Alan Ball Biography

Alan E. Ball (born May 13, 1957) is an American writer, director, and producer for television, film, and theatre. He is particularly notable for writing American Beauty, True Blood and for creating Six Feet Under, work which earned him an Academy Award, an Emmy, and awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds.

Biography

Early life

Ball was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker. He attended high school in Marietta, and went on to attend the University of Georgia and Florida State University, from which he graduated in 1980 with a degree in theater arts. After college, he began work as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theater Company in Sarasota, Florida.

Film and television career

Ball broke into television as a writer and story editor on the situation comedies Grace Under Fire and Cybill.

Ball has written two films, American Beauty (1999) and Towelhead (2007), the latter of which he also produced and directed. He is also the creator, writer and executive producer of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and True Blood. He was showrunner for True Blood for its first five seasons.

In 2010 Ball began work on a television adaptation of the crime noir novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston, to be titled All Signs of Death. In December 2010, after several months of pre-production, HBO cancelled production on All Signs of Death.

Personal life

Ball has discussed his Buddhist faith in numerous interviews, noting how it has influenced his film making. In an interview with Amazon.com, Ball commented on the iconic scene in American Beauty with the plastic bag, stating, "I had an encounter with a plastic bag! And I didn't have a video camera, like Ricky does... There's a Buddhist notion of the miraculous within the mundane, and I think we certainly live in a culture that encourages us not to look for that." Ball has also discussed how his Buddhism has shaped themes in Six Feet Under and True Blood which he has substantially contributed to.

Ball is gay and has been called "a strong voice for [the] LGBT community". In 2008 he made Out magazine's annual list of the 100 most impressive gay men and women.

Accolades

For his work in television and film, Ball has received critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, an Emmy a Golden Globe, and awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds.

Awards

• 2000 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay " American Beauty
• 2000 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay-Motion Picture " American Beauty
• 2000 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay " American Beauty
• 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement " Six Feet Under
• 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series " Six Feet Under
• 2004 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series " Six Feet Under

Nominations

• 2000 BAFTA Film Award " American Beauty
• 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement " Six Feet Under
• 2004 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement " Six Feet Under
• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series " Six Feet Under
• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series " Six Feet Under
• 2006 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series " Six Feet Under
• 2009 Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series " True Blood
• 2010 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series " True Blood

Works

Television

Grace Under Fire

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"The Road to Paris, Texas"	1994
"Grace vs. Wade"	1994	Writer
"A Night at the Opera"	1995	Writer
"Memphis Bound"	1995	Writer, with Marc Flanagan

Cybill

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"Zing!"	1995	Teleplay, with Lee Aronsohn
"To Sir, with Lust"	1996	Writer
"Three Women and a Dummy"	1996	Writer
"Venice or Bust"	1996	Writer
"Buffalo Gals"	1996	Writer
"Name That Tune"	1997	Teleplay, with Michael Langworthy
"Mother's Day"	1997	Story
"Regarding Henry"	1997	Story	Season 4 premiere
"Halloween"	1997	Teleplay, with Mark Hudis
"Where's a Harpoon When You Need One?"	1997	Teleplay, with Kim Friese
"Bakersfield"	1998	Story
"Oh Brother!"	1998	Teleplay, with Mark Hudis
"Dream Date"	1998	Story

Oh, Grow Up

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"Pilot"	1999	Writer	Series premiere
"Good Pop, Bad Pop"	1999	Writer

Six Feet Under

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"Pilot"	2001		Series premiere
"An Open Book"	2001	Writer
"Knock Knock"	2001		Season 1 finale
"In The Game"	2002	Writer	Season 2 premiere
"Someone Else's Eyes"	2002	Writer
"The Last Time"	2002	Director	Season 2 finale
"Perfect Circles"	2003	Writer	Season 3 premiere
"Nobody Sleeps"	2003	Writer, with Rick Cleveland
"I'm Sorry, I'm Lost"	2003	Director	Season 3 finale
"Can I Come Up Now?"	2004	Writer
"Untitled"	2004	Director
"Everyone's Waiting"	2005		Series finale

True Blood

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"Strange Love"	2008		Series premiere
"The First Taste"	2008	Writer
"Mine"	2008	Writer
"You'll Be the Death of Me"	2008	Director	Season 1 finale
"Shake and Fingerpop"	2009	Writer
"Frenzy"	2009	Writer
"I Got a Right to Sing the Blues"	2010	Writer
"Evil is Going On"	2010	Writer	Season 3 finale
"If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?"	2011	Writer
"Spellbound"	2011	Writer
"Hopeless"	2012	Writer
"Save Yourself"	2012	Writer	Season 5 finale

Film

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
American Beauty	1999
Towelhead	2007

Theater

Title	Year	Credit	Notes
"Five Women Wearing the Same Dress"	1993
"All That I Will Ever Be"	2007