This Day in Indie History: Todd Haynes

by MovieMaker Staff | Published January 2, 2007

Todd Haynes directs Focus Films’ Far From Heaven - 2002 Photo: Abbot Genser

When it comes to making your name in the film business, it’s quality, not quality, that counts. Moviemaker Todd Haynes, born on this day in 1961, proves this statement with each subsequent project. Covering issues from discrimination to anorexia to environmental pollution, Haynes has tackled each of these difficult subjects with wit and depth in the critically acclaimed Douglas Sirk homage, Far From Heaven, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story and 1995’s Safe. Other titles by the Brown University grad include the British glam rock tale Velvet Goldmine (1998 Best Artistic Contribution, Cannes) and 1991 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, Poison. In 2007 expect the release of I’m Not There, a Bob Dylan biopic that casts British thespians Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett, among others, in the role of the great folk hero.

Filmmaker Factoid: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story depicts the singer’s anorexia and subsequent death entirely with girls’ fashion dolls. Richard Carpenter filed suit against Haynes, who had not received the rights to Carpenter’s music. Subsequently, distribution of the film has come to an indefinite halt.