David Gordon Green Biography
Born: April 09, 1975
Date of Birth: April 9, 1975
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, David Gordon Green was raised in Dallas, Austin and Longview, Texas. He admits to always having been obsessed with movies, and while his friends were watching televised sports, he would watch films instead. After high school he attended the University of Texas for a year, then transferred to the North Carolina School of the Arts where he took their new four-year film program. During that time he made several short films and documentaries. His senior thesis film, a 21-minute short called Physical Pinball (1998), went to several domestic film festivals and was the forerunner to his first feature.
After graduating in 1989, he went to Los Angeles for a year, where he took on any behind-the-scenes filmmaking job he could get. He soon realized that Hollywood wasn't the place for him—he was disheartened by the artificiality. Green returned to North Carolina where he worked at a doorknob factory. He and his friends put together their money and gave up their day jobs to work on his first feature, George Washington (2000). About a group of children who band together when an accidental death occurs, the film featured local kids, many of whom had never acted before. It went on to win several awards, including the Southeastern Media Award at the Atlanta Film Festival; a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film; Best Director Award and Best Dramatic Film at the Newport International Film Festival; the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the Torino Festival of Young Cinema.
His next film, All the Real Girls (2003), was also made on a small budget, but on the basis of his previous success, Green managed to attract names such as Zooey Deschanel and Patricia Clarkson. The film went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Green directed an all-star cast for his third feature, Undertow (2004), including Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Jamie Bell, Kristen Stewart and Shiri Appleby. Filmed in Savannah, Georgia, it was nominated for Grand Special Prize at the Deauville Film Festival.
In 2007, he was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Snow Angels, which starred Kate Beckinsale. His next two features were the comedies Pineapple Express, produced by Judd Apatow and Your Highness, starring James Franco and Natalie Portman.