History Creator / ToddHaynes

* AwardSnub: Each of his films failed to get an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Director and wins.

* AwardSnub: Each of his films failed to get a UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Director and wins.

Todd Haynes (born January 2, 1961 in Los Angeles, California) is generally regarded as one of the most offbeat and unique directors currently working today. His films are noted for constantly subverting his audience's expectations so that they'll be more open to his social commentary, [[WildMassGuessing if there is any at all.]]

Haynes [[EstablishingCharacterMoment got his start]] with 1987’s ''Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'', an experimental short film which, instead of using actors, employed {{Franchise/Barbie}} dolls to tell the story of the rise and fall of the Music/{{Carpenters}}, with Haynes whittling down the doll in order to simulate Karen's slow death from anorexia and depicting Richard as a {{Main/Jerkass}} [[ArmoredClosetGay deeply in denial about his homosexuality.]] Haynes ended up getting sued by Richard, due to this presentation and the fact that Haynes failed to get proper licensing for the duo's music. Haynes lost, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes and the film is now available as a bootleg.]]

Nevertheless, he went on to make his feature-length debut with 1990’s Sundance-winning ''Poison'', which drew the ire of MoralGuardians (most of whom didn't see the movie to begin with) due to Haynes having received partial funding from the National Endowment For the Arts, and the media promptly pegged Mr. Haynes as part of the NewQueerCinema movement along with other directors such as [[Film/GoodWillHunting Gus]] [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho Van]] [[Film/FindingForrester Sant]] and [[Film/TheDoomGeneration Gregg]] [[Film/MysteriousSkin Araki]]. Beyond that, Haynes’ films focus on a variety of topics from {{Gayngst}}, (''Poison'', ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'', ''Film/FarFromHeaven'', ''Film/{{Carol}}'') [[StepfordSuburbia Stepford Suburbias]], (''[[Film/Safe1995 Safe]]'', ''Far From Heaven'', ''Literature/MildredPierce'', ''Carol'') the nature of fame (''Velvet Goldmine,'' ''Film/ImNotThere'', the [[SilentMovie silent portions]] of ''Wonderstruck''), the toxicity of chemicals that humanity takes for granted (''Safe'', ''Film/DarkWaters''), and [[MindScrew Out-and-out weirdness]] (Everything [[PlayingAgainstType except]] his latest works.)

Nevertheless, he went on to make his feature-length debut with 1990’s Sundance-winning ''Poison'', which drew the ire of MoralGuardians (most of whom didn't see the movie to begin with) due to Haynes having received partial funding from the National Endowment For the Arts, and the media promptly pegged Mr. Haynes as part of the NewQueerCinema movement along with other directors such as [[Film/GoodWillHunting Gus]] [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho Van]] [[Film/FindingForrester Sant]] and [[Film/TheDoomGeneration Gregg]] [[Film/MysteriousSkin Araki]]. Beyond that, Haynes’ films focus on a variety of topics from {{Gayngst}}, (''Poison'', ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'', ''Film/FarFromHeaven'', ''Film/{{Carol}}'') [[StepfordSuburbia Stepford Suburbias]], (''[[Film/Safe1995 Safe]]'', ''Far From Heaven'', ''Literature/MildredPierce'', ''Carol'') the nature of fame (''Velvet Goldmine,'' ''Film/ImNotThere'', the [[SilentMovie silent portions]] of ''Wonderstruck''), the toxicity of chemicals that humanity takes for granted (''Safe'', ''Dark Waters''), and [[MindScrew Out-and-out weirdness]] (Everything [[PlayingAgainstType except]] his latest works.)

Nevertheless, he went on to make his feature-length debut with 1990’s Sundance-winning ''Poison'', which drew the ire of MoralGuardians (most of whom didn't see the movie to begin with) due to Haynes having received partial funding from the National Endowment For the Arts, and the media promptly pegged Mr. Haynes as part of the NewQueerCinema movement along with other directors such as [[Film/GoodWillHunting Gus]] [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho Van]] [[Film/FindingForrester Sant]] and [[Film/TheDoomGeneration Gregg]] [[Film/MysteriousSkin Araki]]. Beyond that, Haynes’ films focus on a variety of topics from {{Gayngst}}, (''Poison'', ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'', ''Far from Heaven'', ''Film/{{Carol}}'') [[StepfordSuburbia Stepford Suburbias]], (''Safe'', ''Far From Heaven'', ''Literature/MildredPierce'', ''Carol'') the nature of fame (''Velvet Goldmine,'' ''Film/ImNotThere'', the [[SilentMovie silent portions]] of ''Wonderstruck''), the toxicity of chemicals that humanity takes for granted (''Safe'', ''Dark Waters''), and [[MindScrew Out-and-out weirdness]] (Everything [[PlayingAgainstType except]] his latest works.)

Nethertheless, he went on to make his feature-length debut with 1990’s Sundance-winning ''Poison'', which drew the ire of MoralGuardians (most of whom [[CriticalResearchFailure didn't see the movie to begin with]]) due to Haynes having received partial funding from the National Endowment For the Arts, and the media promptly pegged Mr. Haynes as part of the NewQueerCinema movement along with other directors such as [[Film/GoodWillHunting Gus]] [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho Van]] [[Film/FindingForrester Sant]] and [[Film/TheDoomGeneration Gregg]] [[Film/MysteriousSkin Araki]]. Beyond that, Haynes’ films focus on a variety of topics from {{Gayngst}}, (''Poison'', ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'', ''Far from Heaven'', ''Film/{{Carol}}'') [[StepfordSuburbia Stepford Suburbias]], (''Safe'', ''Far From Heaven'', ''Literature/MildredPierce'', ''Carol'') the nature of fame (''Velvet Goldmine,'' ''Film/ImNotThere'', the [[SilentMovie silent portions]] of ''Wonderstruck''), the toxicity of chemicals that humanity takes for granted (''Safe'', ''Dark Waters''), and [[MindScrew Out-and-out weirdness]] (Everything [[PlayingAgainstType except]] his latest works.)

Nethertheless, he went on to make his feature-length debut with 1990’s Sundance-winning ''Poison'', which drew the ire of MoralGuardians (most of whom [[CriticalResearchFailure didn't see the movie to begin with]].) due to Haynes receiving partial funding from the National Endowment For the Arts, and the media promptly pegged Mr. Haynes as part of the NewQueerCinema movement along with other directors such as [[Film/GoodWillHunting Gus]] [[Film/MyOwnPrivateIdaho Van]] [[Film/FindingForrester Sant]] and [[Film/TheDoomGeneration Gregg]] [[Film/MysteriousSkin Araki]]. Beyond that, Haynes’ films focus on a variety of topics from {{Gayngst}}, (''Poison'', ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'', ''Far from Heaven'', ''Film/{{Carol}}'') [[StepfordSuburbia Stepford Suburbias]], (''Safe'', ''Far From Heaven'', ''Literature/MildredPierce'', ''Carol'') the nature of fame (''Velvet Goldmine,'' ''Film/ImNotThere'', the [[SilentMovie silent portions]] of ''Wonderstruck''), the toxicity of chemicals that humanity takes for granted (''Safe'', ''Dark Waters''), and [[MindScrew Out-and-out weirdness]] (Everything [[PlayingAgainstType except]] his latest works.)

Todd Haynes (born January 2, 1961 in Los Angeles, California) is generally regarded as one of the most offbeat and unique directors currently working today. His films are noted for constantly subverting his audience's expectations so that they'll be more open to his social commentary, [[WildMassGuessing if there is any at all.]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Getting his start]] with 1987’s ''Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'', the short film, instead of using actors, used {{Franchise/Barbie}} dolls to tell the story of the rise and fall of the group, with Haynes whittling down the doll in order to simulate “Karen’s” slow death from Anorexia and presenting Richard Carpenter as a {{Main/Jerkass}} [[ArmoredClosetGay deeply in denial about his homosexuality.]] Haynes ended up getting sued by Richard due to this presentation and the fact that Haynes failed to get proper licensing for their music. Haynes lost, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes and the film is now available as a bootleg.]]

Todd Haynes (born January 2, 1961) is generally regarded as one of the most offbeat and unique directors currently working today. His films are noted for constantly subverting his audience's expectations so that they'll be more open to his social commentary, [[WildMassGuessing if there is any at all.]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Getting his start]] with 1987’s ''Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'', the short film, instead of using actors, used {{Franchise/Barbie}} dolls to tell the story of the rise and fall of the group, with Haynes whittling down the doll in order to simulate “Karen’s” slow death from Anorexia and presenting Richard Carpenter as a {{Main/Jerkass}} [[ArmoredClosetGay deeply in denial about his homosexuality.]] Haynes ended up getting sued by Richard due to this presentation and the fact that Haynes failed to get proper licensing for their music. Haynes lost, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes and the film is now available as a bootleg.]]

* AcclaimedFlop: Every film of his save ''Far from Heaven'' has bombed, yet they're praised to high heaven anyways.

* PlayingAgainstType: Haynes is known for his complex, confusing movies about identity and sexuality. In ''Mildred Pierce'', he presents a straight adaptation of the book with none of his transgressive subtext. ''Wonderstruck'', his first family film, is an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s YA novel, a love letter to the silent film era, and a dual period piece, with [[HyperlinkStory two storylines]], one taking place in the 1920s, the other in the 1970s. And ''Dark Waters'' is in a similar mold to socially aware legal thrillers such as ''Film/ACivilAction'' and ''Film/ErinBrockovich'', but with a twist and attention to gory detail that is all Haynes’ own.

* PlayingAgainstType: Haynes is known for his complex, confusing movies about identity and sexuality. In ''Mildred Pierce'', he presents a straight adaptation of the book with none of his transgressive subtext. ''Wonderstruck'', his first family film, is an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s YA novel, a love letter to the silent film era, and a dual period piece, with [[HyperlinkStory two storylines]], one taking place in the 1920s, the other in the 1970s.
And ''Dark Waters'' is in a similar mold to socially aware legal thrillers such as ''Film/ACivilAction'' and ''Film/ErinBrockovich'', but with a twist and attention to gory detail that is all Haynes’ own.