American Beauty (1999 film) and "Magnolia"). In 2006, the Writers Guild of America ranked the screenplay number 38 on its list of the 101 greatest screenplays. Annotations Footnotes Bibliography American Beauty (1999 film) American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his feature film directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a 42-year-old advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper,
Carolyn Marks Blackwood Carolyn Marks Blackwood Carolyn Marks Blackwood (born August 21, 1951) is an American fine art photographer, film producer, writer, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She was born in Anchorage, Alaska, moved to New York State as a child, and finally to the Hudson Valley region in 1999. Blackwood co-owns Magnolia Mae Films with her business partner Gabrielle Tana, and is best known for her work on the Academy Award winning film The Duchess and on the Oscar-nominated film Philomena. In addition to her work on Coriolanus, The Invisible Woman, and the 2016 Sergei Polunin documentary "Dancer," she is currently active with the