Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American director.
Early life Waters was raised in South Bend, Indiana. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania in theatre arts before studying at the American Film Institute. When studying at Penn, he saw The House of Yes and saw things in the play that he felt he could make cinematic. He contacted the author of the play, Wendy MacLeod, and got a manuscript copy by saying he was a film producer. He worked as a stage actor and director in Philadelphia and San Francisco before his work with AFI, where he graduated in 1994. He made a number of short films.
Career Waters began his filmmaking career following his graduation from the American Film Institute in 1994. He made his feature directorial debut with the independent dark comedy The House of Yes (1997), an adaptation of Wendy MacLeod's play of the same name. Starring Parker Posey, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered critical recognition. Following this, he directed the romantic comedy Head Over Heels (2001) and the television film Warning: Parental Advisory (2002).
Waters achieved significant commercial success directing mainstream studio comedies. He directed the Walt Disney Pictures remake Freaky Friday (2003), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, which was a major box-office hit. He reunited with Lohan for the hit teen comedy Mean Girls (2004), written by Tina Fey, which became highly influential in popular culture.Multiple sources:
Continuing his work in the genre, Waters directed the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven (2005) and the family fantasy adventure The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008).
In the late 2000s and 2010s, Waters continued to helm a variety of features, including the romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), the family comedy Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) starring Jim Carrey, and the fantasy adaptation Vampire Academy (2014). He also directed the dark comedy sequel Bad Santa 2 (2016), the Disney+ family film Magic Camp (2020), and the teen romantic comedy He's All That (2021).
Additionally, Waters was previously attached to direct the feature film Minimum Wage, written by Scott Atkinson and Tegan West. Beyond directing, he has also worked as a producer on films such as (500) Days of Summer (2009).
Filmography Film Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer 1997 2001 Head over Heels 2003 Freaky Friday 2004 Mean Girls 2005 Sorry, Haters Just Like Heaven 2008 2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 2011 Mr. Popper's Penguins 2014 Vampire Academy 2016 Bad Santa 2 2020 Magic Camp 2021 He's All That 2024 Mother of the Bride 2025 La Dolce Villa 2026 Hershey 2027 Return to You TBA Harvest Moon
Producer 500 Days of Summer (2009) Harvest Moon (TBA)
Television TV movies Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer 2002 Warning: Parental Advisory 2009 Eva Adams 2015 Salem Rogers Cheerleader Death Squad 2018 #'Fashionvictim
TV series YearTitleDirectorExecutiveproducerNotes 2012 Made in Jersey 2 episodes 2013 Witches of East End 1 episode 2019 Looking for Alaska Miniseries
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