Constantine Alexander Payne, better known by his screen name, Alexander Payne is a popular American film director, screenwriter and producer who is known for dark humor and satirical depiction of the modern American society in his films. The winner of Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Payne is best known for films like Citizen Ruth (1996), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013). Apart from directing and screenwriting for feature films, Payne has also directed short films.

Early Life
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Alexander Payne is the youngest son of George Payne and Peggy Payne, owners of The Virginia Café. His father had a German and Greek descent whereas, his mother had a Greek ancestry. Payne along with his two siblings grew-up in Dundee-Happy Historic District, which is the neighborhood as Warren Buffet. While growing up, Payne attended several school, Dundee Elementary School, Brownell-Talbot School and Clark Junior High School. He later went to Creighton Prep where the completed his High School in 1979. While studying at the Prep, Payne was the editor of the high school yearbook.

After finishing his high school, Payne went to Stanford University to pursue his graduation; he is a double major in Spanish and History. As part of his Spanish degree, Payne studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain and later lived in Medellin, Colombia where he wrote an article about the social changes that took place between 1900 and 1930. The director-screenwriter also obtained his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from UCLA Film School in 1990.

Personal Life
Alexander Payne is married to Korean-Canadian Sandra Oh on January 1, 2003. The duo were dating for three years before marriage and after two years of marital life, the duo separated in March 2005. After 10 years, Payne married Maria Kontos in 2015.

Movie Career
As a Director
Alexander Payne started his career in the film industry in 1996 with Citizen Ruth, a comedy film, which was written by Jim Taylor. The film, which marked Payne’s directorial debut featured Laura Dern, Burt Reynolds, Mary Kay Place and Swoosie Kurts in the lead roles. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival remains the only film (as of 2016), which was directed by Payne to be not nominated at the Academy Awards. After a forgettable debut, Payne got his first major breakthrough in 1999 as he directed an American black comedy-drama film titled Election. The film, which was adapted from Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name received wide critical acclaim, mainly for its writing and direction. Although the film bombed at the box office, it won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film in 1999 as well as a nomination at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay.

With no films to his name in 2000, Alexander Payne next worked as a writer for Jurassic Park III, the third installment from the famed Jurassic Park series. The film starring Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni and Alessandro Nivola is the first film in the series, which was not directed by Steven Spielberg. Despite received negative reviews from the critics, Jurassic Park III turned out to be a box office; grossing more than 360 million USD worldwide. The following year, Payne directed as well as worked as a writer for About Schmidt, an American comedy-drama film starring Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, and Dermot Mulroney. The film, which was loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Louis Begley was both a commercial and critical hit and Payne for his brilliant directorial work won a nomination at the Golden Globe Award for Best Director – Motion Picture.

Following the success of About Schmidt, the director won more laurels and award with his 2004 film titled Sideways. The film, which was based on the Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name not only won wide critical acclaim but also received several accolades including Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and a nomination at the Academy Award for Best Director.

After 2004, the Payne took a break from direction until he made a comeback in 2011 with the American comedy-drama film, The Descendants, which was based on a novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film featuring an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Shailene Woodely, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Matthew Lillard and Judy Greer was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. Upon release in theaters, The Descendants not only got critical appreciation but also won several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture – Drama and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

After the great success of the 2011 film, Alexander Payne next directed Nebraska a black-and-white comedy-drama film featuring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb and Stacy Keach. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013 released in theaters in November 205 amidst positive critical reviews. The film, which won the LMGA Eva Monley Award was also nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Payne’s 2017 release includes Downsizing and his production venture Wilson.

As a Producer
Alexander Payne made his debut as a producer in 2004 with The Assassination of Richard Nixon, an American film directed by Niels Mueller. The film, which featured Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson and Naomi Watts was based on how an assassin Samuel Byck plotted the murder of Richard Nixon in 1974. The director-turned-producer, Payne’s next production venture came in 2007 where he produced two films, viz. King of California and The Savages. Whilst the former directed by Mike Cahill and starring Michael Douglas received average reviews, the latter directed by Tamara Jenkins premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received wide critical acclaim. After a successful start to his production career, Payne next produced an American comedy film, Cedar Rapids directed by Miguel Arteta, which got mostly positive reviews from the critics. The stalwart director’s 2017 production ventures include Wilson and Downsizing, which is also directed and written by him.