Reality Bites

Anniversary Screenings

World Premiere Restoration Premiere

USA | 99 MINUTES |

REALITY BITES

Comedy, Drama, Romance
Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke star in Ben Stiller’s 1994 feature film directorial debut, the iconic comedy-drama that defined a generation of independent moviegoing-and-moviegoers with its achingly-relatable portrait of early 90’s disaffected youth struggling to live and love amid the brutal reality of (almost) adulthood.

In the film, written by Helen Childress, Lelaina Pierce (Ryder) navigates her post-college disillusionment by turning the camera on her friends: the free-spirited Vickie (Janeane Garofalo); Sammy (Steve Zahn), struggling to come out to his conservative parents; and the passionate but direction-less Troy (Hawke), with whom Lelaina is romantically-entwined until video executive Michael (Stiller, who co-stars) arrives with the promise of both budding romance and the chance for Lelaina to cash in on her dreams—but at what expense?

Reality Bites may have been for and about Generation X, but has proven itself a timeless, decades-spanning classic.

After the Screening: A conversation reuniting director Ben Stiller, writer Helen Childress, actors Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, and Janeane Garofalo, producer Michael Shamberg, and executive producer Stacey Sher. Moderated by Award-Winning journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt.

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller is an actor, director, writer and producer who most recently directed and produced the Showtime limited series, Escape at Dannemora, for which he won the DGA Award. His filmography includes global franchises Night at the Museum, Meet the Parents, and Madagascar; classic comedies Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, There’s Something About Mary, and The Royal Tenenbaums; independent features Greenberg, Brad’s Status, The Meyerowitz Stories, and While We’re Young; and his directorial debut, Reality Bites.
Director
Ben Stiller
Producer
Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg
Screenwriter
Helen Childress
Cinematographer
Emmanuel Lubezki
Executive Producer
Stacey Sher, Wm. Barclay Malcolm
Cast
Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn, Ben Stiller, Swoosie Kurtz

PANELISTS

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Janeane Garofalo

Stacey Sher

Stacey Sher

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

BEN STILLER is an actor, director, writer and producer who most recently directed and produced the Showtime limited series,Escape at Dannemora, for which he won the DGA Award. His filmography includes global franchisesNight at the Museum, Meet the Parents, and Madagascar; classic comediesTropic Thunder, Zoolander, There’s Something About Mary, and The Royal Tenenbaums; independent featuresGreenberg, Brad’s Status, The Meyerowitz Stories, and While We’re Young; and his directorial debut, Reality Bites.

Stacey Wilson Hunt

Stacey Wilson Hunt

Stacey Wilson Hunt is an award-winning journalist, event host and Reality Bites obsessive who most recently served as the Los Angeles-based Hollywood Editor for New York magazine and Vulture. Before that, she spent more than five years at The Hollywood Reporter as Special Projects Editor, and host and producer of the Emmy-nominated SundanceTV interview series, Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, People, TV Guide, among others. A native of Portland, Oregon, Wilson Hunt has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and currently serves as a contributor of Hollywood coverage to Fortune.

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Helen Childress

Helen Childress grew up in Houston, where she set “Reality Bites,” which she began writing in a dorm room at USC. In the 25 years since its release, she has worked in both feature films and television as a writer and producer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder is a two-time Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe Award winner, renowned for her dynamic and varied performances. She stars as “Joyce Byers” in the worldwide hit Netflix Original series STRANGER THINGS, which the third season will premiere on July 4. She most recently stared in DESTINATION WEDDING opposite Keanu Reeves. A selection of some of Winona’s other well-known credits include, GIRL INTERRUPTED, AGE OF INNOCENCE, LITTLE WOMEN, BEETLEJUICE, and HEATHERS. She currently is the one of the faces of L’Oréal.

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Ethan Hawke

Michael Shamberg

Michael Shamberg

Michael Shamberg produced The Big Chill about the Baby Boom generation. He met the young Helen Childress after reading a drama script she wrote. When Helen told Shamberg about the lives of her and her friends, he thought it would make a great follow up to The Big Chill about Generation X. He and his producing partners, Stacey Sher and Danny DeVito, made a deal for Helen to write an original screenplay. Ben Stiller had been directing his eponymous MTV show and came on board to collaborate closely with Helen. Michael and Stacey are proud to have produced Ben’s directorial debut. Early in his career Shamberg also produced A Fish Called Wanda. He and Sher also produced Contagion, Freeheld, Freeheld, Freedom Writers, World Trade Center, and Django Unchained. With DeVito, their credits include Erin Brockovich, Out of Sight, Gattaca, Garden State, Get Shorty, and a bunch of others. Michael and Stacey executive produce the AMC series Into the Badlands. His most recent release was Cold Pursuit starring Liam Neeson.


CONTACTS

Press Contact
tammie rosen
Tribeca Film Festival
New York, 10013
Phone: 212 941 2003
trosen@tribecafilm.com