Laurie Agard was born June 28, 1966, in Topeka, Kansas. When she was
four her family moved to Colorado where she spent her formative years
surrounded by beauty, tourists, and living in an isolated outdoor
activity paradise. In the sixth grade as an award for perfect
attendance Laurie received a free unlimited movie pass to the Kiva, the
lone theatre in her small home town of Durango Colorado -- which played
Grease and Star Wars all summer long. As her parents divorced, Laurie
attended screenings often four times a day. She was struck by how a
movie viewed in a theatre of thrilled fans was electrifying -- but when
viewed alone would not have the same impact. She realized at a very
young age it was the limbic activity of those around us that draw our
emotions into almost immediate congruence, and that's what she loved
most about movies.
Daughter to an All-American golfer and granddaughter to an Olympic
sprinter and minor league professional baseball player, Laurie went to
Kansas on a full-ride basketball scholarship when she was 16. She was
struck again by the communal waves of emotion rolling through a fan
filled sports stadium, and by the wonder of the limbic activity of a
crowd not only being able to release storytelling magic but also being
able to affect the outcome of a game. In 1988 Laurie was nominated as
an Academic All American basketball player. She graduated with degrees
in Romance Languages and English, Career Writing.
Initially distracted she moved to California and began her writing
career in the Bay Area's computer industry, authoring Unix development
system manuals. Two years in the computer industry left her feeling
restricted and needing more of a forum for self-expression. She wrote a
collection of poetry that won the Bay Area Olympiad for the Arts, but
found herself drawn inextricably to screen writing. After toiling as a
writer, she found herself craving the limbic power of a larger creative
community so she formed her own production company and produced and
directed her first screenplay, "Frog and Wombat." The film starred
Ronny Cox, who was the father of a computer engineer she had worked
with, and Katie Stuart, an ambitious young girl who had grown up in a
small beautiful town very similar to the one Agard grew up in. Agard
edited the film on a 35mm flatbed in the supply closet of the Saul
Zantz Film Center, where Walter Murch was editing the English Patient.
Murch later nominated her into the Director's Guild of America. The
film sold in 45 territories around the world and won numerous awards
including Best Children's Feature, New Comer of the Year, and was
nominated for Best Young Actress in a Feature Film by the Hollywood
Youth in Film Awards. It premiered on HBO, then aired on Showtime,
Starz, Encore, and ABC.
Laurie continued her career as an independent filmmaker writing,
directing, and producing four quirky low budget projects - like "Broads
Abroad" where she and a small group of friends toured France and filmed
in such locations as Monet's Garden, The Matisse and Rodin Museums, and
the French Alps. Laurie's first sport documentary feature "Fast Women"
opened the Hollywood Film Festival, won Chicago's Angelciti Film
Festival and received the Best Sports Documentary award from the New
York Independent Film and Video Festival.
In 2002 Laurie realized her biggest dream, which was to become a mom.
She describes her son, her pets, and her creative support team as the
three things in life she can't do without. In 2007 she followed her
life long dream and moved to Los Angeles where she wrote, directed, and
produced two independent films for the Directors Guild of America's
Personal Filmmaking series, co-directed the DGA's first ever tribute to
its female director members, and began assisting legendary Betty Thomas
on one year term deal with CBS/Paramount.
Laurie has worked in development with a number of
iconic industry leaders: Betty Thomas on the highest grossing film ever
directed by a woman (Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel) and Jen
Bresnan, Executive Vice President of CBS Alternative Programming on
network staples such as Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, and
Undercover Boss.
In 2010 received the Somebody's Angel award for "philanthropic heroism
and dedication to helping others through volunteer activities and
professional contributions." She serves on the National Board of
Directors of Shoes that Fit, a non profit organization that helps
children receive new shoes and clothing for school and on the Advisory
Board for Dance Camera West, a non-profit recently voted "Best of Los
Angeles" by the Los Angeles Times. In 2008 Laurie co-directed the
Directors Guild of America's first ever tribute film honoring its
female members,"A Celebration of Women Directors.".
