In the Company of Men is a 1997 American black comedy film, written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Aaron Eckhart , Matt Malloy , and Stacy Edwards . The film, which was adapted from a play written by LaBute, and served as his feature film debut, won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay .
50-720: Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, In the Company of Men (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Film Festival , the Independent Spirit Awards , and the New York Film Critics Circle . He wrote and directed the films Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), Possession (2002) (based on
100-845: A misogynist after the release of In the Company of Men . In 2016, LaBute married actress Gia Crovatin . In 2013, LaBute was named one of the winners of the American Academy of Arts and Letters ' Arts and Letters Awards in Literature. LaBute became a Fellow of the International Association of Theatre Leaders (IATL) in 2023. LaBute's style is very language-oriented. His work is terse, rhythmic, and highly colloquial. His style bears similarity to one of his favorite playwrights, David Mamet . LaBute even shares some similar themes with Mamet including gender relations, political correctness, and masculinity. In
150-829: A New Scripted Series Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series John Cassavetes Award Robert Altman Award Retired categories Best Male Lead Best Female Lead Best Supporting Male Best Supporting Female Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series Ceremonies 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 (years are of film release; ceremonies are
200-1562: A Wandering Saint Laurel Parmet The Starling Girl Noah Galvin , Molly Gordon , Nick Lieberman , and Ben Platt Theater Camp Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez Upon Entry References [ edit ] ^ Ten Groundbreaking Film Independent Spirit Awards Wins - Film Independent ^ Stanley Tucci · Conversatory of Theatre Arts · Purchase College ^ Being John Malkovich - Awards - IMDb ^ "Love and Basketball" (New Line Cinema, 2000)|Library of Congress ^ Ghost World (2001) - MUBI ^ Ten Groundbreaking Film Independent Spirit Awards Wins - Film Independent ^ 14 Big Facts About 'Little Miss Sunshine' - Mental Floss ^ JUNO|Alamo Drafthouse Cinema ^ PRIDE Film Series: MILK (2008) Seattle Gay Scene|Your Daily Gay in Seattle ^ Frozen River (2008) - MUBI ^ Precious - Awards - IMDb ^ Tiny Furniture - Philadelphia Film Society ^ J.C. Chandor - Awards - IMDb ^ Justin Simien '05 wins Independent Spirit Award || Best First Screenplay|Chapman Newsroom ^ Room - Awards - IMDb ^ Robert Eggers Wins Independent Spirit First Screenplay Award|IndieWire ^ 'The Big Sick' Wins Indie Spirit Award || Best First Screenplay|IndieWire ^ Film Independent Spirit Awards 2020:See
250-505: A breakout performance by Aaron Eckhart as a businessman who likes to play psychological games." The film also has a score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 25 critics. In January 1998, it was included on Siskel and Ebert 's "Best Films of 1997" episode. The character of Chad was also nominated by the American Film Institute for their list of AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains , but did not make it into
300-420: A corporation, temporarily assigned to a branch office away from home for six weeks. Embittered by bad experiences with women, Chad and Howard form a mean-spirited revenge scheme to find an insecure woman, romance her simultaneously, and then break up with her at the same time. Chad is the originator and driving force behind the scheme, while Howard is the more passive of the two, which leads to a later conflict with
350-616: A fax Chad is supposed to have made to the home office is "lost" and a presentation Chad is supposed to deliver to the home office is unable to be carried out successfully after some documents are allegedly printed so lightly that they are illegible. These mishaps culminate in Howard being demoted and Chad taking his place as the head of the project after Chad places the blame for the mishaps unfairly on Howard. Chad eventually sleeps with Christine, and she falls in love with him. When Christine eventually breaks this news to Howard, Howard tells Christine
400-458: A misanthrope on the release of his film Your Friends & Neighbors because of the film's strong misanthropic plot and characters. Britain's Independent newspaper in May 2008 dubbed him "America's misanthrope par excellence". Citing the misanthropic tone of the plot in the films In the Company of Men , Your Friends & Neighbors and The Shape of Things , film critic Daniel Kimmel identified
450-415: A pattern running through LaBute's work of being that the unlikeable, main antagonists of those three films end up getting away with their lying, scheming and mis-deeds, coming out on top of all the other characters as the real winners of those stories by quoting: "Neil LaBute is a misanthrope who assumes that only callous and evil people, who use and abuse others, can survive in this world." Critics labeled him
500-620: A production by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. It went on Broadway in 2009, with previews at the Lyceum Theatre beginning March 13, and its opening on April 2. The play was nominated for three 2009 Tony Awards , including Best Play , Best Leading Actor in a Play ( Thomas Sadoski ), and Best Featured Actress in a Play ( Marin Ireland ), but did not win in any category. The production's final performance
550-597: A way that you can tell a story on film in human terms. It was the kind of film that made me go, "I could do this; I want to tell stories that are like this and told in this way." And so it was altering for me in that way, in its simplicity or deceptive simplicity. In 1993, he returned to BYU to premiere his play In the Company of Men , for which he received an award from the Association for Mormon Letters . He taught drama and film at IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana , in
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#1732783491874600-493: Is a festival of world premiere one-act plays that is produced by William Roth and St. Louis Actors' Studio each summer at their Gaslight Theater and each winter at 59E59 street theaters in New York. In 2013, Some Girl(s) was directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, with the screenplay adapted by Labute's from his 2005 play. In an interview with Screen Comment's Sam Weisberg, he said: "I have had a lot of people direct my material for
650-459: Is now apparently in the bad graces of the company, having been moved to a lower floor, while Chad is doing well, and thus offering to say something on Howard's behalf. Nevertheless, Howard is not worried about work; he confesses to Chad that he really loved Christine. At this point, Chad, despite having previously told Howard that his girlfriend, Suzanne, had left him, shows Howard that she is still there, asleep in his bed. Chad says that he carried out
700-557: Is one of the annual awards given by the Film Independent , a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first presented in 1994 with David O. Russell being the first recipient of the award for Spanking the Monkey , a film he also directed. Winners and nominees [ edit ] [REDACTED] Paul Auster won for Smoke . [REDACTED] Neil LaBute won for In
750-428: The 1997 Cannes Film Festival . Shortly after its premiere at Sundance, Alliance Independent Films acquired worldwide distribution rights outside North America to the film. In March 1997, Sony Pictures Classics acquired North American distribution rights to the film, beating out studios such as Fox Searchlight Pictures and Orion Pictures . In the Company of Men opened in a limited release in eight theaters in
800-504: The A. S. Byatt novel), The Shape of Things (2003) (based on his play of the same name), The Wicker Man (2006), Some Velvet Morning (2013), and Dirty Weekend (2015). He directed the films Nurse Betty (2000), Lakeview Terrace (2008), and the American adaptation of Death at a Funeral (2010). LaBute created the TV series Billy & Billie , writing and directing all of
850-695: The Bush Theatre 's 2011 project Sixty Six Books , for which he wrote a piece based upon a book of the King James Bible . In 2012, he joined the Chicago-based storefront theatre company, Profiles Theatre as a Resident Artist. The Way We Get By opened Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre on May 19, 2015, starring Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski, with direction by Leigh Silverman. The LaBute New Theater Festival
900-766: The Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare which ran from April 7 to June 6, 2010. LaBute framed the classic play in overtly metatheatrical terms, adding a lesbian romance subplot. His short play, The Unimaginable , premiered as part of the Terror 2010 season at the Southwark Playhouse in London, October 12–31, 2010. LaBute's first produced play, Filthy Talk for Troubled Times (1989), which
950-2099: The Angry Inch Stephen M. Ryder , Michael Cuesta and Gerald Cuesta L.I.E. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming The Anniversary Party 2002 Erin Cressida Wilson Secretary Laura Cahill Hysterical Blindness Burr Steers Igby Goes Down Neil Burger Interview with the Assassin Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt Kissing Jessica Stein 2003 Tom McCarthy The Station Agent Karen Moncrieff Blue Car Patty Jenkins Monster Peter Sollett and Eva Vives Raising Victor Vargas Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed Thirteen 2004 Joshua Marston Maria Full of Grace Rodney Evans Brother to Brother Zach Braff Garden State Shane Carruth Primer Mario de la Vega Robbing Peter 2005 Duncan Tucker Transamerica Kenneth Hanes Fixing Frank Angus MacLachlan Junebug Miranda July Me and You and Everyone We Know Sabina Murray The Beautiful Country 2006 Michael Arndt Little Miss Sunshine Dito Montiel A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Gabrielle Zevin Conversations with Other Women Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden Half Nelson Goran Dukić Wristcutters: A Love Story 2007 Diablo Cody Juno Jeffrey Blitz Rocket Science Zoe Cassavetes Broken English Kelly Masterson Before
1000-1676: The Company of Men Steven Schwartz Critical Care Paul Thomas Anderson Hard Eight Miguel Arteta Star Maps Daniel Harris The Bible and Gun Club 1998 Darren Aronofsky Pi Lisa Cholodenko High Art Matthew Weiss Niagara, Niagara Tamara Jenkins Slums of Beverly Hills Sherman Alexie Smoke Signals 1999 Charlie Kaufman Being John Malkovich Kimberly Peirce and Andy Bienen Boys Don't Cry Anne Rapp Cookie's Fortune Tod Williams The Adventures of Sebastian Cole John Roach and Mary Sweeney The Straight Story 2000s [ edit ] [REDACTED] Gina Prince-Bythewood won for Love & Basketball . [REDACTED] Terry Zwigoff won for Ghost World alongside Daniel Clowes . [REDACTED] Michael Arndt won for Little Miss Sunshine . [REDACTED] Diablo Cody won for Juno . [REDACTED] Dustin Lance Black won for Milk . Year Recipient(s) Film 2000 Gina Prince-Bythewood Love & Basketball Ben Younger Boiler Room David Gordon Green George Washington Jordan Walker-Pearlman The Visit Ross Klavan and Michael McGruther Tigerland 2001 Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff Ghost World Richard Kelly Donnie Darko John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig and
1050-494: The Company of Men The film revolves around two male co-workers, Chad and Howard, who, angry and frustrated with women in general, plot to toy maliciously with the emotions of a deaf female subordinate. It was first written as a play, which debuted at Brigham Young University in December 1992, and received a 1993 Drama AML Award from the Association for Mormon Letters . Chad and Howard are two middle management employees at
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#17327834918741100-635: The Company of Men portrays two businessmen (one played by Eckhart) cruelly plotting to romance and emotionally destroy a deaf woman. His next film Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), with an ensemble cast including Eckhart and Ben Stiller , earned an R-rating for its portrayal of the sex lives of three yuppie couples in the big city. His play Bash: Latter-Day Plays is a set of three short plays ( Iphigenia in Orem , A Gaggle of Saints , and Medea Redux ) depicting essentially good Latter-day Saints doing disturbing and violent things. It ran Off-Broadway at
1150-1127: The Company of Men . [REDACTED] Darren Aronofsky won for Pi . [REDACTED] Charlie Kaufman won for Being John Malkovich . 1990s [ edit ] Year Recipient(s) Film 1994 David O. Russell Spanking the Monkey Paul Zehrer Blessing Kevin Smith Clerks James Bosley Fun Tom Noonan What Happened Was 1995 Paul Auster Smoke Harmony Korine Kids James Gray Little Odessa Steve McLean Postcards from America Kelly Reichardt River of Grass 1996 Joseph Tropiano and Stanley Tucci Big Night Suzan-Lori Parks Girl 6 Lisa Krueger Manny & Lo Michael Scott Myers The Whole Wide World Steve Buscemi Trees Lounge 1997 Neil LaBute In
1200-524: The Company of Men features several themes such as retro-sexism and role reversals. An example of role reversal is that in the beginning Howard plans with Chad to destroy an innocent young woman, yet by the end of the film Chad has "destroyed" Howard. In the Company of Men was screened in the Dramatic competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and in the Un Certain Regard section at
1250-519: The Criminal Joel Kim Booster Fire Island Jamie Dack and Audrey Findlay, story by Jamie Dack Palm Trees and Power Lines K.D. Dávila Emergency Sarah DeLappe, story by Kristen Roupenian Bodies Bodies Bodies 2023 Samy Burch ; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik May December Tomás Gómez Bustillo Chronicles of
1300-1960: The Devil Knows You're Dead John Orloff A Mighty Heart 2008 Dustin Lance Black Milk Lance Hammer Ballast Courtney Hunt Frozen River Jonathan Levine The Wackness Jenny Lumet Rachel Getting Married 2009 Geoffrey Fletcher Precious Sophie Barthes Cold Souls Scott Cooper Crazy Heart Cherien Dabis Amreeka Tom Ford and David Scearce A Single Man 2010s [ edit ] [REDACTED] Justin Simien won for Dear White People . [REDACTED] Emma Donoghue won for Room . [REDACTED] Robert Eggers won for The Witch . [REDACTED] Emily Gordon won for The Big Sick . [REDACTED] Kumail Nanjiani won for The Big Sick . [REDACTED] Bo Burnham won for Eighth Grade . Year Recipient(s) Film 2010 Lena Dunham Tiny Furniture Robert Glaudini Jack Goes Boating Nik Fackler Lovely, Still Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener Monogamy Diane Bell Obselidia 2011 Will Reiser 50/50 Mike Cahill and Brit Marling Another Earth J. C. Chandor Margin Call Patrick deWitt Terri Phil Johnston Cedar Rapids 2012 Derek Connolly Safety Not Guaranteed Rama Burshtein Fill
1350-593: The Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in 1999. Medea Redux is a one-person performance by Calista Flockhart . This play resulted in his being disfellowshipped from the LDS Church (i.e., losing some privileges of church membership without being excommunicated). He has since formally left the LDS Church. In 2001, LaBute wrote and directed the play The Shape of Things , which premièred in London, featuring film actors Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz . It
1400-1397: The Dying Girl Jonas Carpignano Mediterranea Marielle Heller The Diary of a Teenage Girl John Magary ; Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph (story by) The Mend 2016 Robert Eggers The Witch Chris Kelly Other People Adam Mansbach Barry Stella Meghie Jean of the Joneses Craig Shilowich Christine 2017 Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani The Big Sick Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta (story by), and Jesse Wakeman (story by) Donald Cried Ingrid Jungermann Women Who Kill Kogonada Columbus David Branson Smith & Matt Spicer Ingrid Goes West 2018 Bo Burnham Eighth Grade Christina Choe Nancy Cory Finley Thoroughbreds Jennifer Fox The Tale Laurie & Quinn Shephard Blame 2019 Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol See You Yesterday Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen Driveways Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy Blow
1450-839: The Man Down Jocelyn Deboer and Dawn Luebbe Greener Grass James Montague and Craig W. Sanger The Vast of Night 2020s [ edit ] Year Recipient(s) Film 2020 Andy Siara Palm Springs Kitty Green The Assistant Noah Hutton Lapsis Channing Godfrey Peoples Miss Juneteenth James Sweeney Straight Up 2021 Michael Sarnoski and Vanessa Block Pig Sheldon D. Brown and Matthew Fifer Cicada Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. Wild Indian Shatara Michelle Ford Test Pattern Fran Kranz Mass 2022 John Patton Ford Emily
1500-626: The Pretty Pictures firm, with a first-look deal at USA Films. LaBute's 2002 play The Mercy Seat was a theatrical response to the September 11, 2001, attacks . Set on September 12, it concerns a man who worked at the World Trade Center but was away from the office during the infamous 2001 terrorist attack – with his mistress. Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers' collapse, he contemplates using
1550-512: The United States on August 1, 1997, and grossed $ 100,006, with an average of $ 12,500 per theater. The film's widest release was 108 theaters, earning $ 2,804,473. The film received very positive reviews from critics and has a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 56 reviews with an average rating of 7.90/10. The critical consensus states "Neil LaBute's pitch-black comedy is a masterful exploration of male insecurity, and it's elevated by
Neil LaBute - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-1056: The Void Christopher D. Ford Robot & Frank Rashida Jones and Will McCormack Celeste and Jesse Forever Jonathan Lisecki Gayby 2013 Bob Nelson Nebraska Lake Bell In a World... Joseph Gordon-Levitt Don Jon Jill Soloway Afternoon Delight Michael Starrbury The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete 2014 Justin Simien Dear White People Desiree Akhavan Appropriate Behavior Sara Colangelo Little Accidents Justin Lader The One I Love Anja Marquardt She's Lost Control 2015 Emma Donoghue Room Jesse Andrews Me and Earl and
1650-702: The early 1990s where he adapted and filmed the play, shot over two weeks and costing $ 25,000, beginning his career as a film director. The film won the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival , and major awards and nominations at the Deauville Film Festival , the Independent Spirit Awards , the Thessaloniki Film Festival, the Society of Texas Film Critics Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle . In
1700-496: The episodes. He is also the creator of the TV series Van Helsing . Recently, he executive produced, co-directed and co-wrote Netflix 's The I-Land . He also directed several episodes for shows such as Hell on Wheels and Billions . LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan , the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian , English, and Irish ancestry, and
1750-426: The film industry came with a viewing of The Soft Skin ( La Peau Douce 1964), said the director to Robert K. Elder in a 2011 interview for The Film That Changed My Life . It exposed me, probably in the earliest way, to "Hey, I could do that." I've never been one to love the camera or even to be as drawn to it as I am to the human aspect of it, and I think it was a film that speaks in a very simple way of here's
1800-433: The plan "because I could," and cruelly asks Howard how it feels to have truly hurt someone. Howard, who had never done anything like that before, leaves, horrified. He vomits down the stairwell. Howard later travels back to the city and to a bank where he sees Christine working, and tries to speak to her, but she looks away in anger. He loudly pleads with her to "listen" to him, but his pleas literally fall on deaf ears. In
1850-435: The play during its 2017 summer season. In February 2018, MCC Theater terminated its relationship with him ending his place as their playwright-in-residence and their plans to produce his next play Reasons to Be Pretty Happy in the summer. Blake West, MCC Theater's executive director, said, “We’re committed to creating and maintaining a respectful and professional work environment for everyone we work with.” In September 2018, it
1900-589: The playwright!"" The Break of Noon premiered Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in an MCC Theater production on October 28, 2010 (previews), running to December 22, 2010. The play then opened in 2011 in Los Angeles at the Geffen Theater, again directed by Jo Bonney , with January 25 preview and opening on February 2. It ran through March 6. It featured Tracee Chimo , David Duchovny , John Earl Jelks , and Amanda Peet . LaBute took part in
1950-415: The scheme. Chad decides upon Christine, a deaf co-worker who is so self-conscious that she wears headphones so people, thinking that she is listening to music, are compelled to get her attention visually without immediately learning that she is deaf. Chad and Howard decide to each ask her out, and over the course of several weeks, date her simultaneously. In the meantime, things with the project go wrong;
2000-592: The theater, but I haven't had anyone do my work on film. I was excited by what would be brought to it. It was great to have someone else in there that you could trust visually and intellectually and emotionally to make something that was respectful of the material but also creative." In August 2016, the Utah Shakespeare Festival produced a preview of LaBute's play How to Fight Loneliness in Cedar City, Utah, and announced its intention to stage
2050-772: The top 100. In the Company of Men was listed on Empire 's 500 Greatest films of all time at number 493. The DVD of the film contains two commentary tracks, one with director Neil LaBute, and the other with stars Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, and Stacy Edwards. Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay Awarded for Best First Screenplay Country United States Presented by Film Independent First awarded 1994 Currently held by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik for May December (2023) Website www .filmindependent .org The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
Neil LaBute - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-567: The tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover. Starring Liev Schreiber and Sigourney Weaver , the play was a commercial and critical success. While hesitant to term The Mercy Seat " political theater ", Labute said, "I refer to this play in the printed introduction as a kind of emotional terrorism that we wage on those we profess to love." He dedicated this edition to David Hare , in response to Hare's "straightforward, thoughtful, probing work". His next play, Reasons to Be Pretty , played Off-Broadway from May 14 to July 5, 2008, in
2150-413: The truth about their scheme, and tells her that he loves her. Christine is shocked by the revelation, and refuses to believe that Chad would do this. When she confronts Chad, he admits the truth. Christine angrily slaps Chad, but Chad is unashamed of his behavior, and cruelly taunts Christine, who collapses into tears after he leaves her. Weeks later, Howard confronts Chad back home at his apartment. Howard
2200-1104: The winners list|EW.com ^ 2021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List|IndieWire ^ Galuppo, Mia (March 6, 2022). "Spirit Awards: 'The Lost Daughter,' 'Reservation Dogs' Win Big as Ukraine Fuels Onstage Remarks" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 6, 2022 . ^ Davis, Clayton (November 22, 2022). "Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere' Leads With Eight Noms" . Variety . Retrieved November 22, 2022 . ^ "Film Independent Spirit Awards (2024)" . IMDb . Retrieved 2024-02-25 . v t e Independent Spirit Awards Current categories Best Film Best Director Best Lead Performance Best Supporting Performance Best Breakthrough Performance Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Documentary Feature Best First Feature Best International Film Best Screenplay Best First Screenplay Best New Scripted Series Best Lead Performance in
2250-551: Was a series of biting exchanges between two "everyman" characters in a bar, was staged from June 3–5, 2010, by MCC Theater as a benefit for MCC's Playwrights' Coalition and their commitment to developing new work. LaBute also directed the reading. Originally when it premiered in New York City at the Westside Dance Project, "[legend] has it ... that one unimpressed member of the audience shouted: "Kill
2300-540: Was announced that Netflix had given order for the production of the science fiction miniseries The I-Land . LaBute is credited as the showrunner and executive producer of the miniseries. The miniseries premiered on September 12, 2019. Critics have responded to his plays as having a misanthropic tone. Rob Weinert-Kendt in The Village Voice referred to LaBute as "American theater's reigning misanthrope". The New York Times said that critics labeled him
2350-598: Was honored as one of the "most promising undergraduate playwrights" at the BYU theater department's annual awards. Labute did graduate work at the University of Kansas , New York University , and the Royal Academy of London , and he participated in a writing workshop at London's Royal Court Theatre. LaBute burst onto the theater scene in 1989 with his controversial debut Filthy Talk for Troubled Times . His interest in
2400-522: Was on June 14. In March 2013, the play was mounted at the San Francisco Playhouse . In 2010, LaBute directed Death at a Funeral , a remake of a 2007 British film of the same name . It was written by Dean Craig (who also wrote the original screenplay) and starred Chris Rock . Throughout the decade, various productions of his existing works were mounted as he continued to produce new material. He wrote new scenes and an introduction for
2450-571: Was raised in Spokane, Washington . He studied theater at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). At BYU, he also met actor Aaron Eckhart , who would later play leading roles in several of his films. He produced a number of plays that pushed the envelope of what was acceptable at the conservative religious university, some of which were shut down after their premieres. However, he also
2500-797: Was turned into a film in 2003 with the same cast and director. Set in a small university town in the American Midwest, it focuses on four young students who become emotionally and romantically involved with each other, questioning the nature of art and the lengths to which people will go for love. Weisz's character manipulates Rudd's character into changing everything about himself and discarding his friends in order to become more attractive to her. She even pretends to fall in love with him, prompting an offer of marriage, whereupon she cruelly exposes and humiliates him before an audience, announcing that he has simply been an "art project" for her MFA thesis . In 2001, LaBute and producer Gail Mutrux founded
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