Patricia Lea "Patty" Jenkins (born July 24, 1971) is an American director and screenwriter.
Her first big break as director was Monster in 2003, about Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos, which earned her much acclaim. She then went mostly unnoticed, working on television projects (she did nearly direct Thor: The Dark World before creative differences got in the way), until her second big break (and first foray into blockbuster territory at that), Wonder Woman, in 2017.
Amusingly, she shares her birthday with a Wonder Woman actress she's fond of, Lynda Carter.
Selected filmography:
Film
- Monster (writer & director; 2003)
- Wonder Woman (director; 2017)
- Wonder Woman 1984 (director & co-writer; 2020)
- Rogue Squadron (TBA)
Television
- Arrested Development — "The One Where They Build a House" (director; 2004)
- Entourage — "Crash and Burn" & "The Release" (2006)
- The Sarah Silverman Program — "Fetus Don't Fail Me Now" (director; 2008)
- The Killing — "Pilot" & "What I Know" (director; 2011 — 2012)
- I Am the Night (director & executive producer; 2019)
Tropes applying to this director:
- Author Appeal: Patty's father William T. Jenkins was a US Air Force captain and fighter pilot who earned a Silver Star during The Vietnam War and perished during a NATO mock dogfight at age 31. She's always wanted to work on a project that would include jet fighter piloting or the like to homage her father, but couldn't for various reasons. Eventually, she got her wish with the plane featured in Wonder Woman 1984 (prior to that, she noted that Steve Trevor, while not having his hands on any modern craft in the first film, appealed to her for being an Ace Pilot). It's also the reason that motivated her to direct a Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron, as she explained in the video she made for the film's announcement, but that movie project has since been been delayed.
- Production Posse: I Am the Night reunited some of the Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 crew, namely Jenkins, Chris Pine and Connie Nielsen.
- What Could Have Been:
- She first talked to Warner Bros. about making a Wonder Woman film in 2004. They were nervous that it wouldn't work after Catwoman had failed and it went back to Development Hell.
- Jenkins was originally attached to direct Thor: The Dark World which would have made her the first woman to direct a modern superhero movie three and a half years before she was for Wonder Woman. She signed on in October 2011 and left for Creative Differences in December 2011 under amicable terms. She wanted to change the story but Disney didn't want to run the risk of missing its original release date and going a quarter (especially the holiday quarter) without having a live-action tentpole.
- In 2014, Jenkins directed a pilot for the ABC drama Exposed, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an Intrepid Reporter. It didn't get picked up, but videos
and screenshots have made their way online. Additionally, she reused one of the other cast members, Pedro Pascalnote , for Wonder Woman 1984. - She was initially attached to direct a Cleopatra VII biopic with Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot as the lead; however, conflicts with the third Wonder Woman film and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron led her to step back to a producer capacity, with Kari Skogland (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) taking over as director.
- Then the third Wonder Woman film project was cancelled, possibly due to a combination of the tepid reception to Wonder Woman 1984 and Creative Differences.
