Lorene Scafaria

Lorene Scafaria (born May 1, 1978) is an American filmmaker, director, playwright, musician, and actress. She is best known for writing and directing the films Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), The Meddler (2015), and Hustlers (2019). She also wrote the film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) and directed the Succession episodes "Too Much Birthday" (2021), "Living+" and "Honeymoon States" (2023), earning her nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (for "Too Much Birthday" and "Living+") and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series (for "Too Much Birthday"). Early life Scafaria was born in Holmdel, New Jersey, on May 1, 1978, the daughter of Canadian-American mother Gail (née Kiernan) and Italian father Joseph Scafaria (1939–2009). Her father was born in Gioia Tauro. She has a brother named Vincent. She became interested in writing when she began making a book report on a fake book every month in order to win Pizza Hut gift certificates from her school. By the age of 17, she had written and staged her first play in Red Bank, New Jersey. After graduating from Holmdel High School in 1995, she attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Unable to afford the tuition fees, she soon transferred to Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, where she earned a BA in English with a minor in theater. Career After moving to New York City, Scafaria wrote and directed a play at the Producer's Club Theatre called That Guy and Others Like Him, in which she also acted. She had a small role in the acclaimed short film Bullet in the Brain, which won awards at festivals and was produced by CJ Follini. Her writing agent had still yet to find her a job, so she took on more acting roles, appearing in many theater productions in addition to films such as Big Helium Dog and A Million Miles. Seeking new representation for her writing career, she sent out queries to 20 different agents; one of the agents who replied said that they required her to move to Los Angeles. Although she did not anticipate real success with the agent, she moved there and became roommates with screenwriter Bryan Sipe, whom she had previously met while making a film in her native New Jersey. Neither of their work was considered "commercial" enough by studios, so they paired up to write a children's adventure film called Legend Has It.