Haynes, Todd

Haines was born on January 2, 1961 in Los Angeles , California , and raised in Encino . His father, Allen E. Haines, was a cosmetics supplier, and his mother, Sherry Lynn (née Semler), studied acting. On the mother’s side, Haines has Jewish roots ^[1] . His younger sister, Gwynneth Haines, is the lead singer of Sophe Lux ^[2] .

Haines began to take an interest in cinema at an early age by filming the short film Suicide (1978) while still a high school student. He studied art and semiotics at Brown University , where he directed the short film Killers: The Rambo Film (1985), inspired by the life of writer Arthur Rimbaud . At university, he also met Christine Washon , who would later produce all of his feature films. After graduating from university and receiving a bachelor's degree in art and semiotics, Haines moved to New York , where he founded "Apparatus Productions" - a non-profit organization aimed at supporting independent cinema ^[3] .

Receiving a Master of Arts degree from Bard College , Haines makes the short film Superstar: The Story of Karen Carpenter (1987). The life story of the famous pop singer of the American pop singer of the 70s Karen Carpenter is played with the help of Barbie dolls. After several festival screenings, the filing and distribution of the tape imposed an injunction in connection with copyright infringement on the music of The Carpenters . Nevertheless, Haines manages to notice, and the picture "Superstar" soon becomes an underground classic ^{[4] [5]} .

Haines’s full-length artistic debut, Poison (1991), is a cut of three different genres of stories: a pseudo-documentary investigation into the disappearance of a seven-year-old boy who killed his father; parodies of low-budget movies of the 50s - a black-and-white fantastic horror about a leper scientist; homoerotic prison drama based on the novels of Jean Genet's “The Miracle of the Rose”, “Our Lady of the Flowers” ​​and “The Diary of a Thief”. The reaction to the film is contradictory: on the one hand, the picture is sharply condemned by representatives of the right-wing public, on the other, it receives several important awards (including the Grand Prix of the Sundance festival and the Teddy prize of the Berlin Film Festival ). But the director is criticized by New Queer Cinema ^{[6] [7] [8]} .

Haines' next short film, "Dottie Gets Assfucked," talks about the life of a quiet six-year-old boy in the early 1960s. The picture was shown on the PBS channel ^[3] .

Already in his second full-length film " Security " (1995), Haines goes beyond the narrow framework of gay cinema. The film takes place in California in the late 80s. The main character, an exemplary housewife performed by Julianne Moore , suddenly begins to be allergic to literally all the achievements of the 20th century, from fuel additives to condoms. The picture, the first scenes of which were shot in a traditional realistic manner, takes on an increasingly caricatured form by the finale and demonstrates the estrangement of modern man from his environment. Many critics call Haines’s film “Safety” among the achievements of independent cinema of the 90s and see it as a kind of sentence to the era of Ronald Reagan . This tape also launched the brilliant film career of actress Julianne Moore.

At the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, Haines presents his investigation film, Velvet Goldmine , about the 70s glam rock era. Despite the fact that the story told in the film is completely fictitious, Iggy Pop and David Bowie can easily guess in the characters of the Velvet Goldmine. The film contains compositions by many famous musicians of that time, some of the songs are specially rewritten with vocals by leading actors Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys-Myers . In addition to music, to more accurately convey the atmosphere of the 70s, Haines uses a rich psychedelic visual series, fills the tape with all kinds of cultural reminiscences . The skill of the director finds a high response from film professionals: Haines receives a prize for his artistic contribution to Cannes.

Haines once again demonstrates his stylistic abilities in the film “ Away from Paradise ” (2002). In this tape, playing the housewife again, Julianne Moore has a close relationship with her black gardener, which, given the duration of the 1950s, will inevitably lead to scandal. The picture makes a strange impression: almost literally following the visual style of Hollywood cinema of the 50s is combined with touching on topics tabooed in those years - interracial relations and homosexuality. The film “Away from Paradise” won about 70 film awards and received four Oscar nominations.

In September 2007, the premiere of the film “ I'm Not There ” starred with Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett . The picture participated in the main competition of the Venice Film Festival , following which it was awarded two prizes at once: Haines received a special jury prize, and Blanchett was named the best actress of the show. In the center of the plot of the film - the biography of Bob Dylan - six different actors demonstrate different aspects of the life and work of the famous musician.

The next full meter of Haines was released only in 2015. The picture " Carol " was presented in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival. It was based on an early novel by Patricia Highsmith . The tape talked about the love of two women in New York in the middle of the last century (their roles were played by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara ). Carol allowed Haines to revert to his favorite 1950s aesthetics. The film confirmed the director's reputation as the best stylist of modern cinema and was enthusiastically received by the festival press ^{[9] [10]} .

At present, he continues to shoot the film “A World Full of Miracles” based on Brian Selznik’s book connecting the graphics and the literary text (the author of the novel “Guardian of Time” , the film adaptation of which brought Martin Scorsese 5 Oscars ). Two stories intertwine in it. The girl collects clippings and photos of the mysterious silent movie actress . The boy is looking for his father. Between these two stories lies half a century, but they are combined into one plot. The main role in the film is occupied by Oax Fegley ^[11] .

Haines is an open gay. ^{[12] [13]} He lives in Portland , Oregon. ^[14]

Haines is irreligious. ^[15]

• 1985 - Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud (Short)
• 1987 - Superstar: The Story of Karen Carpenter / Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (short)
• 1991 - Poison
• 1993 - Dottie Gets Assfucked / Dottie Gets Spanked (TV, Short)
• 1995 - Safety / Safe
• 1998 - Velvet Goldmine / Velvet Goldmine
• 2002 - Far From Heaven
• 2007 - I'm Not There
• 2011 - Mildred Pierce / Mildred Pierce (TV mini-series / miniseries)
• 2015 - Carol / Carol
• 2017 - A World Full of Wonders / Wonderstruck
• TBA - Dry Run