Directing

Wonder Women: 10 Female Directors Who Made the Jump From Indie to Mainstream

Published by
Ryan Williams

Penelope Spheeris

Spheeris began her career by working on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s. Many of her short films premiered on the program and this afforded her the opportunity to produce The Decline of the Western Civilization and its sequels—landmarks in the rock documentary genre and the Los Angeles punk and metal scenes. Through the 1980s, she worked on many different projects, all with the through-line of the punk music scene and its various intriguing and bizarre subjects. With 1991’s Wayne’s World, she continued to examine the lives of disaffected, wannabe rock idols while making the jump into the mainstream. Wayne’s World combined her indie sensibilities and focused on the hidden alcoves of middle America within the guidelines of Saturday Night Live. The loose and freewheeling vibe that she brought to the material made Wayne’s World a huge success, as it grossed $121 million on a $20 million budget. After Wayne’s World, she directed The Beverly Hillbillies, The Little Rascals and Black Sheep—a string of very successful studio comedies.

Penelope Spheeris at the helm

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Ryan Williams

View Comments

  • I think Wonder Woman succesfully reached the hype and that Patty Jenkins saved the DC movie franchise. It had a great storyline, unlike BvS(Martha!), stunning fight scenes, and overall depicted Wonder Woman the right way: Strong, brave, courageous, and somewhat innocent.

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