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Penelope Spheeris

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945)<ref>

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Early lifeEdit

Spheeris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her Greek-immigrant father owned the Magic Empire Shows carnival and was a side-show strong man. Her mother, of Irish heritage, was raised in Kansas and later worked as a ticket taker for the carnival. Her father was 40 years old and her mother was 19 when they began a relationship.<ref name=Podcast>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Spheeris has three full siblings, plus a number of older half-siblings from her father's first marriage.<ref name="wtfpod1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She is a sister of singer Jimmie Spheeris<ref name=biographicon>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a first cousin of musician Chris Spheeris<ref name="biographicon" /> and Greek-French director Costa Gavras,<ref name=biographicon/> which she says has made her consider that a genetic component exists to her vocation.<ref name=biographicon/>

Spheeris told author Paul Stenning, "I believe each of us is born with certain characteristics that we genetically inherit, some of which are good, some not so good. My mother was extremely compassionate, my father more of a barbarian. My father was passionately ambitious, where my mother was not. The most significant traits I learned from my parents were a strong sense of survival and unfaltering tenacity."<ref>Paul Stenning (November 24, 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. p. 72. In Flight Books. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Spheeris spent her first seven years traveling around the American South and American Midwest with her father's carnival.<ref name=YahooBiography>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her father was murdered in Troy, Alabama, after intervening in a racial dispute. In a 2015 interview, Spheeris stated that her father had come to the aid of an African-American man who had been struck on the back of the head with a cane by a white man over a dispute about cutting in front of him in line. The white man soon after returned and stabbed Spheeris' father. She states that her father's killer served no jail time, the man's legal defense apparently resting entirely on the claim that he was justified in murdering Spheeris senior as "he was defending a black."<ref name="wtfpod1"/>

After her father's death, Spheeris and her three siblings moved with their mother to California, generally living in trailer parks with a succession of stepfathers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She spent her teenaged years in Orange County, graduating from Westminster High School, where she was named 'most likely to succeed'.Template:Citation needed After high school, Spheeris attended California State University Long Beach, where she majored in art. She admired the teachings of George Falcon, a behavioral scientist. From his influence, Spheeris went on to study psychobiology at the University of California, Irvine, in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles.<ref>Paul Stenning (November 24, 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. Pg.73. In Flight Books. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Working as a waitress at Denny's and IHOP, she put herself through film school. She majored in film and has a master of fine arts degree in theater arts from UCLA.<ref name="Biography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

CareerEdit

While at UCLA, Spheeris got her first job in the industry transcribing footage for directors Gary Weis and John Head.<ref>https://www.thecollegecrowddigsme.com/2017/07/interview-penelope-spheeris-director.html</ref> They introduced her to their friend Lorne Michaels, who was putting together Saturday Night Live. Michaels had signed comedian Albert Brooks to make a series of short films and hired Spheeris to produce the films and teach Brooks how to direct. Her first feature film was The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), a punk rock documentary that she produced and directed. She followed up with Suburbia in 1983, produced by Roger Corman, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, this time about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1988, with footage and interviews of legendary metal bands such as Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Megadeth, and Motörhead. She later returned to the streets of Los Angeles and the punk rock scene in 1998 for the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part III. She was offered the chance to direct This is Spinal Tap, but declined.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:PenelopeSpheeris1986.jpg
Spheeris editing her film Dudes, 1986

In addition, she worked as a writer for the television series Roseanne (1988-1997). In the 1990s, she directed Wayne's World, a comedy based on Mike Myers' sketches from Saturday Night Live. The movie grossed over $183 million and became a popular hit. She directed the Wayne's World music video work for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which earned a Grammy Award nomination.<ref name="Biography"/> She had difficulty working with Myers, while acknowledging him as "profoundly talented," and in an Entertainment Weekly article stated she believes Myers dissuaded Paramount Pictures from hiring her for the sequel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1996, she directed We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll, a documentary about the Ozzfest, produced by Sharon Osbourne, which explored life on the road.<ref name="Biography"/>

Other films Spheeris has directed include The Beverly Hillbillies; The Little Rascals (for which she co-wrote the screenplay); the Chris Farley/David Spade comedy Black Sheep; the Marlon Wayans-David Spade team-up Senseless;<ref name="Biography"/> and The Kid & I starring Tom Arnold.<ref name="Biography"/> In 2006, she was set to direct the still-unfilmed Gospel According to Janis about Janis Joplin.<ref name="Biography"/>

The Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival named Spheeris its guest of honor for 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The moving image collection of Penelope Spheeris is held at the Academy Film Archive.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Academy Film Archive has preserved several of Penelope Spheeris' films, including Bath, Hats Off To Hollywood, and Shit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

File:1984 02 09-Penelope-Spheeris.jpg
Spheeris in 1984

Spheeris has a daughter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Since September 9, 1998,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Spheeris has been in a relationship with a man known as Sin,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> whom she met while filming the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part III.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In a 2015 interview, she revealed that he was in an institution in Florida after he stopped taking his medication (he has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and ended up in jail.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She has described him as the love of her life.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Radio and podcast appearancesEdit

Spheeris appeared on WTF with Marc Maron on June 29, 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor podcast on October 18, 2016.

In December 2021, she appeared on the fourteenth episode of The Ghost of Hollywood, where she discussed her work career in filmmaking, with a focus on Suburbia in particular.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

An interview with Penelope Spheeris and journalist Barney Hoskyns appeared on the Rock's Backpages web site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

AwardsEdit

Spheeris' work has received recognition from the Directors Guild of America, The Recording Academy, Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Deep Ellum Film Festival, the LA Femme International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Temecula Valley International Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FilmographyEdit

FilmEdit

Feature filmsEdit

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Producer Writer
1969 Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Student film
1972 I Don't Know Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Short film
1979 Real Life Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1984 Suburbia Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes
1985 The Boys Next Door Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1986 Hollywood Vice Squad Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1987 Dudes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
Summer Camp Nightmare Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
1992 Wayne's World Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1993 The Beverly Hillbillies Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
1994 The Little Rascals Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes
1996 Black Sheep Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1998 Senseless Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2005 The Kid & I Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
2011 Balls to the Wall Template:Yes Template:No Template:No

DocumentaryEdit

Year Title Credited as
Director Producer Writer
1981 The Decline of Western Civilization Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1988 The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1990 Thunder and Mud Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
Banned in the U.S.A. Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1998 The Decline of Western Civilization Part III Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1999 Hollywierd (unreleased) Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2001 We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll Template:Yes Template:No Template:No

Acting rolesEdit

Year Title Role Notes
1969 Naked Angels Shirley
1971 The Ski Bum Star the Witch
1973 Brothers Penny
1974 The Second Coming of Suzanne Margo, Logan's Film Group
1989 Wedding Band Nicky's Mom
1992 Wayne's World uncredited

Unproduced projectsEdit

  • The Thing in Bob's Garage – A script was written but never made into a film<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • The Gospel According to Janis – An autobiography about Janis Joplin was developed by Spheeris for 15 years, and she had received help from David Dalton on the script. In 2004, the project finally began moving forward when singer Pink was cast in the lead role. Peter Newman had helped finance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Zooey Deschanel replaced her two years later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2009, Deschanel declared the project dead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Closers – A romantic comedy distributed by Dimension Films, written by Monica Johnson and Josh Stolberg, and produced by Kevin Messick. The plot describes a man who signs up for a secret service in order to get a girl, only to realize that they assassinated her boyfriend.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Posers – A comedy distributed by Miramax about three guys who have to save their uncle's adult bookstore from being seized by launching their own porn site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Spam on Rye – An action/comedy from Franchise Pictures, written by Sal Stabile and Andrew Wasser. The plot was about a guy who steals a mobster's car to impress a date and finds himself living the life of the one he stole from. David Arquette was being looked at to star.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

TelevisionEdit

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Producer Writer
1975-1976 Saturday Night LIVE! Template:No Template:Yes Template:No 9 episodes
1989-1990 Roseanne Template:No Template:No Template:Yes 24 episodes (story editor)
Episode: "Fender Bender" (writer)
1993 Danger Theatre Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes 3 episodes (director)
7 episodes (executive producer)
5 episodes (writer)
2003 75th Academy Awards Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No segment "Tribute to Documentaries"
2004 Cracking Up Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Episode: "Prom Night"

TV movies

Year Title Notes
1991 Prison Stories: Women on the Inside Segment "3"
Visitors from the Unknown: UFO Abductions
UFO Abductions: A Global Phenomenon
1998 Applewood 911
2000 Dear Doughboy
2003 The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron
2011 Five Segment "Cheyanne"
2012 The Real St. Nick

Music videosEdit

Year Title Artist
1987 "Wake Up Dead" Megadeth
1988 "I Did It for Love" Night Ranger
1989 "No More Mr. Nice Guy" Megadeth
1992 "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Wayne's World Version) Queen

ReceptionEdit

Critical, public, and commercial reception to films Spheeris has directed.

Film Rotten Tomatoes<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

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Metacritic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

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CinemaScore Budget Box office
The Decline of Western Civilization 100% 93 Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a
Suburbia 91% Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years 86% 58 Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a
Wayne's World 86% 57 A- $20 million $183 million
The Beverly Hillbillies 23% 37 B+ $25 million $57.4 million
The Little Rascals 23% 45 A- Template:N/a $67.3 million
Black Sheep 28% Template:N/a B+ Template:N/a $32.4 million
Senseless 6% 36 B+ Template:N/a $12.8 million
The Decline of Western Civilization - Part III 100% 77 Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a
The Kid & I Template:N/a 37 Template:N/a Template:N/a Template:N/a

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

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