Laura Belsey

Laura Belsey
Born
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
OccupationTelevision director

Laura Belsey is an American television director.[1][2][3] She is best known for directing The Walking Dead, Shadow and Bone, and Dr. Death.[4][5]

Life and career

Laura was born in New Orleans and raised in Switzerland.[6] She began directing commercials after graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.[7] She won a Gold Lion from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.[8][9]

Belsey's work in television has received numerous critical accolades. Forbes wrote that The Calm Before, one of the episodes she directed of the WALKING DEAD, “might actually be the best episode in series history."[10] Paste wrote that “Belsey demonstrates an immediate gift for naturalistic exchanges between these characters. From an execution standpoint, this episode was a brilliant breath of fresh air.”[11]

Another Belsey-directed WALKING DEAD episode, Here’s Negan is "one of the most brilliant episodes in the show's 10-year history, according to Walking Dead executive producer and former showrunner Scott Gimple.”[12] Zach Marsh of FilmSpeak gave the episode an "A+" - the highest possible grade on the site - calling it the series' best episode and adding that it "belongs on the same kind of “best episodes of the decade” lists.[13] Also from FilmSpeak: “Laura Belsey delivers another home run for “The Walking Dead”. Her collaboration tonight with Morgan is the kind of director-actor output that we more commonly associate with cinema than with television, but the results are just as powerful.”[14]

Den of Geeks wrote of PREACHER’s Les Enfants du Sang, it’s “Laura Belsey’s direction that pushes the episode toward comedic greatness.” [15] AV Club noted that her episode Human Target for ARROW “is damn near perfect."[16] while Geeks Worldwide declared that “Human Target is probably among the best directed Arrow episodes to date."[17]

Laura is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). In August 2023, Laura Belsey was elected National Vice President of the Directors Guild of America, a position formerly held by Steven Soderbergh.[18][19][20]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ "Laura Belsey". New York Film Academy. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "New York Film Academy (NYFA) Welcomes Vice President of the Directors Guild of America and Director Laura Belsey for Liz Hinlein's 'the 20/20 Series'". New York Film Academy. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Interview: Director Laura Belsey talks The Walking Dead 'The Calm Before'". undeadwalking.com. March 25, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "'The Walking Dead' director breaks down Sunday's gut-wrenching reveal: 'I couldn't shake that scene for weeks'". insider.com. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  5. ^ "'Dr. Death': Jennifer Morrison & Laura Belsey Set To Direct Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. October 18, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Screening and Discussion: Half the Picture". montclair.edu. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "LAURA BELSEY". nyfa.edu. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  8. ^ "Cannes Lions 1993". adsspot.me. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  9. ^ "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; The Homeless Give an Anthem New Meaning for the Holidays". The New York Times. December 24, 1993. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  10. ^ Tassi, Paul. "The Walking Dead's 'The Calm Before' Is Tied For The Highest (Fan) Rated Episode Ever". Forbes. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Walking Dead: "The Calm Before"". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Walking Dead: See Real-Life Married Couple the Morgans Together in Negan Prequel Episode". TV Shows. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  13. ^ "The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 22: "Here's Negan" Recap and Review". FilmSpeak. April 4, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 22: "Here's Negan" Recap and Review". FilmSpeak. April 4, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Hogan, Ron (March 25, 2019). "The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 15 Review: The Calm Before". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  16. ^ "A beautifully directed Arrow digs into its characters' heads". The A.V. Club. November 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Belmont, Sarah (November 4, 2016). "Arrow Re-Nocked: Human Target (5x05)". TheGWW.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (August 6, 2023). "Lesli Linka Glatter Re-Elected President of DGA". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Robb, David (August 6, 2023). "Lesli Linka Glatter Re-elected President Of Directors Guild". Deadline. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  20. ^ Cieply, Michael (July 26, 2009). "Directors Guild Names Its New President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 31, 2023.