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Megan Griffiths

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Megan Griffiths
Megan Griffiths speaking at Penn State in 2018
Megan Griffiths speaking at Penn State in 2018
Born (1975-04-22) April 22, 1975 (age 49)
Athens, Ohio
Alma materUniversity of Idaho, Ohio University
OccupationTV & Film director

Megan Griffiths (born April 22, 1975)[1][2] is a film and television director who resides in Seattle, Washington, U.S., and is a board member of Northwest Film Forum.[3]

Early life and education

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Megan Griffiths was born in Ohio, lived in Moscow, Idaho in her teens, attended Moscow High School, and was an undergraduate at the University of Idaho where she earned a B.A. in visual communications in 1997.[1][2][4]

She received an MFA in Film Production from Ohio University School of Film in 2000.[1][3][5]

Career

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Film

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Griffiths wrote and directed her first feature film, First Aid For Choking, which was released in 2003.[6] Griffiths subsequently worked as a producer and first assistant director on features in and around Seattle including Zoo, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, The Catechism Cataclysm, and Your Sister's Sister.[6]

Her second feature The Off Hours world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival[7] and went on to receive a nomination at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards for Ben Kasulke's cinematography.[8]

Griffiths released Eden in 2012. The film starred Jamie Chung, Matt O'Leary and Beau Bridges, and it told a story about a human trafficking survivor.[9] The Stranger newspaper wrote, "Griffiths navigates the horrifying facts of her film with great respect," and her direction was described as "a veritable master class in how to make humane art out of inhumanity."[10]

The following year she released a comedy titled Lucky Them. The film, shot in Seattle, starred Toni Collette, along with Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, and a cameo by Johnny Depp.[11] It premiered in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[12]

Griffiths wrote and directed The Night Stalker, in which Lou Diamond Phillips played American serial killer Richard Ramirez.[13] The film co-starred Bellamy Young and was acquired by Lifetime Television.[14] It aired on June 12, 2016.[15]

Her sixth feature Sadie starred Sophia Mitri Schoss, Melanie Lynskey, John Gallagher, Jr., Tony Hale, Danielle Brooks, Tee Dennard, and Keith L. Williams. It premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival. Variety said, "writer-director Megan Griffiths’ quietly absorbing and methodically disquieting drama is a genuine rarity."[16]

I'll Show You Mine directed by Griffiths and starring Poorna Jagannathan[17] and Casey Thomas Brown[18] had its debut at Seattle International Film Festival on April 16, 2022.[19][20]

Her eighth film, Year Of The Fox, written by Eliza Flug, also premiered at Seattle International Film Festival on May 13, 2023. The cast includes Sarah Jeffery, Jane Adams, Lexi Simonsen, Jake Weber, and Balthazar Getty.[21]

Television

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In 2017, Griffiths directed two episodes of Room 104 broadcast on HBO.[22] "Missionaries" premiered September 8, 2017,[23] and "The Fight" premiered on October 6, 2017.[24] Both episodes were written by Mark Duplass.[25] "Missionaries" was nominated for a 2018 GLAAD Media Award in the "Outstanding Individual Episode" category for its portrayal of two Latter Day Saints companions who begin to question their stereotypes on sexuality.[26][27] Later that year, Griffiths directed one episode of Epix series Graves starring Nick Nolte and Sela Ward titled "They Die Happier" which premiered on December 3, 2017.[28]

Griffiths directed one episode of TNT series Animal Kingdom titled "Prey" and starring Ellen Barkin.[29] "Prey" premiered on June 26, 2018.[30]

Four shows directed by Griffiths aired in 2019. First was "Like A F-ing God Or Something", Episode 6 of The Society on Netflix.[31] It premiered on May 10, 2019.[32] Her second television job that year was a return to Animal Kingdom.[33] Griffiths directed "Tank" which aired on June 18, 2019.[34] Her third show that year was Episode 6 of Hulu's Looking For Alaska, "We Are All Going," which aired on October 18, 2019, and starred Kristine Froseth.[35] Finally she directed one episode of the Fox Broadcasting Company series Prodigal Son titled "All Souls And Sadists" and broadcast on October 28, 2019.[36]

Griffiths directed one episode of USA Network series Dare Me starring Herizen Guardiola and Willa Fitzgerald titled "Fog Of War" which aired on March 1, 2020. [37][38] She also directed two episodes of the Netflix series Trinkets starring Brianna Hildebrand titled "Same Time Last Year" and "Black Friday" which both aired on Aug 25, 2020.[39][40]

She directed two episodes of Amazon Studios show Panic. Episode 7 titled "Trust" and episode 8 titled "Returns" both premiered on May 28, 2021.[41][42]

Griffiths next directed episode eight in season one of HBO Max series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.[43] The episode, written by Michael Grassi & Stasia Demick, was titled "Chapter Eight: Bad Blood" and it aired August 18, 2022.[44]

In 2023, Griffiths directed two episodes of Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV series), season 2, starring Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, and Gavin Casalegno.[45] Episode 7: "Love Affair" aired Aug 11, 2023, and episode 8: "Love Triangle" aired Aug 18, 2023.[46]

Awards

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Filmography

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Television

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Films

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  • Shag Carpet Sunset (2002) – Director of Photography[1]
  • First Aid for Choking (2003) – Writer/Director/Producer
  • Urban Scarecrow (2006) – Cinematographer
  • We Go Way Back (2006) – First Assistant Director
  • The Guatemalan Handshake (2006) – Producer/First Assistant Director
  • June and July (2006) – First Assistant Director
  • Zoo (2007) – Assistant Director[52]
  • Cthulhu (2007) – First Assistant Director
  • Butterfly Dreaming (2008) – First Assistant Director
  • Moving (short) (2008) – Writer/Director
  • The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) – First Assistant Director
  • The Day My Parents Became Cool (short) (2009) – First Assistant Director
  • The Whole Truth (2009) – First Assistant Director
  • Crimes of the Past (2009) – First Assistant Director
  • Wrong Turn at Tahoe (2009) – First Assistant Director
  • Eros (short) (2009) – Writer/Director
  • Late Autumn (2010) – First Assistant Director
  • The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) – Producer/Assistant Director/Casting Director
  • The Off Hours (2011) – Writer/Director/Editor/Casting
  • Eden (2013) – Writer/Director
  • Lucky Them (2014) – Director[1]
  • Rat Pack Rat (2014) – Producer
  • The Night Stalker (2016) – Director
  • Sadie (2018) – Writer/Director
  • I'll Show You Mine (2022) – Director
  • Year Of The Fox (2023) – Director

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Leah Baltus (May 2013), "Life in Pictures: After 13 years of filmmaking in Seattle, Megan Griffiths has made more than a career out of movies", CityArts, Seattle: Encore Media Group: 22
  2. ^ a b Sabina Dana Plasse (February 4, 2011), "Sundance is a win, even without an award", Idaho Mountain Express, Sun Valley, Idaho, archived from the original on September 22, 2013, retrieved 2013-05-03
  3. ^ a b Board of Directors: Megan Griffiths, Northwest Film Forum, retrieved 2013-05-03
  4. ^ "University Of Idaho Names Degree Candidates", The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, June 5, 1997
  5. ^ Ohio University School Of Film alumni directory
  6. ^ a b "‘Lucky Them’ brings director Megan Griffiths’ career into focus", Seattle Times, November 3, 2013
  7. ^ "Seattle-based filmmaker Megan Griffiths’ cool job", Seattle Times, Aug 10, 2016
  8. ^ "Ben Kasulke hopes Seattle’s movie moment is no ‘flash in the pan’", Seattle Times, June 10, 2012
  9. ^ "Eden", Variety, March 14, 2012
  10. ^ "Real-World Horror, Film-World Triumph", The Stranger, May 1, 2013
  11. ^ "'Lucky Them': TIFF Film Mixes Toni Collette, Grunge, Groupies And Johnny Depp", Huffington Post, Sept 12, 2013
  12. ^ "Lucky Them". TIFF. Archived from the original on 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  13. ^ "Lou Diamond Phillips to Play Serial Killer Richard Ramirez in New Movie", Variety, June 10, 2015
  14. ^ "'The Night Stalker': SIFF Review", The Hollywood Reporter, June 13, 2016
  15. ^ "Lou Diamond Phillips embraces serial killer mentality for ‘The Night Stalker’", KIRO Seattle MyNorthwest.com June 10, 2016
  16. ^ "SXSW Film Review: Sadie", Variety, March 26, 2018
  17. ^ "Poorna Jagannathan to headline Megan Griffiths's dramedy 'I'll Show You Mine'", The Economic Times, May 26, 2021
  18. ^ "Poorna Jagannathan, Casey Thomas Brown to Star in Megan Griffiths Dramedy ‘I’ll Show You Mine’ (EXCLUSIVE)", Variety, May 25, 2021
  19. ^ "Megan Griffiths on Exploring the Freedom That Comes from Personal Acceptance in “I’ll Show You Mine”", Women And Hollywood, April 15, 2022
  20. ^ "‘I’ll Show You Mine’ Bares All To Minimal Effect [SIFF Review]", The Playlist, April 16, 2022
  21. ^ "'Year of the Fox' Offers a Wily Look at Coming Into One’s Own", movablefest.com May 14, 2023
  22. ^ "‘Room 104′ Trailer: HBO Opens Door To Duplass Bros.’ Anthology Series", Deadline, June 2, 2017
  23. ^ "Tonight's Room 104 Takes on Mormon Missionaries and Sexual Repression", The Advocate, September 8, 2017
  24. ^ "ROOM 104 SEASON 1 EPISODES", Medium, July 28, 2017
  25. ^ "The Duplass Brothers are Back on TV! 7 Reasons to Get Excited About ‘Room 104’", Indiewire, July 28, 2017
  26. ^ "GLAAD Media Awards: The Complete List of Nominees", The Hollywood Reporter, January 19, 2018
  27. ^ "ROOM 104 Review: “The Missionaries” ", The Tracking Board, September 9, 2017
  28. ^ "They Die Happier", Metacritic, December 3, 2017
  29. ^ "Animal Kingdom: Why I Hate Myself for Loving TNT's Addictive Drama", TVline, July 15, 2018
  30. ^ "Animal Kingdom Recap: Crime Pays — Plus, Mia's Coconspirator Is...", TVline, June 26, 2018
  31. ^ "TV Review: ‘The Society’ on Netflix", Variety, May 9, 2019
  32. ^ "The Society Recap: The Death Penalty", Ready Steady Cut, May 10, 2019
  33. ^ "REVIEW: 'Animal Kingdom' - The Latest Job May Change the Way the Cody Boys Conduct Their Business in 'Tank' ", TV Recaps Reviews, June 18, 2019
  34. ^ "Animal Kingdom Recap: Death Wish — Plus, Spoiler's Surprising Return", TV Line, June 18, 2019
  35. ^ "‘Looking For Alaska’ Review: The Throwback Teen Drama the Genre Needs", Indiewire, Oct 18, 2019
  36. ^ "Their wedding was scheduled to be during the coronavirus shutdown. They postponed it — and had a small ceremony, too.", The Wenatchee World, March 20, 2020
  37. ^ "REVIEW: 'Dare Me' - News About Will's Life of Tragedy Spreads Throughout the Town in 'Fog of War'", TV Recaps Reviews, March 1, 2020
  38. ^ "Dare Me Episode 9:Fog Of War-Review And Recap", Signal Horizon, March 2, 2020
  39. ^ "Trinkets: Season 2/ Episode 7, 8, 9 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)", Wherever I Look, August 28, 2020
  40. ^ "Review: Trinkets, seasons 1 & 2", Old Ain't Dead, September 8, 2020
  41. ^ "Right Now, You Can Watch ‘Panic’ on Amazon Prime for Free", Indiewire, May 28, 2021
  42. ^ "Stream on Demand: Don’t ‘Panic,’ you’re watching with ‘Friends’", The Spokesman-Review, May 28, 2021
  43. ^ "Interview: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Cinematographer Anka Malatynska", comingsoon.net, July 31, 2022
  44. ^ "‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Sets July Premiere Date, Reveals First Teaser (TV News Roundup)", Variety, June 15, 2022
  45. ^ "The Summer I Turned Pretty Is the Felicity of Modern Teen Soaps", TV Guide, August 18, 2023
  46. ^ "'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 2: Everything to Know", People, August 4, 2023
  47. ^ Scott Macaulay (March 14, 2012), ""GIMME THE LOOT," "BEWARE OF MR. BAKER" WIN TOP PRIZES AT SXSW", Filmmaker
  48. ^ Charles Mudede, "2012 Stranger Film Genius Megan Griffiths", The Stranger, retrieved 2013-05-03
  49. ^ "Shine On: 2013 Artists of the Year - City Arts Magazine". 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  50. ^ Seattle.gov Office of Film and Music https://www.seattle.gov/filmandmusic/film/mayors-film-award
  51. ^ "GIFFONI FILM FESTIVAL 2018 - 20.28 JULY". giffonifilmfestival.it. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  52. ^ "Review: Zoo", Variety, May 18, 2007
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