Alexander Payne

Directing

Alexander Payne

Born 1961-02-10 · Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an Oscar-winning filmmaker whose work has helped define modern-day American cinema. He is best known for the features Election (1999), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), About Schmidt (2002), Nebraska (2013) and The Holdovers (2023). His movies have garnered a total of 24 Academy Award nominations, including four times for Best Picture and three times for Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay (Sideways, The Descendants), and two of his films have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. His most recent film, The Holdovers, earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Five of his movies were shot at least partially in Nebraska, where he continues to live, dividing his time between there and Los Angeles. An Omaha native, Payne studied History and Spanish Literature at Stanford before earning an MFA in Film at UCLA. He serves on the boards of the Telluride Film Festival and The Film Foundation.

Acting credits

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Trespassing Bergman poster
6.6

In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)

Trespassing Bergman

2013

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing poster
7.0

Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

2004

Frank Capra: Mr. America poster
6.0

Tells the story of how Frank Capra, a young and penniless immigrant, rose through the ranks of early Hollywood to become one of the Great American storytellers.

Frank Capra: Mr. America

2023

Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern poster
NR

DERNSIE is an intimate portrait of Bruce Dern—tireless, uncompromising, and one of the last living legends of his generation—whose endurance has shaped both a turbulent life and one of Hollywood’s most enduring careers. A relentless runner on and off screen, Dern has outlasted the very industry that defined him.

Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern

2026

Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil poster
7.5

Christoph Waltz, the villain with the friendly face, has become an integral part of the international cinema landscape. His breakthrough came with his roles as an SS standard bearer and bounty hunter in films by Quentin Tarantino. His charming portrayal of evil breaks with all clichés and won him two Oscars.

Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil

2021

Hal poster
6.6

Hal Ashby's obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby's uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce.

Hal

2019

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession poster
7.1

A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

2004

Berlanga!! poster
8.0

How does the vision of the brilliant Spanish filmmaker Luis García Berlanga (1921-2010) remain relevant in a time whose popular culture has little to do with his own? Since to understand the secrets of an artist it is essential to know the person behind, his family, his friends, his collaborators, as well as prestigious filmmakers and actors trace a collective portrait of a creator as singular as he is universal.

Berlanga!!

2021

Election - "The Passion of Martin" Introduction poster
NR

Introductory piece to Alexander Payne's student film "The Passion of Martin" included on the Criterion Collection release of Election (1999).

Election - "The Passion of Martin" Introduction

2017

About a Trip: Alexander Payne on Hal Ashby's 'The Last Detail' poster
NR

An appreciation of the film “The Last Detail” by Alexander Payne

About a Trip: Alexander Payne on Hal Ashby's 'The Last Detail'

2017

Program Notes: An Introduction To The Last Detail By Alexander Payne poster
7.0

The acclaimed director Alexander Payne gives his notes on the making and interpretation of 'The Last Detail

Program Notes: An Introduction To The Last Detail By Alexander Payne

2017

Behind the camera

The Holdovers poster
7.6

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

The Holdovers

2023

Sideways poster
7.1

Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.

Sideways

2004

Sideways poster
7.1

Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.

Sideways

2004

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry poster
6.1

Firefighters Chuck Ford and Larry Valentine are guy's guys, loyal to the core—which is why when widower Larry asks Chuck to pose as his lover so that he can get domestic partner benefits for his kids, his buddy agrees. However, things get dicey when a bureaucrat comes calling, and the boys are forced to present a picture of domestic bliss.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

2007

Downsizing poster
5.4

A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.

Downsizing

2017

Downsizing poster
5.4

A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.

Downsizing

2017

Downsizing poster
5.4

A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.

Downsizing

2017

Nebraska poster
7.4

An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.

Nebraska

2013

The Descendants poster
6.8

With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

The Descendants

2011

The Descendants poster
6.8

With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

The Descendants

2011

The Descendants poster
6.8

With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

The Descendants

2011

About Schmidt poster
6.9

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

About Schmidt

2002

About Schmidt poster
6.9

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

About Schmidt

2002

Election poster
6.9

A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.

Election

1999

Election poster
6.9

A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.

Election

1999

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Cedar Rapids poster
5.9

A naive Midwesterner insurance salesman travels to a big-city convention in an effort to save the jobs of his co-workers.

Cedar Rapids

2011

King of California poster
6.4

Charlie gets released from an insane asylum and moves in with Miranda, the young daughter he left behind. Charlie believes that there is treasure hidden beneath the local Costco, so he puts together a plan to unearth the loot. By convincing Miranda to quit her job at McDonald's and instead work at the wholesale store, he is able to obtain a key. Although Miranda is skeptical, she helps her father with his irrational quest.

King of California

2007

No artwork available
NR

In a small provincial town in western Denmark, a life long friendship between Lars and Klaus is increasingly fractured late in life.

Somewhere Out There

Inside Out 3 poster
3.5

Softcore anthology film containing stories: "Dogs Playing Poker"; "The Branding"; "The Portal"; "The Perfect Woman"; "Within Ten Minutes"; "Tango"; "The Houseguest"; "Cafe L'Amour"; and "The Wet Dream".

Inside Out 3

1992

Citizen Ruth poster
6.6

"Citizen Ruth" is the story of Ruth Stoops, a woman who nobody even noticed -- until she got pregnant. Now, everyone wants a piece of her. The film is a comedy about one woman caught in the ultimate tug-of-war: a clash of wild, noisy, ridiculous people that rapidly dissolves into a media circus.

Citizen Ruth

1996

Citizen Ruth poster
6.6

"Citizen Ruth" is the story of Ruth Stoops, a woman who nobody even noticed -- until she got pregnant. Now, everyone wants a piece of her. The film is a comedy about one woman caught in the ultimate tug-of-war: a clash of wild, noisy, ridiculous people that rapidly dissolves into a media circus.

Citizen Ruth

1996

Inside Out poster
3.7

Softcore anthology film containing stories: "Brush Strokes"; "Shrink Rap"; "Doubletalk"; "The Leda"; "My Secret Moments"; "Life Is For The Taking"; "The Diaries"; "Love The One You're With"; and "My Better Half".

Inside Out

1991