Alex Ross Perry
Perry in 2014
EducationNew York University
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • actor
  • film editor
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Anna Bak-Kvapil
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1

Alex Ross Perry is an American filmmaker and actor. Prolific in independent film, he is best known for writing and directing Listen Up Philip (2014) and Her Smell (2018).

Early life

Perry is Jewish. He grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he worked on a local television news program during high school.[1] After graduating, he moved to New York City to attend NYU.[1][2] He graduated from NYU's film program in 2006. From 2005 to 2007, Perry worked at the East Village-based video store Kim's Video,[1][2][3] where he met many of the cast and crew members who would later work on his films, including director of photography Sean Price Williams.[1][2][3] He was influenced by Philip Roth,[2][4] Vincent Gallo,[2][4] Jerry Lewis,[2][4] and Thomas Pynchon.[2]

Career

Perry's first feature, Impolex, premiered in 2009. Made on a budget of $15,000[5] and shot on 16mm film stock, the film is an absurdist comedy inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow.[2] The film was released theatrically in 2011.[5]

Perry's second feature, The Color Wheel, premiered at festivals in 2011. The film, a dark screwball comedy influenced by the work of Philip Roth,[1][2][4] was co-written by Perry with Carlen Altman; the two also played the lead roles in the film. The film was named the best undistributed film of 2011 by the Indiewire[6] and Village Voice[7] polls, and placed 12th in a similar poll conducted by Film Comment.[8] It was released theatrically on May 18, 2012.

Perry's next film, a comedy titled Listen Up Philip, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival[9] in 2014.

In 2015, Perry's fourth directorial effort was Queen of Earth, which stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston, Patrick Fugit, Kentucker Audley, and Kate Lyn Sheil. It had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 7, 2015.[10] and was released in a limited release and through video on demand on August 26, 2015.[11] In April 2015, Disney hired Perry to write a live-action adaptation of the Winnie the Pooh franchise, with the resulting Christopher Robin released to theaters in August 2018.[12] He also optioned Don DeLillo's The Names for a feature adaptation.[13]

In 2017 he directed the music video for Aly & AJ's single "Take Me" and in 2019 also directed the music video for the single Church for the same band.

His films Golden Exits and Her Smell were released in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

In 2022 he directed the music video for Pavement's single "Harness Your Hopes",[14] "Bones" for Soccer Mommy[15] and the long form mockumentary "Metal Myths: Ghost Pt. 2" for Ghost.[16]

Perry’s next project is a documentary-fiction hybrid film about Pavement,[17] a continuation of his collaboration with the band. The film incorporates concert footage from an original jukebox musical staged by Perry titled Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical, featuring Zoe Lister-Jones, Michael Esper, and Kathryn Gallagher. [18]

Personal life

In 2016, after nine years of dating, Perry married visual artist Anna Bak-Kvapil.[19] They have one child.[20] Perry is a vegan.[21]

Filmography

Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
2009 Impolex Yes Yes Yes Yes
2011 The Color Wheel Yes Yes Yes Yes
2013 The Sixth Year Yes Yes Yes Segment director: "Episode 5"
Additional screenplay material
2014 Listen Up Philip Yes Yes
2015 Queen of Earth Yes Yes Yes
2017 Golden Exits Yes Yes Yes
2018 Nostalgia Yes Yes
Christopher Robin Yes
Her Smell Yes Yes Yes
2020 Paul Schrader: Man in a Room Yes Yes Documentary short
TBA Untitled Pavement film Yes In production

Acting credits

Year Title Role
2010 Tiny Furniture Ashlynn's Friend
2011 The Color Wheel Colin
Happy Life Donald
Green Phillip Roth expert
2012 Somebody Up There Likes Me Pizza Customer #1
2015 7 Chinese Brothers Hats at Cars
Devil Town Detective Ira Goldberg
2016 Joshy Adam

Music videos[22]

Year Title Artist(s)
2016 "I Can Only Stare" Sleigh Bells
2017 "Take Me" Aly & AJ
2019 "Church"
"Don't Go Changing"
"Good Woman" Anika Pyle
"Sludge" Vivian Girls
"Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes" Soccer Mommy
2021 "Justine Go Genesis" Sleigh Bells
2022 "In the Eyes of Our Love" Yumi Zouma
"Where the Light Used to Lay"
"Astral Projection"
"Harness Your Hopes" Pavement
"Metal Myths" Ghost
"Bones" Soccer Mommy
2023 "Days Move Slow" Bully
"Jesus He Knows Me" Ghost
"Tidal Session" Momma
"The Flood" Zilched

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Renninger, Bryce J. FUTURES | "The Color Wheel" Director Alex Ross Perry Says Kim's Video Was Better Than NYU. Indiewire.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lim, Dennis. Literary Influences, Personal Pathologies. The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 Erickson, Steve. An Interview with Alex Ross Perry. Archived 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine LA Weekly.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stewart, Henry. Alex Ross Perry Names His Favorite Incest Movies. The L Magazine.
  5. 1 2 Impolex (2009) at IMDb.
  6. ↑ Kohn, Eric. "The Color Wheel" Tops Indiewire's List of Best Undistributed Films; Other Films Tie For Top Spots. Indiewire.
  7. ↑ Village Voice Film Poll 2011: Best Undistributed Film. The Village Voice.
  8. ↑ Film Comment's Best Unreleased Movies of 2011. Film Comment.
  9. ↑ Kohn, Eric. "Spirit Nominee Alex Ross Perry Discusses New HBO Project 'The Traditions,' His Next Feature and Life After 'The Color Wheel'. Indiewire.
  10. ↑ Young, Neil (10 February 2015). "Berlin Review: Katherine Waterston and Elisabeth Moss Triumph in Alex Ross Perry's 'Queen of Earth' - IndieWire". www.indiewire.com.
  11. ↑ McNary, Dave (2 July 2015). "Elisabeth Moss' Thriller 'Queen of Earth' Set for Aug. 26 Release".
  12. ↑ McNary, Dave (2 April 2015). "Disney Developing Live-Action 'Winnie the Pooh' Movie". variety.
  13. ↑ Newman, Nick (April 7, 2015). "Alex Ross Perry Will Tackle Don DeLillo's 'The Names' In Feature Adaptation". The Film Stage.
  14. ↑ "How Alex Ross Perry and DP Robert Kolodny Made a New Video for Pavement's "Harness Your Hopes" | Filmmaker Magazine". 13 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Soccer Mommy: "Bones"". Pitchfork.
  16. ↑ "See Ghost's Hilariously Weird 'Metal Myths' Mockumentary". 4 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Alex Ross Perry is Making a Pavement Movie". Pitchfork. December 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ "'Her Smell' Director Alex Ross Perry Talks Upcoming Nonfiction Projects About Video Stores and Indie Rock Band Pavement: 'They Are Both Examinations of the Unexamined Era'". variety.
  19. ↑ Pinkerton, Nick (January 27, 2017). "Interview: Alex Ross Perry". Film Comment. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Alex Ross Perry". Instagram. December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Vegan Filmmaker Series: Interview with Director Alex Ross Perry". Vegan Movie Mafia. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  22. ↑ https://www.americanfilmfestival.pl/opis.do?lang=en&id=10184
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