alexander payne

Born Alexander Papadopoulos, Payne made his feature film debut by directing one of the nine vignettes making up the 1992 film "Inside Out." Four years later he made a name for himself when he directed "Citizen Ruth," a satirical approach to the abortion debate starring Laura Dern.

In 1999 Payne co-wrote and directed the scathingly funny "Election" starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, a look at American politics through the medium of a high school election. The film received rave reviews and helped do even more to establish Payneas one of Hollywood's best satirists. After a brief departure with writing and directing "Jurassic Park III," he returned with "About Schmidt," starring Jack Nicholson and based on the novel by Louis Begley, which earned several award nominations, along with a Golden Globe win for Best Screenplay.

He is nominated again for his work on "Sideways," starring fellow nominees Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church

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