Academy Award-Winner Alexander Payne to Speak on Thursday, Nov. 15

Event Information

Time: 11 a.m.
Date: Thursday, Nov. 15
Place: Room 101 of the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, 1115 Eighth Ave.

David Harrison, professor of French, will moderate the discussion. Payne is expected to talk about his Midwestern roots, his connection to the College, and the ideas that inspire his work.

Payne has strong family ties to the College. His late brother, Nicholas, graduated from Grinnell in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. The brothers’ father, the late George Payne ’38, attended Grinnell for several years before transferring to Dartmouth College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Speaker Bio

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Alexander Payne directed The Descendants, About Schmidt, Election, and Nebraska, among other movies. He has worked with leading actors such as Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, and Reese Witherspoon.

Payne received his first Academy Award for Sideways, a comedy set in California wine country. He and his frequent writing partner Jim Taylor won Best Adapted Screenplay for translating Rex Pickett's novel of the same name to the big screen. Payne and Taylor won another Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants, which starred George Clooney.