Steven Shainberg
Encyclopedia
Steven Shainberg is an American
film director
and producer
.
He is the nephew
of author
Lawrence Shainberg
. Both are part of the Shainberg family of Memphis, Tennessee, founder of the Shainberg's chain of stores, which is now part of Dollar General
.
Shainberg received his BA from Yale University
in English Literature and East Asian studies. After graduation, he worked as a location manager, assistant director, production coordinator, and assistant editor on a number of films, commercials, and rock videos. He also worked as an independent producer developing adaptations of Joseph Conrad
’s The Secret Agent
and Henry James
’ The Americans. At the American Film Institute, he directed and wrote four short films including The Prom starring Jennifer Jason Leigh
, Andras Jones
and J. T. Walsh
. The Prom won the Grand Prize at the Houston International Film Festival, the Critics’ Award at the Breckenridge Film Festival, and the Silver Medal for Drama at the New York Film Festival.
In 1998, his short film series “Mr. Virgil” ran for almost six months on MTV
as well as his video for Debbie Harry
’s "Strike Me Pink".
novel, A Swell-Looking Babe, was released. However, Shainberg’s breakthrough didn’t come until 2002’s Secretary
.
Secretary
stars Maggie Gyllenhaal
as a disturbed young woman who gets a job as a secretary to a lawyer played by James Spader
. The story follows the two characters as they develop a sexual, sadomasochistic relationship. The film was well received and honored with numerous awards including a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
, and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Maggie Gyllenhaal
.
Shainberg’s latest project, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
starring Nicole Kidman
and Robert Downey Jr.
is a fictionalized account of the life of renowned photographer Diane Arbus
. The film, released in 2006, received mixed review from critics and was a box-office disappointment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
He is the nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Lawrence Shainberg
Lawrence Shainberg
Lawrence Shainberg is an American author. Lawrence Shainberg was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He has been published several times. His books include: Ambivalent Zen, a memoir of spiritual ambition, One on One; Brain Surgeon: An Intimate View of the World; Memories of Amnesia; and CRUST...
. Both are part of the Shainberg family of Memphis, Tennessee, founder of the Shainberg's chain of stores, which is now part of Dollar General
Dollar General
Dollar General Corp. is a U.S. chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states....
.
Shainberg received his BA from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in English Literature and East Asian studies. After graduation, he worked as a location manager, assistant director, production coordinator, and assistant editor on a number of films, commercials, and rock videos. He also worked as an independent producer developing adaptations of Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
’s The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is a novel by Joseph Conrad published in 1907. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. The Secret Agent is also notable as it is one of Conrad's later political novels, which move away from his typical...
and Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
’ The Americans. At the American Film Institute, he directed and wrote four short films including The Prom starring Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
, Andras Jones
Andras Jones
Andras Jones is an American actor who has worked in movies and in television. He is perhaps best known for his role in the 1988 hit horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master as the central character Rick Johnson....
and J. T. Walsh
J. T. Walsh
James Thomas Patrick "J. T." Walsh was an American character actor. He appeared in many well-known films, including Nixon, Hoffa, A Few Good Men, Backdraft, Miracle on 34th Street, Breakdown, and Good Morning, Vietnam.Walsh was known for his roles as "quietly sinister white-collar sleazeballs"...
. The Prom won the Grand Prize at the Houston International Film Festival, the Critics’ Award at the Breckenridge Film Festival, and the Silver Medal for Drama at the New York Film Festival.
In 1998, his short film series “Mr. Virgil” ran for almost six months on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
as well as his video for Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
’s "Strike Me Pink".
Films
In August 1998, Shainberg’s first feature film Hit Me based on the Jim ThompsonJim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
novel, A Swell-Looking Babe, was released. However, Shainberg’s breakthrough didn’t come until 2002’s Secretary
Secretary (film)
Secretary is a 2002 independent film directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey...
.
Secretary
Secretary (film)
Secretary is a 2002 independent film directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey...
stars Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
as a disturbed young woman who gets a job as a secretary to a lawyer played by James Spader
James Spader
James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
. The story follows the two characters as they develop a sexual, sadomasochistic relationship. The film was well received and honored with numerous awards including a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
.
Shainberg’s latest project, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Fur (film)
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.-Plot synopsis:...
starring Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the...
is a fictionalized account of the life of renowned photographer Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
. The film, released in 2006, received mixed review from critics and was a box-office disappointment.