{{Short description|American film director, screenwriter and film producer}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Austin Chick | image = Austin Chick by David Shankbone.jpg | caption = Chick in 2008 | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1971}} | birth_place = Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | alma_mater = State University of New York at Purchase | known_for = ''XX/XY'' (2002)<br>''August'' (2008) | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, film producer | spouse = {{marriage|Morena Baccarin<br>|2011|2016|reason=divorced}} | children = 1 | homepage = }} '''Austin Chick''' (born 1971)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2bc6752cc7 | title=Austin Chick | publisher=British Film Institute | accessdate=September 28, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230030453/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2bc6752cc7 | archive-date=December 30, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, who made the film ''XX/XY'', released in 2002, and ''August'', which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
==Early life== Although born in Hartford, Connecticut, Chick moved to New Hampshire as a youngster.<ref name="freewilliamsburg">[http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/may_2003/austin-chick.html Austin Chick The Brooklyn Director of XX/YY] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924015518/http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/may_2003/austin-chick.html |date=September 24, 2015 }}, FreeWilliamsburg.com website, May 2003</ref> In the late 1980s<ref name="freewilliamsburg" /> he attended high school at High Mowing School, a boarding school in Wilton, NH. He went on to Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, where he specialized in literature and psychology with the aid of grants from the King Foundation.<ref name="zinema">{{Google translation|en|es|http://www.zinema.com/pelicula/2004/xxxy.htm|Education}}: Google translation of references at ''Zinema.com'' {{in lang|es}} website. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> Chick spent a number of years unsure of what he wanted to do with his life and took on a life of a wanderer for some time. He said watching ''Kings of the Road'' helped him find direction:.
{{blockquote|I wanted to be doing something that was a little bit more, I don’t know, populist? More accessible. I felt like a narrative interested me, and it wasn’t until I saw ''Kings of the Road'' that I realized that film was a place that might make sense for me.<ref name=elder>Elder, Robert K. ''The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark'', Chicago Review Press, January 2011, {{ISBN|978-1556528255}}</ref>}}
In 1998,<ref name="zinema" /> Chick graduated in cinematography<ref>[http://www.dvdfuture.com/features.php?id=20 More on education and graduation]: ''DVD Future'' website. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> from SUNY Purchase Film School in Purchase, New York.
==Career== His first major film, which he wrote and directed, was released in 2002. It was titled ''XX/XY'', and it starred Mark Ruffalo and Kathleen Robertson. It examined the complex relationship between three Sarah Lawrence College students, both during their time at the school and then many years later.<ref>[http://www.qwipster.net/xxxy.htm ''XX/XY (2002)''] film review: ''Qwipster.net'' website. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> It was an independent production, which was shown at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival (where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize)<ref>[http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/xxxy Grand Jury Prize nomination], 2002 Sundance Film Festival: Metacritic website. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> and subsequently taken up by IFC Films.<ref name="freewilliamsburg" />
He co-produced Sidney Lumet's 2007 film ''Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'', which featured Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as two brothers who stage the robbery of their parents' jewelry shop in an effort to get rich quick, with tragic consequences.
He then produced a movie called ''August'', which was released by [http://www.contentmediacorp.com/about/ ContentFilm International] in 2008. The cast list is headed by Josh Hartnett, and features Adam Scott, Naomie Harris, Rip Torn, and David Bowie. The plot centered on two brothers, with one of them, Tom (Hartnett), involved in a struggle to save his internet company on the stock market just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.<ref>[http://movies.aol.com/movie/august-2008/32514/synopsis ''August (2008)''] synopsis: AOL's Moviefone website. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.</ref> Chick directed the film and was also executive producer.
In 2012, he wrote and directed ''Girls Against Boys'' (starring Danielle Panabaker and Nicole LaLiberte). It was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/girls-against-boys-v558452 |title=Girls Against Boys (2012) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast |publisher=AllMovie |date=2013-02-01 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
==Personal life== Chick married actress Morena Baccarin over Thanksgiving in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT2E5s8Gzwc|title=Morena Baccarin on ''The Late Late Show'' with Craig Ferguson|website=YouTube |date=December 13, 2011}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> They had a son.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leon |first1=Anya|title=Morena Baccarin Welcomes Son|url=http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/10/24/homeland-morena-baccarin-welcomes-son-julius|work=People|date= 24 October 2013}}{{dead link|date=August 2025}}</ref> Chick filed for divorce in July 2015, citing irreconcilable differences.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rayford Rubenstein|first1=Janine|title=Homeland Actress Morena Baccarin's Husband Files for Divorce|url=http://www.people.com/article/morena-baccarin-divorce-austin-chick|accessdate= July 6, 2015|work=People|date= 7 July 2015}}</ref> In September 2015, his wife responded in a legal declaration involving their divorce that she planned to marry her ''Gotham'' co-star, Ben McKenzie, adding that she was pregnant with McKenzie's child.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/tv/gothams-morena-baccarin-and-ben-mckenzie-are-dating/|title= Gotham's Morena Baccarin and Benjamin McKenzie Dating|first=Patrick|last=Gomez|work=People|date=September 21, 2015|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/morena-baccarin-ben-mckenzie-plan-to-marry-her-divorce-docs-say-x92755| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150929133618/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/morena-baccarin-ben-mckenzie-plan-to-marry-her-divorce-docs-say-1.10901031| url-status= live| archive-date= September 29, 2015| title=Morena Baccarin, Ben McKenzie plan to marry, her divorce docs say|date=September 28, 2015 |access-date=September 28, 2015| work=Newsday | author-link=Frank Lovece| first= Frank|last=Lovece}}</ref> <!--name, date, gender jointly confirmed by their representatives--> On 18 March 2016, Baccarin and Chick's divorce became official.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/750041/morena-baccarin-and-austin-chick-are-officially-divorced|title= Morena Baccarin Officially Divorced|publisher= E! News|date= March 18, 2016|access-date= March 20, 2016}}</ref> Baccarin agreed to a stipend for Chick of $5,000 per month in spousal support through December 2018, and $3,500 per month in child support for their son until he reaches 18 years of age.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Natalie|date=January 9, 2018 |title=Morena Baccarin Settles Custody Battle with Ex-Husband Austin Chick |url=https://people.com/tv/morena-baccarin-settles-custody-battle-with-ex-husband-austin-chick/ |website=People |access-date=13 August 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0157222}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090830104324/http://www.thedoomedplanet.com/view.cfm?id=82 Austin Chick's first student film]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chick, Austin}} Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni Category:American male screenwriters Category:Film producers from Connecticut Category:Living people Category:People from Hartford, Connecticut Category:1971 births Category:Waldorf school alumni Category:Film directors from New York City Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)