Alan Erwin Ball is an American writer and director for film and television.
Ball in 2008
Ball with True Blood star Anna Paquin in July 2012
American Beauty (1999 film)
American Beauty is a 1999 American black comedy-drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his feature directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by Mena Suvari. Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney co-star. Academics have described the film as satirizing how beauty and personal satisfaction are perceived by the American middle class; further analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, materialism, self-liberation, and sexual grooming.
Theatrical release poster
The principal actors and actresses First row: Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Mena Suvari, Kevin Spacey Second row: Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Allison Janney
The film used aerial shots of Sacramento, California, at the beginning and end of the film to show where the Burnhams live.