Rachel Talalay
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Rachel Talalay (born July 16, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer best known for directing films such as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Ghost in the Machine (1993), and Tank Girl (1995). Her television credits include episodes of Ally McBeal, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Riverdale, Doom Patrol, Superman & Lois and Quantum Leap.
Talalay is also a professor at the University of British Columbia.[1]
Early life and education
Talalay was born in Chicago. Her father Paul Talalay was a pharmacologist, born in Berlin to a Belarusian Jewish family, and her mother Pamela is an English biochemist. She has two sisters and a brother.[2] She was raised mostly in Baltimore, with two years of her childhood in Britain.[1] Talalay attended Yale University, where she majored in mathematics, graduating in 1980.[3][4] She also ran the Yale Film Society.[3]
Career
Talalay worked in a number of different capacities in filmmaking before making her directorial debut with the film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991).[5] Talalay also worked on the first four A Nightmare on Elm Street films.[3] Her work with the earlier Nightmare films utilized her computer skills and finding ways to create better special effects while still keeping costs low.[3] Despite her familiarity with the Freddy movies, when she directed Freddy's Dead, she was given internal memos telling her not to be "too girly" or "too sensitive."[6]
Talalay also directed Tank Girl in 1995, and was looking into re-optioning the rights to make a new film in 2008.[7] As a film producer, Talalay worked with director John Waters on the films Hairspray (1988) and Cry-Baby (1990). She was also a production assistant on Waters' 1981 film Polyester.[8]
Talalay states that ever since Doctor Who was revived in 2005, she wanted to work on the show.[9] Talalay directed all three of Peter Capaldi's series finales: series 8's "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven",[10] series 9's "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent"—the former considered by many to be one of the best episodes in the show's history[11]—and series 10's "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls",[12] as well as the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time".[13] She returned to Doctor Who in 2023 for "The Star Beast" with David Tennant & Catherine Tate returning as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble as part of the show's 60th anniversary. In 2019, she directed a film adaption of Joe Ballarini's A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting for Netflix.[14]
Personal life
Talalay met British film producer Rupert Harvey while working on Android in 1982. They began a relationship soon after, and were married in 1990, with John Waters officiating the wedding.[4][15] Talalay and Harvey have a daughter named Lucy.[16]
Filmography
Films
Director Template:Colbegin
- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (also story writer)
- Ghost in the Machine (1993)
- Tank Girl (1995)
- A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020)
Template:Colend Producer Template:Colbegin
- Hairspray (1988)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
- Cry-Baby (1990)
- The Borrowers (1997)
Television
TV movies
- A Tale of Two Wives (2003)
- The Wind in the Willows (2006)
- Hannah's Law (2012)
- The Dorm (2014)
- Unclaimed (2016)
TV series
| Year | Title | Episodes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Band of Gold |
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| 1998 | To Have & to Hold |
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| Touching Evil (U.K. Series) |
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| 1999–2002 | Ally McBeal |
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| 2000 | Boston Public |
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| Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) |
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| 2001 | That's Life |
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| State of Grace |
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| Wolf Lake |
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| Dice |
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| 2002 | Without a Trace |
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| Crossing Jordan |
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| 2002–2007 | The Dead Zone |
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| 2002–2003 | The Division |
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| 2003 | Cold Case |
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| 2004 | Touching Evil (U.S. Series) |
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| Life as We Know It |
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| Unfabulous |
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| 2005 | Sex, Love & Secrets |
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| Terminal City |
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| 2006 | Whistler |
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| 2007 | Supernatural |
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| Greek |
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| Kyle XY |
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| 2008 | Flash Gordon |
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| 2009 | Da Kink in My Hair |
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| Durham County |
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| 2010 | Cra$h & Burn |
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| Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures |
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| Haven |
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| 2011 | Endgame |
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| Hiccups |
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| 2012 | Continuum |
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| XIII: The Series |
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| 2013 | Bomb Girls |
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| Played |
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| 2014 | Reign |
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| 2014–2015, 2017, 2022–2023 |
Doctor Who |
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| 2015 | South of Hell |
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| 2016–2023 | The Flash |
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| 2016–2021 | Legends of Tomorrow |
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[17] |
| 2016–2019 | Supergirl |
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| 2017 | Sherlock | ||
| 2018–2021 | Riverdale |
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| 2018 | Iron Fist |
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| Chilling Adventures of Sabrina |
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| 2019 | Doom Patrol |
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| American Gods |
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[18] | |
| 2021 | Superman & Lois |
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| 2022 | Quantum Leap |
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Partial Accolades
Leo Awards
- Best Direction Dramatic Series - Winner - Terminal City - For Episode 8[19]
References
External links
- Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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- ↑ Rachel Talalay Biography, Film Reference
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
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- 1958 births
- American film producers
- American people of English descent
- 20th-century American Jews
- American people of German-Jewish descent
- American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
- American television directors
- American television producers
- American women film directors
- American women film producers
- American women television producers
- Film directors from Illinois
- Living people
- Academic staff of the University of British Columbia
- American women television directors
- Yale University alumni
- American women academics
- 21st-century American Jews
- 20th-century American women
- 21st-century American women