Penelope Spheeris
Birthday: 2 December 1945, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Spheeris is often referred to as a 'rock 'n roll anthropologist'.In 1974 she formed the first Los Angeles music video production company, ROCK 'N REEL. She concluded her music vide ...Show More
["After Wayne's World (1992), you directed a bunch of studio fodder including The Little Rascals (19 Show more
["After Wayne's World (1992), you directed a bunch of studio fodder including The Little Rascals (1994) and Senseless (1998). What steered you in this direction?") When someone offers you $2.5 million to direct a film, you just fucking take it. I took the money and made a bunch of movies - The Little Rascals (1994), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), Black Sheep (1996) and Senseless (1998). After I did Wayne's World (1992) - I tried like hell to direct movies I had written and books that I wanted to adapt for film. I tried so hard to do something beside television remakes but I couldn't get anything going. That is where the sexism in the film industry becomes all too apparent. If I was a guy, I swear to God I would have been able to get my own shit going after "Wayne's World". Hide
My whole career up until Wayne's World (1992) didn't produce any monetary funds. When I directed Way Show more
My whole career up until Wayne's World (1992) didn't produce any monetary funds. When I directed Wayne's World, I made close to $150,000 - the biggest payday I had to date. My percentage points from Wayne's World enabled me to pay off all of the debts from my previous works, but I only came up even in the end. Hide
I generally think about myself as someone who studies human behavior and is trying to figure out wha Show more
I generally think about myself as someone who studies human behavior and is trying to figure out what the hell is going on in our current society. If I can leave any film that helps define a certain time after I'm dead then that's great. Hide
[on Mike Myers] I hated that bastard for years. But when I saw Austin Powers, I went, 'I forgive you Show more
[on Mike Myers] I hated that bastard for years. But when I saw Austin Powers, I went, 'I forgive you, Mike. You can be moody, you can be a jerk, you can be things that others of us can't be - because you are profoundly talented. And I forgive you.' Hide
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) was financed by two businessmen from the Valley who wante Show more
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) was financed by two businessmen from the Valley who wanted to finance films. They had no idea I was going in to pitch a punk rock movie. Hide
[on why she does documentaries about metal and punk music] "I mean, look, you don't see me making do Show more
[on why she does documentaries about metal and punk music] "I mean, look, you don't see me making documentaries on Britney Spears, you know what I mean? Sweetheart of a little girl, you know. Or Madonna. That's not my thing. I just like this harder edge stuff. That's just me." Hide
Penelope Spheeris's FILMOGRAPHY
All
as Actor (10)
as Director (9)
as Creator (3)
