Penelope Spheeris Wiki Biography
Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization. She has also directed feature films, including Wayne’s World, her highest grossing film.
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
| Date Of Birth | December 2, 1945 |
| Place Of Birth | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Profession | Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Producer |
| IMDB | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818448 |
| Title | Salary |
|---|---|
| Wayne’s World (1992) | $150,000 |
| Quote | |
|---|---|
| 1 | [on Mike Myers] I hated that bastard for years. But when I saw Austin Powers, I went, ‘I forgive you, Mike. You can be moody, you can be a jerk, you can be things that others of us can’t be – because you are profoundly talented. And I forgive you.’ |
| 2 | My whole career up until Wayne’s World (1992) didn’t produce any monetary funds. When I directed Wayne’s World, I made close to $150,000 – the biggest payday I had to date. My percentage points from Wayne’s World enabled me to pay off all of the debts from my previous works, but I only came up even in the end. |
| 3 | [“After Wayne’s World (1992), you directed a bunch of studio fodder including The Little Rascals (1994) and Senseless (1998). What steered you in this direction?”) When someone offers you $2.5 million to direct a film, you just fucking take it. I took the money and made a bunch of movies – The Little Rascals (1994), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), Black Sheep (1996) and Senseless (1998). After I did Wayne’s World (1992) – I tried like hell to direct movies I had written and books that I wanted to adapt for film. I tried so hard to do something beside television remakes but I couldn’t get anything going. That is where the sexism in the film industry becomes all too apparent. If I was a guy, I swear to God I would have been able to get my own shit going after “Wayne’s World”. |
| 4 | [on why she does documentaries about metal and punk music] “I mean, look, you don’t see me making documentaries on Britney Spears, you know what I mean? Sweetheart of a little girl, you know. Or Madonna. That’s not my thing. I just like this harder edge stuff. That’s just me.” |
| 5 | I generally think about myself as someone who studies human behavior and is trying to figure out what the hell is going on in our current society. If I can leave any film that helps define a certain time after I’m dead then that’s great. |
| 6 | The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) was financed by two businessmen from the Valley who wanted to finance films. They had no idea I was going in to pitch a punk rock movie. |
| Fact | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Second cousin of Julie Gavras and Romain Gavras. |
| 2 | Older sister of late singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris. |
| 3 | Daughter of ‘Gypsy’ Spheeris. |
| 4 | Declined the offer to direct This Is Spinal Tap (1984), because she thought you couldn’t make fun of Heavy Metal music. |
| 5 | Is first cousin of Greek/French director Costa-Gavras. |
| 6 | She was the oldest of four children. She often had to look after her siblings because her dad was killed when she was seven and her mom worked several jobs. She often chooses to interview musicians with troubled backgrounds because she feels her background was just as troubled. |
| 7 | She studied psychobiology (studying how the brain reacts to external forces) and film in college, eventually attending the film program at UCLA. After college, she produced short and feature length films directed by comic Albert Brooks, some of which were shown during the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975). |
| 8 | She admits that she has two distinct careers, one where she does mainstream Hollywood films like Wayne’s World (1992) and the other, where she does independent music themed documentaries like the “Decline of Western Civilization” films. |
Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Real St. Nick | 2012 | TV Movie | |
| Five | 2011 | TV Movie segment “Cheyanne” | |
| Balls to the Wall | 2011 | ||
| The Kid & I | 2005 | ||
| Cracking Up | 2004 | TV Series 1 episode | |
| The 75th Annual Academy Awards | 2003 | TV Special segment “Tribute to Documentaries” | |
| The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron | 2003 | TV Movie | |
| We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n Roll | 2001 | Documentary | |
| Dear Doughboy | 2000 | TV Movie | |
| Hollywierd | 1999 | Documentary | |
| Applewood 911 | 1998 | TV Movie | |
| The Thing in Bob’s Garage | 1998 | ||
| Senseless | 1998 | ||
| The Decline of Western Civilization Part III | 1998 | Documentary | |
| Black Sheep | 1996 | ||
| The Little Rascals | 1994 | ||
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1993 | ||
| Danger Theatre | 1993 | TV Series 3 episodes | |
| Wayne’s World | 1992 | ||
| UFO Abductions | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Rap’s Most Wanted | 1991 | Video documentary | |
| Prison Stories: Women on the Inside | 1991 | TV Movie segment “3” | |
| Visitors from the Unknown | 1991 | TV Movie tcm | |
| Thunder and Mud | 1990 | Documentary | |
| The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years | 1988 | Documentary | |
| Dudes | 1987 | ||
| Hollywood Vice Squad | 1986 | ||
| The Boys Next Door | 1985 | ||
| Suburbia | 1983 | ||
| The Decline of Western Civilization | 1981 | Documentary | |
| I Don’t Know | 1972 | Short | |
| Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales | 1969 |
Miscellaneous
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roseanne | 1989-1990 | TV Series story editor – 24 episodes |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Kid & I | 2005 | producer | |
| The 75th Annual Academy Awards | 2003 | TV Special segment producer | |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1993 | producer | |
| Danger Theatre | 1993 | TV Series executive producer – 7 episodes | |
| The Decline of Western Civilization | 1981 | Documentary producer | |
| Real Life | 1979 | producer | |
| Saturday Night Live | 1975-1976 | TV Series producer – 9 episodes |
Writer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Rascals | 1994 | screenplay / story | |
| Danger Theatre | TV Series creator – 5 episodes, 1993 written by – 1 episode, 1993 story – 1 episode, 1993 | ||
| Roseanne | 1990 | TV Series written by – 1 episode | |
| Summer Camp Nightmare | 1987 | screenplay | |
| Suburbia | 1983 | written by | |
| The Decline of Western Civilization | 1981 | Documentary |
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Entertainment Weekly | 2005 | TV Series | Hollywood Film Director |
| Wayne’s World | 1992 | uncredited | |
| Wedding Band | 1989 | Nicky’s Mom | |
| The Second Coming of Suzanne | 1974 | Margo, Logan’s Film Group | |
| The Ski Bum | 1971 | Star the Witch | |
| Naked Angels | 1969 | Shirley |
Cinematographer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Rising | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | |
| We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n Roll | 2001 | Documentary |
Camera Department
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Decline of Western Civilization Part III | 1998 | Documentary camera operator: “b” camera | |
| The Decline of Western Civilization | 1981 | Documentary additional cinematographer – as P. Spheeris |
Editor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales | 1969 |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ninth Cloud | 2014 | special thanks | |
| Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk | 2014 | special thanks | |
| A Celebration of Women Directors | 2008 | Documentary special thanks | |
| What We Do Is Secret | 2007 | special thanks | |
| Edgeplay | 2004 | Documentary special thanks | |
| N.Y.H.C. | 1999 | Documentary special thanks | |
| The Celluloid Closet | 1995 | Documentary special thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half the Picture | 2017 | Documentary post-production | Herself |
| At the Video Store | Documentary post-production | Herself | |
| The Eighties | 2016 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself – Filmmaker |
| Laugh Out Loud: The Funniest Films Ever | 2015 | TV Movie documentary | Herself – Director, Wayne’s World |
| Penelope Spheeris: An IU Cinema Exclusive | 2015 | Short | Herself |
| Backseat Filmmaker | 2015 | TV Series | Herself |
| D.I.Y. | 2014 | Documentary short | Herself |
| AM Northwest | 2013 | TV Series | Herself |
| 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die | 2011 | TV Series documentary | Herself – Filmmaker / Herself – ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ Director |
| Charlie Sheen: Bad Boy on the Edge | 2011 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel | 2011 | Documentary | Herself |
| Direct Your Own Damn Movie! | 2009 | Video documentary | Herself |
| Biography | 2008 | TV Series documentary | |
| The UCLA Dynasty | 2007 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Greatest Ever Comedy Movies | 2006 | TV Movie | Herself |
| The Henry Rollins Show | 2006 | TV Series | Herself |
| The 50 Greatest Comedy Films | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The Kid & I | 2005 | Herself | |
| The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| 101 Reasons the 90’s Ruled | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Hollywood High | 2003 | TV Special documentary | Herself |
| Independent View | 2002 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| E! True Hollywood Story | 2001 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock | 2000 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
| Un-Defining Punk | 2000 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| Intimate Portrait | 1998 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Lauren Hutton and… | 1996 | TV Series | Herself |
| Decade | 1989 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Calling the Shots | 1988 | Documentary | Herself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| E! True Hollywood Story | 2001 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | LA Femme Filmmaker Award | LA Femme International Film Festival | Maverick Award | |
| 2003 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Temecula Valley International Film Festival | ||
| 2001 | Pioneer Filmmaker Award | Deep Ellum Film Festival | ||
| 2001 | Spirit of Silver Lake Award | Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival | ||
| 2001 | Most Popular Documentary | Melbourne International Film Festival | We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n Roll (2001) | |
| 1998 | Jury Award | Chicago Underground Film Festival | Best Documentary | The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) |
| 1998 | Freedom of Expression Award | Sundance Film Festival | The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) | |
| 1993 | Stinker Award | The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Resurrection of a TV Show | The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) |
| 1983 | Silver Hugo | Chicago International Film Festival | Best First Feature Film | Suburbia (1983) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series | Five (2011) |
| 1998 | Grand Jury Prize | Sundance Film Festival | Documentary | The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) |
| 1992 | Grammy | Grammy Awards | Best Music Video – Long Form |