Born in 1961 in Nebraska. Director, producer and screenwriter. He attended Stanford University, where he majored in Spanish and History, then study film at UCLA Film School. His university thesis film was screened at the Sundance film festival, which led to him being backed by Miramax to write and direct [#i_]Citizen Ruth[_i#](1996). His amazing filmography includes [#i_]Election[_i#](1999), [#i_]About Schmidt[_i#](2002) and [#i_]Sideways[_i#](2004).