{{short description|American documentary filmmaker (born 1979)}} {{Infobox person | name = Steven Greenstreet | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|03|14}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Documentary filmmaker | years_active = 2005–present | notable_works = {{unbulleted list|This Divided State|8: The Mormon Proposition}} | awards = 2016 Streamy Award (Best Documentary) }}
'''Steven Greenstreet''' (born March 14, 1979) is an American documentary filmmaker and journalist,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/videos/a36864/there-is-a-place-mormon-utah-trailer/ |title=This Documentary Will Expose the Dark Side of Mormon Utah |last=Schodt |first=Paul |date=August 3, 2015 |website=esquire.com |publisher=Esquire magazine |access-date=June 9, 2024}}</ref> known for several documentaries about the campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage in the 2000s, particularly ''This Divided State'' (2005) and ''8: The Mormon Proposition'' (2010), which was selected to premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. He has also worked as a video investigative journalist for The Huffington Post Investigative Fund and a video producer for the US State Department.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bloch|first=Brandon|title=Words w/ Filmmaker Steven Greenstreet|url=http://readysetdc.com/2010/06/words-w-filmmaker-steven-greenstreet/|publisher=ReadysetDC|access-date=2011-03-27|archive-date=2011-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513002249/http://readysetdc.com/2010/06/words-w-filmmaker-steven-greenstreet/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 2014 he has been a video producer at the ''New York Post''.<ref name="theorg">{{cite web |url=https://theorg.com/org/new-york-post/org-chart/steven-greenstreet |title=Steven Greenstreet |website=TheOrg.com |publisher= The Org/Orgio, Inc. |access-date=June 9, 2024}}</ref>
== Biography == Greenstreet grew up in a Mormon family in Pylesville, Maryland.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chaney |first=Jen |date=2010-01-30 |title='8': A complex proposition |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2010/01/30/8-a-complex-proposition/3c89bd66-1d1a-4d89-9783-a23e8457a805/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> After high school, he spent time as a Mormon missionary.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Minow |first=Nell |date=June 19, 2010 |title=Interview on '8: The Mormon Proposition' |url=https://moviemom.com/interview-on-8-the-mormon-prop/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Movie Mom}}</ref>
== Career == Greenstreet cites several documentaries he saw as a young adult, including ''The Thin Blue Line'', ''Roger and Me'' and ''Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills'', as inspiring his dream to become a documentary filmmaker.<ref name=":2" /> Wishing to attend Brigham Young University to study filmmaking but unable to do so because of poor grades, he attended Utah Valley State College for two semesters before transferring to Brigham Young. However, he dropped out after one semester there to produce ''This Divided State'' (2005),<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Kyle |date=2013-09-22 |title=The documentarian |url=https://www.uvureview.com/valley-life/artsculture/the-documentarian/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=UVU Review |language=en-US}}</ref> a documentary about the tense political climate at Utah Valley State College and the surrounding conservative town of Orem. Shortly before the 2004 presidential election, the student council had invited left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore and conservative television host Sean Hannity to speak, leading to widespread protests.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Jen|title='State' takes adroit look at free speech|url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2005/apr/08/state-takes-adroit-look-at-free-speech/|publisher=Yale Daily News|access-date=2011-03-26|archive-date=2012-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925005427/http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2005/apr/08/state-takes-adroit-look-at-free-speech/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The film was well-received, with reviewers praising its objectivity and intimate documentation of political polarization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=This Divided State {{!}} Reviews |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/this_divided_state/reviews |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en}}</ref> Greenstreet called the experience a "crash course" in "the whole spectrum of making a movie". He did not return to university after making the film.<ref name=":0" />
In 2008, Greenstreet was hired to edit a documentary about the obesity epidemic in the U.S. called ''Killer at Large''. He ended up directing the film entirely following an executive producer's dissatisfaction with the old director.<ref name=":0" /> Upon finishing the film, he accepted a position as a video journalist at the Center for Public Integrity (today the Center for Public Integrity), where he produced short-form investigative pieces. After making a 7-minute piece about the involvement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California's 2008 referendum to ban same-sex marriage, he was approached by Reed Cowan, who suggested making it into a feature-length documentary. Cowan and Greenstreet co-produced the project, which became ''8: The Mormon Proposition.'' The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.<ref name=":0" />
In 2011, Greenstreet created a video called "Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street," consisting of brief clips of female protesters. He also created a Tumblr page with the same name, where he began posting pictures of women. Many participants fiercely criticized him for objectifying women, sexualizing them without their consent,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Strohecker |first=Dave Paul |date=October 25, 2011 |title=Romanticizing the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl at #OccupyWallSt - Cyborgology |url=https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/10/25/romanticizing-the-manic-pixie-dreamgirl-at-occupywallst/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Society Pages |language=en}}</ref> and reducing their political activism to a "beauty contest."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berkenwald |first=Leah |date=2011-10-20 |title=Hot Chicks, Cold Sexists and Occupy Wall Street |url=https://msmagazine.com/2011/10/20/hot-chicks-cold-sexists-and-occupy-wall-street/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=Ms. Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> He defended himself, saying his intention had been to elevate female members of the movement and that he considered "spirit of the video, and the voices within" to be "honorable and inspiring."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-10-18 |title='Occupy Wall Street' Demonstration Inspires Web Memes, Viral Videos And More - CBS New York |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/occupy-wall-street-demonstration-inspires-web-memes-viral-videos-and-more/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref>
Between 2011 and 2013, Greenstreet directed ''Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life'', a two-season MTV miniseries about Kesha's concert tours.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Means |first=Sean |date=August 3, 2015 |title=Filmmaker returns to Utah, unearthing old footage for new project |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2799001&itype=CMSID |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Exley|first=Jennifer|title=MTV Sets Ke$ha Docu-Series Premiere Date, Reveals Extended Preview (Video)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mtv-sets-keha-docu-series-422349|accessdate=4 March 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>
In 2016, as part of his role as video producer for the New York Post, he co-produced the video series ''The Banker Suicides'', which won that year's Best Documentary prize at that year's Streamy Awards.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-10-02 |title=Post's 'Banker Suicides' video series wins Streamy Award |url=https://nypost.com/2016/10/02/posts-banker-suicides-video-series-wins-streamy-award/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2019, he began producing and hosting ''The Basement Office'', a YouTube series investigating UFO sightings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Basement Office - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwNrNqsuwF1n43wh5nuV5hTFrdAN00kfk|access-date=2020-12-30|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
== Filmography == * ''The Basement Office'' (2019–) (director/producer/host) * ''The Curse of Don's Plum'' (2019) (producer) * ''The Banker Suicides'' (2016) (producer) * ''Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life'' (2013) (co-director/producer) * ''8: The Mormon Proposition'' (2010) (co-director/producer) * ''Killer at Large'' (2008) (director/producer) * ''This Divided State'' (2005) (director/producer)<ref>{{cite web|title=Steven Greenstreet|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1481222/filmotype|publisher=Internet Movie Database}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
== External links == * [http://www.stevengreenstreet.com Steven Greenstreet Homepage] * [http://www.8themormonproposition.com ''8: The Mormon Proposition'' Official Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903010424/http://www.8themormonproposition.com/ |date=2011-09-03 }} * {{IMDb name|1481222}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenstreet, Steven}} Category:21st-century American journalists Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:American investigative journalists Category:Filmmakers from Maryland Category:New York Post people Category:1979 births Category:Living people