March/April 2008
Crimson Tide
From Conan O'Brien to Natalie Portman to Homer Simpson, Harvardians have painted Tinseltown red. On the pages that follow, meet the actors, writers, directors, and dealmakers who have brought 02138 to 90210.
The Directors
Illustration by David CowlesMira NairTom Brady | A.B. '86
Broad comedy specialist who wrote The Animal and wrote and directed The Hot Chick. Currently developing a big-screen version of Welcome Back, Kotter set to star Ice Cube.
James Toback | A.B. '66
Self-styled maverick screenwriter of Bugsy and writer-director of Fingers, The Pick-up Artist, and early Adrian Grenier pic Harvard Man.
Rob Cohen | A.B. '71
Action maestro behind The Fast and the Furious, xXx, Stealth, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (out August 2008). Next slated to direct King of the Nudies, about B-movie king Russ Meyer.
Terrence Malick | A.B. '65
Brilliant visionary perfectionist who wrote and directed Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and The New World. Next up: the drama Tree of Life, with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.
Darren Aronofsky | A.B. '91
Writer-director of powerful and deeply creative films Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Fountain. Currently developing The Fighter for Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg.
Rodrigo Garcia | A.B. ’82
Gabriel García Marquez’s son and director of Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her and Nine Lives. Joined forces with so-called Mexican mafia (including directors Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro) to land $100 million in production money from Universal Pictures. Directed upcoming film Passengers, starring Anne Hathaway.
Jonathan Mostow | A.B. ’83
Skillful pro who wrote and directed Breakdown and U-571 and rescued Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines by doing an efficient last-minute job as director.
Ed Zwick | A.B. ’74
Hugely accomplished multi-hyphenate behind TV shows thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again. Director of films Glory, Legends of the Fall, and Blood Diamond. Received Oscar nomination for producing Traffic, won for Shakespeare in Love. Recently co-created quarterlife, the pioneering Internet series to be rebroadcast as a drama on NBC this spring.
See Changing Channels.
Whit Stillman | A.B. ’73
Cinematic wit and poet laureate of WASP decline. Wrote and directed Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco.
See Transitions: Chasing Whit Stillman.
Mira Nair | A.B. ’79
Versatile director of nearly a dozen films, including Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding, and The Namesake.
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