Each spring the Department of Film and Media and The Junior Associates organize MoMA’s annual film benefit, A Work in Progress, to celebrate a young and distinctive directorial voice in current cinema. This year’s honoree is James Mangold, whose work demonstrates a clear artistic vision and a steadfast commitment to the art of filmmaking. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and Columbia University, where he studied under mentors Alexander Mackendrick and Milos Forman respectively, Mangold has directed six feature films to date. Often centered around conflicted outsiders, each of these films possesses a stringent focus on story and character. Mangold pushes his actors to some of their best performances—Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, 1999) and Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, 2005) earned their first Academy Awards under Mangold’s direction—and gives every character a singular opportunity to create his or her own “aria” in the film, even with large ensemble casts, as in Cop Land (1997) and Identity (2003). To celebrate the acquisition of Mangold’s films for the Museum’s collection, the Department of Film and Media presents a complete retrospective of his work. Additionally, two of Mangold’s student films are presented on June 17 and 18 as part of MoMA’s tribute to CalArts. All films written and directed by James Mangold, except where noted.
Organized by Maggie Lyko, Director, Affiliate Programs; and Jenny He, Research Assistant, Department of Film and Media.
Special thanks to Michael Paseornek, Lionsgate; Schawn Belston, Ted Gagliano, Twentieth Century Fox; Daniel Battsek, Janet Kim, Miramax Films; and Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures Entertainment, for the generous donation of prints to the Museum’s collection.