Alfonso Gómez Rejón: From Laredo to Hollywood
*I have to admit favoritism because he’s from my hometown. Aside from that, I enjoyed his film “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” It sounds trite, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing and watching more from him. VL
By Gabriel Lerman, The Dailies
While his name is yet to be widely known, Alfonso Gómez Rejón, director of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, a visual adaption of the novel written by Jesse Andrews is most definitely on the cusp. Dying Girl bowed earlier this year at the Sundance Festival taking home both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. That, in turn, sparked a bidding war which resulted in the all-time record sale in Park City when Fox Searchlight beat out the competition for rights to the film. As word of the film – and the deal – spread like wildfire in Hollywood, Gómez Rejón found himself the hottest up and coming director in a matter of days.
[pullquote]35 year-old director is being mentioned as a candidate to direct Collateral Beauty starring Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara.[/pullquote]The critical success of the movie only added to his reputation and now the 35 year-old director is being mentioned as a candidate to direct Collateral Beauty starring Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara.
Son of a respected Mexican psychiatrist who moved the family across the border to Laredo, Texas, Gómez Rejón lived in a home overflowing with culture: “There was always singing, music, and they always took us to the theater in San Antonio.
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[Screenshot courtesy of YouTube]
