Ben Younger
Encyclopedia
Ben Younger is an American
screenwriter
and film director
.
household in Eltingville, Staten Island
. He attended a yeshiva
, before entering Queens College, part of the City University of New York
, where he studied political science
. While at university, he started performing stand-up comedy
. After leaving university, he set his sights on a career in politics, taking on a role as a policy analyst for the New York City
comptroller
's office, where he served as a legislative aide to Alan Hevesi
. After that, he successfully managed the State Assembly campaign for Queens Democrat Melinda Katz, becoming, at 21, the city's youngest ever campaign manager.
Despite his success, Younger became disenchanted with politics, and by 1995 started to seek a creative outlet that would rekindle the excitement he felt as a stand-up comedian. He wrote and directed two short films, Maestro and L & M, as well as working on a number of feature films as a grip
, and directing music videos and commercials.
. He spent two years researching the underground telemarketing brokerage industry as background for his screenplay. Boiler Room was released in 2000
. A corporate drama in the mold of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross
, with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to David Mamet
, the film exposed the shady world of "chop shops" (underground brokerage firms), and starred Giovanni Ribisi
, Vin Diesel
, Nicky Katt
, Jamie Kennedy
, and Ben Affleck
.
(2005), is a romantic comedy about the relationship between a young Jewish man and an older gentile
woman. The film stars Uma Thurman
and Meryl Streep
. The movie was prominently featured in the HBO show Unscripted
because Bryan Greenberg
, star of Unscripted was also the male lead in Prime
. Younger appeared as himself in the episodes where the movie was featured.
, and has sold television pilot
s to ABC
and FOX
.
Younger is a keen motorcycle racing
enthusiast, and has expressed a desire to make a film about road racing
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Early life and career
Younger was born in Brooklyn, and raised in a Modern Orthodox JewishModern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
household in Eltingville, Staten Island
Eltingville, Staten Island
Eltingville is the name of a neighborhood on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. It is on the island's South Shore, immediately to the south of Great Kills and north of Annadale...
. He attended a yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, before entering Queens College, part of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
, where he studied political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. While at university, he started performing stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
. After leaving university, he set his sights on a career in politics, taking on a role as a policy analyst for the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
's office, where he served as a legislative aide to Alan Hevesi
Alan Hevesi
Alan G. Hevesi is a Democratic politician whoserved as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006...
. After that, he successfully managed the State Assembly campaign for Queens Democrat Melinda Katz, becoming, at 21, the city's youngest ever campaign manager.
Despite his success, Younger became disenchanted with politics, and by 1995 started to seek a creative outlet that would rekindle the excitement he felt as a stand-up comedian. He wrote and directed two short films, Maestro and L & M, as well as working on a number of feature films as a grip
Grip (job)
In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...
, and directing music videos and commercials.
Boiler Room
In 1995, he attended an interview for a job in a brokerage firm, and immediately conceived the idea that went on to become his first film, Boiler RoomBoiler Room (film)
Boiler Room is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Ben Younger, and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Tom Everett Scott, Ron Rifkin and Jamie Kennedy....
. He spent two years researching the underground telemarketing brokerage industry as background for his screenplay. Boiler Room was released in 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
. A corporate drama in the mold of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell...
, with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
, the film exposed the shady world of "chop shops" (underground brokerage firms), and starred Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
, Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...
, Nicky Katt
Nicky Katt
Nicholas Lea "Nicky" Katt is an American actor known for his role as unorthodox teacher Harry Senate on David E. Kelley's Fox drama Boston Public.-Career:...
, Jamie Kennedy
Jamie Kennedy
James Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy is an American comedian, rapper, and actor.-Early life:Kennedy, the youngest of six children, was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family is of Irish descent and he was raised Roman Catholic. He attended and graduated from...
, and Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
.
Prime
Younger's second film, PrimePrime (film)
Prime is a 2005 American romantic comedy film starring Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and Bryan Greenberg. It was written and directed by Ben Younger...
(2005), is a romantic comedy about the relationship between a young Jewish man and an older gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
woman. The film stars Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
and Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
. The movie was prominently featured in the HBO show Unscripted
Unscripted
Unscripted is an American comedy-drama series that aired on HBO in early 2005. Its title referred to the fact that the series was largely improvised by its performers...
because Bryan Greenberg
Bryan Greenberg
Bryan E. Greenberg is an American actor and musician, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series How to Make It in America as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the The WB TV series One Tree Hill and as Nick Garrett on the short-lived ABC drama October Road...
, star of Unscripted was also the male lead in Prime
Prime (film)
Prime is a 2005 American romantic comedy film starring Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and Bryan Greenberg. It was written and directed by Ben Younger...
. Younger appeared as himself in the episodes where the movie was featured.
Other projects
In addition to his film projects, Younger has been published in The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, and has sold television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
s to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Younger is a keen motorcycle racing
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...
enthusiast, and has expressed a desire to make a film about road racing
Road racing
Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
.
Director
- Boiler RoomBoiler Room (film)Boiler Room is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Ben Younger, and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Tom Everett Scott, Ron Rifkin and Jamie Kennedy....
(2000) - The Hit Man and the Investigator (2001)
- The Car Thief and the Hit Man (2001)
- Toothpaste (2004)
- PrimePrime (film)Prime is a 2005 American romantic comedy film starring Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and Bryan Greenberg. It was written and directed by Ben Younger...
(2005) - Army WivesArmy WivesArmy Wives is an American drama series that follows the lives of four army wives, their families, and an army husband whose wife is in the army. The series, shot at ABC Studios, premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007...
(1 episode, 2007)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Deauville American Film Festival Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, taking place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan and André Halimi.... |
Nominated | Grand Special Prize | Boiler Room |
| Won | Jury Special Prize | Boiler Room (Tied with Memento) | ||
| 2001 | Independent Spirit Award | Nominated | Best First Screenplay | Boiler Room |
| Best First Feature | Boiler Room (Shared with Jennifer and Suzanne Todd Jennifer Todd Jennifer Todd is an American film producer. She was born and raised in Los Angeles where she attended the Buckley School followed by USC. Her credits include the three Austin Powers films, Boiler Room, Prime, Must Love Dogs, and Memento, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for producing... ) |