Gregg Araki

Filmmaker Gregg Araki started on the fringe of independent films before eventually finding mainstream recognition for his gonzo take on gay cinema. A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from the University of Southern California film school. He made his directorial debut with the ultra low-budget "Three Bewildered People in the Night" (1987), about a female video artist who breaks up with her boyfriend who might be interested in her gay best friend. Made for around $5,000, Araki essentially served as a one-man crew. His follow-up, made for about the same amount, was "The Long Weekend (O'Despair)" (1989), the story of three couples of varying sexuality spending a weekend together. He secured a slightly larger budget for his next film, "The Living End" (1992), a road movie about a gay couple, both HIV-positive, on the run after killing a homophobic police officer. His next efforts, referred to as the "Teen Apocalypse Trilogy," gained the director a larger following. The first film, "Totally F***ed Up" (1993), was done again with little money but the second entry, "The Doom Generation" (1995), saw a bigger budget and bigger name actors with up-and-comers like Rose McGowan, Johnathan Schaech, and Parker Posey. Similarly, "Nowhere" (1997) featured a number of cameos including Ryan Phillippe, Heather Graham, and Christina Applegate. All three films revolved around young people of fluid sexuality in increasingly nihilistic situations, and with "Nowhere," aliens entering the fray. The director took a turn to slightly more traditional storytelling with "Splendor" (1999) featuring Schaech, Kathleen Robertson, and Matt Keeslar as a trio in a polyamorous relationship. Despite his films largely failing to turn a profit, the director continued putting out films such as "Mysterious Skin" (2004), starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and "Smiley Face" (2007), with Anna Faris and John Krasinski. His fatalistic "Kaboom" (2010) earned the first ever Queer Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival. After releasing "White Bird in a Blizzard" (2014), Araki started working regularly in television, directing episodes of shows like "13 Reasons Why" (Netflix, 2017-), "Riverdale" (The CW, 2017-), and "Red Oaks" (Amazon, 2014-17). Partnering with fellow filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, he created "Now Apocalypse" (Starz, 2019-), a show dealing with three of the director's favorite themes-sexuality, aliens, and the end of the world.