Top talents from the worlds of film and television select the recipient of the Best Narrative Short prize. Learn more about the jury, which includes James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Mary Harron, Debra Messing, and Mary-Kate Olsen.
James Franco
James Franco's metamorphosis into the title role of the TNT biopic James Dean earned him career-making reviews and a Golden Globe. He received nominations for an Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award for this memorable performance. Franco can currently be seen starring opposite Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant's Milk, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting actor. He also recently starred opposite Seth Rogen in David Gordon Green's Pineapple Express, which earned him a best actor Golden Globe nomination. In addition to his starring role as Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Franco's additional credits include George C. Wolfe's Nights in Rodanthe, Paul Haggis' In The Valley of Elah, The Dead Girl, An American Crime, Flyboys, Tristan and Isolde, Annapolis, The Great Raid, The Company, Sonny, City by the Sea, and Deuces Wild. On television, he starred in the critically acclaimed series Freaks and Geeks. He has written, directed, and starred in several short plays. He adapted two of them, Fool's Gold and The Ape, into feature-length films that he produced, directed, and starred in. He also wrote and directed Good Time Max, which is currently in post-production.
In support of Stand Up to Cancer, and in honor of Laura Ziskin, James Franco Stands Up to Cancer. Stand up at su2c.org.
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church received an Academy Award® nomination for his role in Alexander Payne’s critically acclaimed film Sideways. The film won numerous awards in 2004 and 2005, including a Golden Globe for best comedy, a Broadcast Film Critics award for best picture, a Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble cast, and six Independent Spirit Awards. Thomas was also honored as best supporting actor by the Broadcast Film Critics and the Independent Spirit Awards. He stars opposite Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo in the 2009 Festival film Don McKay and will next appear with Eddie Murphy in Imagine That and opposite Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper in All About Steve. Recent projects include Smart People, Spider-Man 3, Over the Hedge, Charlotte’s Web, and Broken Trail, for which Church won an Emmy and received Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Thomas was riddled with bullets outside the O.K. Corral in his feature film debut, Tombstone. His television career includes the long-running NBC series Wings and the FOX series Ned and Stacey. Church also cowrote and directed the film Rolling Kansas, which premiered at Sundance and can be seen on Comedy Central. He resides on his ranch in Texas.
Mary Harron
Mary Harron’s most recent film was The Notorious Bettie Page, starring Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor, and Jared Harris. Prior, she directed American Psycho, adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’ notorious bestseller, for which she was nominated by the London Film Critics Circle for director of the year. Harron made her debut as a feature film writer/director in 1996 with I Shot Andy Warhol, which garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first feature. Harron has also directed episodes of many acclaimed television series, including Big Love, Six Feet Under, and Oz. Harron began her filmmaking career working on documentaries for British television. She made six short films about pop culture for the BBC/PBS coproduction Edge as well as several documentary films for Channel 4, including Winds of Change. Before working in film, Harron helped start the magazine Punk and was a rock music, television, and theater critic. Mary’s next film project is Please Kill Me, based on Legs McNeil’s best-selling book. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, writer/director John C. Walsh, and their two daughters.
Debra Messing
Debra Messing is best known for her role on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series Will & Grace. Messing won an Emmy, shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble, and earned nominations for seven Golden Globes, seven Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five additional Emmys. On the big screen, Messing was recently seen in Nothing Like the Holidays and The Women. Raised outside Providence, Rhode Island, Messing studied theater arts at Brandeis and received her MFA from NYU’s graduate acting program. Messing garnered much excitement in New York over her role as Harper Pitt in the pre-Broadway workshop Angels in America: Perestroika. She later starred on the New York stage in The Naked Truth and Donald Margulies' Collected Stories. In 2007, Messing starred in the USA miniseries The Starter Wife, which was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and became a regular series. Other television credits include the role of Mary Magdalene in the CBS miniseries Jesus and the titular lead in the comedy series Ned and Stacey. Messing’s film work includes Ed Burns’ Purple Violets (TFF ’07), The Wedding Date, Along Came Polly, Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending, and The Mothman Prophecies. During her free time, Messing supports charities such as YouthAIDS, amfAR, and Unicef.
Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen was last seen in the critically acclaimed film The Wackness, alongside Sir Ben Kingsley and Joshua Peck. For her role as Union, an enchanting and free-spirited hippie, Mary-Kate was recognized in the “5 Actors to Watch” feature in The New York Times. In 2007, Mary-Kate appeared in an eight-episode arc as the precarious Tara Lindman on Showtime’s Emmy-nominated Weeds. Other credits include New York Minute, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,and a recent guest appearance on Samatha Who? Mary-Kate is also an established author and fashion designer. In 2008, she and her sister, Ashley, cowrote Influence, a collection of interviews with fashion and design icons. Together they also design two successful fashion lines: the contemporary Elizabeth and James, and the high-end collection The Row.
