Mark Waters Explained

Mark Waters
Birth Name:	Mark Stephen Waters
Birth Date:	1964 6, mf=yes
Birth Place:	Wyandotte, Michigan, U.S.
Alma Mater:	AFI Conservatory
Years Active:	1997–present
Children:	2
Relatives:	Daniel Waters (brother)
Notable Works:	Freaky Friday Mean Girls Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Mr. Popper's Penguins Vampire Academy

Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American director.

Early life

Waters was raised in South Bend, Indiana. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania in theatre arts before studying at the American Film Institute. When studying at Penn, he saw The House of Yes and saw things in the play that he felt he could make cinematic. He contacted the author of the play in Wendy MacLeod and got a manuscript copy by saying he was a film producer.^[1] He worked as a stage actor and director in Philadelphia and San Francisco before his work with AFI, where he graduated in 1994. He made a number of short films.^[2]

Career

He directed the comedy films Freaky Friday,^[3] Mean Girls,^[4] Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,^[5] Mr. Popper's Penguins,^[6] and Vampire Academy.^[7] The first movie he directed was the independent hit The House of Yes starring Parker Posey. Other movies he directed include Head Over Heels, The Spiderwick Chronicles^[8] , Bad Santa 2, Magic Camp, He's All That^[9] , and more. He was attached to direct a movie called Minimum Wage written by Scott Atkinson and Tegan West.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer
1997
2001	Head over Heels
2003	Freaky Friday
2004	Mean Girls
2005	Sorry, Haters
	Just Like Heaven
2008
2009	Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
2011	Mr. Popper's Penguins
2014	Vampire Academy
2016	Bad Santa 2
2020	Magic Camp
2021	He's All That
2024	Mother of the Bride
TBA	Harvest Moon

Producer

• 500 Days of Summer (2009)
• Harvest Moon (TBA)

Television

TV movies

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer
2002
2009	Eva Adams
2015	Salem Rogers
	Cheerleader Death Squad
2018	'Fashionvictim

TV series

Year	Title	Director	Executive producer	Notes
2012	Made in Jersey			2 episodes
2013	Witches of East End			1 episode
2019	Looking for Alaska			Miniseries

Notes and References

1. Web site: Positive Outlook Worked in Taking 'House of Yes' from Stage to Big Screen . https://web.archive.org/web/20220921042851/https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1998-01-30-3188496-story.html . September 21, 2022 . January 30, 1998 .
2. Web site: FILMMAKER MAGAZINE | Fall 1996: PRODUCTION UPDATE .
3. Web site: GradeSaver . Director's Influence on Mean Girls . February 4, 2021 . GradeSaver . en.
4. Multiple sources:
   • Web site: Lybarger . Dan . May 21, 2003 . Mean Girls - Interview with Mark Waters - Nitrate Online Feature . February 4, 2021 . nitrateonline.com.
   • Web site: Mean Girls Director Mark Waters Spills 10 Juicy Stories, 10 Years Later . February 4, 2021 . Vulture . April 30, 2014 . en-us.
   • Web site: Blair . Olivia . April 30, 2019 . The director of Mean Girls explains what would be different if the movie was made now . February 4, 2021 . Cosmopolitan . en-GB.
5. Web site: Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past Mark Waters . February 4, 2021 . exclaim.ca . en-ca.
6. Web site: August 20, 2010 . Jim Carrey and Director Mark Waters Confirmed for Mr. Popper's Penguins . February 4, 2021 . /Film . en-US.
7. Web site: Brissey . Breia . 'Vampire Academy': 5 movie photos with director Mark Waters' notes . February 4, 2021 . EW.com . EN.
8. Web site: Weintraub . Steve . February 12, 2008 . Mark Waters Interview – THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES . December 29, 2022 . Collider . en-US.
9. Web site: Bahr . Robyn . August 27, 2021 . 'He's All That': Film Review . December 29, 2022 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
10. Web site: Fletcher . Alex . January 9, 2009 . Waters attached to 'Minimum Wage' . December 28, 2022 . Digital Spy . en-GB.