Maverick, onetime New Queer Cinema director Todd Haynes was born on January 2, 1961, in Encino, California, and has had a controversial career. Coined by B. Ruby Rich, New Queer Cinema refers to seemingly simultaneous appearance on the independent film circuit of films dealing openly and even aggressively with queer culture, politics, and identity in the early nineties. ... January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Encino is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ...

His 1987 film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (which tells the life of American singer Karen Carpenter using Barbie dolls as actors) caused Richard Carpenter to sue him and was removed from distribution. Image:The Carpenters. ... Barbie, the worlds most famous and best-selling doll, debuted at the American International Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. ... Richard Carpenter are Richard Carpenter (Film), British Author Richard Carpenter, an American musician and composer - see: Carpenters ...

His 1991 debut, Poison, based on the writings of Jean Genet, and partly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, was targeted by the American Family Association's, Rev. Donald Wildmon as inappropriately federally funded "filth". His second effort, 1995's Safe, confirmed him as a maverick director capable of dealing with more issues than his new queer cinema tag might indicate. Jean Genet (December 19, 1910 - April 15, 1986), was a prominent, sometimes infamous, French writer and later political activist. ... The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded program that offers support and funding for projects that exhibit artistic excellence. ... The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative, fundamentalist Christian non-profit organization founded in 1977 by Rev. ... Donald Wildmon, born 18 January 1938 in Dumas, Mississippi, is the founder and head of the Evangelical Christian organization, the American Family Association. ... Safe is a 1995 drama/thriller film directed by Todd Haynes. ...

He also directed the glam inspired Velvet Goldmine (1998), and the Douglas Sirk inspired Far From Heaven (2002). Glam rock is a style of rock music popularised in the 1970s, and was mostly a British phenomenon. ... Velvet Goldmine (1998) is a film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. ... Douglas Sirk - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... Far from Heaven is a 2002 film which tells the story of a housewife in 1950s Connecticut whose husband is a closet homosexual who tries to deny and overcome it, but eventually leaves her for another man. ...

Haynes is a semiotics graduate of Brown University, and received an MFA from Bard College. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon. Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, both individually and grouped in sign systems. ... Brown University is an Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Bard College For other meanings of the word Bard, see Bard (disambiguation). ...

Filmography

• (2005) I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan
• (2004) Corporate Ghost
• (2002) Far from Heaven
• (1998) Velvet Goldmine
• (1995) Safe
• (1993) Dottie Gets Spanked
• (1991) Poison
• (1987) Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
• (1985) Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud

Far from Heaven is a 2002 film which tells the story of a housewife in 1950s Connecticut whose husband is a closet homosexual who tries to deny and overcome it, but eventually leaves her for another man. ... Velvet Goldmine (1998) is a film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. ... Safe is a 1995 drama/thriller film directed by Todd Haynes. ...

External links

• toddhaynes.net : Tribute site with interviews and forum.
• Todd Haynes at the Internet Movie Database
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• The Trouble with Carol: The Costs of Feeling Good in Todd Haynes's Safe and the American Cultural Landscape, essay by Julie Grossman, Other Voices, January 2005.