Lisa Joy
Lisa Joy is an American screenwriter, director and producer. She is best known as the co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the HBO science-fiction drama series Westworld (2016–present). For her work on the series, she received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations.[1] Joy's other work includes the ABC comedy series Pushing Daisies (2007–2009) and the USA Network crime drama series Burn Notice (2009–2011).
Lisa Joy | |
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Joy at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con | |
Born | New Jersey, U.S. |
Alma mater | Stanford University Harvard Law School |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2007–present |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Christopher Nolan (brother-in-law) |
Early life
Lisa Joy was raised in New Jersey. Her parents are both immigrants, her father is English and her mother is Taiwanese.[2]
Joy graduated from Stanford University and worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles before attending Harvard Law School.[3] Joy was admitted to the bar in 2009 and practiced law in California prior to her career in entertainment.[4]
Career
While studying for the bar, Joy submitted a sample script for the ABC fantasy comedy-drama series Pushing Daisies. A friend passed the script along to a television producer, helping her get the job as a staff writer in 2007. She went on to become the only female writer on the USA Network crime drama series Burn Notice. She later served as a co-producer on the series.
In 2016, Joy co-created the HBO science fiction series Westworld and serves as its co-showrunner for up to six seasons.[5] The series focuses on "a futuristic theme park gone wrong where robots start rebelling against humans". The series went on to become one of the most popular series on television.[6] For her work on the series, Joy earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, among others.
Joy, along with her husband Jonathan Nolan, signed a new deal with Amazon to write and produce a series for the company. The deal is worth $150 million over five years. As a part of the deal, Joy and Nolan were announced as executive producers on a science fiction series The Peripheral,[7] and an adaptation of the post-apocalyptic video game series Fallout.[8]
Personal life
Joy married screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, the younger brother of director Christopher Nolan. The two first met at the premiere of the elder Nolan's film Memento.[9][10]
Joy and Nolan have two children, a daughter and a son.[2][11][12]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | |||
2021 | Reminiscence | Yes | Yes | Yes | Post-production |
Television
Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | |||
2007–2009 | Pushing Daisies | No | Yes | No | 3 episodes |
2009–2011 | Burn Notice | No | Yes | Yes | 19 episodes |
2016–present | Westworld | Yes | Yes | Executive | Co-creator 28 episodes |
TBA | The Peripheral | No | No | Executive | Upcoming |
TBA | Fallout | No | No | Executive | Upcoming |
Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best New Series | Pushing Daisies | Nominated | |
2016 | Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards | Best Television Presentation | Westworld | Nominated | |
2017 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best New Series | Nominated | ||
Best Dramatic Series | Nominated | ||||
Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated | |||
Gold Derby Awards | Drama Episode of the Year | Nominated | |||
Dragon Awards | Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series | Nominated | |||
Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Episode in a TV Series | Nominated | |||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Nominated | ||||
2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
References
- Miller, Matt (September 29, 2016). "Westworld Is Not the Next Game of Thrones—It's Much More Than That". Esquire. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
- Fortini, Amanda (April 17, 2018). "With 'Westworld', Lisa Joy Is Rewriting Women's Power Story Line in Hollywood and Beyond". Elle.
Joy, who is 40, was raised in a hardworking immigrant family (her dad is from England; her mom is from Taiwan) in suburban New Jersey.
- Heather Wood Rudulph, Get That Life: How I Became the Co-Creator of Westworld, Cosmopolitan, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/career/a8664279/lisa-joy-westworld-co-creator-get-that-life/
- California, The State Bar of. "State Bar of CA :: Lisa Joy". members.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- Goldberg, Lesley (April 22, 2020). "'Westworld' Renewed for Season 4 at HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media.
- Rudulph, Heather Wood (February 6, 2017). "Get That Life: How I Became the Co-Creator of "Westworld"". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- Otterson, Joe; Otterson, Joe (April 5, 2019). "Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy Exit Warner Bros. TV for Massive Overall Deal at Amazon". Variety. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "Kilter Films Teams with Amazon Studios to Develop Series Based on Fallout". Bethesda.net. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- Staff, The Playlist. "On The Rise 2014: 13 Screenwriters To Watch | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- Gire, Jamie Sotonoff and Dann (October 18, 2016). "A-minus at Loyola Academy fueled 'Westworld' creator". Daily Herald. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- King, Larry (April 15, 2014). "What Does A Showrunner Bring To A Deserted Island?". YouTube. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- "Is 'Westworld' HBO's Next Big Hit?". New York Times. September 29, 2016.
- "Lisa Joy – Awards – IMDb". Retrieved April 21, 2020.