Skip to content
MovieCove
Joe Nussbaum

Joe Nussbaum

Director and writer, also producer and actor · Born January 10, 1973 (53) · Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Joe Nussbaum is an American film director. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he got his break into the movie industry by passing around Hollywood offices his short film George Lucas in Love. The success of the film eventually got him a deal with Dreamworks, and he has since directed films such as the 2004 production Sleepover, the 2006 film American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and the 2007 film Sydney White starring Amanda Bynes. His latest project was the Walt Disney Pictures film Prom, starring Aimee Teegarden and Nicholas Braun. Joe grew up in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Nussbaum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 10, 1973 (53)
From
Saint Louis Park, Minnesota
Works as
Director and writer, also producer and actor
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 41% in 30 days

What are Joe Nussbaum's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
46%
Bonds
36%
Society
9%
Morality
5%
Ideas
5%
Friendship7 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 7 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
8
Hopeful
5
Absurd
4
Triumphant
4
Warm
3
Other
7

How their films linger

Feel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joe Nussbaum's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joe Nussbaum's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

17 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion(2022)

    Show Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows

  • Upside-Down Magic(2020)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Just Add Magic: Mystery City(2020)

    Show Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Gabby Duran & The Unsittables(2019)

    Show 20 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all shows

  • The Late Bloomer(2016)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Just Add Magic(2015)

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Art Direction

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Kicks(2015)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows

  • Young & Hungry(2014)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous(2013)

    Show 12 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Back in the Game(2013)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • Awkward.(2011)

    Show 7 episodes · Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Prom(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Sydney White(2007)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile(2006)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Cinema16: American Short Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Sleepover(2004)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • George Lucas in Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Story · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 13 titles from 1999 to 2020.

Biggest box office

Sydney White (2007)

$14M worldwide

Highest rated

Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous (2013)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing12 of 13: 8 only directing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score43rdWriting3 of 13: 1 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing1 of 13: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 13: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

13 titles, 4 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s7 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Joe Nussbaum's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 31st percentile, the median of all 6; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 33rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

32ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 15 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · director, producer

Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion (2022)

96th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Just Add Magic (2015)

Midcredits 95th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 48/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Joe Nussbaum's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 4 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles28–68 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 69 · intenseMedian of all films: 36
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 8 · minimalMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Joe Nussbaum work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joe Nussbaum's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Andrew Orenstein shares the most, 2.

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers