Gregg Araki American film director and screenwriter Date of Birth: 17.12.1959 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Career
2. Independent Breakthrough
3. The Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy
4. Transition and MTV Project
5. Return and Acclaim

Early Life and Career

Gregg Araki, an American filmmaker and screenwriter, was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 17, 1959, to first-generation Japanese-American parents. After graduating from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television, Araki briefly worked as a music critic for a local newspaper.

Independent Breakthrough

His first two films, "Totally Fed Up" (1987) and "Long Weekend (Despair)" (1989), were shot in black and white on stationary cameras with budgets of less than $5,000 each. These amateurish works gained recognition at small independent film festivals and even won several awards.

Araki's true breakthrough came with his third film, "The Living End" (1992), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. A road movie about two HIV-positive homosexuals who go on the run after committing an accidental murder, the film's unique blend of homosexuality, homophobia, and violence garnered critical acclaim. It grossed nearly $700,000 on a budget of $20,000, propelling Araki to the forefront of the New Queer Cinema movement.

The Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy

Araki's next major project was the "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy," a darkly humorous exploration of teenage angst and fears. The trilogy began with "Totally Fed Up" (1993), a collection of fifteen randomly selected scenes; continued with the bloody road movie "The Doom Generation" (1995), subtitled "Gregg Araki's First Heterosexual Film;" and concluded with the black comedy "Nowhere" (1997), which follows a day in the lives of a group of Californian high schoolers living by the motto "Sex, drugs, violence." James Duval starred in all three films as Araki's alter ego.

Transition and MTV Project

After completing the "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy," Araki experienced a period of creative lull. In 1999, he released "Splendor," a comedy that departed from the director's typically grim and bloody subjects. In 2000, MTV approached Araki to create a pilot for a television series called "This Is How the World Ends," with a budget of $1.5 million. However, the network only provided $700,000, hoping to find partners to fund the rest. Araki completed the pilot for $700,000 and submitted it to MTV, which ultimately decided not to proceed with the series.

Return and Acclaim

After a four-year hiatus, Araki returned with "Mysterious Skin" (2004), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In this more serious work, he explored the aftermath of childhood sexual trauma through the lives of two eighteen-year-old boys. Araki aimed for a film that was "as mind-bending as David Lynch and as exquisitely written as Wong Kar-Wai."

Araki's most recent film, "Smiley Face," premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival's Midnight program. Shot in just 22 days, the comedy follows a young actress (Anna Faris) who unknowingly consumes marijuana-laced cookies. The festival audience embraced the director's return to a lighter tone.