Quick Facts
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Biography
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. 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.
Career
He directed the comedy films Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Vampire Academy. 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, Bad Santa 2, Magic Camp, He's All That, and more. He was attached to direct a movie called Minimum Wage written by Scott Atkinson and Tegan West.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The House of Yes | Yes | No |
| 2001 | Head over Heels | Yes | No |
| 2003 | Freaky Friday | Yes | No |
| 2004 | Mean Girls | Yes | No |
| 2005 | Sorry, Haters | No | Yes |
| Just Like Heaven | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | Yes | No |
| 2009 | Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Mr. Popper's Penguins | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | Vampire Academy | Yes | No |
| 2016 | Bad Santa 2 | Yes | Yes |
| 2020 | Magic Camp | Yes | No |
| 2021 | He's All That | Yes | No |
| 2024 | Mother of the Bride | Yes | No |
| TBA | Harvest Moon | Yes | No |
Producer
- 500 Days of Summer (2009)
- Harvest Moon (TBA)
Television
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Warning: Parental Advisory | Yes | No |
| 2009 | Eva Adams | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 | Salem Rogers | Yes | No |
| Cheerleader Death Squad | Yes | No | |
| 2018 | #'Fashionvictim | Yes | Yes |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Executive producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Made in Jersey | Yes | Yes | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Witches of East End | Yes | Yes | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Looking for Alaska | No | Yes | Miniseries |