Zach Helm
Born
Zachary E. Helm[1]

(1975-01-21) January 21, 1975
Santa Clara, California, United States
EducationDePaul University (BFA)
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2008)​

Zach Helm (born January 21, 1975) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He's known for his work on the films Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), as well as the stage play Good Canary and its 2009 screen adaptation.

Early Life

In 1996, Helm graduated from DePaul University, where he trained as an actor.[2] After being chosen for a writer's program by Fox 2000 Pictures, he spent several years doing uncredited rewrites for film scripts.[2][3]

Career

He wrote the 2006 fantasy comedy-drama film Stranger than Fiction.[4] He won the National Board of Review Award for Best Original Screenplay[5] and the PEN Center USA West Literary Award in the Screenplay category. He was also nominated for the Critics Choice Award for Best Writer,[6] the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay[7] and the Saturn Award for Best Writing.

In 2006, Helm was approached to direct Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, for which he had previously written a screenplay.[3] In 2013, he described the movie as a "Technicolor train-wreck" as reported by online tabloid news source TMZ.[8]

He began Interviewing the Audience in 2008, a revival of one of Spalding Gray's performance pieces which he had seen while in college. As the title suggests, audience members are brought onto stage and interviewed, their personal stories and insights extracted in long-form conversations meant to create a sense of communal intimacy but challenge the convention of theater and story. Helm's approach differed from Gray's in that Helm's conversations were entirely extemporaneous, without any prepared questions, and the audience members were drawn at random. Helm tended to find and illuminate themes and connections within the interviews, thereby creating a through-line for each performance as it happened.[9]

Helm wrote Le Bon Canari (Good Canary), which was produced in France in 2007, then translated into Spanish (El Buen Canario) and produced in Mexico. It was translated into English in 2016 for the Rose Theatre Kingston. Drawn from Helm's personal experiences, the play is known for its dark humor, coarse language, and views on sexism and misogyny as well as its use of Brechtian devices.[10]

In 2015, Helm directed Culo Quasars Cocaine Chaos, which he adapted from the true story of Paul Frampton.[11] He adapted the Epic Magazine article "The Mercenary" for Fox in 2016, collaborating with journalists Josh Davis and Josh Bearman.[12]

Personal life

Helm was married to actress Kiele Sanchez[13] from 2001 to 2008.[14]

Filmography

TV movies

Year Title Writer Executive
Producer
2003 Other People's Business Yes Yes
2009 Good Canary Yes No

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer
2006 Stranger than Fiction No Yes
2007 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Yes Yes
2022 Deep Water No Yes

References

  1. ↑ "FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch.
  2. 1 2 Pride, Ray (9 November 2006). "A Chicago Like No Other: DePaul grad Zach Helm's Stranger Than Fiction". New City Film. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Lytal, Cristy (13 November 2007). "Zach Helm's World of Wonder". MovieMaker. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ↑ A.O., Scott (10 November 2006). "Hearing Voices? It's Just Somebody's Imagination". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "2006 Award Winners". nationalboardofreview.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  6. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (12 December 2006). "Twin noms for DiCaprio a BFCA first". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Diorio, Carl (12 January 2007). "WGA screenplay noms include comedies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Mr. Magorium Director: 'Hey Breaking Bad I Hate My Movie, Too!'". TMZ. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Interviewing the Audience". Vineyard Theatre. 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  10. ↑ "John Malkovich to make London debut as a theatre director". the Guardian. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  11. ↑ Swann, Maxine (2013-03-08). "The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 8, 2016). "'Stranger Than Fiction' Writer Tapped to Write 'The Mercenary' for Fox (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  13. ↑ "NU grad directs 'Wonder Emporium'". The Union. November 27, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Actress Kiele Sanchez, ex-husband Zach Helm list Los Feliz-area home at $1.849 million". The Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
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