American director, screenwriter and author
Susanna Fogel is an American director, screenwriter and author, best known for co-writing the 2019 film Booksmart and for co-writing and directing the 2018 action/comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me . Her many accolades include a DGA Award and nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards , the Primetime Emmy Awards and the WGA Awards .
Early life and education
Fogel was born in Providence, Rhode Island , where her parents were both faculty at Brown University . Her father is the neuropsychiatrist and Harvard Medical School professor Barry S. Fogel , who founded the American Neuropsychiatric Association , and her mother, Margaret Selkin Fogel, is a psychologist.[ 1] Her grandfather, Daniel Fogel, was a personal lawyer to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley .[ 2] Her uncle, Jeremy Fogel , is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California .[ 2] She graduated from Concord Academy in 1998.[ 3]
In the summer before her senior year in college, she worked for James Schamus while he was producing Ang Lee 's The Hulk . She graduated from Columbia University in 2002.[ 1] At Columbia, she was a writer of its 2001 Varsity Show .[ 1] [ 4] Her classmates included television writer and producer Lang Fisher .[ 5]
Career
Fogel and her writing partner Joni Lefkowitz originally wrote Life Partners as a one act play.[ 6] They eventually adapted it into a screenplay which Fogel went on to direct. The film premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival .[ 7]
Fogel co-created and executive produced the Lionsgate/ABC drama series Chasing Life , which ran for two seasons.
Fogel co-wrote the script for Booksmart with Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins and Katie Silberman and was originally hired to direct the project, but was replaced during preproduction[citation needed ] . The screenplay was later nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay .
Frustrated by her experiences in the industry, Fogel co-wrote and directed the action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me . The film was released in 2018 and starred Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon , the latter of whom had appeared briefly in Fogel's debut film.[ 8]
She directed the pilot episodes for the television series The Wilds on Amazon , and The Flight Attendant on HBO Max , which she also Executive Produced. She has also directed episodes of Gillian Flynn ’s Utopia , also for Amazon, and the return of Steven Spielberg ’s Amazing Stories for Apple TV+ . The Flight Attendant was nominated in the category of Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards .
In April 2021 Fogel was awarded the DGA Award in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series category for her work on The Flight Attendant . In July 2021 she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Comedy Director, also for The Flight Attendant .[ 9]
She is a co-screenwriter of The Addams Family 2 .[ 10]
Fogel directed Cat Person , a thriller based on the short story of the same name by Kristen Roupenian , starring Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun .[ 11] She also directed the 2024 comedy-drama film Winner , about the life of American whistleblower Reality Winner .[ 12]
Writing career
Fogel is a regular contributor to The New Yorker online .[ 13]
Her novel, Nuclear Family: A Tragicomic Novel in Letters , was published in 2017.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
See also
References
^ a b c Wallace, Phil (Summer 2018). "In the Director's Chair" . Columbia College Today . Retrieved August 11, 2021 .
^ a b Oliver, Myrna (1991-07-06). "Daniel Fogel; Bradley's Personal Lawyer" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ "Centennial Speaker Series" . Concord Academy . 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-04-11 .
^ "Varsity Show's 107th Production: A Modern Spectacle That Evokes Rich Tradition" . www.columbia.edu . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ "30 Bingeable TV Shows Made by Columbia Graduates" . Columbia Magazine . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ McCormack, Colin (25 November 2014). "Filmmaker Interview: SUSANNA FOGEL, director/co-writer of LIFE PARTNERS" . Retrieved 14 January 2016 .
^ Toro, Gabe (19 April 2014). "Tribeca Review: 'Life Partners' Starring Gillian Jacobs, Leighton Meester And Adam Brody" . Retrieved 14 January 2016 .
^ Riley, Jenelle (3 August 2018). " 'The Spy Who Dumped Me' Director Susanna Fogel on Female Friendship and Sam Heughan" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 18 August 2018 .
^ "Susanna Fogel" . Television Academy . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ Gyarkye, Lovia (2021-10-01). " 'The Addams Family 2': Film Review" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ Wiseman, Andreas (2021-06-20). " 'Cat Person': Emilia Jones & Nicholas Braun To Star In Short Story Adaptation For Studiocanal & Imperative — Cannes Market" . Deadline . Retrieved 2021-10-03 .
^ "Russian Election Interference Movie in the Works From 'The Farewell' Producers" . The Hollywood Reporter . 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-05 .
^ Fogel, Susanna. "Susanna Fogel" . The New Yorker . Retrieved 14 January 2016 .
^ "2020 EDA Award Winners – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS" . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ "2021 EE British Academy Film Awards: The Winners" . www.bafta.org . 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ "74th Annual DGA Awards" . www.dga.org . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ "The 2021 Dublin Film Critics Circle (DFCC) Winners" . Next Best Picture . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Variety Staff (2020-01-10). " '1917' Wins Best Picture at 3rd Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards" . Variety . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ "Emmys 2021: 'The Crown' Becomes First Series to Sweep All 7 Drama Categories" . 19 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
External links