[ book tip by [ Medienkunst ] ] Google Book Search writes
Todd Haynes is a rarity – a fiercely intelligent and visionary writer-director who has achieved not only widespread acclaim but mounting box office success. Haynes's award-winning short film Superstar (1987) tells the story of Karen Carpenter's dark struggle with anorexia nervosa. With a cast of Barbie dolls, the underground classic became 'the most talked-about, least-seen film of the 1980s' (The Onion A.V.) after the Carpenter estate forced it permanently out of circulation. Haynes's breakthrough feature, Safe (1995), was voted Best Film of the 1990s by the 2000 Village Voice Film Critics' Poll. It is the disturbing, elusive story of an affluent suburban housewife whose life is shattered by a mysterious illness.

Haynes's latest movie, Far from Heaven, continues his investigation of the conflicted woman, depicting a 1950s housewife who is alienated by her neighbours when her husband's homosexuality leads her to turn to her African-American gardener. The winner of fifty critics' prizes and placed on over two hundred Top Ten lists (more than any film of 2002), Far from Heaven was nominated for a slew of major accolades, including an Academy Award. With exquisite subtlety, all three films demonstrate Haynes's concerns as a pioneer of the 'new queer cinema' which is winning increasing acceptance by the American mainstream.

[ book info ] Haynes, Todd: Far from Heaven, Safe, and Superstar: Three Screenplays. Groove Press, New York 2003 . ISBN: 0802140270.