Alexander Payne
Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961 in Omaha, Nebraska), American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark sense of humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.
His film Election, starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, which takes aim at politics and education in America, attracted attention when New Yorker film critic David Denby named it the best film of 1999. Payne was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Election; he won an Academy Award and Golden Globe in 2005 for Best Screenplay for Sideways.
He married actress Sandra Oh in 2003. On March 12, 2005, the couple's publicist said they were separating.
Filmography
All of the following were cowritten with his writing partner Jim Taylor:
- Citizen Ruth (1996)
- Election (1999)
- About Schmidt (2002)
- Sideways (2004)