Summary
Rachel Talalay (born July 16, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer best known for directing films such as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Ghost in the Machine (1993), and Tank Girl (1995). She is also a professor at the University of British Columbia.[1]
Rachel Talalay | |
|---|---|
 Talalay in 2016 | |
| Born | July 16, 1958 |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse |
Rupert Harvey (m. 1990) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Paul Talalay (father) |
Early life and education edit
Talalay was born in Chicago. Her father Paul Talalay was a pharmacologist, born in Berlin to a Belarusian Jewish family, and her mother Pamela is an English biochemist. She has two sisters and a brother.[2] She was raised mostly in Baltimore, with two years of her childhood in Britain.[1] Talalay attended Yale University, where she majored in mathematics, graduating in 1980.[3][4] She also ran the Yale Film Society.[3]
Career edit
Talalay worked in a number of different capacities in filmmaking before making her directorial debut with the film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991).[5] Talalay also worked on the first four A Nightmare on Elm Street films.[3] Her work with the earlier Nightmare films utilized her computer skills and finding ways to create better special effects while still keeping costs low.[3] Despite her familiarity with the Freddy movies, when she directed Freddy's Dead, she was given internal memos telling her not to be "too girly" or "too sensitive."[6]
Talalay also directed Tank Girl in 1995, and was looking into re-optioning the rights to make a new film in 2008.[7] As a film producer, Talalay worked with director John Waters on the films Hairspray (1988) and Cry-Baby (1990). She was also a production assistant on Waters' 1981 film Polyester.[8]
Talalay states that ever since Doctor Who was revived in 2005, she wanted to work on the show.[9] Talalay directed all three of Peter Capaldi's series finales: series 8's "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven",[10] series 9's "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent"—the former considered by many to be one of the best episodes in the show's history[11]—and series 10's "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls",[12] as well as the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time".[13] She returned to Doctor Who in 2023 for "The Star Beast" with David Tennant & Catherine Tate returning as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble as part of the show's 60th anniversary. In 2019, she directed a film adaption of Joe Ballarini's A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting for Netflix.[14]
Personal life edit
Talalay met British film producer Rupert Harvey while working on Android in 1982. They began a relationship soon after, and were married in 1990, with John Waters officiating the wedding.[4][15] Talalay and Harvey have a daughter named Lucy. [16]
Filmography edit
Films edit
Director
- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (also story writer)
- Ghost in the Machine (1993)
- Tank Girl (1995)
- A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020)
Producer
- Hairspray (1988)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
- Cry-Baby (1990)
- The Borrowers (1997)
Television edit
TV movies
- A Tale of Two Wives (2003)
- The Wind in the Willows (2006)
- Hannah's Law (2012)
- The Dorm (2014)
- Unclaimed (2016)
TV series
| Year | Title | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Band of Gold |
|
| 1998 | To Have & to Hold |
|
| Touching Evil (U.K. Series) |
| |
| 1999–2002 | Ally McBeal |
|
| 2000 | Boston Public |
|
| Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) |
| |
| 2001 | That's Life |
|
| State of Grace |
| |
| Wolf Lake |
| |
| Dice |
| |
| 2002 | Without a Trace |
|
| Crossing Jordan |
| |
| 2002–2007 | The Dead Zone |
|
| 2002–2003 | The Division |
|
| 2003 | Cold Case |
|
| 2004 | Touching Evil (U.S. Series) |
|
| Life as We Know It |
| |
| Unfabulous |
| |
| 2005 | Sex, Love & Secrets |
|
| Terminal City |
| |
| 2006 | Whistler |
|
| 2007 | Supernatural |
|
| Greek |
| |
| Kyle XY |
| |
| 2008 | Flash Gordon |
|
| 2009 | Da Kink in My Hair |
|
| Durham County |
| |
| 2010 | Cra$h & Burn |
|
| Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures |
| |
| Haven |
| |
| 2011 | Endgame |
|
| Hiccups |
| |
| 2012 | Continuum |
|
| XIII: The Series |
| |
| 2013 | Bomb Girls |
|
| Played |
| |
| 2014 | Reign |
|
| 2014–2017, 2022–2023 |
Doctor Who |
|
| 2015 | South of Hell |
|
| 2016–2023 | The Flash |
|
| 2016–2021 | Legends of Tomorrow |
|
| 2016–2019 | Supergirl |
|
| 2017 | Sherlock | |
| 2018–2021 | Riverdale |
|
| 2018 | Iron Fist |
|
| Chilling Adventures of Sabrina |
| |
| 2019 | Doom Patrol |
|
| American Gods |
| |
| 2021 | Superman & Lois |
|
| 2022 | Quantum Leap |
|
References edit
- ^ a b Bailey, Ian (8 August 2014). "Q&A: UBC professor went from Doctor Who fan to director of this season's finale". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr. Paul Talalay, Johns Hopkins molecular pharmacologist who made broccoli famous as a cancer fighter, dies". The Baltimore Sun. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Wigler, Stephen (27 September 1991). "'Freddy's Dead' Gives Rise to Career". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ a b Wigler, Stephen (September 8, 1991). "A Friend of Freddy Krueger: Rachel Talalay has worked on five 'Elm Street' films". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ "A Nightmare On Elm Street : Interviews – Rachel Talalay". Nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com. 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (17 March 1991). "Are Women Directors an Endangered Species?". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Martin (August 5, 2008). "Rachel Talalay for Tank Girl reboot". Den of Geek!. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018.
- ^ Rachel Talalay Biography, Film Reference
- ^ Collis, Clark (3 November 2014). "Doctor Who Director Rachel Talalay Talks 'Dark Water'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Film Prof Directs Doctor Who Season Finale". The University of British Columbia. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ Reynolds, Andrew (20 December 2015). "Directing Doctor Who: Rachel Talalay's Notes on Heaven Sent". Katerborous. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Original Mondasian Cybermen return to Doctor Who!". BBC. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "The 2017 Doctor Who Christmas special will be called..." Radio Times. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ Fleming, Joe Jr. (April 15, 2019). "Netflix Turning A Babysitter's Guide To Monsters Into Family Film; Rachel Talalay To Direct". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Collis, Clark (July 19, 2016). "Rachel Talalay talks going from Tank Girl to Sherlock". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ "https://twitter.com/rtalalay/status/1267260469682683905". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "Home – American Gods S2 Presskit". Starz. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
External links edit
- Rachel Talalay at IMDb