consumption."<ref name=":22"/> As Harron began production, the crew had to contend with threats of protest, as the issue of violence in the media became crystallized by the Columbine shootings. Campaigns against the film continued throughout production, the Feminist Majority Foundation condemning the film as misogynist, and the Canadians Concerned About Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE) convincing restaurant owners to deny Harron permission to film in their establishments.<ref name="NY">Harron, Mary. "The Risky Territory of 'American Psycho'". The New York Times April 9, 2000, late ed.: section 2. Print.</ref> When returning to work with co-writer Guinevere Turner, Harron felt they were best suited for the job of American Psycho as they needed no hesitation on feminist values, especially after Turner's successful lesbian film Go Fish.<ref name=":33">Template:Cite news</ref>

Although some criticized American Psycho for its violence against women, Harron and Turner made conscious decisions that project the female influence on this adaption. Harron's adaptation of this film changes the focus from purely Bateman's perspective to showcase the faces of the women as "the perspective in those murder scenes wasn't through Patrick Bateman but the women."<ref name="Bussmann2">Bussmann, Kate. "Cutting Edge". The Guardian. March 5, 2009. p. 16. Print.</ref>

The Notorious Bettie Page

The Notorious Bettie Page, released in 2005, starred Gretchen Mol as Bettie Page, the 1950s pinup model who became a sexual icon. The film shows Page as the daughter of religious and conservative parents, as well as the fetish symbol who became a target of a Senate investigation of pornography. About the film, Harron said in 2006:

Clearly Bettie is a very inspiring figure to young women because she had a strong independent streak. She did what she wanted to do and she wasn't just doing it for men ... But I think it's a huge mistake to think of her as a conscious feminist heroine. As far as I can see, she didn't have an agenda, ever. She just followed her own path unconsciously. I don't think she thought of herself as a rebel in any way. She was kind of in her own world of dress-up.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Harron later stated that the film suffered from false expectations, in that many male critics and male viewers expected and wanted the film to be "sexy", but that the film instead portrayed "what it's like to be Bettie", and Page herself did not get a "sexual charge" out of her modelling.<ref name="believer interview" />

The Moth Diaries

The Moth Diaries (2011), Harron's fourth feature film, is another adaption of an American novel, being based on Rachel Klein's 2002 novel of the same name. The film follows a group of girls living together at Brangwyn, a boarding school. A new student arrives, Ernessa (Lily Cole) and the girls begin to suspect that she is a vampire. Harron has described the film as a "gothic coming-of-age story"<ref>King, Randall. "The Notorious Mary Harron." Winnipeg Free Press. March 1, 2012. Print.</ref> that explores the nuanced friendships of teenage girls as they are repeatedly confronted with the prospect of adulthood.

Charlie Says

Harron directed the 2018 independent film Charlie Says, with a screenplay by Turner, which tells the real-life story of how three of Charles Manson's female followers (Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten) came to terms with the magnitude of their crimes while incarcerated in the 1970s. Matt Smith played Manson in flashbacks. The film had initially been intended for another director, but when that director was no longer available Harron took over. Harron stated that she was fascinated by the psychological aspects of how the women ended up committing murder as a result of both manipulation by Manson and feelings of solidarity with one another.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dalíland

Dalíland is a 2022 film directed by Harron, from a screenplay by her husband John Walsh. The film, set in the 1970s, follows the marriage between painter Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala Dalí, played by Ben Kingsley and Barbara Sukowa.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film was shot in Liverpool and released at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other work

In addition to her films, Harron was also the executive producer of The Weather Underground, a documentary looking at the Weathermen (political activists and extremists of the 1970s). She has also worked in television, directing episodes of Oz, Six Feet Under, Homicide: Life on the Street, The L Word and Big Love. Working on the episode of Six Feet Under "The Rainbow of Her Reasons", Harron was brought back together with I Shot Andy Warhol actress, Lili Taylor.<ref name=":04"/>

Views

Harron has been at times labelled a feminist filmmaker, in part due to her film on lesbian feminist Valerie Solanas, I Shot Andy Warhol, as well as a lesbian storyline within her 2011 teenage Gothic horror film The Moth Diaries (2011).<ref name=":04">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She has consistently denied this label, although she considers herself a feminist. In a 2006 interview, and then again during an interview in 2012,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> she stated:

I feel that without feminism, I wouldn't be doing this. So I feel very grateful. Without it, God knows what my life would be. I don't make feminist films in the sense that I don't make anything ideological. But I do find that women get my films better. Women and gay men. Maybe because they're less threatened by it, or they see what I'm trying to say better.<ref>Hornaday, Ann (April 16, 2006). "Women of Independent Miens: Nicole Holofcener and Mary Harron Prove a Woman's Place Is in the Director's Chair". Washington Post, N01.</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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She is a member of Film Fatales, a women's independent filmmaker collective.

Asked about her Canadian identity in a 2014 interview, Harron stated that she mostly felt "just not American". She stated that, to her, being Canadian meant "You don't think you're at the center of things." She also felt that, unlike American directors, she was not "a moralistic filmmaker. I'm not trying to tell people what to do, and I'm not trying to lead... I'm interested in ambiguity."<ref name="believer interview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Although her films deal with controversial materials, like American Psycho, in the opinion of director Buffy Childerhose, she does not put emphasis on gore and violence.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Harron lives in New York with her husband, filmmaker John C. Walsh and their two daughters.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
1996	I Shot Andy Warhol	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2000	American Psycho	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":6">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2005	The Notorious Bettie Page	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2011	The Moth Diaries	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2018	Charlie Says	Template:Yes	Template:No	<ref name=":3">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2022	Dalíland	Template:Yes	Template:No	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Executive producer

• The Weather Underground (2002) (Documentary)
• The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Researcher

• BBC documentary on Andy WarholTemplate:Sfn

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1989	The Late Show	Batman special episode<ref>The Late Show Batman Special BFI Listing</ref>
1991	Without Walls	Episode "The Thing Is... Hotels"
1994	Winds of Change	Documentary movie
1998	Homicide: Life on the Street	Episode "Sins of the Father"
	Oz	Episode "Animal Farm"
2002	Pasadena	Episode "The Bones" Unaired
2004	The L Word	Episode "Liberally"
2005	Six Feet Under	Episode "The Rainbow of Her Reasons"
2006	Big Love	Episode "Roberta's Funeral"
	Six Degrees	Episode "Masquerade"
2007	The Nine	Episode "You're Being Watched"
2008	Fear Itself	Episode "Community"
2013	The Anna Nicole Story	TV movie
2015	Constantine	Episode "Quid Pro Quo"
	The Following	Episode "Reunion"
2017	Alias Grace	Miniseries

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Shared With	Results	Ref.
1996	Cannes Film Festival	Un Certain Regard	I Shot Andy Warhol			<ref name=":0" />
1996	Sundance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize	I Shot Andy Warhol		Template:Nom
1997	Film Independent Spirit Awards	Independent Spirit Award Best First Feature	I Shot Andy Warhol	Tom Kalin (producer) and Christine Vachon (producer)	Template:Nom<ref>12th annual Spirit Awards ceremony - FULL SHOW | 1997 | Film Independent on YouTube</ref>
2000	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Sierra Award Best Screenplay, Adapted	American Psycho	Guinevere Turner	Template:Nom
2000	Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival	Best Film	American Psycho		Template:Nom
2000	Awards Circuit Community Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	American Psycho	Guinevere Turner	Template:Nom
2001	Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	American Psycho	Guinevere Turner	Template:Won
2001	London Critics Circle Film Awards	Director of the Year	American Psycho		Template:Nom
2005	Provincetown International Film Festival	Filmmaker on the Edge Award			Template:Won
2006	Berlin International Film Festival	Best Feature Film	The Notorious Bettie Page		Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2011	Abu Dhabi Film Festival	Best Narrative Feature	The Moth Diaries		Template:Nom
2018	Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television	Best Limited Series	Alias Grace	Noreen Halpern, Sarah Polley, D.J. Carson	Template:Won
2018	Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television	Best Direction, Drama Program or Limited Series	Alias Grace		Template:Won
2018	Gotham Independent Film Award	Breakthrough Series – Longform	Alias Grace	Noreen Halpern, and Sarah Polley	Template:Nom
2018	Stockholm Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement	Lifetime Achievement Award		Template:Won
2018	Venice Film Festival	Best Film	Charlie Says		Template:Nom
2024	Maine International Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement	Midlife Achievement Award		Template:Won

See also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women

Bibliography

• Bussmann, Kate. "Cutting Edge."The Guardian. [1] March 5, 2009. p. 16. Print.
• Template:Cite book
• Harron, Mary. "The Risky Territory of 'American Psycho.'" The New York Times April 9, 2000, late ed.: section 2. Print.
• Harron, Mary; "The Notorious Bettie Page" MovieNet. [2]
• Hernandez, Eugene (January 18, 2000) "PARK CITY 2000 BUZZ: "American Psycho" NC-17; Next Wave Nabs Sundance Doc". indieWire. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
• Hurd, Mary. Women Directors and Their Films. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2007. Print.
• King, Randall. "The Notorious Mary Harron." Winnipeg Free Press. [3] March 1, 2012. Print.
• Marcus, Lydia. "The Pent Up and the Pinup." Lesbian News. April 2006: p. 43. Print.
• Murray, Rebecca. "Interview with Mary Harron, the Writer/Director of The Notorious Bettie Page: Harron Continues to Tackle Edgy Subject Matter in Her Latest Film" Template:Webarchive. About.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.

External links

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• Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
• Marry Harron interview at NPR