Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American director.

Mark Waters
Born
Mark Stephen Waters

(1964-06-30) June 30, 1964 (age 60)
Alma materAFI Conservatory
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
Years active1997–present
Notable workFreaky Friday
Mean Girls
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Vampire Academy
Children2
RelativesDaniel Waters (brother)

Early life

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Waters was raised in South Bend, Indiana. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania in theatre arts before studying at the American Film Institute. When studying at Penn, he saw The House of Yes and saw things in the play that he felt he could make cinematic. He contacted the author of the play in Wendy MacLeod and got a manuscript copy by saying he was a film producer.[1] He worked as a stage actor and director in Philadelphia and San Francisco before his work with AFI, where he graduated in 1994. He made a number of short films.[2]

Career

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He directed the comedy films Freaky Friday,[3] Mean Girls,[4] Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,[5] Mr. Popper's Penguins,[6] and Vampire Academy.[7] The first movie he directed was the independent hit The House of Yes starring Parker Posey. Other movies he directed include Head Over Heels, The Spiderwick Chronicles[8], Bad Santa 2, Magic Camp, He's All That[9], and more. He was attached to direct a movie called Minimum Wage written by Scott Atkinson and Tegan West.[10]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Executive
Producer
1997 The House of Yes[a] Yes No
2001 Head over Heels Yes No
2003 Freaky Friday Yes No
2004 Mean Girls Yes No
2005 Sorry, Haters No Yes
Just Like Heaven Yes No
2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles Yes No
2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Yes Yes
2011 Mr. Popper's Penguins Yes Yes
2014 Vampire Academy Yes No
2016 Bad Santa 2 Yes Yes
2020 Magic Camp Yes No
2021 He's All That Yes No
2024 Mother of the Bride Yes No
TBA Harvest Moon Yes No
  1. ^ Also credited as writer

Producer

Television

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TV movies

Year Title Director Executive
Producer
2002 Warning: Parental Advisory Yes No
2009 Eva Adams Yes Yes
2015 Salem Rogers Yes No
Cheerleader Death Squad Yes No
2018 #'Fashionvictim Yes Yes

TV series

Year Title Director Executive
producer
Notes
2012 Made in Jersey Yes Yes 2 episodes
2013 Witches of East End Yes Yes 1 episode
2019 Looking for Alaska No Yes Miniseries

References

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  1. ^ "Positive Outlook Worked in Taking 'House of Yes' from Stage to Big Screen". January 30, 1998. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "FILMMAKER MAGAZINE | Fall 1996: PRODUCTION UPDATE".
  3. ^ GradeSaver. "Director's Influence on Mean Girls". GradeSaver. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Multiple sources:
  5. ^ "Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past Mark Waters". exclaim.ca. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  6. ^ "Jim Carrey and Director Mark Waters Confirmed for Mr. Popper's Penguins". /Film. August 20, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Brissey, Breia. "'Vampire Academy': 5 movie photos with director Mark Waters' notes". EW.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Weintraub, Steve (February 12, 2008). "Mark Waters Interview – THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES". Collider. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  9. ^ Bahr, Robyn (August 27, 2021). "'He's All That': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  10. ^ Fletcher, Alex (January 9, 2009). "Waters attached to 'Minimum Wage'". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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