Andrew Fleming
Biography
Biography
Openly gay 'Generation X' filmmaker Andrew Fleming acquired a reputation as a wunderkind shortly after leaving New York University's prestigious film school. The last of his three award-winning student films there, "P.P.T.," earned him a fellowship at Warner Bros., and he teamed with no less a producer than Gale Ann Hurd ("Terminator" 1984; "Aliens" 1986) for his feature directing and writing debut "Bad Dreams" (1988), a largely ignored psychological horror film. Although some found it stylish in a sort of David Cronenbergian way, many questioned Hurd's involvement in an "entertainment" so clearly celebrating doom and utterly devoid of hope, aimed shamelessly at the teen market.
Prior to "Bad Dreams," Fleming's interests had primarily lain in the technical side of filmmaking, but after a hiatus to learn how to write, he resurfaced with his follow-up feature, "Threesome" (1994), an amusing coming-of-age college story. Boasting an attractive young cast (Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles) caught up in a somewhat unconventional love triangle, the movie outstandingly and believably expressed the sex-saturated state-of-mind of 20-year-olds and represented a giant leap forward for the screenwriter. Solid tech contributions gave the independent feature the polished look of a bigger budget studio effort.
The refreshingly unpretentious writer-director "nailed" the high school experience for "The Craft" (1996), a supernatural thriller and black-comedy clone of "Heathers" (1989), featuring four toothsome "witches" (Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Rachel True) grounded in a realistic setting. Fleming's ship ran aground when it abdicated its strong narrative in favor of well-executed special effects, culminating in a showdown battle between Balk (in full-blown punk Medusa frenzy) and Tunney, the recent convert with a conscience. He continued in the high school milieu with "Dick" (1999), a period piece bringing two teenagers in contact with such Watergate era characters as President Nixon (Dan Hedaya), James Dean (Jim Breuer) and G. Gordon Liddy (Harry Shearer), among others.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1988
Feature co-writing and directing debut, "Bad Dreams"
1994
Co-scripted and directed "Threesome," a triangular relationship comedy-drama set on a collge campus
1996
Directed and co-wrote "The Craft," about a group of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft
1999
Helmed the satirical comedy "Dick," starring Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst
2000
Directed episodes of the short-lived WB series, "Grosse Pointe"
2002
Helmed the the comedy, "The In-Laws" co-starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks
2007
Directed Emma Roberts in "Nancy Drew" a film based on the popular series of mystery novels about the titular teen detective
2008
Co-screenwriter and director of "Hamlet 2"; premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
