What Is Neil LaBute's Net Worth?
Neil LaBute is an American director and writer who has a net worth of $4 million. Neil LaBute studied theater at Brigham Young University, where he became friends with actor Aaron Eckhart. While in school, LaBute wrote a handful of plays, some of which were too controversial for the strict religious atmosphere at BYU. Several were shut down immediately following their premieres. Neil also studied at NYU, the University of Kansas, and the Royal Academy of London. LaBute's 1993 play "In the Company of Men" premiered at BYU after his graduation, and he soon began teaching at Indiana's IPFW while turning the play into a movie. It was shown at several festivals, winning the Filmmakers Trophy at Sundance. His follow-up, "Bash: Latter-Day Plays," starred Calista Flockhart and led to LaBute's formal banishment from the LDS Church. Neil wrote and directed "The Shape of Things" in 2001 and cast Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz as the stars; that play was turned into a movie. He also crafted "The Mercy Seat," which focuses on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and "reasons to be pretty," which was his first play to be performed on Broadway. That play earned three Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. LaBute's other credits include "Nurse Betty," "Lakeview Terrace," "Death at a Funeral," "Some Velvet Morning," and "Dirty Weekend." Neil won a 2013 American Academy of Arts and letters' Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Early Life
Neil LaBute was born on March 19, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan. He is the son of Marian and Richard LaBute, and he was raised in Spokane, Washington. His mother worked as a hospital receptionist, while his father was a long-haul truck driver. He is of French Canadian, English, and Irish ancestry. After finishing high school, Neil studied theater at Brigham Young University. While there, he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. As a BYU student, he produced a number of plays that were a bit provocative by the standards of the university, which was quite conservative. However, LaBute was honored as one of the most promising undergraduate playwrights at the school's annual awards. After graduating, he went on to do graduate work at the University of Kansas, New York University, and the Royal Academy of London. He also participated in a writing workshop at London's Royal Court Theatre.
Career
LaBute first broke into the theater scene in 1989 with his debut play, "Filthy Talk for Troubled Times." He returned to BYU in 1993 to premiere his play "In the Company of Men." For that play, he received an award from the Association for Mormon Letters. He also began teaching drama and film at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne in the early 1990s. While there, he adapted "In the Company of Men" into a film, which he directed. The film won the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won awards at the Deauville Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the New York Film Critics Circle, among others.
Neil's next film, "Your Friends & Neighbors," premiered in 1998. He also wrote the play "Bash: Latter-Day Plays," a set of three short plays depicting Latter-day Saints doing a variety of disturbing and violent things. It ran Off-Broadway in 1999. The play resulted in his being disfellowshipped from the LDS Church. He has since formally left the LDS Church.
In 2001, LaBute wrote and directed the play "The Shape of Things." It premiered in London and featured Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz. The play was turned into a film in 2003. The plot of the play and film focuses on four students in the American Midwest who become emotionally and romantically involved with each other. The film featured the same cast as the play.
In 2002, LaBute premiered his play "The Mercy Seat." It was written in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. He didn't write another play until 2008, when he premiered "reasons to be pretty" Off-Broadway. After moving to Broadway, the play was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Leading Actor in a Play, and Best Featured Actress in a Play.
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In 2010, LaBute directed "Death at a Funeral," the American remake of a 2007 British film of the same name. During the 2010s, various productions of his existing plays were staged around the country and in Europe. He also wrote new scenes and an introduction for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of "The Taming of the Shrew" in 2010. In 2011, Neil took part in the Bush Theater's "Sixty Six Books" project and wrote a piece based upon a book in the King James Bible. In 2013, he wrote the film "Some Girl(s)" which was based on his own play. The same year, he wrote and directed the film "Some Velvet Morning." In 2015, he wrote and directed "Dirty Weekend." He also wrote, directed, and produced the television series "Billy & Billie."
Beginning in 2016, LaBute began writing and producing the series "Van Helsing." Between 2016 and 2021, he wrote 16 episodes of the show and produced 43 episodes in total. In 2017, he wrote and produced the television anthology series "Staging Film." Neil directed, wrote, and produced the 2019 miniseries "The I-Land" and the 2022 film "House of Darkness." He also directed and wrote the 2022 film "Out of the Blue." In 2023, he directed and wrote "Fear the Night."
In general, LaBute's writing style is very language-oriented. He often creates terse and rhythmic writing and uses colloquial language. His style has often been compared to that of his favorite playwright, David Mamet. Critics of his work have labeled some of his plays as having a misanthropic tone.
Personal Life
LaBute keeps his personal life very private. He was previously married to a woman, Lisa, whom he met while a student at BYU. In 2016, Neil married actress Gia Crovatin. The two have worked together numerous times before in a professional capacity on plays and other theatrical works.
