ALEXANDER PAYNE (director/writer) made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed Citizen Ruth, which won first prize at the Munich Film Festival and for which Laura Dern won best actress at the Montreal Film Festival. He followed up with Election, a film which, in addition to enthusiastic reviews, earned him and writing partner Jim Taylor best screenplay awards from the WGA, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Independent Sprit Awards, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. At the Independent Spirit awards, Election also won Best Film and Payne Best Director. Reese Witherspoon garnered a Golden Globe nomination.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Payne received B.A. degrees in History and Spanish Literature from Stanford University. Payne later earned an M.F.A. in filmmaking from UCLA. His thesis film, The Passion of Martin, screened at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival and at over 20 other festivals around the world and won many awards.
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