i am sam

Director/Producer/Screenwriter Jessie Nelson struck a chord in the hearts of moviegoers with her directorial debut Corrina, Corrina starring Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta and Tina Majorino. She followed the film by co-writing the 1998 box office hit Stepmom starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon. Nelson most recently co-wrote and produced with Alan Zweibel The Story of Us, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Nelson began her career as an actress in New York working with the Obie Award-winning experimental theater Mabou Mines in Joseph Papp’s Public Theater. She went on to the New York Shakespeare Festival starring opposite Raul Julia in “The Tempest” in Central Park. Brought out to Los Angeles by Columbia Pictures’ talent development program, she went on to act in numerous films and series. Used to the creative collaborative of her New York theater experiences, Nelson co-wrote her first screenplay (about her experiences as a waitress) which sold to Disney Studios. Surprised by the lack of control writers have over their material, Nelson set out to learn how to direct.

Nelson began her career as a filmmaker when she directed the documentary, “My First Time,” which paved the way for her acceptance into the prestigious Chanticleer program, where she directed the award-winning film “To The Moon Alice” for Showtime. Nelson is married to filmmaker Bryan Gordon and lives in Los Angles with their daughter Molly June Gordon. —NEW LINE CINEMA