Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine is a prominent American filmmaker known for his work as a director and writer, with notable films such as *The Wackness* (2008), *50/50* (2011), *Warm Bodies* (2013), and *Long Shot* (2019). Born on June 18, 1976, in New York City, he grew up in an artistic environment and pursued his education in English and art semiotics at Brown University, where he began developing his filmmaking style. Levine gained recognition with his debut feature, *The Wackness*, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
His film *50/50* reflects a personal connection to the subject of cancer, inspired by the experiences of writer Will Reiser and later resonating with Levine after facing similar family health issues. Levine's unique storytelling approach often blends humor with poignant themes, as seen in *Warm Bodies*, a romantic comedy with a zombie twist. In addition to his film work, Levine produced and directed the Hulu series *Nine Perfect Strangers* in 2021.
His career showcases a commitment to creating films that resonate on a personal level, pushing boundaries in various genres while maintaining a connection to his roots in New York. Levine resides in Los Angeles, where he continues to contribute to the film industry and remains a fan of the New York Knicks.
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Subject Terms
Jonathan Levine
Director
- Born: June 18, 1976
- Place of Birth: New York, New York
Contribution: Jonathan Levine is an award-winning director and writer best known for his films The Wackness (2008), 50/50 (2011), Warm Bodies (2013), and Long Shot (2019). In 2021, Levine produced and directed the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers.
Background
Jonathan Levine was born on June 18, 1976, in New York City to parents Judy and Ira Levine. He grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he attended St. Bernard’s School, a private elementary school. He went to high school at Phillips Academy Andover, a prestigious preparatory school in Andover, Massachusetts.
Levine graduated from high school in 1994 and continued his education at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he majored in English and art semiotics. In his film classes, he enjoyed creating more narrative films at first, which was rarely appreciated in a school of experimental filmmakers. However, he was encouraged by one of his teachers, experimental filmmaker Leslie Thornton, and his senior thesis film Time Out New York, about a college student who steals drugs so he can afford to take a stripper on a date, was good enough to earn him admission to the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles, California.
During the two years between graduating from Brown and entering the AFI, Levine worked briefly at an Internet start-up company and served for six months as a personal assistant to writer-director Paul Schrader, who at the time was working on his film Auto Focus (2002).
Career
At the AFI, Levine directed the short film Shards (2004), about a hip-hop DJ who is trying to quit using crystal meth. The film caught the eye of the founders of the production company Occupant Films, and in 2005, they hired Levine to direct their first film, a horror movie titled All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006).
After screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, the film was sold to a distributor for much higher than its meager budget. While it was released in several countries in 2008, it was not released in the United States at the time because the distributor believed it would not make any money. In June 2013, it was announced that the film would be given a limited theatrical release on October 11, 2013, seven years after its festival showings.
The lucrative purchase of All the Boys Love Mandy Lane led Occupant Films to fund Levine’s next film, The Wackness (2008). Levine had begun writing the script while still at the AFI. Set in New York City in 1994, it is a semiautobiographical film that tells the story of a forlorn marijuana dealer who befriends his psychiatrist and develops a crush on the psychiatrist’s stepdaughter. The film premiered in 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where it won the Audience Award. It was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay. Overall, critics received the film favorably.
After directing an episode of the cable television series How to Make It in America, which aired in 2010, Levine went on to direct 50/50 (2011), a comedy-drama written by Will Reiser. The film is inspired by Reiser’s personal experiences after being diagnosed with rare spinal cancer at the age of twenty-five. In the film, a young radio journalist battles the same cancer with the help of his best friend and his therapist.
Levine has stated that after making such a personal film as The Wackness, he became extremely selective about his next project. After he originally declined to direct 50/50, two of his family members were diagnosed with cancer; when the film’s original director dropped out and Levine was again offered the job, he accepted, later saying that the subject had new resonance for him. The film received very positive reviews and performed well in theaters, grossing over $35 million. At the 2012 Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for best musical or comedy picture, and star Joseph Gordon-Levitt was nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy.
Levine continued to progress as a filmmaker with the 2013 horror-comedy Warm Bodies. He became interested in the project after reading Isaac Marion’s 2009 novel on which the film is based. The story focuses on a teenage zombie named R and his romance with a young, living woman. While zombie films were very popular at the time, Warm Bodies is unique in that it is told from the zombie’s perspective and is thematically more focused on the awkward teen-romance aspects. Levine has stated that he could relate to being a self-conscious teenager trying to impress a girl, like R in the film. The film received overall positive reviews and earned over $110 million in theaters, making it Levine’s most successful film up to that point.
In 2014, Levine created a new medical drama series for the USA network titled Rush. However, the show, about a doctor who discreetly provides services for elite Los Angeles clients, was canceled after its first season due to poor ratings. Despite this setback, Levine got behind the camera for the 2015 comedy The Night Before, which follows three friends as they spend the night before Christmas attending a party in New York City. After serving as a producer for the comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), his next directorial project was Snatched (2017), starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a woman and her mother, respectively, who experience an ordeal while traveling together. Keeping with the comedy genre, he followed up this effort with Long Shot (2019). In this film, Charlize Theron plays a politician who hires a man she knew when she was younger, played by Seth Rogen, to serve as her speechwriter. Competing with films like the blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, Long Shot had a mediocre performance at the box office.
In 2021, Levine produced and directed Nine Perfect Strangers, a Hulu series about a group of people who meet at a boutique health and wellness resort. The following year, it was announced that he would direct a sequel to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, with Jennifer Grey reprising her role as Baby.
Impact
Whether he is directing a zombie romance movie or one that addresses a subject as serious as cancer, Levine manages to create films that resonate with him in a personal manner. With each film, he has continued to push himself as a director, creating some highly acclaimed and award-nominated films.
Personal Life
Levine, who married and had a child around 2015, lives in Los Angeles. Despite the move, he is still a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
Bibliography
Billington, Alex. “Interview: 50/50 Director Jonathan Levine on Comedy and Filmmaking.” First Showing. First Showing, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Hart, Hugh. “Happy to Defer to Him.” Brown Alumni Magazine. Brown Alumni Magazine, July/Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
"Jonathan Levine." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm1349522. Accessed 16 Sept. 2024.
Levine, Jonathan, Nicholas Hoult, and Teresa Palmer. “Talking with Jonathan Levine and the Cast of Warm Bodies.” Interview by Fernando Esqquivel. Latino Review. LatinoReview, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
McGrath, Charles. “Hazy Halcyon Days of Pot and Puberty.” New York Times. New York Times, 29 June 2008. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Rowles, Dustin. “Is This Man Hollywood’s Most Romantic Director?” Pajiba. Rowles, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Sacks, Ethan. “50/50 Director Jonathan Levine: From NYC Kid to Working with Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.” Daily NewsAmerica. NYDailyNews.com, 1 Oct. 2011. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.