Neil LaBute

Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, In the Company of Men (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the New York Film Critics Circle. LaBute created the TV series Billy & Billie, writing and directing all of the episodes. He is also the creator of the TV series Van Helsing. Critics have responded to his plays as having a misanthropic tone. Rob Weinert-Kendt in The Village Voice referred to LaBute as "American theater's reigning misanthrope". The New York Times said that critics labeled him a misanthrope on the release of his film Your Friends & Neighbors because of the film's strong misanthropic plot and characters. Britain's Independent newspaper in May 2008 dubbed him "America's misanthrope par excellence". Citing the misanthropic tone of the plot in the films In the Company of Men, Your Friends & Neighbors and The Shape of Things, film critic Daniel Kimmel identified a pattern running through LaBute's work of being that the unlikeable, main antagonists of those three films end up getting away with their lying, scheming and mis-deeds, coming out on top of all the other characters as the real winners of those stories by quoting: "Neil LaBute is a misanthrope who assumes that only callous and evil people, who use and abuse others, can survive in this world."

Works

Fear the Night

During a bachelorette party in a secluded California farmhouse, masked intruders launch a brutal attack, forcing eight women to fight for survival. Led by Tess, a troubled military veteran, they unite to defend themselves throughout a harrowing night.

Release Date: 2023-07-21

Department: Production

Job: Executive Producer

Vote Count: 264

The Shape of Things

When college student Adam falls hard for Evelyn, an ambitious art major, the meaning of both art and friendship are pushed to their limits. Neil LaBute’s Olivier Award nominated chilling comedy is now streaming exclusively on Original Online, direct from its hit run at Park Theatre, London.

Release Date: 2023-05-06

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

House of Darkness

Driving home to her secluded estate after meeting at a local bar, a player out to score thinks his beautiful, mysterious date will be another casual hook-up. While getting acquainted, their flirtation turns playful, sexy and sinister. Hoping to get lucky, his luck may have just run out.

Release Date: 2022-09-09

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 122

Out of the Blue

After spending time in prison following an assault charge, Connor Bates now works in a library and spends his free time running, swimming, and trying to piece his world back together. When he meets Marilyn Chambers, the wife of a wealthy businessman, they collide into an intense physical and emotional relationship that quickly escalates into idle talk about her husband’s murder.

Release Date: 2022-08-26

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 109

Sparring Partner

When a long flirtation between two co-workers comes to a head during a revealing lunch break in the park, who gets to walk away with their head held high?

Release Date: 2022-06-08

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Berlin, I Love You

An anthology feature of 10 stories of romance set in the German capital.

Release Date: 2019-12-04

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 58

The I-Land

Wiped clean of memories and thrown together, a group of strangers fight to survive harsh realities -- and the island that traps them.

Release Date: 2019-09-12

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 272

Black Chicks

Two coworkers—a white man and a Black woman—meet at a coffee shop over lunch. When she asks him out and he declines, she discovers why he said no.

Release Date: 2017-06-18

Department: Directing

Job: Director

10 K

A man and a woman meet on a wooded path, making polite conversation and slowly opening up to each other. Was this an accident or something planned?

Release Date: 2017-02-07

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Good Luck: In Farsi

A darkly comic look at two actresses vying for the same role on a network television show.

Release Date: 2017-01-01

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Van Helsing

Vanessa Helsing, the daughter of famous vampire hunter and Dracula nemesis Abraham Van Helsing is resurrected five years in the future to find out that vampires have taken over the world and that she possesses unique power over them. She is humanity’s last hope to lead an offensive to take back what has been lost.

Release Date: 2016-09-23

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 8

Vote Count: 879

The Mulberry Bush

Two men sit next to each other on an autumn day in Central Park. They make small talk about the weather and the joys of summer. When the conversation turns personal, however, it becomes clear that this is no random encounter...

Release Date: 2016-04-15

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 5

Billions

A complex drama about power politics in the world of New York high finance. Shrewd, savvy U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod are on an explosive collision course, with each using all of his considerable smarts, power and influence to outmaneuver the other. The stakes are in the billions in this timely, provocative series.

Release Date: 2016-01-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 935

Middle of the Night

Two men discussing whether to do something or not.

Release Date: 2015-12-07

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Dirty Weekend

During a layover in Albuquerque, work colleagues Les and Natalie discover more about each other than they ever thought possible. Anxious and irritable, Les is drawn back into the city by past experiences he can’t forget (even if he doesn't really remember the particulars of his previous drunken adventure). Natalie, refusing to leave his side, follows along as her own secrets are slowly revealed, leaving her feeling both vulnerable and unbound.

Release Date: 2015-09-04

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 80

Billy & Billie

Billy & Billie centers on two young adults as they fall in love. They face the usual barrage of attention from their friends and family, and the normal anxieties that come at the start of a new relationship-all further complicated by the fact that they're stepbrother and sister.

Release Date: 2015-03-03

Department: Creator

Job: Creator

Vote Count: 19

It's Okay

A young couple struggles to break free of the restricted world they've created together.

Release Date: 2014-06-19

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 1

Some Velvet Morning

Fred arrives at the doorstep of his beautiful young mistress Velvet after four years apart, claiming to have finally left his wife. But when she rejects his attempts to rekindle their romance, his persistence evolves into obsession — and a dark history between the former lovers comes into focus.

Release Date: 2013-12-13

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 52

Full Circle

The series from Neil LaBute aims to examine "the human condition and relationships through a series of conversations between 11 people", whose lives are intertwined, unbeknownst to them. Each episode takes place in a restaurant and is a conversation between two characters. One of the character's storylines then will carry over into the next episode through a conversation with a new character. That character will then be featured in the following episode. The process will continue until the final episode.

Release Date: 2013-10-09

Department: Creator

Job: Creator

Vote Count: 2

Some Girl(s)

On the eve of his wedding, a successful writer travels around the country to meet up with ex-lovers in an attempt to make amends for his wrongdoings.

Release Date: 2013-06-28

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 76

Current Events

A woman talks about how hard her life is.

Release Date: 2012-11-02

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Double or Nothing

Clark and Becca leave a bar after a night out with friends. When they pass a homeless man on the street, Clark gets an idea.

Release Date: 2012-10-13

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 1

Stars In Shorts

Seven short films, all of which feature name actors, including Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth, Lily Tomlin, Keira Knightley, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and more.

Release Date: 2012-09-28

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Denise

A girl helps a guy untangle his web of lies.

Release Date: 2012-07-04

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 2

BFF

Two best friends meet to discuss love and loss over a cup of tea. Things do not go as planned.

Release Date: 2012-04-28

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 2

I Melt with You

Former college friends meet up for a reunion that leads them to face the apparent disillusionment that defines their lives. After a week of excessive drug and alcohol abuse, events lead them to contemplate fulfilling a self destructive pact they made when they were young.

Release Date: 2011-12-09

Department: Production

Job: Executive Producer

Vote Count: 80

Hell on Wheels

The epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a Confederate soldier who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife. His journey takes him west to Hell on Wheels, a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot of a town that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat unprecedented for its time.

Release Date: 2011-11-06

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 427

Sweet Nothings

This came about in a simple way - Neil and I were discussing how much we liked the short film genre. Neil sent me this script and asked if I wanted to shoot it. I said yes. I was in NY on other business but decided to shoot it at the Mercer Hotel. A friend put me in touch with two amazing actors - Adam Driver and Joanne Tuck. We shot in a couple of hours on a Saturday Night, just the 3 of us in a dark room (all shot on NightVision).

Release Date: 2011-10-22

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 1

After-School Special

A man and a woman have an awkward encounter at an indoor playground.

Release Date: 2011-06-23

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 11

Raging Bull: Reflections on a Classic

Prominent filmmakers discuss Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull."

Release Date: 2011-02-21

Character: Self

Sexting

Fed up with her relationship with a married man, a young woman decides to meet his wife for coffee.

Release Date: 2010-10-09

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 6

Death at a Funeral

Aaron's father's funeral is today at the family home, and everything goes wrong: the funeral home delivers the wrong body, his cousin accidentally drugs her fiancé, and Aaron's successful younger brother, Ryan, flies in from New York, broke but arrogant. To top it all off, a mysterious stranger wants a word with Aaron.

Release Date: 2010-04-15

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 990

Heavy Rain

A powerful short documentary inspired by the launch of the genre breaking PlayStation 3 title HEAVY RAIN.   Directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Neil LaBute, the seven minute short was filmed in London, LA & Paris and asks leading luminaries, 'How far would you go to save someone you love?'  

Release Date: 2010-02-23

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Character:

Vote Count: 1

Cleanflix

When a small Utah-based edited movie company is caught sanitizing Hollywood's copyrighted material, the film industry strikes back with a devastating blow.

Release Date: 2009-09-11

Character: Self

Vote Count: 15

Lakeview Terrace

A young interracial couple has just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of their relationship. A tightly wound LAPD officer has appointed himself the watchdog of the neighborhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly aggressive to the newlyweds. These persistent intrusions into their lives cause the couple to fight back.

Release Date: 2008-09-19

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 1080

Tumble

A man encounters a woman he knew.

Release Date: 2007-09-25

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

The Wicker Man

A sheriff investigating the disappearance of a young girl from a small island discovers there's a larger mystery to solve among the island's secretive, neo-pagan community.

Release Date: 2006-08-31

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 1330

The Shape of Things

Quiet, unassuming Adam is changing in a major way, thanks to his new girlfriend, art student Evelyn. Adam's friends are a little freaked by the transformation.

Release Date: 2003-07-24

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 144

Possession

Maud Bailey, a brilliant English academic, is researching the life and work of poet Christabel La Motte. Roland Michell is an American scholar in London to study Randolph Henry Ash, now best-known for a collection of poems dedicated to his wife. When Maud and Roland discover a cache of love letters that appear to be from Ash to La Motte, they follow a trail of clues across England, echoing the journey of the couple over a century earlier.

Release Date: 2002-08-16

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 180

Bash: Latter-Day Plays

The movie comprises three vignettes of actors-speaking-to-audience, two of which are monologues. All three revolve around violence or murder.

Release Date: 2001-08-28

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 4

Nurse Betty

What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress and soap opera fan from Fair Oaks, Kansas, you refuse to believe that you can't be with the love of your life just because he doesn't really exist. After all, life is no excuse for not living. Traumatized by a savage event, Betty enters into a fugue state that allows -- even encourages -- her to keep functioning... in a kind of alternate reality.

Release Date: 2000-08-30

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 406

Your Friends & Neighbors

Restless and unhappy, two couples get caught up in infidelity and deception. Barry is a sullen businessman married to Mary, a writer who is unsatisfied with their relationship. Mary begins an affair with Jerry, a smug theater professor and husband of her friend, Terri, who is also a writer. Adding to the adulterous mix are Cary, a callous doctor, and Cheri, an art-gallery assistant.

Release Date: 1998-08-19

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 79

Independent's Day

Filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival discuss what it is like to be an independent filmmaker, and what Sundance has done for them.

Release Date: 1998-01-15

Character: Self

Vote Count: 4

In the Company of Men

Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.

Release Date: 1997-03-28

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 156

Tour de France

Man talking about the United States of America.

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

High School Spirits

Two college students Kyle and Andy take it upon themselves to exorcise the haunted Fulton house, the only available place for them to stay on their college campus.

Release Date: 1986-04-05

Vote Count: 2