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{{Short description|American playwright and filmmaker (born 1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Neil LaBute
|image       = Neil LaBute 2010 photo cropped.jpg
|caption     = LaBute in 2010
|birth_name  = Neil N. LaBute
|birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1963|3|19}}
|birth_place = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|alma mater  = [[Brigham Young University]]<br />[[University of Kansas]]
|occupation  = {{hlist|Playwright|film director|screenwriter}}
|years_active = 1992–present
|spouse = [[Gia Crovatin]] (m. 2016)
}}

'''Neil N. LaBute''' (born March 19, 1963)<ref name="filmref">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/30/Neil-LaBute.html|title=Neil LaBute Biography (1963–)|publisher=FilmReference.com|access-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play which he wrote and later adapted for film, ''[[In the Company of Men]]'' (1997) winning awards from the [[Sundance Film Festival]], the [[Independent Spirit Awards]], and the [[New York Film Critics Circle]]. He wrote and directed the films ''[[Your Friends & Neighbors (film)|Your Friends & Neighbors]]'' (1998), ''[[Possession (2002 film)|Possession]]'' (2002) (based on the [[A. S. Byatt]] novel), ''[[The Shape of Things]]'' (2003) (based on his play of the same name), ''[[The Wicker Man (2006 film)|The Wicker Man]]'' (2006), ''[[Some Velvet Morning (film)|Some Velvet Morning]]'' (2013), and ''[[Dirty Weekend (2015 film)|Dirty Weekend]]'' (2015). 

He directed the films ''[[Nurse Betty]]'' (2000), ''[[Lakeview Terrace]]'' (2008), and the American adaptation of ''[[Death at a Funeral (2010 film)|Death at a Funeral]]'' (2010). LaBute created the TV series ''Billy & Billie'', writing and directing all of the episodes. He is also the creator of the TV series ''[[Van Helsing (TV series)|Van Helsing]]''. He executive produced, co-directed, and co-wrote [[Netflix]]'s ''[[The I-Land]]'' and he also directed several episodes for shows including ''[[Hell on Wheels (TV series)|Hell on Wheels]]'' and ''[[Billions (TV series)|Billions]]''.

==Early life==
LaBute was born in [[Detroit]], the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/magazine/29LaBute-t.html?pagewanted=2|work=The New York Times|title=Neil LaBute Has a Thing About Beauty|first=Pat|last=Jordan|date=March 29, 2009| access-date=May 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name="bookref1"/> He is of [[French Canadian]], English, and Irish ancestry,<ref name="bookref1">{{cite book|last=Bigsby|first=C.W.E.|title=Neil LaBute: stage and cinema|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|pages=2, 235|isbn=978-0-521-88254-5}}</ref> and grew up in [[Spokane, Washington]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boggs |first=Sheri |title=A Friend and Neighbor |url=https://www.inlander.com/news/a-friend-and-neighbor-2174295 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Inlander |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-01-28 |title=Spotlight: Spokane native gets Razzed |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jan/28/spotlight-spokane-native-gets-razzed/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}}</ref> He studied theater at [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU) in [[Provo, Utah]]  where he joined [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). At BYU, he also met actor [[Aaron Eckhart]], who later played leading roles in several of his films. LaBute produced a number of plays which pushed the envelope of what was acceptable at the conservative religious university, some of which were shut down after their premieres. However, he also was honored as being one of the "most promising undergraduate playwrights" at the BYU theater department's annual awards.<ref>''People in the arts'',
[[Deseret News]]. May 6, 1984</ref> Labute did graduate work at the [[University of Kansas]] in [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]],<ref name=biotimes>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131118082121/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/222126/Neil-LaBute/biography "Neil LaBute Biography"] ''The New York Times'' (From All Movie Guide), accessed May 8, 2015</ref> [[New York University]] in [[Manhattan]],<ref name=biotimes/> and he participated in a writing workshop at [[London]]'s Royal Court Theatre.<ref name=biotimes/>

==Career==
===Early career and success===
LaBute burst onto the theater scene in 1989 with his controversial debut ''Filthy Talk for Troubled Times''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/filthy-talk-for-troubled-times-neil-labute/1110906744|title=Filthy Talk for Troubled Times: And Other Plays&#124;Paperback|first=Barnes &|last=Noble|website=Barnes & Noble}}</ref> His interest in the film industry came with a viewing of ''[[The Soft Skin (film)|The Soft Skin]]'' (''La Peau Douce'' 1964), said the director to [[Robert K. Elder]] in a 2011 interview for ''[[The Film That Changed My Life]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark|first=Robert K.|last=Elder|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=978-1556528255 }}</ref>
<blockquote>It exposed me, probably in the earliest way, to "Hey, I could do that." I've never been one to love the camera or even to be as drawn to it as I am to the human aspect of it, and I think it was a film that speaks in a very simple way of here's a way that you can tell a story on film in human terms. It was the kind of film that made me go, 'I could do this; I want to tell stories that are like this and told in this way'.... so it was altering for me in that way, in its simplicity or deceptive simplicity.<ref>LaBute, Neil. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p2.48. Print.</ref></blockquote>

In 1993, he returned to BYU to premiere his play ''[[In the Company of Men]]'', for which he received an award from the [[Association for Mormon Letters]]. He taught drama and film at [[IPFW|Indiana University-Purdue Fort Wayne]] in [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]], in the early 1990s where he adapted and filmed the play, shot over two weeks and costing $25,000, beginning his career as a film director. The film won the Filmmakers Trophy at the [[Sundance Film Festival]], and major awards and nominations at the [[Deauville Film Festival]], the [[Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay|Independent Spirit Awards]], the [[Thessaloniki International Film Festival|Thessaloniki Film Festival]], the [[Society of Texas Film Critics Awards]], and the [[New York Film Critics Circle]].

''In the Company of Men'' portrays two businessmen (one played by Eckhart) cruelly plotting to romance and emotionally destroy a deaf woman. His next film ''[[Your Friends & Neighbors (film)|Your Friends & Neighbors]]'' (1998), with an ensemble cast including Eckhart and [[Ben Stiller]], received an [[Motion Picture Association film rating system|R-rating]] due to its portrayal of the sex lives of three yuppie couples in the big city.

His play ''[[Bash: Latter-Day Plays]]'' is a set of three short plays (''Iphigenia in Orem'', ''A Gaggle of Saints'', and ''Medea Redux'') depicting essentially good [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saints]] doing disturbing and violent things.<ref name=nyt/> It ran Off-Broadway at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in 1999. ''Medea Redux'' is a one-person performance by [[Calista Flockhart]].<ref name=biotimes/><ref name=nyt>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/25/movies/theater-review-the-face-of-evil-all-peaches-and-cream.html?pagewanted=1 "Theater Review. The Face of Evil, All Peaches and Cream"] ''The New York Times'', June 25, 1999</ref><ref>Lefkowitz, David. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/calista-flockhart-has-a-bash-off-bway-w-labute-june-24-july-25-82735] "Calista Flockhart Has a bash Off-Bway w/LaBute, June 24 – July 25", playbill.com, June 24, 1999</ref> The play resulted in his being [[Disciplinary council#Possible outcomes|disfellowshipped]] from the LDS Church (i.e., losing some privileges of church membership without being excommunicated). He has since formally left the LDS Church.<ref>[http://www.timesandseasons.org/index.php?p=1873] Times & Seasons, ''An Interview with Neil LaBute''</ref>

===Early 21st century===
In 2001, LaBute wrote and directed the play ''[[The Shape of Things]]'', which premièred in London, featuring film actors [[Paul Rudd]] and [[Rachel Weisz]]. It was turned into a film in 2003 with the same cast and director. Set in a small university town in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], it focuses on four young students who become emotionally and romantically involved with each other, questioning the nature of art and the lengths to which people will go for love. Weisz's character manipulates Rudd's character into changing everything about himself and discarding his friends in order to become more attractive to her. She even pretends to fall in love with him, prompting an offer of marriage, whereupon she cruelly exposes and humiliates him before an audience, announcing that he has simply been an "art project" for her [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]] [[thesis]]. 

In 2001, LaBute and producer [[Gail Mutrux]] founded the Pretty Pictures firm, with a first-look deal at USA Films.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dunkley|first1=Dana Harris,Cathy|last2=Harris|first2=Dana|last3=Dunkley|first3=Cathy|date=May 14, 2001|title=Pretty shingle inks first-look deal|url=https://variety.com/2001/film/news/pretty-shingle-inks-first-look-deal-1117799269/|access-date=April 11, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> LaBute's 2002 play ''[[The Mercy Seat (play)|The Mercy Seat]]'' was a theatrical response to the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, attacks]].<ref>Salamon, Julie. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/theater/theater-a-response-to-9-11-so-unheroically-human.html] "THEATER; A Response to 9/11 So Unheroically Human", ''The New York Times'', December 15, 2002</ref><ref>Hernandez, Ernio. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/neil-labutes-mercy-seat-opens-off-broadway-dec.-18-110608] "Neil LaBute's 'Mercy Seat' Opens Off-Broadway, Dec. 18", playbill.com, December 18, 2002</ref> Set on September 12, it concerns a man who worked at the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] but was away from the office during the infamous 2001 terrorist attack – with his mistress. Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers' collapse, he contemplates using the tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover. Starring [[Liev Schreiber]] and [[Sigourney Weaver]], the play was a commercial and critical success.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/theater/theater-review-yes-he-survived-sept-11-but-what-s-in-it-for-him.html] Ben Brantley, ''THEATER REVIEW: Yes, He Survived Sep 11, bu What's in It for Him?'', The New York Times, December 19, 2002</ref> While hesitant to term ''The Mercy Seat'' "[[Political drama|political theater]]", Labute said, "I refer to this play in the printed introduction as a kind of emotional terrorism that we wage on those we profess to love." He dedicated the edition to [[David Hare (playwright)|David Hare]], in response to Hare's "straightforward, thoughtful, probing work".<ref>{{cite news|last=Baitz|first=Jon Robin|url=http://bombsite.com/issues/83/articles/2560|title=Neil Labute|work=[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb]]|date=Spring 2003|access-date=July 22, 2011|archive-date=November 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111003118/http://bombsite.com/issues/83/articles/2560|url-status=dead}}</ref>

His next play, ''[[Reasons to Be Pretty]]'', played Off-Broadway from May 14 to July 5, 2008, in a production by [[MCC Theater]] at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. It ran on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 2009, with previews at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]] beginning March 13, and its opening on April 2. The play was nominated for three 2009 [[Tony Awards]] including [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]], [[Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play|Best Leading Actor in a Play]] ([[Thomas Sadoski]]), and [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]] ([[Marin Ireland]]), but did not win in any category. The production's final performance was on June 14.<ref>[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/7080/Reasons-to-Be-Pretty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518081316/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/7080/Reasons-to-Be-Pretty|date=May 18, 2015}} ''Reasons to be Pretty'' Listing on Broadway, playbillvault.com, accessed May 8, 2015</ref> In March 2013, the play was mounted at the [[San Francisco Playhouse]] in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web |title='Reasons to be Pretty' review: Growing up |first=Robert |last=Hurwitt |date=March 31, 2013 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Reasons-to-be-Pretty-review-Growing-up-4398640.php |access-date=May 14, 2014 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref>

===2010–present===
In 2010, LaBute directed ''[[Death at a Funeral (2010 film)|Death at a Funeral]]'', a remake of a [[Death at a Funeral (2007 film)|2007 British film of the same name]]. It was written by [[Dean Craig]] (who also wrote the original screenplay) and starred [[Chris Rock]]. Throughout the decade, various productions of his existing works were mounted as he continued to produce new material. He wrote new scenes and an introduction for the [[Chicago Shakespeare Theater]] production of ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' by [[William Shakespeare]] which ran from April 7 to June 6, 2010. LaBute framed the classic play in overtly [[Metatheatre|metatheatrical]] terms, adding a lesbian romance subplot. His short play, ''The Unimaginable'', premiered as part of the Terror 2010 season at the [[Southwark Playhouse]] in London, October 12–31, 2010.

LaBute's first produced play, ''Filthy Talk for Troubled Times'' (1989), which was a series of biting exchanges between two "everyman" characters in a bar, was staged from June 3–5, 2010, by [[MCC Theater]] as a benefit for MCC's Playwrights' Coalition and their commitment to developing new work. He also directed the reading. Originally when it premiered in Manhattan, New York at the Westside Dance Project, "[legend] has it... that  one unimpressed member of the audience shouted: "Kill the playwright!"" <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/california/filthy-talk-for-troubled-times-at-basic-mountain-edinburgh-festival-qjnx92d7wtk|title=Filthy Talk for Troubled Times at Basic Mountain, Edinburgh Festival|first=Allan|last=Radcliffe|date=July 16, 2023 |via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}</ref>

''The Break of Noon'' premiered Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in an MCC Theater production on October 28, 2010 (previews), running to December 22, 2010.<ref>[http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/11-2010/the-break-of-noon_32213.html] Dan Bacalzo, ''REVIEW: The Break of Noon,'' theatermania.com, November 22, 2010</ref> The play then opened in 2011 in Los Angeles at the Geffen Theater for a second time directed by [[Jo Bonney]], with a January 25 preview and opening on February 2. It ran through March 6. It featured [[Tracee Chimo]], [[David Duchovny]], [[John Earl Jelks]], and [[Amanda Peet]].<ref>[http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_THE_BREAK_OF_NOON_Opening_Night_Curtain_Call_Party_2010] ''The Break of Noon'' Opening Night, broadwayworld.com</ref>

LaBute took part in London's [[Bush Theatre]]'s 2011 project ''[[Sixty Six Books]]'', for which he wrote a piece based upon a book of the [[Bible]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/biography/writers/ |title=Bush Theatre |access-date=October 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704090950/http://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/biography/writers/ |archive-date=July 4, 2011 }}</ref> In 2012, he joined the [[Chicago]]-based storefront theatre company, ''Profiles Theatre'' as a Resident Artist.<ref>[http://www.profilestheatre.org/season.html] ''Season (2012)'' profilestheatre.org</ref> ''The Way We Get By'' opened Off-Broadway at the [[Second Stage Theater]] on May 19, 2015, starring [[Amanda Seyfried]] and [[Thomas Sadoski]] with direction by [[Leigh Silverman]].<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/the-way-we-get-by-with-amanda-seyfried-and-thomas-sadoski-opens-tonight-349363] Olivia Clement, ''The Way We Get By with Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski Opens Tonight'', playbill.com, May 19, 2015</ref>

The LaBute New Theater Festival is a festival of world premiere one-act plays which is produced by William Roth<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/reviews/writer-carter-lewis-shines-at-labute-new-theater-festival/article_032d4b65-c0d8-5ee9-b27d-b15f18b362a2.html|title=Writer Carter Lewis shines at LaBute New Theater Festival|first=Judith|last=Newmark|date=July 12, 2017 }}</ref> and St. Louis Actors' Studio each summer at their Gaslight Theater in [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/neil-labute-lends-his-name-and-a-new-show-to/article_bb652d54-0727-5071-851b-e79821a78a42.html|title=Neil LaBute lends his name—and a new show—to St. Louis theater festival|first=Judith|last=Newmark|date=July 3, 2013 }}</ref> and each winter at 59E59 street theaters in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/BWW-Review-LABUTE-NEW-THEATER-FESTIVAL-at-59E59-Six-Fascinating-New-Plays-20160119|title=BWW Review: LABUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL at 59E59 Six Fascinating New Plays|first=Marina|last=Kennedy}}</ref> In 2013, ''Some Girl(s)'' was directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, with the screenplay adapted by Labute from his 2005 play. In an interview with Sam Weisberg of Screen Comment, he said: "I have had a lot of people direct my material for the theater, but I haven't had anyone do my work on film. I was excited by what would be brought to it. It was great to have someone else in there that you could trust visually and intellectually and emotionally to make something that was respectful of the material but also creative."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weisberg |first1=Sam |title=New York playwright and filmmaker Neil Labute opens up about "Some Girls" |date=June 28, 2013 |url=https://screencomment.com/2013/06/neil-labute-interview|publisher=Screen Comment}}</ref>

In August 2016, the [[Utah Shakespeare Festival]] in [[Cedar City, Utah|Cedar City]] produced a preview of LaBute's play ''How to Fight Loneliness'' and announced its intention to stage the play during its 2017 summer season.<ref>[http://saltlaketribune.ut.newsmemory.com/] Ellen Fagg Weist, ''STRONG VOICES'', Salt Lake Tribune, August 14, 2016, p. D1</ref> In February 2018, MCC Theater terminated its relationship with him ending his place as their playwright-in-residence and their plans to produce his next play ''Reasons to Be Pretty Happy'' in the summer. Blake West, MCC Theater's executive director, said, “We’re committed to creating and maintaining a respectful and professional work environment for everyone we work with.”<ref>{{cite news|last=Paulson|first=Michael|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/theater/neil-labute-theater.html|title=Off Broadway Theater Cuts Ties With Neil LaBute|work=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2018|access-date=February 16, 2018}}</ref> In September 2018, it was announced that [[Netflix]] had given order for the production of the [[science fiction]] miniseries ''[[The I-Land]]''. LaBute is credited as the showrunner and executive producer of the miniseries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title='The I-Land' Starring Kate Bosworth, Natalie Martinez & Alex Pettyfer Among 3 Sci-Fi Series Ordered By Netflix |url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/the-i-land-kate-bosworth-natalie-martinez-alex-pettyfer-star-october-faction-warrior-nun-sci-fi-series-netflix-1202472784/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=September 28, 2018 |date=September 28, 2018}}</ref> The miniseries premiered on September 12, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/video/the-i-land-teaser-release-date-netflix-kate-bosworth-natalie-martinez-fyre-fest/|title='The I-Land' Teaser: Netflix Sets Release Date For Kate Bosworth Sci-Fi Series With Fyre Fest Flair|work=Deadline Hollywood|first=Dino-Ray|last=Ramos|date=August 20, 2019|access-date=August 20, 2019}}</ref>

==Critical response==
Critics have responded to his plays saying they have a [[Misanthropy|misanthropic]] tone.<ref>[http://www.broadwayplaypubl.com/IN%20A%20DARK.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704110314/http://www.broadwayplaypubl.com/IN%20A%20DARK.htm|date=July 4, 2008}}  broadwayplaypubl.com</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grant |first=Alex |title=The Shape of Things: A Film Review by Alex Grant |url=https://www.hackwriters.com/shapeofthings.htm |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.hackwriters.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite interview |last=LaBute |first=Neil |interviewer=Neal Cohan |title=Neil Labute's 'Fat Pig' |url=https://www.npr.org/2006/01/19/5163405/neil-labutes-fat-pig |publisher=[[National Public Radio|NPR]] |date=January 19, 2006}}</ref> Rob Weinert-Kendt in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' referred to LaBute as "American theater's reigning misanthrope".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090413021340/http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-04-08/theater/jailbait-evokes-a-more-human-neil-labute/] ''Jailbait Evokes a More Human Neil LaBute'', Village Voice, April 7, 2009</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' said that critics labeled him a misanthrope upon the release of his film ''[[Your Friends & Neighbors (film)|Your Friends & Neighbors]]'' because of the film's strong misanthropic plot and characters.<ref name=":0" /> Britain's ''[[The Independent|Independent]]'' newspaper in May 2008 dubbed him "America's misanthrope par excellence".<ref>{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Alice|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-fat-pig-trafalgar-studios-london-835324.html|title=First Night: Fat Pig, Trafalgar Studios, London|work=[[The Independent]]|date=May 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202145356/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-fat-pig-trafalgar-studios-london-835324.html|archive-date=December 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Citing the misanthropic tone of the plot in the films ''In the Company of Men'', ''Your Friends & Neighbors,'' and ''The Shape of Things'', film critic Daniel Kimmel identified a pattern running through LaBute's work of being that the unlikeable, main antagonists of those three films end up getting away with their lying, scheming and mis-deeds, coming out on top of all the other characters as the real winners of those stories by quoting: "Neil LaBute is a misanthrope who assumes that only callous and evil people, who use and abuse others, can survive in this world." Critics labeled him a [[Misogyny|misogynist]] after the release of ''In the Company of Men''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=Pat |date=March 25, 2009 |title=Neil LaBute Has a Thing About Beauty |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/magazine/29LaBute-t.html?pagewanted=3&ref=theater |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Neil was married to Lisa Gore LaBute, with whom he has two adult children. He and actress [[Gia Crovatin]] married in 2016.<ref name="punchdrunkcritics/crovatin-labute-maggie">{{cite web |last1=Hopson |first1=Travis |title='Fear The Night' Interview: Gia Crovatin On Neil LaBute's Gritty Home Invasion Thriller With Maggie Q |url=https://punchdrunkcritics.com/2023/07/fear-the-night-interview-gia-crovatin-on-neil-labutes-gritty-home-invasion-thriller-with-maggie-q/ |website=Punch Drunk Critics |access-date=11 September 2023 |date=21 July 2023}}</ref>

===Honors===
In 2013, LaBute was named one of the winners of the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]]' Arts and Letters Awards in Literature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.artsandletters.org/press_releases/2013literature.php |title=American Academy of Arts and Letters - Literature Awards Press Release |access-date=March 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313042256/http://www.artsandletters.org/press_releases/2013literature.php |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }} ''Press Release''.  artsandletters.org</ref> He became a Fellow of the International Association of Theatre Leaders (IATL) in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IATL |url=https://theatreleaders.org/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=IATL |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Style===
LaBute's style is very language-oriented. His work is terse, rhythmic, and highly colloquial. His style bears similarity to one of his favorite playwrights, [[David Mamet]]. LaBute even shares some similar themes with Mamet including gender relations, political correctness, and masculinity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaterpro.com/labute.html|first=Alice|last=Griffin|publisher=TheaterPro.com|title=Neil LaBute|access-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref>

==Filmography==

=== Films ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Writer
! Notes
|-
| 1997
| ''[[In the Company of Men]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|Also based on his play
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Your Friends & Neighbors (film)|Your Friends & Neighbors]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Nurse Betty]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Possession (2002 film)|Possession]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 2003
| ''[[The Shape of Things]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|Also producer and based on his play
|-
| 2006
| ''[[The Wicker Man (2006 film)|The Wicker Man]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Nominated for [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay]]
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Lakeview Terrace]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Death at a Funeral (2010 film)|Death at a Funeral]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2013
| ''[[Some Girl(s) (film)|Some Girl(s)]]'' 
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|Also based on his play
|-
| ''[[Some Velvet Morning (film)|Some Velvet Morning]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Dirty Weekend (2015 film)|Dirty Weekend]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2022
|''[[House of Darkness (2022 film)|House of Darkness]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Also producer 
|-
| ''[[Out of the Blue (2022 film)|Out of the Blue]]'' 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 2023
| ''[[Fear the Night (film)|Fear the Night]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
|}

===Short films===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Writer
!width=65|Producer
! Notes
|-
|2000
| ''Tumble'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|Also narrator
|-
|rowspan=3|2010
|''How Far Would You Go?''
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|Documentary promotional short film for the videogame [[Heavy Rain]]<br/>Also appearance as himself
|-
| ''Sexting''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|Released in the compilation ''[[Stars in Shorts]]'' (2012)<ref name="SIS">{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/164482-stars-in-shorts-makes-short-films-attractive-to-viewers-worldwide/|title='Stars in Shorts' Makes Short Films Attractive to Viewers Worldwide|last=Vasquez|first=Dorothy Burk|date=October 18, 2012|work=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref>
|-
|''We Have Your Wife'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
| Released in the compilation ''Tenant'' (2021) Available on Amazon Prime. 
|-
|rowspan=2|2011
|''Bench Seat''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|
|-
| ''After School Special''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
| Released in the compilation ''[[Stars in Shorts]]'' (2012)
|-
|rowspan=3|2012
|''Denise''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|
|-
|''Double or Nothing'' 
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|
|-
| ''BFF'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|
|-
|2014
|''It's Okay''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|
|-
|2016
| ''The Mulberry Bush''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2017
| ''10 K''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|
|-
| ''Black Chicks''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|Also executive producer
|-
| ''Good Luck: In [[Persian language|Persian]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{partial|Executive}}
|
|-
|2019
|''Love is in the Air''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|Released on the anthology film ''[[Berlin, I Love You]]''
|-
|rowspan=2|2020
|''A Boat Time''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|rowspan=2|Also actor
|-
|''Small World'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|-
|2022
|''Sparring Partner''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{partial|Executive}}
|
|}

===Television===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Writer
! Executive<br>Producer
! Notes
|-
|2001
|''[[Bash: Latter-Day Plays]]''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|TV movie
|-
|rowspan=2|2013-2015
| ''[[Hell on Wheels (TV series)|Hell on Wheels]]'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|5 episodes
|-
| ''[[Full Circle (2013 TV series)|Full Circle]]'' 
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{partial|Co-executive}}
|10 episodes<ref>{{cite web|title=Full Circle Episode List|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2888334/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt|website=IMDB|access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|2014
| ''ten x ten''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|Miniseries
|-
|2015-2016
| ''Billy & Billie''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|11 episodes; Also creator
|-
|2016
|''[[Billions (TV series)|Billions]]''
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|Episode "The Good Life"
|-
|2016-2021
| ''[[Van Helsing (TV series)|Van Helsing]]'' 
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|Wrote 16 episodes
|-
|2017
|''Staging Film''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|Episode "Over the River and Through the Woods"
|-
|2019
| ''[[The I-Land]]'' 
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|Wrote 3 episodes and wrote/directed episode "Brave New World"
|}

==Plays==
* ''Filthy Talk For Troubled Times'' (1989)
* ''[[In the Company of Men]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Bash: Latter-Day Plays]]'' (1999)
* ''[[The Shape of Things]]'' (2001)
* ''The Distance From Here'' (2003)
* ''[[The Mercy Seat (play)|The Mercy Seat]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Autobahn (play)|Autobahn]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Fat Pig]]'' (2004)
* ''[[This Is How It Goes]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Some Girl(s)]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Wrecks]]'' (2005)
* ''[[In a Dark Dark House]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Reasons to Be Pretty]]'' (2008)
* ''Helter Skelter/Land of the Dead'' (2008)
* ''The Break of Noon'' (2009)
* ''The New Testament'' (2009)
* ''Some White Chick'' (2009)
* ''The Furies'' (2009)
* ''Strange Fruit'' (2011)
* ''[[In a Forest, Dark and Deep]]'' (2011)
* ''Lovely Head & Other Plays'' (2013)
* ''Reasons to Be Happy'' (2013)
* ''Old Boyfriend'' (2014)
* ''Money Shot'' (2014)
* ''Exhibit 'A': Short Plays and Monologues'' (2015)
* ''The Way We Get By'' (2015)
* ''All The Ways To Say I Love You'' (2016)
* ''How to Fight Loneliness'' (2017)
* ''True Love Will Find You in the End'' (2020)
* ''The Answer to Everything'' (2021)
* ''St. Louis'' (TBA)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1438}}
* {{IBDB name|391488}}
* {{IOBDB name|314}}

{{Neil LaBute}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Neil LaBute
|list1 =
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labute, Neil}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of French-Canadian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Brigham Young University alumni]]
[[Category:Former Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:Independent Spirit Award winners]]
[[Category:Writers from Detroit]]
[[Category:Writers from Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:Writers from Utah]]
[[Category:Film directors from Michigan]]
[[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Utah]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]