Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne grew up in Omaha and earned his MFA in film at UCLA.

His eight features to date have been nominated for a total of 24 Oscars, including four times for Best Picture and three times for Best Director. He has won twice for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sideways and The Descendants, and The Holdovers won Best Supporting Actress.

He is currently in production on a new movie shot in Denmark, to be released in 2027.