#director dr

introducing alice mercer ⋆ 1990s/2000s filmmaker desired reality

alice julienne mercer was born in new york city, new york, on october 13th, 1971. she's most prominently known for her directing and screenwriting career, being heavily praised for her unique narratives and dramatic cinematography. alice mercer currently has two academy awards, one for best adapted screenplay (1997), and one for best director (2005).

mercer studied film at new york university. she eventually released her first independent feature film, grrrl! in 1994, which was recognized among critics involved in the underground scene. one year later, she was invited to write a modern adaptation of the iconic gothic novella 'carmilla', entitled 'lenore'. its success launched her into the world of holly wood. she is most recognized for the film that followed lenore's success, which was an adaptation of oscar wilde's only novel, the picture of dorian gray in 1996, which she screen-wrote and directed. this film earned a best adapted screenplay win in 1997.

while alice mercer's directing style has gone from gothic tales to surrealist romance to coming-of-age comedies, common themes in her films include emphasis of close human relationships and exceptionally gorgeous cinematography.

aside from her filmmaking, alice is recognized for her chic fashion and her passion for all things classic literature. she's also a huge jazz and alternative rock enthusiast. you can spot her at local cafes, speakeasies, and bookshops—if there's one thing she loves, it's consuming all the media she possibly can.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY — A very faithful adaptation of the famous Oscar Wilde novel. It follows an absolutely beautiful man, Dorian Gray, and his wish for his self-portrait to hold his sins as he remains eternally youthful. It follows Dorian's plunge into his ultimate self-destruction.

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE — A comedy about a group of five women in the 1960s and their chaotic journey to a Beatles concert. On their way to the show, they have experiences that test their friendship, navigational skills, and their love for the group. It’s a love letter to female friendships, fangirl culture, and the fab four!

PLACE TO BE — A drama involving a couple who decided to elope and run away from their small and conservative town, but instead witness something they're not supposed to see: an alien spaceship. It's a tale centered around the retro-futurism and surrealist aesthetic.

❝Growing up in New York City around style-conscious friends and family meant that no matter how boring or tedious my day ahead would be, I will always look good. This is a week, or five days, actually, of outfits!❞

MONDAY, You Can Fall Apart

Alice Mercer's least favorite day of the week. A few creative meetings today for an upcoming film—Alice decided to wear something casual, comfy, and stylish! Reading glasses are a must today, she's almost done with her current read! Unfortunately a car zoomed past her and she got her pants soaked on her way home. Happy Monday.

TUESDAY,

Dreading the terribly busy day that is tomorrow, Alice decided to wear her favorite sweater and finish her book to ease the pain of behind-the-scenes work. Once she finished, she decided to draft ideas for her next screenplay but somehow just. . . lost her creative juices. With no paparazzi to be found, Alice decides to check out a theater nearby and watch a movie on her own. Unfortunately she hated it.

WEDNESDAY, Break My Heart!

Meetings, interviews, meetings, more meetings, and guess what? Another interview! Listen, Alice is extremely grateful for what she has, but wow, she needed some serious caffeine to get through the day! This time, she took a polaroid of her husband for "moral support", even though she was going to see him for dinner later that evening.

THURSDAY, Doesn't Even Start

Alice can finally catch a break! Or so she thought. When the director claimed that she would always look good, she lied. This morning, Alice was overjoyed to simply just rot in her pajamas and binge a TV show. Unfortunately she started to crave sushi and was caught in this rather disorganized outfit by some paparazzi when she went out to pick it up. Thankfully the general audience didn't seem to mind, as Alice was instead praised for her excellent taste in music.

FRIDAY, I'm In Love!

And for the night Alice spent all week waiting for . . . date night! Matt and Alice have been busy for the past month, meaning that this is their first date in what felt like forever—Alice was almost sure that her husband had gone off to war without telling her! Matt so kindly remembered the restaraunt she had been raving about for the past five days, and it fortunately was worth it and had the best steak frites ever.

⋆ Alice Mercer's Closet Picks:

The filmmaker talks about her primary inspirations for Can't Buy Me Love, shares her love for a good film soundtrack, and reminisces her time at film school.

[This interview was filmed on October 20, 2025.]

Pick One: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

❝I watched this film for the first time for a class—I believe it was my second or third year in college—and it just...changed me. I experienced a range of emotions throughout this film—joy, sadness, admiration. The idea of a movie being entirely in song was something that never crossed my mind, but it was absolutely genius and captivating! This definitely served as an inspiration when I was doing Can't Buy Me Love, particularly because of Jacques Demy's use of bright and lively colors.❞

Pick Two: Eraserhead (1977)

❝Eraserhead was the first David Lynch movie I ever watched. It came out in ‘77, but I only had the chance to watch it when i was eighteen—in 1989. Twin Peaks had just came out and all of my friends were just raving about it. I watched this at a sleepover this because we all wanted to see what to expect out of the show. Admittedly, I hated it when I first saw it. I found it to be deeply unsettling and just...strange. Funnily enough, I still gave Twin Peaks a chance and fell in love with it—it still remains my favorite television show of all time. After the first season I decided to rewatch [Eraserhead] with an open mind. It's when I finally realized that Eraserhead was true poetry—you don't have to understand it, but you can appreciate the art—and that goes for a lot of David Lynch movies.❞

Pick Three: A Hard Day's Night (1964)

I didn't expect to see this [laughs]. Well, A Hard Day's Night is easily my favorite Beatles film, and Can't Buy Me Love takes place the same year—when they first come to the United States. This movie struck me when I first saw it as a little girl, especially for the beautiful music and its blunt humor. All four of them are such lively and spirited characters—it's just a fantastic film that remains an entertaining watch to this day. I had just revisited this movie with my family, and I think it's time for me to own a physical copy!

Pick Four: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

My favorite of Anderson! Other than the obvious amazing things about his movies, one thing I admire about Wes Anderson films are the soundtracks. They're all perfectly curated and fitting—I aspire to develop one half as good as his. It's hard to choose a favorite needle drop from this movie, but one I'd definitely note is Elliott Smith's Needle in the Hay: it truly reflects the melancholic mood of the film—but to be honest I'll like any Elliott Smith needle drop. I might be biased, but his music in Good Will Hunting was just phenomenal and heavy-hitting.

Pick Five: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

I can't really leave here without talking about my roots. When making Lenore and The Picture of Dorian Gray, I took a lot of inspiration from German Expressionism films—one of the most prominent being, well, this. I found a tape of this movie in a shop in Boston. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, but I found it incredibly fascinating. Each dramatic angle, each hand-painted set, each eerie performance captivated me in ways I didn't think movies could at the time. It really holds up, which is why it's so fundamental to gothic cinema, and remained a major influence in my filmmaking.

Pick Six: La Chimera (2023)

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