“I am a little suspicious of industry paradigms. I feel like so many movies and TV shows feel so familiar because of over-reliance on these paradigms.”

American writer and director, contemporary

Alan Erwin Ball is an American writer and director for film and television. He is best known for writing the screenplay for American Beauty (1999), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Ball also created the HBO series Six Feet Under and True Blood, and served as an executive producer on Banshee. In addition to television, he wrote and directed the films Towelhead and Uncle Frank, showing a career that moves between sharp drama, dark humor, and family-centered stories.