Cynthia Mort

{{Infobox person | name = Cynthia Mort | birth_name = Cynthia Ann Mort | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|6|18}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | known_for = | years_active = 1994–present }}

'''Cynthia Mort''' (born June 18, 1956) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Mort has worked primarily in television since beginning her career in 1994, writing for the sitcom ''Roseanne''. Her notable works include the HBO series ''Tell Me You Love Me'' as a creator and executive producer, the revenge film ''The Brave One'' (2007) as a screenwriter, and the biopic ''Nina'' (2016) as a director.

== Biography == {{Expand section|date=December 2016}} Mort was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/how-nina-became-a-disaster-movie|title=How 'Nina' Became A Disaster Movie|last=Aurthur|first=Kate|date=April 14, 2016|work=BuzzFeed Entertainment|access-date=October 19, 2016}}</ref>

== Career == === Television === Mort began her career as a screenwriter in 1994. She wrote multiple episodes for the sitcom ''Roseanne,'' and was later a producer on the show. She continued in television as a writer and producer for the program ''Will and Grace.''<ref name=":1" />

In 2007, Mort created and produced the drama ''Tell Me You Love Me'', which aired on HBO, and starred an ensemble cast including Jane Alexander and Adam Scott''.'' The plot of the program closely examines various struggles that may arise in a committed marriage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/arts/television/12love.html?_r=0|title=Honest Look at Marriage? You Mean That Sex Show?|last=Rochlin|first=Margy|date=July 12, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 1, 2016}}</ref> The series gained notoriety for including highly graphic simulated sexual sequences, to the point that audiences asked whether the actors actually engaged in sexual intercourse on camera.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/fashion/30sex.html|title=It Isn't a Real Sex Scene? I Still Need a Cigarette|last=Navarro|first=Mireya|date=September 30, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 19, 2016}}</ref> The series ended after one season.<ref name=":0" />

Mort co-wrote a pilot episode for HBO called ''Tilda'' in 2011, but experienced conflicts with her co-writer Bill Condon. The project was not picked up as a series.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2011/02/hbo-not-going-forward-with-tilda-109204/|title=HBO Not Going Forward With 'Tilda' Comedy|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=February 25, 2011|work=Deadline}}</ref>

=== Writing in film === Mort, along with Roderick Taylor and Bruce A. Taylor, wrote the screenplay for the 2007 film ''The Brave One''. The film features Jodie Foster as a woman seeking revenge on the men who killed her fiancé.<ref>{{Cite news|title=THE BRAVE ONE|last=Chang|first=Justin|date=September 3, 2007|work=Variety|issue=408|volume=3|via=FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database}}</ref>

=== ''Nina'', controversy, and lawsuit === In 2016, Mort released her first film as a director, ''Nina'', a biopic chronicling the life of singer Nina Simone. The film elicited a strong negative response from both critics and audiences alike as a result of Mort's choice to cast actress Zoe Saldaña in the title role, despite discrepancies between the two women's skin colours. The film and its creators were accused of perpetuating blackface by darkening Saldana's skin to play the role.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sterritt|first=David|year=2016|title=Blackface, Bamboozled, and Zoe Saldana|journal=Quarterly Review of Film and Video|volume=6|issue=33}}</ref>

Furthermore, the film underwent another controversy in which Mort filed a lawsuit against the producers of ''Nina'' in 2014, after finding that choices made by the company compromised her long-standing artistic vision of the film.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/director-nina-simone-film-sues-704230|title=Director of Nina Simone Film Sues Over Production Company's Highjacking (Exclusive)|last=Gardner|first=Eriq|date=May 14, 2014|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=October 1, 2016}}</ref> As a result, the film was not released for another two years, and while Mort has expressed her support for the project, she maintains that the final result does not properly reflect her work.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/03/nina-cynthia-mort-controversy|title=Nina Director Responds To Casting Controversy|last=Coggan|first=Devan|date=March 3, 2016|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=October 19, 2016}}</ref>

== Personal life == Mort is a lesbian.<ref name=LoAE>{{cite web|last1=Lo|first1=Malinda|title=Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (May 30, 2008)|url=https://www.afterellen.com/people/32626-best-lesbian-week-ever-may-30-2008/3|website=AfterEllen|date=May 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011234602/https://www.afterellen.com/people/32626-best-lesbian-week-ever-may-30-2008/3|archive-date=October 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Gilchrist>{{cite web|last1=Gilchrist|first1=Tracy E.|title=Tabloids speculate about Jodie Foster's "other woman"|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2008/05/22/tabloids-speculate-about-jodie-fosters-other-woman/|website=PinkNews|date=May 22, 2008}}</ref><ref name=DailyNews>{{cite news|last1=Staff|title=Jodie Foster dumps long-time girlfriend for screenwriter Cindy Mort|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/jodie-foster-dumps-long-time-girlfriend-screenwriter-cindy-mort-article-1.328445|work=New York Daily News|date=May 25, 2008|access-date=October 2, 2016}}</ref> She was involved in a long-term relationship with actress Melanie Mayron and helped raise Mayron's children until their separation in 2008.<ref name=Gilchrist /> Mort's personal life garnered attention after the release of ''The Brave One'' for her rumoured adulterous romance with actress Jodie Foster, who starred in the film.<ref name=DailyNews /> Both Foster and Mort broke up with their partners and began dating each other, but ended their relationship the following year.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

== Filmography == '''Film''' {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer |- | 2007 | ''The Brave One'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- | 2016 | ''Nina'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- | 2020 | ''When We Kill the Creators'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- |}

'''Television''' {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! Year ! Title ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes |- | 1994-1997 | ''Roseanne'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |- | 1998 | ''Even the Losers'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Unsold pilot |- | 2001-2002 | ''Will & Grace'' | {{yes}} | {{yes|Consulting}} | |- | 2007 | ''Tell Me You Love Me'' | {{yes}} | {{yes|Executive}} | Also creator |- | 2011 | ''Tilda'' | {{yes}} | {{yes|Executive}} | Unsold pilot |- |}

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb name|0607725|Cynthia Mort}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mort, Cynthia}} Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:American women screenwriters Category:American LGBTQ film directors Category:LGBTQ film producers Category:LGBTQ television producers Category:Lesbian screenwriters Category:American women television producers Category:Mass media people from Detroit Category:Film directors from Michigan Category:Screenwriters from Michigan Category:American lesbian writers Category:American LGBTQ screenwriters Category:American women television directors Category:American television directors Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:Television producers from Michigan Category:21st-century American women