Alexander Payne

From Freepedia

Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961 in Omaha, Nebraska), American film director and screenwriter of Greek Orthodox descent. His films are noted for their dark sense of humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.

His film Election, starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, which takes aim at politics and education in America, attracted attention when New Yorker film critic David Denby named it the best film of 1999. Payne was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Election. In 2003 he received the Golden Globe for his screenplay to "About Schmidt" which also won the Best Adapted Screenplay award from the Writer's Guild of America. To the surprise of many who kept track of Hollywood news, Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor were not nominated for an Oscar for the "About Schmidt" screenplay. He won an Academy Award and Golden Globe in 2005 for Best Screenplay for Sideways while the film also won the Golden Globe for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy. In total, "Sideways" received five Academy Award Nominations.

He married Korean-Canadian actress Sandra Oh in 2003 and on March 12, 2005, the couple's publicist said they were separating, sparking rumors of a "green card marriage".