Penelope Spheeris Biography

Fast Facts

• Was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for "Five" in 2012
• Won a Chicago International Film Festival Award for Best First Feature Film for "Suburbia" in 1983
• Won a Sundance Film Festival Freedom of Expression Award for "The Decline of Western Civilization Part III" in 1998
• Graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Master's degree in Theater Arts
• Made her film directing debut with the punk rock documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization" in 1979
• Worked as a cinematographer and film editor before starting her own company, Rock 'N Reel, in 1974 to produce music videos
• Quote: "I feel that a documentarian has an obligation to tell the truth as he or she interprets it․․․[they] don't necessarily have the same sort of obligations that a journalist might have․․․a documentarian is sort of forced to take sides․"
• Quote: "If you look at the rest of my work and ask, 'Is she a comedy director?,' the answer is no․ What sucks is that if you do one hit, you can't get out of it․ I tried so hard to do other kinds of movies after 'Wayne's World,' but I couldn't․"
• Quote: "I used rock and roll as a security blanket․․․When you're feeling down or alienated or like everything in the world sucks you tend to feel a little better after listening to some rock and roll․ Good rock is the voice of discomfort․"
• Best known as the director of "Wayne's World," "The Little Rascals," and "The Decline of Western Civilization․"