Blake Edwards
From Usgs
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| House Representative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: 3 January 2011 - 2 January 2013 | ||||
| Preceded by | Kylie Beaverhausen | |||
| Succeeded by | someone | |||
| Born | 3 August 1983 Montréal, Québec; Canada | |||
| Political Party | Democratic Supported by Working Families | |||
| Spouse | Christopher Delacroix | |||
| Religion | Buddhist | |||
Blake Edwards (born August 3, 1983) is former House Representative for the sixteenth congressional district of New York, which contains parts of the Bronx. He is also a pornographic and Academy Award nominated independent film director, most well known for the 2005 film New York Rain. He is the owner of a gay-for-pay studio, Slippery Dick Films.
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Childhood & Education
Blake was born in Montréal, Québec to Charles Edwards, a milkman, and Hélène Levesque, a CBC journalist. He was raised in Montréal for his whole childhood, giving him fluency in both French and English. His father became a Parti Québécois MNA in the 1994 Québec provincial election. Three years later, his mother was elected to be a Bloc Québécois MP in the 1997 Canadian general election. He helped his parents in both elections and learned the value of democracy and the election process.
Blake was accepted to Phillips Academy Andover in 1998 and graduated in 2002. During his time in the United States, he became entranced by the famous Big Apple and drove him to become a film director. He was the Director for the school's 2002 rendition of Shakespeare's Macbeth. After graduating from Andover, Blake chose to not go to college, but he instead moved to New York with a few close friends and started his directing career.
Film Career
Blake splashed into the pornographic film world with is amateur gay video The Boy Boat, which was met with great critical success, but did not seem to produce many profits. He was nominated for a GayVN, the most prostigious gay pornographic film award. He then directed a remake of the popular Shaving Ryan's Privates. His sophmore film had a reverse effect, giving him more identity in the pornographic film community while leaving some to wonder if his first was to be his best.
In mid-2003, Blake decided to try his way with more mainstream films, directing a 2003 rendition of Casablanca. It went straight to video, and Blake returned to pornographic films. He co-wrote and directed the bisexual A Midsummer's Wetdream, which met even greater critical and popular success than any of his previous films. He was nominated and won a series of awards, including a nomination of an AVN award, the most well-known pornographic film awards event. He then was asked to try straight pornographic film directing and attempted such in the third installment of the Caitlin's Adventure series. It was considered the worst of his works.
Blake left the pornographic film industry in 2004 and again tried his ways with mainstream film. He directed the comedy Third Time's a Charm, which was his first film to hit theaters. It was met with mediocre success for independent films, but Blake was already working on another project with a few high school buddies, New York Rain. The film was released in all 50 states and was a sleeper hit, grossing in the millions. He was met with great acclaim, winning an Independent Spirit Award and garnishing Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. After New York Rain, he decided to quit film directing and went to producing.
Blake established Slippery Dick Films in Manhattan in 2005, which has been a great success. So far, they have created gay classics like Robert's Men (2006), Manhattan is my Beat (2008), and Fabulous (2009).
Filmography & Awards
- The Boy Boat (2002)
- GayVN Nominee: Best Director
- Shaving Ryan's Privates (2003)
- Casablanca (2003)
- A Midsummer's Wetdream (2003)
- AVN Nominee: Best Director, Film Category
- GayVN Winner: Best Director
- Caitlin's Adventure: Pussy Paradise (2004)
- Third Time's a Charm (2004)
- New York Rain (2005)
- Independent Spirit Winner: Best Director
- Golden Globe Nominee: Best Director
- Academy Award Nominee: Best Director
Political Career
Blake had always given his spare time to political causes and was active with the local Democratic association. In 2010, the Democrats asked Blake to run, using his fame as a Director to be a star candidate. He ran, earning the endorsement of the Working Families Party. He went on to get elected in a complete landslide. As a Congressman, his first introduced legislation were the Freedom of Sexuality Omnibus Act and the EDUCATE Act. In March 2011, he was named the Ranking Member of the Science, Health, Environment, and Education Committee and a Member of the Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he complained of the stiffy Washington atmosphere before resigning after just one term.Elections Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Blake Edwards | 56,124 | 95.3% | |
| Republican | Roberto Gonzalez | 2,759 | 4.7% | |
| Total | 58,883 | |||
External Links
| Preceded by Kylie Beaverhausen | Representative for New York 16th 2010 - 2012 | Succeeded by someone |
| Preceded by Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation | Independent Spirit Award for Best Director 2005 | Succeeded by Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain |
