Biography
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.".
