Life and career

Dayton was born in Alameda County, California and grew up in Grass Valley, California. After graduating from Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California, attended the UCLA Film School, studying film and television in the late-1970s; while there, he met Valerie Faris, a dance student and native of Los Angeles County, California, who became his wife and his partner.

As a pair, they have directed and produced music videos, documentaries, commercials and films. They have directed music videos for bands such as Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, and R.E.M.. Their 1996 video for "Tonight Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins won six MTV Video Music Awards. Another video of theirs that received significant success was for the 1990 Extreme song "More Than Words".

They directed a number of sketches for the 1995-1998 HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.

In 1998, they established a production company, "Bob Industries". Through this company the pair directed commercials for companies such as HP, Volkswagen, Sony, GAP, Target, Ikea, Apple Computer, and ESPN. Most famously, the two directed a 1999 commercial for the Volkswagen Cabrio, titled "Milky Way", whose soundtrack consisted entirely of the 1972 Nick Drake song "Pink Moon", and which is credited with single-handedly initiating a massive revival of interest in Nick Drake's music.

They began to be offered feature films to direct at around this time; among projects that they turned down were The Mod Squad (1999) and Bad Boys II (2003).

In 2001, they began to work on the film Little Miss Sunshine; it was released in 2006. The film won the Audience Award at the 2006 Sydney Film festival and an ovation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 2006, the pair were announced as the directors of a planned screen adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel The Abstinence Teacher for Warner Independent Pictures. In 2007 Perrotta wrote a screenplay with input from Dayton and Faris. However, by 2012 they had left the project, and it was taken over by director Lisa Cholodenko.

Their next film was Ruby Sparks in 2012.

As of 2013, the pair are slated to direct the film I'm Proud of You, based on the book of the same name by Tim Madigan about his friendship with Fred Rogers.

In 2016, production began on Battle of the Sexes, directed by Dayton and Faris. In the film, about the infamous tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, Emma Stone will portray King, and Steve Carell will portray Riggs. The film will also star Elisabeth Shue, Alan Cumming, and Sarah Silverman, and is due for release in 2017.

Filmography

Directors

• Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
• Ruby Sparks (2012)
• Battle of the Sexes (2017)

Producers

• The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years (1988)
• Gift (Jane's Addiction) (1993)

Videography

Directors "Wolves Lower" R.E.M. (1982) "Blue Kiss (Version 2)", Jane Wiedlin 1986 "Been Caught Stealing", Jane's Addiction (1990) "Outshined", Soundgarden (1991) "Hole Hearted", Extreme (1991) "More Than Words", Extreme (1991) "Weight Of The World", Ringo Starr (1992) "Pets", Porno for Pyros (1993) "Rocket", The Smashing Pumpkins (1994) "Gun", Soundgarden (1994) "I Don't Want To Grow Up", The Ramones (1995) "Tongue", R.E.M. (1995) "Star 69", R.E.M. (1995) "The Good Life", Weezer (1996) "1979", The Smashing Pumpkins (1996) "Tonight, Tonight", The Smashing Pumpkins (1996) "Spider-Man", The Ramones (1996) "All Around The World", Oasis (1997) "The End Is the Beginning Is the End", The Smashing Pumpkins (1997; co-directed with Joel Schumacher) "Perfect", The Smashing Pumpkins (1998) "She Will Have Her Way", Neil Finn (1998) "Go Deep", Janet Jackson (1998) "Barbarella", Scott Weiland (1998) "She's Got Issues", The Offspring (1999) "Freak on a Leash", KoЯn (1999; co-directed with Todd McFarlane and Graham Morris) "Road Trippin'", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2000) "Californication", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2000) "Otherside", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2000) "Sexual Revolution", Macy Gray (2001) "Sing", Travis (2001) "Side", Travis (2001) "When Your Eyes Say It", Britney Spears (2001) (unreleased) "The Zephyr Song", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2002) "By the Way", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2002) "Tell Me Baby", Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)

Executive producers "Thirty-Three", The Smashing Pumpkins (1996) "The New Pollution", Beck (1997) Producers "In My Darkest Hour", Megadeth (1988) "Hole Hearted", Extreme (1991) "More Than Words", Extreme (1991) Live action directors "Shadrach", Beastie Boys (1989)

Advertisements

• Apple Computer
• BGI/iShares
• Chevy
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Energizer
• ESPN
• GAP
• HP
• HP Fender
• Ikea
• Mastercard
• Mercedes
• Miller Lite
• Mitsubishi
• Mountain Dew
• Moviefone
• NBA
• Old Navy
• Outpost.com
• PlayStation
• Powerade
• Priceline.com
• Puma
• Snapple
• Sun Microsystems
• Target
• Toyota NASCAR
• Truth Behind the Curtain
• Volkswagen

Special Projects

• The Check Up (2005) - branded content short for Volkswagen of America created by Arnold Worldwide, Boston and starring Joe Pantoliano and Kevin Connolly
• "Janet", Documentary - Virgin (Directors)
• REM Tour Film "Green" - C-Hundred Films (Line Producers)
• Jane's Addiction Concert Clip - Warner(Prod/Directors)
• Counting Crows Rocumentary - Geffen (Prod/Directors)
• Interview for "Sting Unplugged" - Polydor (Prod/Directors)
• Joe Satriani Documentary - G3 (Prod/Directors)
• "The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow" - In House (Prod/Directors)
• Janet Jackson's 1814:Rhythm Nation - A&M Records (Prod/Directors)
• Rough Cut (starring R.E.M.) - Documentary

Awards

Directors Guild of America Award nomination for Little Miss Sunshine (Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures) BAFTA nomination for Little Miss Sunshine (David Lean Award for Direction) Independent Spirit Award for Little Miss Sunshine (Director) Best Director at Tokyo International Film Festival for Little Miss Sunshine ANDY Award for Sony PlayStation "Gravity Bomb" (Advertising Club of New York) Sony PlayStation "Gravity Bomb" (Clio Award) Sony PlayStation campaign: "Gravity Bomb / Tractor Beam" (2004 Winner Advertising Club of New York) Sony PlayStation campaign: "Gravity Boots, Gravity Bomb, Tractor Beam" (Clio Award) Director of the Year (Billboard Music Award, 2000) Best Direction, "Californication" (MTV Video Music Awards) 9 Nominations for "Freak On A Leash" (MTV Video Music Awards) 4 Nominations for The Smashing Pumpkins "The End Is The Beginning Is The End" (MTV Video Music Awards) 5 Nominations for "Californication" (MTV Video Music Awards) Best Short Form Video, "Freak On A Leash" (Grammy Awards) Nomination for Oasis "All Around the World" (Grammy Awards) Nomination for The Smashing Pumpkins "Tonight Tonight" (Grammy Awards) 6 Awards for The Smashing Pumpkins "Tonight Tonight" (MTV Video Music Awards) Best Alternative Video for The Smashing Pumpkins "1979" (MTV Video Music Awards) 3 Nominations for Porno for Pyros "Pets" (MTV Video Music Awards) Best Alternative Video for Jane's Addiction "Been Caught Stealing" (MTV Video Music Awards) Best Longform Video for Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation 1814" (Grammy Awards)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]