Nicole Kassell facts for kids

Nicole Kassell, born in 1972, is an American filmmaker. She is known for directing movies and TV shows. Her first movie was a drama called The Woodsman in 2004. This film was recognized at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

She has also directed episodes for popular TV shows like Vinyl, The Leftovers, and Watchmen. Her work on Watchmen earned her big awards. These included a Directors Guild of America Award for directing an episode and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as a producer for the series.

About Nicole Kassell

Early Life and Education

Nicole Kassell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. She went to St. Anne's-Belfield School there. Her father, Dr. Neal Kassell, was a medical professor at the University of Virginia.

Nicole studied Art History at Columbia University. She then earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. While at NYU, she made three short films. One of these, The Green Hour, was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. She received a full scholarship for two years during her time at NYU.

Her Filmmaking Career

Nicole Kassell has had an exciting career in both movies and television.

Movies She Directed

Before her first feature film, Nicole won a competition for her screenplay. This was for her movie The Woodsman (2004 film). She adapted it from a play she had seen. A producer named Lee Daniels helped her get funding for the film. Actor Kevin Bacon was very impressed by the script. He decided to star in the movie with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick.

The Woodsman was shown at several film festivals. These included Sundance, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival. It was released to the public in 2004.

Her second movie was A Little Bit of Heaven. This was a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Gael García Bernal. It was first released in the UK in 2011.

Nicole has also worked on adapting a play by Arthur Miller for the big screen. It is called The Ride Down Mt. Morgan. In February 2021, Nicole Kassell was chosen to direct a new movie based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

TV Shows She Directed

Nicole Kassell has directed episodes for many different TV series. These include:

• Cold Case
• The Closer
• The Killing
• Vinyl
• The Americans

In 2018, it was announced that she would direct the first episode for the HBO series Watchmen. In January 2020, Nicole won a Directors Guild of America Award for directing the Watchmen episode "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice".

Personal Life

Nicole Kassell lives in New York City. She lives there with her husband and their two children. She has shared that her father is Jewish, making her half-Jewish. This part of her background has sometimes influenced her work.

Awards and Recognitions

Nicole Kassell has received several awards for her directing and producing work.

• In 2020, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series for Watchmen. She was also nominated for an Emmy for directing an episode of the show.
• Also in 2020, she won a Directors Guild of America Award for her directing work on Watchmen.
• For The Woodsman, she won the Humanitas Prize and the Jury Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. She also won an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
• In 1999, she won the Student Female Filmmaker Prize from the DGA for her short film Jamie.

See also

In Spanish: Nicole Kassell para niños