Penelope Spheeris
Directing
Biography
Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization. She has also directed feature films, including Wayne's World, her highest grossing film.
Born: December 2, 1945
Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Known For
At the Video Store
Equal parts personal essay, intense rumination, and playful satire, this movie laments the death of the American Video Store while it searches for the missing human element in today's digital landscape.
Brothers
Set in Los Angeles, Brothers tells the story of Vince, a brooding, mustachioed stud who’s visited by his kid brother Rick, a soldier serving in Vietnam. During Rick’s stay, the two siblings slowly confront their mutually hidden desires.
Punk
Featuring original interviews with America’s punk pioneers and the U.K.’s most notorious bands, alongside a seamless blend of rare and unseen photos, gritty archival film and video, a crackling soundtrack of punk hits and misses, this documentary series explores the music, the fashion, the art and the DIY attitude of a subculture of self-described misfits and outcasts.
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Corman's World
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.
Decade
Interviews with personalities including John Mellencamp, Spike Lee, Lou Reed, Roseanne Barr, David Byrne, George Michael and more, as they reflect on the 1980s.
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness
From "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "The Big Lebowski" and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration of the greatest cult movies of all-time discussing the birth of the midnight movie.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Half the Picture
At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors talk about their art, lives and careers.
Filmography
as Self
as Self
as Self
as Self
as Self - Filmmaker
as Self
as Penelope Spheeris
as Nicky's Mom
as Herself
as Self
as Self
as Margo, Logan's Film Group
as Penny
as Star the Witch