Ryan Murphy | |
---|---|
Born | Indianapolis, Indiana | November 9, 1965
Occupation | Screenwriter, Director, Producer |
Alma mater | Indiana University, Bloomington |
Ryan Murphy (born November 9, 1965)[1] is an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating/co-creating the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.
Background
Murphy grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, in an Irish Catholic family.[2][3] He attended Catholic school from first through eighth grade,[2] and graduated from Warren Central High School (Indianapolis). He has described his mother as a "beauty queen who left it all to stay at home and take care of her two sons." She wrote 5 books and worked in communications for over 20 years before retiring. His father worked in the newspaper industry as a circulation director before he retired after 30 years.[4] After coming out as gay, he saw his first therapist, who found nothing wrong with him other than being "'too precocious for his own good.'"[2][4] Murphy performed with a choir as a child, which would later inform his work on Glee.[2]
Murphy attended Indiana University, Bloomington. While at college, he was a staff member of the school newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, and he was a member of the school's "Singing Hoosiers" show choir.
Career
He started out as a journalist working for The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Knoxville News Sentinel and Entertainment Weekly. He began scriptwriting in the late 1990s, when Steven Spielberg purchased his script, Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn?[4]
Television
Murphy started his career in television in 1999 with the teen comedy series Popular. The show aired on The WB for two seasons.[5]
Murphy is the Golden Globe-winning creator of Nip/Tuck, which aired on FX and was both a commercial and critical hit. He executive produced, wrote and directed many episodes; in 2004, Murphy earned his first ever Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.[4] Murphy took the show's signature line, "Tell me what you don't like about yourself", from a plastic surgeon he met when he was a journalist researching an undercover story on plastic surgery in Beverly Hills.
Murphy has also created a couple of failed pilots: the WB sitcom pilot St. Sass starring Delta Burke and Heather Matarazzo, which wasn't picked up. In 2008, Murphy wrote and directed the FX pilot Pretty/Handsome, which also was not picked up.[6]
One of Murphy's current projects is the FOX musical comedy-drama Glee, co-created with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Fox aired a preview episode on May 19, 2009, following the season finale of American Idol; the show aired its first regular season episode on September 9, 2009. The show's early success in its planned thirteen-episode run led the network to order an additional nine episodes for the spring, making it the first new fall series in 2009 to get a full season order of twenty-two episodes. It was announced during the last half of the first season that FOX had ordered a complete second and third season of Glee due to high ratings and positive feedback about the show and the characters.[7] He won his first Emmy for directing the pilot episode of Glee, while the show received a record nineteen nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, although it lost the latter to Modern Family while winning in four categories.[8] The show was nominated for twelve Emmys for its second season.[8] It is now in its third season.
In 2011, Murphy and Falchuk co-created the FX horror series American Horror Story, in which the Harmon family moves into a haunted mansion.[9] It debuted on October 5, 2011.
In October 2011, it was announced that Murphy, along with Glee co-executive producer Ali Adler, would be co-creating a new half-hour comedy pilot that "centers on a gay couple and the surrogate who will carry their child". According to Entertainment Weekly, there was a bidding war between ABC, NBC, and FOX for the project, with the show going to NBC.[10]
Films
In 2006, Murphy wrote the screenplay for and directed the feature film Running with Scissors. Based on the memoir by Augusten Burroughs, the movie version starred Annette Bening, Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox, and, as the young Burroughs, newcomer Joseph Cross.
In 2010 Murphy directed Julia Roberts in an adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat, Pray, Love. The film was a box office success but a critical failure, receiving harsh reviews criticizing its pacing and lack of credibility. To date, the film has grossed $204,482,125 worldwide.[11]
As of 2011, Murphy has several films in development: Dirty Tricks, a political comedy; Face, a plastic surgery thriller; Need, an erotic thriller; and Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.
Personal life
Murphy grew up in a Catholic household and continues to go to church.[2][12]
Murphy serves on the National Advisory Board of the Young Storytellers Foundation.
On June 17, 2011, Murphy announced his engagement to a man he had known for 15 years.[13]
Controversy
Ryan Murphy has had some public arguments with famous bands and their members, including Slash from Guns N' Roses, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, and Kings of Leon lead singer Caleb Followill and drummer Nathan Followill.[14] It usually stems from the musicians refusing Murphy when asked to cover their music on Glee.
References
- ^ Ryan Murphy biography and filmography, retrieved May 13, 2010
- ^ a b c d e f "From Nip/Tuck to High School Glee", Fresh Air, NPR, May 19, 2009, retrieved November 25, 2009
- ^ Martin, Denise (April 26, 2009). "'Glee' team rewrites the school musical". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Roberts, Sheila, Ryan Murphy, Director of Running with Scissors Interview, Moviesonline.com, retrieved November 25, 2009
- ^ Bialis, Michael, Ryan Murphy Makes His Lighthearted Plea With Glee, blogcritics.org, retrieved October 28, 2010
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 17, 2011). "FX Orders Pilot From Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk, Duo Remains Committed To 'Glee'". Deadline.com. Mail.com Media. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (September 21, 2009), FOX sings praises of Glee with full-season pickup, TVbytheNumbers.com, retrieved November 26, 2009
- ^ a b "Glee". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/ryan-murphy-developing-secret-horror-series-at-fx,52038/
- ^ Snierson, Dan (October 13, 2011). "NBC buys Ryan Murphy comedy pilot". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ^ Box office Mojo, retrieved February 26, 2011
- ^ a b Poniewozik, James (March 7, 2005), "Queer Eye for Straight TV", Time, retrieved August 20, 2008
- ^ Nelson, Liz Kelly (June 17, 2011), "Glee Creator Engaged--but to whom?", Zap2It, retrieved June 18, 2011
- ^ http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/01/26/glee-kings-of-leon-ryan-murphy/