L.A.'s 30 Under 30: The City's Rising Stars
The Filmmaker: Lee Toland Krieger
You may recognize this Celeste and Jesse Forever director from our Most Eligible Bachelors Of L.A. story. And our desire to play matchmaker for the heartthrob is also a signal for the respect we have for his hard work! It all started when the graduate of USC's illustrious School of Cinematic Arts was invited to visit the set of Executive Decision at 13, and he became smitten with the entire process of film production. "I spent the next few years shooting shorts with a video camera the size of a Prius. They were terrible," he says, chuckling.
Later, Krieger worked as an intern for power playwright Neil LaBute, who became a sounding board for him when the now-29-year-old made his first film, The Vicious Kind. When the ish hit the fan and the flick almost lost funding at the last minute, Krieger called his mentor in panic mode. He remembers, "When I asked him for advice, I was hoping he'd say something to the effect of 'I know this guy with a ton of money...' Instead, he replied, 'Art is hard.' And that's it. He hung up. I was on my own." Well, before his actors even showed up, he righted the ship and eventually earned himself a nom for Best Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards. But despite that major coup, Krieger's most rewarding moment thus far comes straight from the heart. “I was able to thank my parents in front of over a 1,000 people when I introduced Celeste and Jesse Forever at Sundance this year. I feel grateful for them every day, but it’s rare that I share it, so it was really gratifying,” he says. Come August 3rd, expect us at the front of the line for that film, starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones.
—Brenna Egan
Hair by Jacquie Fetch, makeup by Mayera Abeita and Ali Magee.
in NYC