Nicole Holofcener

Nicole Holofcener ( ; born March 22, 1960) is an American film and television director and screenwriter. She has directed seven feature films, including Walking and Talking, Friends with Money and Enough Said, as well as various television series. Along with Jeff Whitty, Holofcener received a 2019 Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay, a BAFTA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Can You Ever Forgive Me?.

Early life and education Holofcener was born to a culturally-Jewish family in New York City, the younger of two daughters of artist Lawrence Holofcener and set decorator Carol Joffe . Her elder sister is Suzanne Holofcener. When she was eight, her mother married film producer Charles H. Joffe, who moved the family to Hollywood.

Since her stepfather produced Woody Allen's films, Holofcener spent enough time on Allen's sets to be an extra in Take the Money and Run and Sleeper. Joffe was responsible for Holofcener's first "real" job in the movie industry: a production assistant on Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy in 1982. She moved up to apprentice editor for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).

Holofcener's first experiences with film as a child left her either frightened or sad; she recalled her fright at Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor. Holofcener originally wanted to become an artist like her father, but felt she wasn't as talented as others in her classes at Sonoma State University. From there, she gravitated into taking film courses. which received critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival, and It's Richard I Love. While at Columbia, she was taught by Martin Scorsese.

After viewing one of her NYU films, her stepfather wondered aloud if she should make a career change. Disappointed, she became a clerk at a video store for a while, then entered Columbia's graduate film program. At the time of his death in 2008, Joffe had become one of the most ardent fans of his stepdaughter's work. The film was critically acclaimed. Her understanding of modern, professional women made her an ideal choice to direct female-centric television shows like Sex and the City, Leap of Faith and Gilmore Girls.

She followed in 2001 with her second feature, Lovely and Amazing. Featuring performances by Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer and newcomer Raven Goodwin, the film was not only critically acclaimed The film received a limited release on April 7, 2006.

Holofcener's fourth feature, Please Give, premiered at Sundance and was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. The film also won Holofcener the Robert Altman Award. The film also gained Holofcener a nomination with the Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Original Screenplay. It stars Keener in the duo's fourth collaboration and was released in 2010.

Holofcener followed this up with Enough Said starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, and Catherine Keener. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The romantic comedy follows the character Eva, a recent divorcée. Eva falls in love unexpectedly and discovers her new love interest is the ex-husband of her friend. The film was officially released on September 20, 2013, a few months after Gandolfini's death.

In 2015, it was announced that Holofcener was set to direct an adaptation of Lee Israel's memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me?, with Julianne Moore in the lead role. However, later that year, Moore was fired by Holofcener, who would later leave her directing role. Eventually Melissa McCarthy was selected for the lead role. The series was written by Tig Notaro and Diablo Cody.

Holofcener has been viewed as an indie filmmaker despite the financial and critical success of her feature-length films. but her films do not always have a typical plot structure and are sometimes obscure. Holofcener portrays typical, "everyday" middle-class people and their actions, like the characters in Please Give. Holofcener's films almost always feature a female character in the lead. 2010 Please Give 2013 Enough Said 2014 Every Secret Thing 2018 The Land of Steady Habits 2018 Can You Ever Forgive Me? 2021 The Last Duel 2023 You Hurt My Feelings Actress YearTitleRole 1982 Rollercoaster to Hell Vera 1993 Mi Vida Loca Warden

Television Writer

Director

Actress YearTitleRoleEpisodes 2019-2020 Bojack Horseman Herself (voice) "A Quick One, While He's Away" "Angela"

Awards and nominations