Alexander Payne is an American director and screenwriter best known for critically acclaimed comedy-dramas like About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), and The Descendants (2011).

Born in Omaha, Nebraska (a recurring location within his filmography), Payne later attended UCLA’s film school, where his thesis film, The Passion of Martin (1991), earned him a studio deal.

His next film, Citizen Ruth (1996), a dark comedy comedy about abortion, established his interest in satirizing American culture and was also his first collaboration with co-writer Jim Taylor. They have since written five more movies together, their process involving the two of them sitting at a computer with two keyboards, writing separately but rewriting together. They do not use an outline and this openness to spontaneity is found throughout Payne’s filmmaking.

He does not strictly adhere to his scripts while filming, preferring to treat filmmaking as a broader collaborative effort with his cast and crew. His directing style tries to accommodate for each actors’ abilities, willing to go off-script to get stronger performances. Breaking with industry norms, he often eschews big name actors in favor of professional actors and even occasionally non-actors.

Taylor is not Payne’s only long-time collaborator. The composer Rolfe Kent had made the music for most of his movies and in general Payne prefers to work with the same team for each of his projects.

Alexander Payne has announced his upcoming film, The Holdovers, will star Paul Giamatti as a deeply unpopular prep school teacher in the 1970’s. The role is reminiscent of his character in Sideways, which centered on a divorced English teacher vacationing in wine country. The film was an early starring role for Giamatti and earned Payne the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Holdovers is scheduled to shoot next year and to screen at the Cannes Film Festival.