Ben Younger
| Ben Younger | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 7, 1972 Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
Ben Younger (born October 7, 1972) is an American screenwriter and film director.
Younger was born in Brooklyn, and raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish household in Eltingville, Staten Island. He attended a yeshiva, before entering Queens College, part of the City University of New York, where he studied political science. While at university, he started performing comedy. After leaving university, he set his sights on a career in politics, taking on a role as a policy analyst for the New York City comptroller's office, where he served as a legislative aide to Alan Hevesi. After that, he successfully managed the State Assembly campaign for Queens Democrat Melinda Katz, becoming, at 21, the city's youngest ever campaign manager.
Despite his success, Younger became disenchanted with politics, and by 1995 started to seek a creative outlet that would rekindle the excitement he felt as a stand-up comedian. He wrote and directed a short film,L & M, as well as working on a number of feature films as a grip, and directing music videos and commercials.
In 1995, he attended an interview for a job in a brokerage firm, and immediately conceived the idea that went on to become his first film, Boiler Room. He spent two years researching the underground telemarketing brokerage industry as background for his screenplay.Boiler Room was released in 2000. A corporate drama in the mold of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross, with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to David Mamet, the film exposed the shady world of "" (underground brokerage firms), and starred Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nicky Katt, Jamie Kennedy, and Ben Affleck.
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