Bottom 50 directors
My 50 directors - from which I've seen at least three movies - that I find the worst.
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- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Simon Wincer was born in 1943 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Phantom (1996), Harlequin (1980) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).- Stunts
- Director
- Writer
Lasse Spang Olsen was born on 23 April 1965 in Denmark. He is a director and writer, known for In China They Eat Dogs (1999), Inkasso (2004) and Pusher (1996). He was previously married to Josephine Bergsøe.- Editor
- Director
- Editorial Department
Raja Gosnell started his film career as an assistant editor in the late 1970s. His first credit as a film's main editor was the romantic comedy "The Lonely Guy" (1984), for director Arthur Hiller. During the 1980s, Gosnell served as editor in films directed by Tom Laughlin, David Worth, Bob Dahlin, Bert Convy, Christopher Leitch, Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton, Phillip Schuman, and Chris Columbus.
For Columbus he edited the comedy film "Heartbreak Hotel" (1988), which features a 1970s teenager kidnapping singer Elvis Presley, to bring home as a gift for his mother. During the 1990s, Gosnell would serve as editor in several more film by Columbus.
The 1990s started with Gosnell working as editor in two high-profile projects: "Pretty Woman" (1990) by Garry Marshall, and "Home Alone" (1990) by Chris Columbus. Both turned out to be among the major hits of the year 1990. He then worked in the Columbus' films "Only the Lonely" (1991), "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992), "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), and "Nine Months" (1995). Gosnell had few other editing credits during the 1990s and retired as an editor in 1995.
Gosnell resurfaced as a film director in his own right, hired to direct "Home Alone 3" (1997). The film was intended to continue the "Home Alone" franchise with a new set of characters and no connection to the events of the previous films. The film was a minor box office hit, and the series next continued with a television film. Gosnell was not asked to direct further "Home Alone" films.
His next directorial credit was the romantic comedy film "Never Been Kissed" (1999). The premise of the film is that a 25-year-old female newspaper editor poses as high school student to get a story. She ends up revisiting traumas from her teenage years and finding new love interests. The film was another minor box office hit.
Gosnell's next film was the action comedy "Big Momma's House" (2000). The premise is that a young, male FBI agent impersonates the elderly grandmother of a suspect, in order to investigate a case. The film was an unexpected box office hit (earning about 174 million at the worldwide box office), and received two sequels of its own. Gosnell had nothing to do with the sequels, but the film cemented his reputation as a commercially successful director.
Gosnell was next hired to direct "Scooby-Doo" (2002), an adventure comedy-film, combining live action with computer animation. The film earned about 275 million at the worldwide box office, and became one of the most commercially successful films released in 2002. It was the biggest hit yet in Gosnell's career.
Gosnell was next assigned to direct the sequel film "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" (2004), which also combined live action with computer animation. The film performed decently at the box office, but failed to match the commercial success of the original. Gosnell was not asked to direct further "Scooby-Doo films", and no further live-action "Scooby-Doo" productions were released for several years.
Gosnell's next film was the family comedy "Yours, Mine & Ours" (2005). The premise was the difficulties faced by a newlywed couple, whose children from previous relationships stand opposed to their marriage. The film stood out for an unusually large cast of child actors, as the premise was that the couple has 18 kids from previous relationships. Its box office performance was unremarkable.
Gosnell returned with a relatively low-budget film. the comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (2008). The premise of the film is that the pet dog of a wealthy American heiress is dog-napped and ends up wandering in Mexico. The film features live-action dogs with voice actors providing their dialogue. The film was an unexpected box office hit, and received two sequels. Gosnell was not involved with the sequels.
Gosnell's next film was more high-profile: the comic book adaptation "The Smurfs" (2011), combining live-action with animation. The premise was that a small group of Smurfs and their opponents were accidentally transported to modern day New York City, resulting in a culture clash. The film earned about 564 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the greatest hit yet in Gosnell's career.
Gosnell was next assigned to direct the sequel "The Smurfs 2" (2013). which has the Smurfs be confronted by the Naughties, evil counterparts of them created by magic. While the film earned about 347 million dollars at the worldwide box office, it failed to match the success of the original and performed bellow expectations at most markets. The live-action Smurf films were discontinued and Gosnell was left with no ongoing projects for a while.
Gosnell is supposed to make a comeback in 2018 with new comedy films. Most of his films as a director have been comedy films and he is strongly associated with the genre.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Brian Robbins is President of Kids & Family Entertainment for ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks, with oversight of all strategy, creative and business operations for the company's kids and young-adult focused brands including Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Studios and Awesomeness. He also has purview over The Nick Experience, Nickelodeon's experiential division which includes live shows, as well as Nick's domestic consumer products business.
Robbins most recently served as President of Nickelodeon, responsible for evolving the global brand leader in kids and family entertainment for a new generation of young audiences by enhancing its robust content offerings and expanding its cultural footprint on next-generation platforms and in film.
Prior to that, Robbins was President of Paramount Players, a production division of Paramount Pictures that develops, produces and markets feature films from original source material and in collaboration with Viacom flagship brands Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET.
Projects led by Robbins under the Paramount Players division include: Nobody's Fool, directed by Tyler Perry and starring Tiffany Haddish; What Men Want directed by Adam Shankman and starring Taraji P. Henson; the adaptation of Trevor Noah's autobiography Born a Crime; and film versions of classic Nickelodeon shows Rugrats and Dora the Explorer, among others.
Prior to establishing Paramount Players, Robbins founded multi-platform media company Awesomeness, which Viacom purchased in July 2018. As Founder & CEO, he drove all Awesomeness creative, producing hit web series and films Expelled, Guidance, Foursome, t@gged, and Freakish, as well as theatrical release Before I Fall.
A prolific producer of television, film and digital media, Robbins is best known for executive producing numerous popular and critical television hits aimed at teens and young audiences, including the long-running CW series Smallville and One Tree Hill; Nickelodeon's All That and Kenan and Kel; Disney Channel's Sonny With a Chance and So Random; and Spike TV's Blue Mountain State. He also produced the popular WB series What I Like About You and HBO's Arli$$.
In feature film, his director and producer credits include Paramount Pictures' Coach Carter, Hardball, Varsity Blues and Good Burger; Disney's Wild Hogs and Shaggy Dog; DreamWorks' A Thousand Words; and Sony's Radio, along with many other works.
Robbins is the recipient of a Directors Guild Award, a Peabody Award, and the Pioneer Prize by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is based in Los Angeles, CA.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Robert Anthony Rodriguez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, USA, to Rebecca (Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman. His family is of Mexican descent.
Of all the people to be amazed by the images of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi parable, Escape from New York (1981), none were as captivated as the 12-year-old Rodriguez, who sat with his friends in a crowded cinema. Many people watch films and arrogantly proclaim "I can do that." This young man said something different: "I WILL do that. I'm gonna make movies." That day was the catalyst of his dream career. Born and raised in Texas, Robert was the middle child of a family that would include 10 children. While many a child would easily succumb to a Jan Brady sense of being lost in the shuffle, Robert always stood out as a very creative and very active young man. An artist by nature, he was very rarely seen sans pencil-in-hand doodling some abstract (yet astounding) dramatic feature on a piece of paper. His mother, not a fan of the "dreary" cinema of the 1970s, instills a sense of cinema in her children by taking them on weekly trips to San Antonio's famed Olmos Theatre movie house and treats them to a healthy dose of Hollywood's "Golden Age" wonders, from Sergio Leone to the silent classic of Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
In a short amount of time, young Robert finds the family's old Super-8 film camera and makes his first films. The genres are unlimited: action, sci-fi, horror, drama, stop-motion animation. He uses props from around the house, settings from around town, and makes use of the largest cast and crew at his disposal: his family. At the end of the decade, his father, a salesman, brings home the latest home-made technological wonder: a VCR, and with it (as a gift from the manufacturer) a video camera. With this new equipment at his disposal, he makes movies his entire life. He screens the movies for friends, all of whom desperately want to star in the next one. He gains a reputation in the neighborhood as "the kid who makes movies". Rather than handing in term papers, he is allowed to hand in "term movies" because, as he himself explains, "[the teachers] knew I'd put more effort into a movie than I ever would into an essay." He starts his own comic strip, "Los Hooligans". His movies win every local film competition and festival. When low academic grades threaten to keep him out of UT Austin's renowned film department, he proves his worth the only way he knows how: he makes a movie. Three, in fact: trilogy of short movies called "Austin Stories" starring his siblings. It beats the entries of the school's top students and allows Robert to enter the program. After being accepted into the film department, Robert takes $400 of his own money to make his "biggest" film yet: a 16mm short comedy/fantasy called Bedhead (1991).
Pouring every idea and camera trick he knew into the short, it went on to win multiple awards. After meeting and marrying fellow Austin resident Elizabeth Avellan, Robert comes up with a crazy idea: he will sell his body to science in order to finance his first feature-length picture (a Mexican action adventure about a guitarist with no name looking for work but getting caught up in a shoot-'em-up adventure) that he will sell to the Spanish video market and use as an entry point to a lucrative Hollywood career. With his "guinea pig" money he raises a mere $7,000 and creates El Mariachi (1992). But rather than lingering in obscurity, the film finds its way to the Sundance film festival where it becomes an instant favorite, wins Robert a distribution deal with Columbia Pictures and turns him into an icon among would-be film-makers the world over. Not one to rest on his laurels, he immediately helms the straight-to-cable movie Roadracers (1994) and contributes a segment to the anthology comedy Four Rooms (1995) (his will be the most lauded segment).
His first "genuine" studio effort would soon have people referring to him as "John Woo from south-of-the-border". It is the "Mariachi" remake/sequel Desperado (1995). More lavish and action-packed than its own predecessor, the movie--while not a blockbuster hit--does decent business and launches the American film careers of Antonio Banderas as the guitarist-turned-gunslinger and Salma Hayek as his love interest (the two would star in several of his movies from then on). It also furthers the director's reputation of working on low budgets to create big results. In the year when movies like Batman Forever (1995) and GoldenEye (1995) were pushing budgets past the $100 million mark, Rodriguez brought in "Desperado" for just under $7 million. The film also featured a cameo by fellow indie film wunderkind, Quentin Tarantino. It would be the beginning of a long friendship between the two sprinkled with numerous collaborations. Most notable the Tarantino-penned vampire schlock-fest From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). The kitschy flick (about a pair of criminal brothers on the run from the Texas Rangers, only to find themselves in a vamp-infested Mexican bar) became an instant cult favorite and launched the lucrative film career of ER (1994) star George Clooney.
After a two-year break from directing (primarily to spend with his family, but also developing story ideas and declining Hollywood offers) he returned to "Dusk till Dawn" territory with the teen sci-fi/horror movie The Faculty (1998), written by Scream (1996) writer, Kevin Williamson. Although it's developed a small following of its own, it would prove to be Robert's least-successful film. Critics and fans alike took issue with the pedestrian script, the off-kilter casting and the flick's blatant over-commercialization (due to a marketing deal with clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger). After another three-year break, Rodriguez returned to make his most successful (and most unexpected) movie yet, based on his own segment from Four Rooms (1995). After a string of bloody, adult-oriented action fare, no one anticipated him to write and direct the colorful and creative Spy Kids (2001), a movie about a pair of prepubescent Latino sibs who discover that their lame parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are actually two of the world's greatest secret agents. The film was hit among both audiences and critics alike.
After quitting the Writers' Guild of America and being introduced to digital filmmaking by George Lucas, Robert immediately applied the creative, flexible (and cost-effective) technology to every one of his movies from then on, starting with an immediate sequel to his family friendly hit: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) which was THEN immediately followed by the trilogy-capper Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). The latter would prove to be the most financially-lucrative of the series and employ the long-banished movie gimmick of 3-D with eye-popping results. Later the same year Rodriguez career came full circle when he completed the final entry of the story that made brought him to prominence: "El Mariachi". The last chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), would be his most direct homage to the Sergio Leone westerns he grew up on. With a cast boasting Antonio Banderas (returning as the gunslinging guitarist), Johnny Depp (as a corrupt CIA agent attempting to manipulate him), Salma Hayek, Mickey Rourke, Willem Dafoe and Eva Mendes, the film delivered even more of the Mexican shoot-'em-up spectacle than both of the previous films combined.
Now given his choice of movies to do next, Robert sought out famed comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, a man who had been very vocal of never letting his works be adapted for the screen. Even so, he was wholeheartedly convinced and elated when Rodriguez presented him with a plan to turn Miller's signature work into the film Sin City (2005). A collection of noir-ish tales set in a fictional, crime-ridden slum, the movie boasted the largest cast Rodriguez had worked with to that date. Saying he didn't want to mere "adapt" Miller's comics but "translate" them, Rodriguez' insistence that Miller co-direct the movie lead to Robert's resignation from the Director's Guild of America (and his subsequent dismissal from the film John Carter (2012) as a result). Many critics cited that Sin City was created as a pure film noir piece to adapt Miller's comics onto the screen. Co-directing with Frank Miller and bringing in Quentin Tarantino to guest-direct a scene allowed Rodriguez to again shock Hollywood with his talent.
In late 2007, Rodriguez again teamed up with his friend Tarantino to create the double feature Grindhouse (2007). Rodriguez's offering, Planet Terror (2007), was a film made to be "hardcore, extreme, sex-fueled, action-packed." Rodriguez flirts with his passion to make a showy film exploiting all of his experience to make an extremely entertaining thrill ride. The film is encompassed around Cherry (Rose McGowan), a reluctant go-go dancer who is found wanting when she meets her ex-lover El Wray (played by Freddy Rodríguez) who turns up at a local BBQ grill. They then, after a turn of events, find themselves fending off brain-eating zombies whilst trying to flee to Mexico (here we go off to Mexico again). Apart from directing, Rodriguez also involves himself in camera work, editing and composing music for his movies' sound tracks (he composed Planet Terror's main theme). He also shoots a lot of his own action scenes to get a direct idea from his eye as the director into the film. In El Mariachi (1992), Rodriguez spent hours in front of a pay-to-use, computer editing his film. This allowed him to capture the ideal footage exactly as he wanted it. Away from the filming aspect of Hollywood, Rodriguez is an expert chef who cooks gourmet meals for the cast and crew. Rodriguez is also known for his ability to turn a low-budgeted film with a small crew into an example of film mastery. El mariachi was "the movie made on seven grand" and still managed to rank as one of Rodriguez' best films (receiving a rating of 92% on the Rotten Tomatoes film review site).
Because Rodriguez is involved so deeply in his films, he is able to capture what he wants first time, which saves both time and money. Rodriguez's films share some similar threads and ideas, whilst also having differences. In El Mariachi (1992), he uses a hand-held camera. He made this decision for several reasons. First, he couldn't afford a tripod and secondly, he wanted to make the audience more aware of the action. In the action sequences he is given more mobility with a hand-held camera and also allows for distortion of the unprofessional action sequences (because the cost of all special effects in the film totaled $600). However, in Sin City (2005) and Planet Terror (2007), the budget was much greater, and Rodriguez could afford to spend more on special affects (especially since both films were filmed predominately with green screen) and, thus, there was no need to cover for error.
Playing by his own rules or not at all, Robert Rodriguez has redefined what a filmmaker can or cannot do. Shunning Hollywood's ridiculously high budgets, multi-picture deals and the two most powerful unions for the sake of maintaining creative freedom are decisions that would (and have) cost many directors their careers. Rodriguez has turned these into his strengths, creating some of the most imaginative works the big-screen has ever seen.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly distinctive blend of film noir and German Expressionism with stylistic nods to Dreyer, Andrei Tarkovsky and Orson Welles, its combination of yellow-tinted monochrome cinematography (pierced by shafts of blue light) and doom-haunted atmosphere made it an unforgettable visual experience. His subsequent features Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991) have been equally ambitious both thematically and visually, though his international fame is most likely to be based on The Kingdom (1994), a TV soap opera blending hospital drama, ghost story and Twin Peaks (1990)-style surrealism that was so successful in Denmark that it was released internationally as a 280-minute theatrical feature.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Rob Cohen is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. One of the 1970's "baby moguls", he built a thriving career as a producer, before concentrating full time on directing from the 1990's, with high adrenaline action blockbusters such as xXx (2002) and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993). He is the creator of The Fast and the Furious (2001), Universal Pictures' biggest franchise of all time.
Born on March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA. He attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude in the class of '71, concentrating in a cross major between anthropology and visual studies. His first endeavor in filmmaking was a commissioned recruiting film for Harvard's Admissions Office in 1970. With a career in film and television spanning more than 40 years, Cohen has distinguished himself both as a celebrated screenwriter, producer and director. In 1973, Cohen became Fox's Vice President of TV Movies, before being poached by Gordon L. Berry and becoming Head of Production at Motown Records at the age of just 24. He went on to produce and direct some of the most iconic films and television series of the 1980's, including Miami Vice (1984), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Ironweed (1987) and The Wiz (1978)_. From 1990 onward, Cohen moved into directing full time. Much success followed with early 90's hits such as Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993), DragonHeart (1996), Daylight (1996) and the Golden Globe award winning film The Rat Pack (1998). At 52, Cohen had become a hit action director of youth films, directing the 2001 blockbuster, The Fast and the Furious (2001). With the enormous success of Fast, he partnered up with Vin Diesel again the following year to direct yet another box office hit, xXx (2002). Cohen directed the third installed of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) in 2008, grossing $405million world-wide, and Blumhouse Production's The Boy Next Door (2015) with Jennifer Lopez, which went on to gross five times it's budget.
Currently on location in Sofia, Bulgaria, Cohen is shooting his next film, The Hurricane Heist (2018). Starring Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten and Ralph Ineson, the action/adventure tells the tale of a $600 million heist of a U.S. treasury facility in a small Sou then town, during the worst storm to ever hit the coastal United States. The screenplay was written by Rob Cohen, Scott Windhauser, and Jeff Dixon.
Cohen is also an accomplished commercials director, housed at Original Film, having made over 150 spots for products such as Disney's Star Wars, Verizon, Ford, GM, Mercedes, Chevy, Saab and Burger King among many others.- Director
- Producer
- Music Department
- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Alice O'Fredericks was born on 8 September 1900 in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. She was a director and writer, known for Week-end (1935), Blaavand melder Storm (1938) and De tre måske fire (1939). She was married to Oskar Klintholm. She died on 18 February 1968 in Hellerup, Denmark.- Art Department
- Animation Department
- Writer
Jim Kammerud is an American film director, screenwriter, and animator. He was educated at Ohio State University, where he served as a cartoonist for the student newspaper "The Lantern".
Following his graduation, Kammerud partnered with his college friend Jeff Smith (1960-) in creating their own animation studio, "Character Builders". Kammerud served as an animator and storyboard artist in projects such as "Rover Dangerfield" (1991) and "Space Jam" (1996). He was eventually hired by Disney, and served as a sequence director for "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" (1998).
Kammerud was promoted to director for a number of sequels to classic Disney films. He served as one of two co-directors for the films "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea" (2000) and "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" (2003). His first solo work as a director was the film "The Fox and the Hound 2". He started work on another sequel "The Aristocats II", but the project ended in development hell. Disney terminated plans for further sequels to its classic films.
After leaving Disney, Kammerud joined the animation studio "House of Cool", which provides storyboards and additional animation to various film projects by bigger studios. Kammerud has served as a storyboard artist for films such as "Gnomeo & Juliet" (2011) and "Ice Age: Continental Drift" (2012).- Producer
- Director
- Actor
A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won him recognition and a number of MTV award nominations. He also filmed advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Miller Lite. He won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his "Got Milk/Aaron Burr" commercial. At Cannes, he has won the Gold Lion for The Best Beer campaign for Miller Lite, as well as the Silver for "Got Milk". In 1995, Bay was honored by the Directors Guild of America as Commercial Director of the Year. That same year, he also directed his first feature film, Bad Boys (1995), starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, which grossed more than $160 million, worldwide. His follow-up film, The Rock (1996), starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, was also hugely successful, making Bay the director du jour.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Peter Flinth was born on 7 November 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was admitted to the National Film School of Denmark and in the same time worked as an assistant director on a number of Danish feature films, including most notably Academy Award-nominated Dance of the Polar Bears and Ole Bornedal's Nightwatch, before graduating in 1993 with the short film Den Sidste Færge. He had his debut as a feature film director in 1997 with Eye of the Eagle.- Art Department
- Writer
- Director
Bradley Raymond is known for Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), The Lion King 1½ (2004) and Planes (2013).- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Annette K. Olesen was born on 20 November 1965 in Denmark. She is a director and writer, known for Kamikaze (2021), Borgen (2010) and Lille soldat (2008).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Writer, director, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1970, to Anders Refn, a film director and editor, and Vibeke Winding (née Tuxen), a cinematographer. Just before he turned 11, in 1981, he moved to New York with his parents, where he lived out his teen years. New York quickly became his city and soon began to shape Nicolas' future.
At seventeen, Nicolas moved back to his native Copenhagen to complete his high-school Education. After graduation, he swiftly flew back to New York, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. However, this education was cut short when Nicolas threw a desk at a classroom wall and was expelled from the Academy. Consequently, he applied to the Danish Film School and was readily accepted. This education too was to be short-lived, though, as one month prior to the start of the semester, Nicolas dropped out.
A short film Nicolas had written, directed, and starred in was aired on an obscure cable TV channel and lead to the offer of a life-time. Nicolas was spotted and offered 3.2 million kroners to turn the short into a feature. At only twenty-four, Nicolas had written and directed the extremely violent and uncompromising Pusher (1996), which became a cult phenomenon and won Nicolas instant international critical acclaim. The success of his debut spurred him to push the boundaries of his creative filmmaking further, which resulted in the close-to-the-edge and intricately gritty Bleeder (1999). Highly stylized and focused on introverted reactions to outward situations, this film was a marking point for the shaping of Nicolas's future career. The movie was selected for the 1999 Venice International Film Festival as well as winning the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize in Sarajevo.
Nicolas's fourth feature, the much-anticipated Fear X (2003) was also his first foray into English-language movies. Starring the award-winning actor John Turturro, "Fear X" made its world premiere at the Sundance Film festival. However, Fear X divided critics and it flopped, which made Nicolas Winding Refn broke and in debt.
Having to provide for his family and paying his debt, he returned to Denmark to revisit "Pusher." Refn was reluctant to revisit his past success but decided that he could both make commercially viable and artistically pleasing films. In just two years he managed to write, direct and produce the two sequels. Pusher II (2004) and Pusher III (2005) sealed the box and success of the internationally renowned "Pusher" trilogy. In 2005, the Toronto Film Festival held a "Pusher" retrospective showing all three features cementing its worldwide phenomenon.
In 2006 Nicolas embarked on a second English-language (and first digital) feature called Valhalla Rising (2009), which was inspired by a story his mother read to him at the age of five about a father and son who embark on a trip to the moon. Not recalling the ending of this story has been a long time fascination of Nicolas's with the unknown. During the pre-production on "Valhalla Rising," his long time collaborator and friend, Rupert Preston, urged him into accepting an offer to write and direct Bronson (2008), an ultra-violent, surreal, and escapist film following the real-life landmarks and self-entrapment of Charles Bronson, Britain's most notorious criminal. Before its cinematic release, "Bronson" was making waves inside and outside the film industry. The 2009 Sundance Film Festival selected the blistering film for its World Cinema Dramatic Competition and it soon became the talk of the festival. With such a prestigious premiere, "Bronson" went on to be selected for other major international film festivals and reap strong box-office rewards. But, even with such a buzz surrounding the film, no one could predict how the British press would bite at "Bronson's" bit. The content was close to the knuckle, the subject matter controversial, but Nicolas's take on this was even more inspired leading him to be labeled by the British media as the next great European auteur.
With such critical acclaim, Nicolas's reputation as a producer, writer and director was solidly reaffirmed. Nicolas and his wife Liv Corfixen were the subjects of an acclaimed documentary, Gambler (2006), which premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2005. In addition, Nicolas already received two lifetime-achievement awards (one from the Taipei International Film festival in 2006 and the second from the Valencia International Film Festival in 2007), and it was the winner of the Emerging Master Award from the Philadelphia International Film Festival 2005.- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Production Designer
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Ole Christian "OC" Madsen is from the "Golden Year" of the Danish Filmschool, including director's like Thomas Vinterberg and Per Fly. Ole Christian Madsen started out directing television series, but moved on to his first feature Sinans Wedding in 1997, followed by highly acclaimed second feature Pizza King (1998) - both films dealt with 2nd generation emigrant issues, and became the first of their kind approaching this subject in Denmark. OC moved on to the highly profiled miniseries "Edderkoppen", a film-noir vision of post-war Copenhagen in 1949, an elegant romantic gangster-flick. The seriel is still one of it's kind in Denmark, and became immensely popular. Award-winning breakthrough arised with "En Kaerlighedshistorie". Besides taking home international awards, it swept the national Bodil, and Robert-awards in 2002. With the adaptation of his good friend Jakob Ejersbo's Nordkraft, he made his first hit movie. One year later he wrote and directed Prag. And another year after came the 2WW resistance drama Flame & Citron. It became the biggest box-office hit in 10 years - and the most expensive danish-languaged movie ever. In 2010 "OC" shot his latest film Superclasico in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It will premiere in Copenhagen March 2011.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Woody Allen was born on November 30, 1935, as Allen Konigsberg, in The Bronx, NY, the son of Martin Konigsberg and Nettie Konigsberg. He has one younger sister, Letty Aronson. As a young boy, he became intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet, two hobbies that he continues today.
Allen broke into show business at 15 years when he started writing jokes for a local paper, receiving $200 a week. He later moved on to write jokes for talk shows but felt that his jokes were being wasted. His agents, Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins, convinced him to start doing stand-up and telling his own jokes. Reluctantly he agreed and, although he initially performed with such fear of the audience that he would cover his ears when they applauded his jokes, he eventually became very successful at stand-up. After performing on stage for a few years, he was approached to write a script for Warren Beatty to star in: What's New Pussycat (1965) and would also have a moderate role as a character in the film. During production, Woody gave himself more and better lines and left Beatty with less compelling dialogue. Beatty inevitably quit the project and was replaced by Peter Sellers, who demanded all the best lines and more screen-time.
It was from this experience that Woody realized that he could not work on a film without complete control over its production. Woody's theoretical directorial debut was in What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966); a Japanese spy flick that he dubbed over with his own comedic dialogue about spies searching for the secret recipe for egg salad. His real directorial debut came the next year in the mockumentary Take the Money and Run (1969). He has written, directed and, more often than not, starred in about a film a year ever since, while simultaneously writing more than a dozen plays and several books of comedy.
While best known for his romantic comedies Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979), Woody has made many transitions in his films throughout the years, transitioning from his "early, funny ones" of Bananas (1971), Love and Death (1975) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972); to his more storied and romantic comedies of Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); to the Bergmanesque films of Stardust Memories (1980) and Interiors (1978); and then on to the more recent, but varied works of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Husbands and Wives (1992), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Celebrity (1998) and Deconstructing Harry (1997); and finally to his films of the last decade, which vary from the light comedy of Scoop (2006), to the self-destructive darkness of Match Point (2005) and, most recently, to the cinematically beautiful tale of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Although his stories and style have changed over the years, he is regarded as one of the best filmmakers of our time because of his views on art and his mastery of filmmaking.- Actress
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- Director
Hella Joof was born on 1 November 1962 in Birkerød, Denmark. She is an actress and producer, known for En kort en lang (2001), Bullerfnis (1990) and Hush Little Baby (2009). She has been married to Henrik Jepsen since 2012. She was previously married to Runi Lewerissa.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Rasmus Heide was born on 16 January 1979 in Ribe, Denmark. He is a director and assistant director, known for All for Three (2017), Take the Trash (2008) and All for Two (2013).- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born on November 30, 1965, in New York City, New York, to legendary comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. His father was of Austrian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent, and his mother was of Irish Catholic descent (she converted to Judaism).
His parents made no real effort to keep their son away from the Hollywood lifestyle and he grew up among the stars, wondering just why his parents were so popular. At a young age, he and his sister Amy Stiller would perform plays at home, wearing Amy's tights to perform Shakespeare. Ben also picked up an interest in being on the other side of the camera and, at age 10, began shooting films on his Super 8 camera. The plots were always simple: someone would pick on the shy, awkward Stiller ... and then he would always get his revenge. This desire for revenge on the popular, good-looking people may have motivated his teen-angst opus Reality Bites (1994) later in his career. He both directed and performed in the film, which co-starred Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke.
Before he got to Hollywood, he put in several consistently solid years in the theater. After dropping out of UCLA, he performed in the Tony Award winner, "The House of Blue Leaves". While working on the play, Stiller shot a short spoof of The Color of Money (1986) starring him (in the Tom Cruise role) and his The House of Blue Leaves (1987) costar John Mahoney (in the Paul Newman role). The short film was so funny that Lorne Michaels purchased it and aired it on Saturday Night Live (1975). This led to his spending a year on the show in 1989.
Stiller made his big screen debut in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987) in 1987. Demonstrating early on the multifaceted tone his career would take, he soon stepped behind the camera to direct Back to Brooklyn for MTV. The network was impressed and gave Stiller his own show, The Ben Stiller Show (1992). He recruited fellow offbeat comedians Janeane Garofalo and Andy Dick and created a bitingly satirical show. MTV ended up passing on it, but it was picked up by Fox. Unfortunately, the show was a ratings miss. Stiller was soon out of work, although he did have the satisfaction of picking up an Emmy for the show after its cancellation.
For a while, Stiller had to settle for guest appearance work. While doing this, he saved up his cash and in the end was able to scrape enough together to make Reality Bites (1994), now a cult classic which is looked upon favorably by the generation it depicted. Ben continued to work steadily for a time, particularly in independent productions where he was more at ease. However, he never quite managed to catch a big break. His first big budget directing job was Jim Carrey's The Cable Guy (1996). Although many critics were impressed, Jim Carrey's fans were not. In 1998, There's Something About Mary (1998) had propelled Stiller into the mainstream spotlight. He also starred in such hit movies as Keeping the Faith (2000) and Meet the Parents (2000).- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Frank Coraci is an American film Director, Writer and Actor best know for his work with Adam Sandler.
Coraci was born in Shirley, New York on Long Island. Coraci graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in Film. He has directed a number of Sandler's most revered and biggest box office hits (The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Click).
Coraci's films have been met with both commercial and critical success. Here Comes the Boom won Movie Guides 2012's Best Family Film. Click won the 2007 People's Choice Award For "Favorite Movie Comedy." Click also was nominated for an Academy Award® For Best Achievement In Makeup. The Waterboy holds the title of the Number-One Grossing Sports Comedy Of All Time. The Wedding Singer has been included on many "Best Of" romantic comedy lists, including Moviefone's All-Time Top 25 Romantic Comedies. Coraci's awards also include Platinum Albums for both The Wedding Singer soundtracks, as well as an Emmy Nomination and a Platinum Album for the comedy CD "Adam Sandler, What the Hell Happened to Me?" for which he was also a performer and co-writer. His first independent feature, Murdered Innocence, won Best Feature Film and Best Directorial Debut at the 11th Annual Long Island Film Festival and showcased at the 18th Annual Sao Paolo Film Festival.
His acting career has him making cameos in The Waterboy as Roberto Boucher, and a Blue Haired Nurse in Click. He also plays the title character in Sandler's video for "The Lonesome Kicker"
Coraci also was the host of the food show, Chowmasters, for the Travel Channel with his childhood best friend, Chef and Restaurateur, Sam DeMarco (AKA: Chef Sammy D).
One of Coraci's first jobs out of NYU was directing travel documentaries for Globus World Tours. He traveled and photographed over 40 countries and filmed such landmarks as The Great Wall of China, The Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands.
His most recent film, The Ridiculous 6, is the first film that was financed by Netflix for an exclusive release via Netflix. It is the most watched movie or TV series in the history of Netflix.
A lover of Electronic music, Coraci DJ's by the name Spanknyce.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tomas Villum Jensen was born on 12 April 1971 in Denmark. He is an actor and director, known for My Sister's Kids (2001), Ernst & Lyset (1996) and My Sisters Kids in the Snow (2002). He has been married to Maria Montell since January 2006. They have two children.- Director
- Animation Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stefan Fjeldmark was born on 6 January 1964. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Trouble with Terkel (2004), A Fish Tale (2000) and Asterix and the Vikings (2006).- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 - July 19, 2016) was an American actor and filmmaker. He started his career in the 1960s writing for The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television in 1970. He gained fame for creating Happy Days (1974-1984), Laverne and Shirley (1976-1983), and Mork and Mindy (1978-1982). He is also known for directing Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Pretty Woman (1990), Runaway Bride (1999), and the family films The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). He also directed the romantic comedy ensemble films Valentine's Day (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), and Mother's Day (2016).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Jay Roach was born on 14 June 1957 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Trumbo (2015), Bombshell (2019) and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). He has been married to Susanna Hoffs since 17 April 1993. They have two children.- Producer
- Director
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Jon Turteltaub was born on 8 August 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Cool Runnings (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995) and Phenomenon (1996). He has been married to Amy Eldon since 6 July 2006. They have three children.- Director
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- Producer
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen was born on 2 March 1947 in Copenhagen, Denmark and is one of the country's most respected directors and co-inventor of the "dogme95" project. After becoming a popular musician, he attended film school in Prague and returned to his home country where he made his first feature film Vil du se min smukke navle? (1978). Despite doing several movies, TV projects and commercials, his international breakthrough was the acclaimed Mifune (1999).- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Shawn Levy was born on July 23, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Stranger Things (2016), Real Steel (2011), and the Night at the Museum franchise. He is the founder and principal of 21 Laps Entertainment. He is married to Serena Levy and they have four daughters.- Director
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- Actor
Terry Gilliam was born near Medicine Lake, Minnesota. When he was 12 his family moved to Los Angeles where he became a fan of MAD magazine. In his early twenties he was often stopped by the police who suspected him of being a drug addict and Gilliam had to explain that he worked in advertising. In the political turmoil in the 60's, Gilliam feared he would become a terrorist and decided to leave the USA. He moved to England and landed a job on the children's television show Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967) as an animator. There he met meet his future collaborators in Monty Python: Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Michael Palin. In 2006 he renounced his American citizenship.- Director
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Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, best known for action and science fiction films. Snyder made his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead and has gone on to be known for his comic book movies and superhero films, including 300 (2007), Watchmen (2009), Man of Steel (2013) and its upcoming sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Snyder is the co-founder of Cruel and Unusual Films, a production company he established in 2004, alongside his wife Deborah Snyder and producing partner Wesley Coller.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Richard Donner was born on 24 April 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on 5 July 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Editor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
He started on the Shepperton Studios cutting rooms in 1948 working on such as 'The Wooden Horse' and 'The Third Man' before moving to Nettlefold Studios where his stay was interrupted by two years National Service after which he joined Group 3 at Beaconsfield . His next move was becoming sound editor at Shepperton then film editor on television documentaries and filmed such series as 'Danger Man' on which he directed some action sequences. After some years he became supervising editor and director on various television series. Ditrector Peter Hunt invited him to be editor and second unit director on the film 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' repeating the duties on ''The Wild Geese' and 'The Sea Wolves' after which Albert Broccoli invited him to direct 'For Your Eyes Only'- Director
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Lewis Gilbert was a British film director, producer and screenwriter best known for Alfie (1966), as well as three James Bond films: You Only Live Twice (1967), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).
He also directed Reach for the Sky (1956), Sink the Bismarck! (1960), Educating Rita (1983) and Shirley Valentine (1989).
For his work on Alfie, Gilbert was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and an Golden Globe for best director.
In 2001 he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute, the highest accolade in the British film industry.
Gilbert was married to Hylda Tafler for 53 years, until her death in June 2005.
He died from natural causes on 23 February 2018 at the age of 97.- Art Department
- Animation Department
- Director
Simon Wells was born on 19 October 1961 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He is a director, known for The Time Machine (2002), The Prince of Egypt (1998) and Flushed Away (2006). He has been married to Wendy Wells since June 1988. They have two children.- Director
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Academy Award nominee Tom McGrath has been working in the entertainment industry for more than 30 years. McGrath directed the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated film The Boss Baby, and its sequel, The Boss Baby: Family Business, his sixth film as director for a DreamWorks Animation title, the most of any director at the studio. His films have grossed over $2.7 billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
Following the runaway success of 2005's box-office hit Madagascar, for which he directed, co-wrote and voiced the lead penguin Skipper, McGrath reprised the same roles in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. In addition, McGrath voiced Skipper for the Penguins of Madagascar TV show on Nickelodeon, and the short films The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Merry Madagascar and Madagascar. McGrath also starred in and executive produced DreamWorks Animation's Penguins of Madagascar and directed 2010's Megamind.
Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation in 2000, McGrath worked as a story artist and concept design artist for such feature films as Cats & Dogs and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He also worked as an animator and story artist on such animated films as Space Jam and Cool World. His television work includes directing on The Ren & Stimpy Show as well as other projects for Nickelodeon. He is a graduate from the character animation program at Cal Arts and also studied industrial design at the University of Washington.- Producer
- Animation Department
- Director
When Gary Goldman met Don Bluth at Walt Disney Studios in 1972, they formed an instant friendship, soon realizing that they both shared the desire of restoring the heritage of classical animation to today's animated films, their friendship eventually turned into a creative partnership that has lasted over 30 years.
Born in Oakland and raised in Watsonville, California, as a youth, Goldman studied piano and enjoyed model-making and drawing. Before devoting himself entirely to the arts, he served as an electronics technician in the United States Air Force (1962-1967). He received his Associate of Arts Degree (1969) from Cabrillo College near Santa Cruz, California, and in December, 1971, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Life Drawing and Art History from the University of Hawaii.
In early 1972, he began his career in animation when he joined Walt Disney Productions. His first assignment was as an "in-betweener" to legendary Disney animator Frank Thomas on the film Robin Hood (1973). He then worked alongside Don Bluth, as an animator, on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) and The Rescuers (1977) before serving as directing animator on Pete's Dragon (1977) and The Small One (1978).
In an effort to accelerate their skills in preparation for leadership assignments within the Disney organization, Goldman and Bluth began to probe every aspect of animated production. United by the same goal of restoring the lost techniques of classical animation, Goldman and Bluth, with animator John Pomeroy, produced (in Bluth's garage) the classically animated television special Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1979). It took four years, working nights and weekends. It won the National Film Advisory Board Award for excellence and the Golden Scroll Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Using what they learned on their "GARAGE" project, they implemented their techniques on projects at Disney. Divided by disagreements over story and production values, Goldman, along with Bluth and Pomeroy, resigned from Walt Disney Productions to establish their independent animation studio, Don Bluth Productions, Inc. (1979).
Since leaving Disney, the team produced several feature films, starting with The Secret of NIMH (1982), which won the Saturn Award for 'Best Animated Feature' from the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Academy. Their follow-up effort, An American Tail (1986), ushered in a new era of success for the full-length animated feature, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of its time. The film's theme song 'Somewhere Out There', also received two Grammy Awards and an Oscar nomination for 'Best Original Song'.
Goldman was producer on the animated laser disc interactive video games, Dragon's Lair (1983), Space Ace (1983) and Dragon's Lair II: Timewarp (1991). "Dragon's Lair" received the Inkpot Award for the 'First Interactive Laser Disc Arcade Game' and an Arkie Award for the 'Best Arcade Audio/Visuals'. Dragon's Lair has experienced an incredible tenure as a popular interactive game on 16 different platforms for home entertainment. It remained in the top 10 sales through 1999. The title is in final stages of production (September 2002) as a 3D game for PC, MAC, Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo's Game Cube and Microsoft's Xbox.
In 1986, Goldman and Bluth moved their entire operation, including 87 employees and their families to Dublin, Ireland, at the invitation of the Irish Government. Their third feature film The Land Before Time (1988), was their first production created entirely in Ireland. Released by Universal Pictures during the 1988 Thanksgiving holiday, it achieved a record-breaking opening weekend gross for an animated film.
In August 1994, Goldman returned from Ireland to head up the Fox Animation Studio located in Phoenix, Arizona where he shared the creative leadership with Don Bluth. The first production completed by the studio was the award winning, family favorite Anastasia (1997). Also produced at the Phoenix studio was, the direct-to-video animated musical, Bartok the Magnificent (1999), and the animated science fiction film, Titan A.E. (2000).
In 1999, Goldman, with Don Bluth, John Pomeroy, Rick Dyer and David Foster formed a new company, Dragon's Lair LLC. The company was formed to develop new 3D games, starting with a revamp of the hit 1983 game Dragon's Lair. Goldman and Bluth have reestablished their independence with their production company, Don Bluth Films, Inc., based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are in pre-production on "Dragon's Lair" as a feature film. They have developed several feature film concepts and short stories for a direct-to-video library. The company has established a web site, www.donbluth.com, where they will communicate with their audience on a personal level, and will provide animation information on-line. Gary Goldman has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1976.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Typically British stiff-upper-lip war dramas and action adventure laced with moments of sophisticated comedy were Guy Hamilton's trademark. The son of a British diplomat, he spent most of his youth with his family in France, seemingly destined to be groomed for a career in the diplomatic service. Growing up, he became enthralled with French cinema (and, particularly, with the films of Jean Renoir). This instilled in him a burning ambition to become a director himself. In 1939 Hamilton got his first job as a clapper boy with Victorine Studios in Nice (now known as Studios Riviera). He worked his way up the hard way via the accounting department and as a producer's assistant. At the outbreak of World War II, British personnel were evacuated from France and Hamilton found work in the cutting room of British Paramount News which provided him with an excellent background in editing (albeit briefly--his career was soon interrupted by wartime duties in the Royal Navy with the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla).
After the war, Hamilton got back into the movie business as a third assistant director (an experience he later described as amounting -- more or less -- to be a "gofer" and tea boy for the first assistant director). His big break eventually arrived courtesy of Carol Reed who took him under his wing as first assistant director for The Fallen Idol (1948). Reed became his mentor and a kind of father figure and exerted a profound influence on the budding filmmaker. Hamilton went on to work with Reed on The Third Man (1949) and Outcast of the Islands (1951)). For John Huston, he then served in the same capacity on The African Queen (1951) (one of his duties included building a pontoon made up of four or five pirogues to provide room for the cameras, as the "Queen" was too cramped to film on).
Hamilton's first film as director in his own right was The Ringer (1952), a minor thriller based on an Edgar Wallace story. He established himself properly with The Colditz Story (1955), a prisoner-of-war drama enlivened by deft humor and a pointedly "British" style. In the 1960s, his acquaintance with Albert R. Broccoli led to his directing four entries in the James Bond franchise (though he had turned down previous offers to helm the opener, Dr. No (1962)): Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). In a later interview, Hamilton recalled that he (and writer Tom Mankiewicz) particularly enjoyed putting Bond into the "snake-pit" in situations of mortal peril, then working out a way to extricate him within 50 seconds. Hamilton's "intellectual" interpretation of Bond, the witty, at times facetious humor --usually in the midst of hair-raising situations-- contributed greatly to the popular and commercial success of these films. While these films established his reputation, much of his later work (Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) proved less endearing.
In the mid-1980s, Hamilton retired to the island of Majorca with his second wife, actress Kerima (who had co-starred in "Outcast of the Islands"). He died there on 20 April 2016 at the age of 93.- Director
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Kenneth Kainz was born on 22 May 1970 in Helsingør, Denmark. He is a director and writer, known for The Rain (2018), The Shamer's Daughter (2015) and Rene hjerter (2006). He has been married to Kaya Brüel since 1999.- Writer
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- Director
Lana Wachowski and her sister Lilly Wachowski, also known as the Wachowskis, are the duo behind such ground-breaking movies as The Matrix (1999) and Cloud Atlas (2012). Born to mother Lynne, a nurse, and father Ron, a businessman of Polish descent, Wachowski grew up in Chicago and formed a tight creative relationship with her sister Lilly. After the siblings dropped out of college, they started a construction business and wrote screenplays. Their 1995 script, Assassins (1995), was made into a movie, leading to a Warner Bros contract. After that time, the Wachowskis devoted themselves to their movie careers. In 2012, during interviews for Cloud Atlas and in her acceptance speech for the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award, Lana spoke about her experience of being a transgender woman, sacrificing her much cherished anonymity out of a sense of responsibility. Lana is known to be extremely well-read, loves comic books and exploring ideas of imaginary worlds, and was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in creating Cloud Atlas.- Writer
- Producer
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Director, writer, and producer Lilly Wachowski was born in 1967 in Chicago, the daughter of Lynne, a nurse and painter, and Ron, a businessman. Lilly was educated at Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago, before moving on to Whitney M. Young High School. After graduating from high school, she attended Emerson College in Boston but dropped out.
Lilly teamed up with her older sibling, Lana Wachowski, and began working on films. Their first script was optioned and formed the basis for the film Assassins (1995). The Wachowskis went on to make their directorial debut with the self-written Bound (1996), which was well-received. They followed this with the smash hit The Matrix (1999) and went on to produce two successful sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
Other projects include scripting and producing the cult hit V for Vendetta (2005), a live-action version of a Japanese anime series; Speed Racer (2008); Cloud Atlas (2012); and the ambitious epic Jupiter Ascending (2015).- Writer
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Ole Bornedal was born 1959 in Noerresundby, Denmark. From the time he was fourteen he knew he wanted to become a filmmaker. However, not being able to get into The Danish Film School, he had to create his own career and after a few years of University Studies in Film, he started working for The National Danish Broadcasting Company doing radio-dramas and radio-features. Within a few years, Ole was awarded the "Oscar" in Radio: The Prix Italia and acknowledged as one of the most outstanding Radio-Feature directors in the world.
Later Ole worked in television making both Comedies and Dramas and subsequently won The Prix Italia for Best Television Drama in 1996. At the age of 33 he was appointed Head of Television Drama and was the youngest Executive ever but only held the job for one and a half years as he was invited to the United States to do a remake of his International film debut: the thriller, "Nightwatch."
Ole went on to work in New York and Los Angeles for two years as a director, script-developer and Producer.
In 1997, Ole moved back to Denmark and started writing and directing for the stage. In addition, he continued to write and develop feature films and television. In 2001, Ole started his own theater - The Aveny. During the next four years, The Aveny became the most popular best-selling theater in Copenhagen. In 2004, Ole left to restart his international film career and made three movies back-to-back.
Bornedal's movies have been critically acclaimed all over the world and is acknowledged as one of the most influential creators of "The New Danish Cinema."
Ole lives in Copenhagen and has four children: Johan, Claudia, Fanny and Little Peter.- Writer
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Paul Haggis established himself over twenty years with an extensive career in television, before his big break into features arrived when he became the first screenwriter to garner two Best Film Academy Awards back-to-back for his scripts: "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and "Crash" (2005) which Paul directed himself.
In 2006, among others, Haggis penned two Clint Eastwood productions, "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," for which he earned his third Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. He also co-wrote "Casino Royale," which garnered considerable acclaim for reinvigorating the James Bond spy franchise.
In 2007, Haggis wrote, directed, and produced "In the Valley of Elah." The film starred Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon, and earned Jones a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
In 2010, his film "The Next Three Days" was released, starring Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, and Elizabeth Banks.
And in 2013 he wrote and directed the romantic, personal drama "Third Person," which starred Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, James Franco, and Kim Basinger.
Most recently, Haggis directed and executive produced all six episodes of the HBO mini-series "Show Me A Hero," starring Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, James Belushi, and Alfred Molina.
Currently, Haggis is co-directing a feature length documentary on the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, called "5B."
Equally committed to his private and social concerns, Haggis is the founder of Artists for Peace and Justice. Under this umbrella, many of his friends in the film business have come forward to major build schools and clinics serving the children of the slums of Haiti (www.APJNow.org).- Director
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Born in Shanghai and Cambridge-educated, Terence Young began in the industry as a scriptwriter. In the 1940s he worked on a variety of subjects, including the hugely popular wartime romance Suicide Squadron (1941), set to Richard Addinsell's rousing "Warsaw Concerto". His original story was devised while listening to a concert in an army training camp. As it turned out, Young was soon after involved in the war himself, as a member of the Guards.
By the end of the decade Young had graduated to directing. He made his debut with the psychological melodrama Corridor of Mirrors (1948), starring Eric Portman as a reclusive art collector obsessed with reincarnation and murder. During the following decade Young helmed a number of international co-productions, which featured imported stars from Hollywood (Alan Ladd in Paratrooper (1953); Olivia de Havilland in That Lady (1955); Victor Mature in Safari (1956), Zarak (1956) and Tank Force (1958)). These films were made by Warwick, an independent production company created jointly by Irwin Allen and future James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli, and released through Columbia. Production values were often quite high, though scripts were of variable quality. "Safari", for instance, looked great, shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope on location in Africa, which partly compensated for the trite storyline.
Having acquired the rights to all available James Bond novels from Ian Fleming, producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli secured the necessary funding ($1,250,000) from United Artists and hired Young to direct the initial Bond entry, Dr. No (1962). That film's success got him re-hired to direct two subsequent Bond films, From Russia with Love (1963) (Young's own personal favorite) and Thunderball (1965). Young had acquired a solid reputation as a master of action subjects, and all three films move at a cracking pace. Exotic locales provide the background for a seamless mix of technical wizardry, sex, violence and tongue-in-cheek (sometimes campy) dialogue. Unfortunately, these films also marked the high point of Young's career, though he did direct another eerily effective psychological thriller, Wait Until Dark (1967), much in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock.
Among a brace of forgettable European co-productions, only two other films stand out: the bawdy, highly entertaining all-star period comedy The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965) and an intriguing expose of the inner workings--and dark beginnings--of the Cosa Nostra (based on an actual informant's testimony), entitled The Valachi Papers (1972). After that, Young's output became more patchy and his later career suffered as a result of two disastrous projects: first, the Korean War epic Inchon (1981), with Laurence Olivier badly miscast as Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The enterprise was reputedly financed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's organization--aka the "Moonies"--to the tune of $40 million. Film critic Vincent Canby in the New York Times (September 17, 1982) referred to the picture as "hysterical" and "foolish", "the most expensive B-movie ever made". The second flop, a financially troubled production, was the predictably plotted spy thriller The Jigsaw Man (1983). Completed in 1982, the film was held back and not released until two years later. Young directed just one more film after that and left the industry in 1988. However, according to his daughter, he was working on a documentary in Cannes at the time of his death in September 1994. Though he went on record in 1966, asserting that he had grown rather tired of the Bond franchise, it is, nonetheless, that for which we will ultimately remember him.- Writer
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- Script and Continuity Department
Nikolaj Arcel was born on 25 August 1972 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a writer and director, known for A Royal Affair (2012), Kongekabale (2004) and The Promised Land (2023).- Producer
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- Actor
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British military, his family moved around a lot. Their mother loved the going to the movies and instilled a love of cinema in her children. At age 16, Tony made his first appearance on screen as 'the boy' in his brother's directorial debut, the short film Boy and Bicycle (1965). In 1969, Tony directed his own short film One of the Missing (1969) about a soldier in the American civil war.
Tony had a talent for art and painting. He spent a year in Leeds College of Art and Design and went on to study for a fine arts degree at the School of Art at the University of Sunderland. He won a scholarship to study for his Masters of fine arts at the Royal College of Art. Following university, he spent several years as a painter. But life as a painter proved a struggle, so he decided to forge a different career path and partnered with Ridley in advertising at Ridley Scott Associates. It was there that he began shooting commercials. In 1971 he wrote, produced and directed Loving Memory however his vampire movie The Hunger (1983) starring Susan Sarandon, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve wasn't a critical success but it attracted attention from Hollywood. He was asked by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Top Gun (1986) starring Tom Cruise. He would work again with Cruise on another high adrenaline film Days of Thunder (1990), which proved less successful. He followed the success of Top Gun with the sequel Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) with Eddie Murphy, which was well received.
In 1993, he directed True Romance (1993), which was written by emerging director Quentin Tarantino. Scott had a lot of control over the film and received some great reviews.
Tony has worked five times with actor Denzel Washington with Crimson Tide (1995), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Deja Vu (2006), Man on Fire (2004) and Scott's final film in the director's chair Unstoppable (2010).
Tony Scott passed away at age 68 on August 19, 2012 in California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Editor
Born in Athens, Georgia as the middle of Rhonwyn and Larry Kendrick's three sons. He grew up in Smyrna, Georgia and graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor's degree in Communications. He worked as a Christian DJ for two radio stations before attending New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and being ordained into the ministry. He served as a minister to college students in Marietta, Georgia for four years.
After Kendrick married his wife Christina, they moved to Albany, Georgia where he served as Associate Pastor of Media at Sherwood Baptist Church. While there, he founded Sherwood Pictures and began acting in, writing, producing, and directing feature films. In 2015 he wrote and directed "War Room," which reached #1 at the box office. He also co-wrote seven novels and "The Love Dare," which made it to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Later he co-wrote the New York Times bestsellers "The Resolution for Men" and "The Battle Plan for Prayer". Alex and Christina now have six children.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Martin Campbell knows how to entertain an audience when he steps behind the camera. When he directed The Mask of Zorro (1998), the movie earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Next, when he helmed Vertical Limit (2000), the film was well received by the critics and earned over $200 million in worldwide box-office sales. In addition, Campbell is credited with rejuvenating the James Bond franchise when he directed GoldenEye (1995), Pierce Brosnan's first outing as the famed British spy, which went on to gross more than $350 million. He also directed Daniel Craig's debut Bond feature as well, Casino Royale (2006).
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to London where he began his career as a cameraman. He went on to produce the controversial British feature Scum (1979), as well as Black Joy (1977), which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Campbell made his directorial debut on the British police action series The Professionals (1977) and continued with the popular BBC series Shoestring (1979) and Thames TV's Minder (1979)
Considered one of the U.K.'s top directors by the mid-'80s, he directed the highly praised British telefilm, Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983). For his work on Edge of Darkness (1985), a five-hour BBC miniseries about nuclear contamination in England that depicted murder and high-ranking corruption, he won six BAFTA awards.
Campbell's first Hollywood movie was Criminal Law (1998) and he went on to direct Defenseless (1991) and No Escape (1994). Some of his American credits include directing HBO's Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) and two episodes of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), among others. He also directed the epic romance Beyond Borders (2003) starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.