Movie director Bennett Miller's feature debut, Capote, was hailed by many critics as one of the best films of 2005. A one-time student of New York University's film school, Miller directed TV commercials and made the documentary The Cruise (1998), a portrait of eccentric New York City tour guide Timothy "Speed" Levitch, released in 1998. Miller's childhood chum, writer and actor Dan Futterman, sent him a script about author Truman Capote's experiences while researching the book In Cold Blood. The two then approached long-time acquaintance and actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who signed on as executive producer and star. Hoffman received rave reviews for his portrayal of Capote, and Miller emerged as a dark horse candidate for an Oscar nomination.
In 2006 Miller directed the video for Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down," featuring Scarlett Johanson.
Few directors have shown the patience that Bennett Miller has in waiting for the perfect script with which to make his feature film debut. Miller completed The Cruise in 1998, a documentary about Tim "Speed" Levitch, a double-decker bus tour guide with Manhattan's Gray Line who enraptured audiences with his lust for life and his city. The obscure film won an Emmy and was praised by critics, though it wasn't exposed to a large number of moviegoers. Miller would take his time in finding the film through which he would approach a larger audience, and paid his bills for the next seven years by directing commercials. It was Dan Futterman, a friend that Miller had kept in touch with since they met in middle school, who eventually brought him the script he'd been waiting for. Based on Gerald Clarke's biography of infamous '50s author Truman Capote, Capote was a sharp, ambitious psychological profile that would require the most competent of actors to carry it to fruition. The first name on Miller and Futterman's list was Philip Seymour Hoffman, a highly respected actor with an incredibly impressive resumé. The three had met at a summer theater camp in Saratoga Springs when they were 16, and the two implicitly trusted Hoffman to bring their vision to life.
When Capote was released in 2005, it was everything that its producers had hoped. The film received accolades from the critical community and was honored with Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Director, Motion Picture of the Year, Best Adapted Screenplay, a Best Actress nomination for Catherine Keener, and a Best Actor nomination for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman also took home a Golden Globe Award for his performance. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Miller is featured in a special feature of the DVD edition of Knocked Up; he plays the role of the director of the director (Judd Apatow) in a mockumentary of the directing of the film.
