Kelly Fremon Craig
Kelly Fremon Craig | |
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![]() Fremon Craig in 2016 | |
Born | Kelly Fremon January 1, 1981 Whittier, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of California, Irvine |
Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
Years active | 2000s–present |
Notable work |
|
Children | 1 |
Kelly Fremon-Craig ; born 1981) is an American screenwriter, producer, and film director. She is known for directing, writing, and co-producing the 2016 coming-of-age dramedy The Edge of Seventeen.
Early life[]
Craig was born in Whittier, California and graduated from UC Irvine with an English degree. When she was 13 she would watch a lot of MTV. Fremon Craig then became interested in music videos. She stated they were “like little short films.” Originally started writing a spoken word or slam poetry.[1]
Career[]
2000s[]
Fremon started out writing sketch comedy and spoken word poetry in college then landed an internship in the film division of Immortal Entertainment, where she read her first film script and began to pursue screenwriting. She developed several screenplays during the 2000s, including a modern high school retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac and a comedic remake of the 2004 French drama Intimate Strangers for Paramount Pictures. One of her scripts, Ticket to Ride, caught the attention of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. He bought the script under his The Montecito Picture Company as a directing vehicle for Reitman. According to Reitman, the script was rewritten at least 15 times. The film was released, under the new title Post Grad. The film was instead directed by Shrek director Vicky Jenson and was released in 2009 to critical and commercial disappointment.
2010s[]
In 2011, Fremon completed another script titled Besties and sent the script over to James L. Brooks. Brooks bought the script and it was announced that Fremon Craig would direct the film and Brooks would serve as a producer and mentor for her first film.[2] No updates were issued for the feature until August 2015, when Hailee Steinfeld was announced to star in the film. Casting continued until October that same year, with filming commencing that same month. The film was released by STX Entertainment in Fall 2016 under its new title The Edge of Seventeen to critical praise and it was a modest financial hit. Fremon kept a series of journals that helped to inspire her work. She took some of these entries and they formed into the film The Edge of Seventeen.[3] For research on the film and script Craig went to High schools and asked to hang out with teenagers to understand better what their lives were like.[1] Fremon Craig also provided uncredited rewrites (and was briefly attached as co-screenwriter[4]) for the 2018 Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee, also starring Steinfeld.
2020s[]
Fremon Craig was attached as the sole screenwriter for an animated film adaptation of Scooby-Doo for Warner Animation Group.[5] The film, released as Scoob! in 2020, was instead rewritten by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, Matt Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. Fremon Craig also plans on collaborating again with James L. Brooks in the film adaptation of the Judy Blume book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.[6]
Upcoming projects[]
- Wild Game, a film adaptation of the memoir Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me for Chernin Entertainment[7]
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, a film adaptation of the classic novel for Gracie Films[8]
Influences[]
Fremon has cited writer-director John Hughes as an influence on writing The Edge of Seventeen,[9][10] and has mentioned Christopher Guest, Alexander Payne, Nick Hornby, and David Sedaris as inspirations.[11] She also takes inspiration from Nora Ephron when taking moments of her life and putting them into her writing.[12] Fremon Craig stated James L. Brooks to be her comedy idol,[3] “there’s nobody in the world I love more than Jim Brooks. Like he is the reason I wanted to be a filmmaker."[1]
Unrealized projects[]
- Intimate Strangers for Paramount Pictures[11]
- A modern-day high school retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac for Level 1[11]
- The Good Life for Fox Searchlight Pictures[2]
- The Best Mistakes for Level 1[2]
- Lovehampton for The CW and Alloy Entertainment[2]
- An untitled pilot for CBS Television Studios and Uppity TV[2]
- Scoob! rewrites for Warner Animation Group and Warner Bros.
- Untitled The Edge of Seventeen web series for YouTube Premium[13]
Personal life[]
Fremon Craig now resides in Los Angeles with her husband and young son.[14] She is a represented by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone.[8]
Filmography[]
Title | Year | Role |
---|---|---|
Streak | 2008 | Writer, story |
Post Grad | 2009 | Screenwriter |
The Edge of Seventeen[15][16][17] | 2016 | Director, screenwriter |
Bumblebee[18] | 2018 | Uncredited rewrites |
Scoob![5] | 2020 | Wrote previous draft |
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret[8] | 2022 | Director, screenwriter, executive producer |
Accolades[]
List of awards and nominations | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Award | Category | Film(s) | Result | Notes |
2016 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Comedy | The Edge of Seventeen | Nominated | [19] |
New York Film Critics Circle | Best First Film | Won[a] | [21] | ||
Chicago Film Critics Association | Most Promising Filmmaker | Nominated | [22] | ||
Toronto Film Critics Association | Best First Feature | Runner-up | [23] | ||
Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Film | Nominated | [24] | ||
Best Breakthrough | Won | ||||
Austin Film Critics Association | Best First Film | Nominated | [25][26] | ||
Indiewire Critics' Poll | Best First Feature | 3rd place | |||
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Breakout Filmmaker of the Year | Nominated | |||
2017 | Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards | OFCC Award for Best First Film | 2nd place | [27] | |
Directors Guild of America Awards | First-Time Feature Film | Nominated | [28] | ||
Golden Tomato Awards | Best Comedy Movie 2016 | 5th place | |||
Online Film & Television Association | Best Feature Debut | Nominated | |||
2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Movie | Nominated | [29] |
Note[]
- ^ Tied with Trey Edward Shults for Krisha.
References[]
- ^ a b c "Director Kelly Fremon Craig | The Backlot Podcast | NYFA". www.nyfa.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ a b c d e "James L. Brooks' Gracie Films Buys 'Besties' Spec". Deadline Hollywood. March 30, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ a b "With a shift in focus, writer Kelly Fremon-Craig finds the heart of 'Edge of Seventeen'". Los Angeles Times. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/credit-png.28062283/
- ^ a b Kroll, Justin (October 15, 2018). "'Tom and Jerry,' 'Scooby-Doo' Movies Land Top Talent at Warner Animation Group (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- ^ "Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson join the 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' movie". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ Borys Kit (January 25, 2018). "'Edge of Seventeen' Filmmaker, Chernin Entertainment Team for 'Wild Game'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 17, 2018). "Judy Blume Grants 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' Screen Rights To James L. Brooks & Kelly Fremon Craig". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ "Hailee Steinfeld Talks Making Coming-of-Age Film 'Edge of Seventeen' at TIFF". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
- ^ "Review: The Edge of Seventeen is a Modern Day Tribute to John Hughes". We Live Entertainment. 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
- ^ a b c "10 Screenwriters to Watch". Variety. 21 June 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ The Backlot Podcast (November 23, 2020). "Director Kelly Fremon Craig". New York Film Academy. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ Ethan Anderton (May 20, 2020). "The Edge of Seventeen Series Canceled by YouTube". /Film. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Edge Of Seventeen, a coming-of-age comedy with a refreshingly authentic voice". Writing Studio. 8 December 2016.
- ^ Zacharias, Ramona (November 18, 2016). "James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig on The Edge of Seventeen". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ^ A. Lincoln, Ross (October 6, 2015). "Blake Jenner Joins Hailee Steinfeld In STX Coming-Of-Age Drama". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 30, 2011). "James L. Brooks' Gracie Films Buys 'Besties' Spec". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ^ "Hailee Steinfeld Gets Surprise Birthday Party at 'Bumblebee' Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
Christina Hodson wrote an amazing script, which drew me into this world... Kelly Fremon Craig, who wrote and directed me in Edge of Seventeen, did the rewrite, and we had wonderful conversations about developing Charlie’s voice into what you see now.
- ^ "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ "Golden Globes 2017 Film Surprises and Snubs: 'Deadpool,' Aaron Taylor-Johnson and 7 More Sudden Twists". Indiewire. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ "New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2016". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ "The 2016 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nominees". Chicago Film Critics Association. December 11, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 12, 2016). "'Moonlight' Named Best Film by Toronto Film Critics". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ^ Graham, Adam (December 14, 2016). "Local critics: 'Moonlight', 'Manchester' best of 2016". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Erik (December 15, 2016). "Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Nominations: The Handmaiden Lands Top Mentions, Trevante Rhodes Double Nominated". AwardsWatch.com. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ^ Miller, Neil (December 15, 2016). "2016 Austin Film Critics Awards Nominees, 'Moonlight' and 'Arrival' lead the way in AFCA's 2016 nominations". Medium.com. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ^ "Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards". imbd.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (11 January 2017). "DGA TV Awards Nominations: 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld' & 'Atlanta' On List; Docus Include 'OJ: Made In America'". Deadline. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (March 2, 2017). "2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominations List — 'This Is Us,' 'Stranger Things'". TVLine. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
External links[]
- 1981 births
- Living people
- American women screenwriters
- American film directors
- American women film directors
- University of California, Irvine alumni
- Writers from Whittier, California
- 21st-century American women