DEBUTS 2001
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Alan Cumming was born on January 27, 1965, in Aberfeldy, Scotland, to Mary (Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming. His family lived nearby in Dunkeld, where his father was a forester for Atholl Estate. The family (including his brother, Tom) moved to Fassfern near Fort William, before moving to the east coast of Scotland in 1969, where Alan's father took up the position of Head Forester of Panmure Estate; it was there that Alan grew up. He went to Monikie Primary School and Carnoustie High School, where he began appearing in plays, and soon after that began working with with the Carnoustie Theatre Club and Carnoustie Musical Society.
In 1981, he left high school with 8 'O' Grades and 4 Highers, but because he was too young to enter any university or drama school he worked for just over a year as a sub-editor at D.C. Thomson Publishers in Dundee. There he worked on the launch of a new magazine, "Tops", and was also the "Young Alan" who answered readers' letters. In September 1982 he began a three-year course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. He graduated in 1985 with a B.A. (Dramatic Studies) and awards for verse speaking and direction. He also had formed a cabaret double act with fellow student Forbes Masson called Victor and Barry, which went on to become hugely successful with tours (including two Perrier Pick of the Fringe seasons in London and a month-long engagement at the Sydney Opera House as part of an Australian tour), records ("Hear Victor and Barry and Faint", "Are We Too Loud?") and many TV appearances throughout the UK. Before graduating Alan made his professional theater and film debuts in "Macbeth" at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow and in Gillies MacKinnon's "Passing Glory". After graduating, Alan worked extensively in Scottish theater and television, including a stint on the soap opera Take the High Road (1980) before moving to London when "Conquest of the South Pole", a play by German playwright Manfred Karge, transferred from the Traverse Theatre in, Edinburgh to the the Royal Court in London, earning him his first Olivier award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer of 1988. Alan performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and then the Royal National Theatre, where he starred in "Accidental Death of an Anarchist", which he also adapted with director Tim Supple. The production was nominated for Best revival at the 1991 Olivier awards and Alan won for Comedy Performance of the Year.
His film career began with Ian Sellar's Prague (1992), in which he starred with Sandrine Bonnaire and Bruno Ganz. The film premiered at the 1992 Cannes film festival and went on to win him Best Actor award at the Atlantic Film Festival and a Scottish BAFTA Best Actor nomination. In the same year he made two films for the BBC - The Last Romantics (1992) and Bernard and the Genie (1991), the latter winning him the Top Television Newcomer award at 1992 British Comedy Awards. In the 1992 Olivier awards he was also nominated for Comedy Performance of the Year for "La Bete". In 1993 he played Hamlet for the English Touring Theare to great critical acclaim ("An actor knocking on the door of greatness" - Daily Mail; ranked first and second--with his performance in "Cabaret"--in the Daily Telegraph's performances of the year) and then immediately went on to play the Emcee in Sam Mendes' revival of "Cabaret" at the same venue (London's Donmar Warehouse). He received a 1994 Olivier award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for "Cabaret", and for Hamlet he received the 1994 TMA Best Actor award and a Shakespeare Globe award nomination.
In 1994, he made his first Hollywood film, Circle of Friends (1995), and his performance as the oleaginous Sean Walsh along with those in two films released in quick succession (Emma (1996) and GoldenEye (1995)) brought him to the attention of American producers, and he appeared in several Hollywood films, such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and Buddy (1997). He returned to the UK in 1997 to work with Stanley Kubrick and the Spice Girls before returning stateside in 1998 to reprise his role in "Cabaret" on Broadway. The show and his portrayal were a sensation, and he received the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics' Circle, Theatre World, FANY, New York Press and New York Public Advocate's awards for his performance. Since then he has alternated between theater and films, and also between smaller independent films and more mainstream fare. His theater work includes 2001's "Design for Living" on Broadway and the hugely successful off-Broadway "Elle" by Jean Genet, which he adapted and played the lead in 2002. His films include Julie Taymor's Titus (1999), Urbania (2000), the "Spy Kids" trilogy, Josie and the Pussycats (2001), X2 (2003), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Son of the Mask (2005) and the Showtime movie musical Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005).
He wrote, directed, produced and acted in The Anniversary Party (2001) with Jennifer Jason Leigh, which premiered at the Cannes Film festival in 2002 and went on to win a National Board of Review award and two Independent Spirit award nominations. More recently he has produced the documentary Show People (2004) and the films Sweet Land (2005) and Full Grown Men (2006) (and appears in both) and acted in Gray Matters (2006) opposite Heather Graham and Bam Bam and Celeste (2005), opposite Margaret Cho. In 2006, he returned to Broadway as Macheath in "The Threepenny Opera". He has also found the time to write a novel, "Tommy's Tale", in 2002.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Zabou Breitman was born on 30 October 1959 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Se souvenir des belles choses (2001), The Swallows of Kabul (2019) and The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984). She was previously married to Fabien Chalon.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
- Producer
John Moore was born in Dundalk, Ireland in 1970, a small town situated about 60 miles from the country's capital Dublin. Moore attended a technical college in Dublin where he studied filmmaking and after completing the school he went on to direct and write a series of short films all produced in his native Ireland. These include Jack's Bicycle (1990) which has been broadcasted on Irish TV channel RTV on occasion. Moore then was hired to make a series of commercials and ended up making the launch advertisement for the Sega Dreamcast, the ad was so bombastic and visually impressive that Twentieth Century Fox ended up offering him the job on Behind Enemy Lines (2001), a $40 million action film centered around the conflict in Bosnia. The film starred Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. Whilst a modest box-office success the film fared only average with critics who varied in their opinions, and in later years Moore himself admitted that perhaps his approach had been to lightweight and a conflict of that scope required a more deep and thoughtful motion picture. On the set of Behind Enemy Lines (2001) Moore was nearly killed via a Tank in an action sequence and had his life saved in the last moment by a stuntman who dragged him from harm's way. Moore's next film was a remake of The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and shared the same name only dropping the "the" at the titles beginning. Flight of the Phoenix (2004) starred Dennis Quaid and Miranda Otto and told virtually the same story as the original, a group of people stranded in the desert after a plane crash. The picture was a huge box-office flop making just slightly over $21 million worldwide on a considerably larger budget. Critics showed the same unsure reaction to the film as they had on Behind Enemy Lines (2001), lavishing praise on certain aspects but harshly criticizing others. Moore himself was more pleased with the finished article on this occasion but the public's financial rejection suggests others weren't. After this Moore was involved with two other films one entitled "The last mission" which collapsed due to script issues and the 2006 smash X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In the end it was not Moore who directed the third in the X-Men trilogy but Rush Hour 2 (2001) director Brett Ratner. However Moore did manage to get a film into cinemas during Summer 2006 in the end, he remade The Omen (1976) and had it released on the 06/06/06, a gimmick associated with the films satanic plot. The Omen (2006) was a fairly faithful remake and starred Julia Stiles along with Liev Schreiber and David Thewlis. Moore agreed to make the film as he names the 1976 original among his all time favorite movies along with Jaws (1975) and Freaks (1932). The film made a worldwide $120 million from a $25 million budget and thus had to be considered a success in terms of box-office. The critics were once more split, most criticized the picture for following the original too closely but by the same token generally a kind word was spared for Moore's impressive visuals and the strong cast. This marked the director's third collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox, a fourth arriving in the form of video-game adaptation Max Payne (2008) in October 2008.
Moore currently resides with his son and partner, Fiona Connon in Los Angeles occasionally returning home to Ireland.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Sharon Maguire was born on 28 November 1960 in Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire, Wales, UK. She is a director and producer, known for Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Incendiary (2008).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Kim Dae-seung is known for Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001), Blood Rain (2005) and The Concubine (2012).- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Kirsten Sheridan was born on 14 July 1976 in Dublin, Ireland. She is a writer and director, known for In America (2002), Patterns (1999) and Disco Pigs (2001).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
James Richard Kelly better known as Richard Kelly, is an American film director and writer, known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001. Kelly was born James Richard Kelly in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Lane and Ennis Kelly. He grew up in Midlothian, Virginia, where he attended Midlothian High School and graduated in 1993. When he was a child, his father worked for NASA on the Mars Viking Lander program. He won a scholarship to the University of Southern California to study at the USC School of Cinema-Television where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He made two short films at USC, The Goodbye Place and Visceral Matter, before graduating in 1997.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1957. In his teens he left high school and worked as a cooker in a boat.
Then he studied painting and graphism in the Academy of arts in Hamburg where he also started experimenting with video and photography. Those experimental movies attracted the attention of some producers of the German TV.
Hirschbiegel became popular thanks to his tv movies (especially dramas and thrillers). In 2001 he shot his first movie for cinema: "Das Experiment" that won several awards in many festivals all around the world. That movie is an intense investigation of the aggressive behaviour in a simulated prison environment.
His second movie, "Mein letzter Film", released in 2002, is a 90 minutes' monologue about a woman in her fifties who wants to re-start his life.
In 2004 "Downfall" was released, his third movie, and till now his greatest success. "Downfall" is about the last 12 days of life of Adolf Hitler narrated out of the sight of her young secretary, Traudl Junge. That movie has stirred up much controversy because it portrays Hitler and the Nazis as human beings and not just as evil.
Hirschbiegel has demonstrated in all his movies to be an specialist of dramas set in claustrophobic environments.- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Jeff Probst is the Emmy Award-winning host of Survivor (2000). He won the inaugural Emmy for Best Reality Show Host in 2008 and again in 2009. Probst also received an Emmy as Host/Producer of Survivor (2000) back in 2001.
He was also voted one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People.
As a filmmaker, Probst wrote and directed the LionsGate released indie film, Finder's Fee (2001), starring Ryan Reynolds and Academy Award nominees James Earl Jones and Robert Forster.
Finder's Fee (2001) premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival where it won "Best Picture" and a "Best Director" award for Probst. Other awards: "Best Screenplay" at Method Fest, "Breakout Director" at Sonoma Film Fest. Probst was also selected as one of the "Ten Directors in the World to Watch" in a series presented by the American Cinematheque showcasing innovative and exciting new directors from around the world.
Probst previously served as host of VH1's Rock & Roll Jeopardy! (1998), hosted several programs for FX and traveled over 300,000 miles around the world as a correspondent for Access Hollywood (1996).
Prior to that, he hosted a variety of shows for KIRO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Seattle.
Probst hosts the "Howard Stern Celebrity Fan Roundtable" for Howard Stern on Sirius/XM radio.
Probst is a regular fill-in for Regis Philbin on Live with Kelly and Mark (1988) (aka "Live with Regis and Kelly").
In 2007, Probst founded The Serpentine Project a non-profit that empowers youth transitioning out of foster care to reach for their dreams by opening the door to possibilities.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Bill Paxton was born on May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was the son of Mary Lou (Gray) and John Lane Paxton, a businessman and actor (as John Paxton). Bill moved to Los Angeles, California at age eighteen, where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his film debut in the Corman film Crazy Mama (1975), directed by Jonathan Demme. Moving to New York, Paxton studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), he found steady work in low-budget films and television. He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including Barnes & Barnes: Fish Heads (1980), which aired on Saturday Night Live (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984), followed by his very memorable performance as Private Hudson in Aliens (1986) and as the nomadic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987). Bill also appeared in John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), as Wyatt Donnelly's sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and television, his big break did not come until his lead role in the critically acclaimed film-noir One False Move (1991). This quickly led to strong supporting roles as Wyatt Earp's naive younger brother Morgan in Tombstone (1993) and as Fred Haise, one of the three astronauts, in Apollo 13 (1995), as well as in James Cameron's offering True Lies (1994).
Bill died on February 25, 2017, in Los Angeles, from complications following heart surgery. He was 61.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Nick Love was born on 24 December 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Football Factory (2004), The Sweeney (2012) and Monsters (2010). He was previously married to Patsy Palmer.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
He grew up in Versailles with a family who was very influenced by pop music. When he was young, Gondry wanted to be a painter or an inventor. In the 80s he entered in an art school in Paris where he could develop his graphic skills and where he also met friends with whom he created a pop-rock band called Oui-Oui. The band released 2 albums ('Chacun tout le monde' and 'Formidable') and several singles until their separation in 1992. Gondry was the drummer of the band and also directed their video clips in which it was possible to see his strange world, influenced by the 60s and by his childhood. One of his videos was shown on MTV and when Björk saw it, she asked him to make her first solo video for 'Human Behaviour'. The partnership is famous: Gondry directed five other Björk's videos, benefiting by the huge budgets. This led to commissions for other artists around the world, including Massive Attack. He also made a lot of commercials for Gap, Smirnoff, Air France, Nike, Coca Cola, Adidas, Polaroid and Levi - the latter making him the most highly-awarded director for a one-off commercial.
Hollywood became interested in Gondry's success and he directed his first feature movie Human Nature (2001), adapting a Charlie Kaufman's scenario, which was shown in the 2001 Cannes Festival. Although it wasn't a big success, this film allowed him to direct Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), for which he again collaborated with Charlie Kaufman. The movie became a popular independent film and he and his co-writers won an Oscar for it.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
William Todd Field was born in Pomona, California, and began acting after graduating from high school in Portland, Oregon, where he was raised. A budding jazz musician as well, he skipped college in favor of a move east to New York to study acting. Once there, he began performing with the Ark Theatre Company as both an actor and musician.
Field subsequently won a role in Woody Allen's nostalgic Radio Days (1987). Then had an independent Spirit Award-nominated turn in Victor Nunez's Sundance Film Festival Grand jury Prize-winner Ruby in Paradise (1993). He also starred in Nicole Holofcener's_Walking and Talking (1996)_ which won the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville Film Festival. Other credits include Scott Ziehl's_Broken Vessels (1998)_ in which Field starred and produced, and'Stanley Kubrick''s final masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut (1999) in which he played the mysterious "Nick Nightingale".
In 1999, Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Field has a deceptive facade of all-American clean-cut looks that allows him to suggest a wide range of emotions and thoughts behind such a regular-guy appearance; in "Ruby in Paradise" he expressed such uncommon decency and intelligence you had to wonder how Ashley Judd's hardscrabble Ruby could ever have considered letting him get away. In "Eyes Wide Shut" he's the likable med school dropout turned saloon piano player, and in Broken Vessels he's an increasingly raging sociopath. In all these roles Field has the precious gift of being able to surprise you and to command your attention on screen."
However, it was precisely at this point in his career that Field decided to leave acting behind and try instead to make a name for himself as a writer/director.
His first film When I Was a Boy (1993) was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their New Directors/New Films series and was shown at the Museum of Modern Art.
His next film, Nonnie & Alex (1995) received both the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Best Film prize at the Aspen Film Festival. The film was honored with a special citation from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Field was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Award for Excellence from the AFI, one of the highest honors the institute ever bestows upon a filmmaker.
In 2001, Field made his feature writing/directing debut with In the Bedroom (2001), an intensely emotional portrayal of the repercussions of family tragedy on a New England couple. The film received five Academy Award nominations, three Golden Globe nominations, and Field was named both Screenwriter and Director of the year by the National Board of Review. Internationally acclaimed by critics, the film was named Best Picture of the Year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The New York Observer, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
In 2006, Field co-wrote and directed Little Children (2006). The film, starring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, won numerous awards from the nation's top critics associations including writing awards for Field and Perrotta. The movie received three Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture of the Year, and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
In 2022 Field's next film, "TÁR," premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival to universal acclaim, becoming only the fourth film in history to be named Best of the Year by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the London Film Critics' Circle as well as the National Society of Film Critics. "TÁR" was named the year's best by more critics than any other film released in 2022. The film received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture of the Year, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Chris Nahon was born on 5 December 1968 in Soisy-sous-Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, France. He is a director and writer, known for Kiss of the Dragon (2001), Empire of the Wolves (2005) and Patagonie, maitresse du temps (2020).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Michael Cuesta was born on 8 July 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for L.I.E. (2001), Kill the Messenger (2014) and Homeland (2011).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Robert Luketic was born on 1 November 1973 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010) and 21 (2008).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Initially an indie film favorite, actor Jon Favreau has progressed to strong mainstream visibility into the millennium and, after nearly two decades in the business, is still enjoying character stardom as well as earning notice as a writer/producer/director.
The amiable, husky-framed actor with the tight, crinkly hair was born in Queens, New York on October 19, 1966, the only child of Madeleine (Balkoff), an elementary school teacher, and Charles Favreau, a special education teacher. His father has French-Canadian, German, and Italian ancestry, and his mother was from a Russian Jewish family. He attended the Bronx High School of Science before furthering his studies at Queens College in 1984. Dropping out just credits away from receiving his degree, Jon moved to Chicago where he focused on comedy and performed at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute. He also found a couple of bit parts in films.
While there, he earned another bit role in the film, Rudy (1993), and met fellow cast mate Vince Vaughn. Their enduring personal friendship would play an instrumental role in furthering both their professional careers within just a few years. Jon broke into TV with a role on the classic series, Seinfeld (1989) (as "Eric the Clown"). After filming rudimentary roles in the movies Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Notes from Underground (1995) and Batman Forever (1995), he decided to do some risk taking by writing himself and friend Vaughn into what would become their breakthrough film. Swingers (1996), which he also co-produced, centers on Jon as a luckless, struggling actor type who is emotionally shattered after losing his girlfriend, but is pushed back into the L.A. social scene via the help of cool, worldly, outgoing actor/buddy Vaughn. These two blueprint roles went on to define the character types of both actors on film.
In 1997, Jon appeared favorably on several episodes of the popular TV sitcom, Friends (1994), as "Pete Becker", the humdrum but extremely wealthy suitor for Courteney Cox's "Monica" character, and also appeared to fine advantage on the Tracey Takes On... (1996) comedy series. He later took on the biopic mini-movie, Rocky Marciano (1999), portraying the prizefighter himself in a highly challenging dramatic role and received excellent reviews. Other engagingly offbeat "everyman" films roles came Jon's way -- the ex-athlete in the working class film, Dogtown (1997); a soon-to-be groom whose bachelor party goes horribly awry in the comedy thriller Very Bad Things (1998); a newlywed opposite Famke Janssen in Love & Sex (2000); a wild and crazy linebacker in The Replacements (2000); as Ben Affleck's legal partner in Daredevil (2003); and another down-and-out actor in The Big Empty (2003). He wrote and directed himself and Vaughn as two fellow boxers who involve themselves in criminal activity in Made (2001). Both he and Vaughn produced. He also directed the highly popular Will Ferrell comedy Elf (2003), in which he had a small part.
Jon went on to re-team favorably with his friend, Vince Vaughn, who enjoyed a meteoric rise into the comedy star ranks, in such light-weight features as The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008) and Couples Retreat (2009), the last of which he co-wrote with Vaughn.
Jon has made even greater strides as a writer, producer and/or director in recent years with the exciting mega-box office action-packed Iron Man (2008), starring Robert Downey Jr., and its sequels, Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013). Jon's character of "Happy Hogan" would be featured in a number of Marvel Comic adventures. Other offerings behind the scenes have included the adventure dramedy Chef (2014), in which he also starred in the title role; the revamped film version of The Avengers (2012) also starring Downey Jr., and it's sequels Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019); and the animated Disney features The Jungle Book (2016) and The Lion King (2019) and the TV series The Chef Show (2019).
Favreau's marriage to Joya Tillem on November 24, 2000, produced son Max and two daughters, Madeleine and Brighton Rose. Joya is the niece of KGO (AM) lawyer and talk show host, Len Tillem. On the sly, the actor/writer/producer/director enjoys playing on the World Poker Tour.- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Christine Lahti was born April 4, 1950 in Birmingham, Michigan, to Elizabeth Margaret (Tabar), a painter and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. She is of half Finnish and half Austro-Hungarian descent. She studied fine arts at Florida State University and received a bachelors degree in drama from the University of Michigan. In New York, Christine worked as a waitress and did commercials before she found her breakthrough role in And Justice for All (1979) with Al Pacino. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Swing Shift (1984) and won an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for Lieberman in Love (1995) in which she starred and directed. Throughout her acting career, Christine primarily focused on television, with performances in Chicago Hope (1994), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino was born in Naples in 1970, and and became an orphan when he lost both of his parents at the age of 16. At the age of 25, after studying for a few years at the Faculty of Economics and Business in University of Naples Federico II, he decided to work in the film industry. His first full-length feature L'uomo in più, starring Toni Servillo and Andrea Renzi, was selected at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, achieved three nominations for the David di Donatello (the Italian Academy Awards) and won the Nastro d'Argento (the Italian cinema journalists Academy Award) for Best First Time Director. In 2004 he directed Le conseguenze dell'amore, selected in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and acclaimed by both Italian and International critics. The film won many important Italian awards, including five David di Donatello awards: for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Cinematography. Three years later his third film L'amico di famiglia was also selected in Competition at Cannes. In 2008 another collaboration with Toni Servillo, Il Divo, became his third film to be selected in Competition at Cannes. The film was nominated for Best Make-Up at the Academy Awards® and won seven David di Donatello, five Ciak d'Oro and five Nastri d'Argento awards. He has also published a novel Hanno tutti ragione (Everybody's Right) in 2010, and two collections of short stories: Tony Pagoda e i suoi amici (2012), and Gli aspetti irrilevanti (2016). Hanno tutti region was warmly received by both critics and public and was short-listed for the Premio Strega, the most prestigious Italian literature award. As of 2021, seven of his 9 films have been presented in Competition at the Festival de Cannes, where Il Divo won the Prix du Jury in 2008. In 2014, his film La Grande Bellezza won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as a BAFTA and five EFA Awards. In 2016, La Giovinezza gained an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song. The film won three European Film Awards. In 2016, he made his first TV Series: The Young Pope. In 2021, È stata la mano di Dio won the Grand Jury Prize at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Marco Ponti was born on 25 July 1967 in Avigliana, Piedmont, Italy. He is a writer and director, known for Santa Maradona (2001), L'uomo perfetto (2005) and A Liberal Passion (2013).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Sergei Bodrov Jr. was born on December 27th, 1971 to producer and director Sergei Bodrov. He made his film debut in his father's Prisoner of the Mountains (1996) (Prisoner of the mountains) for which he won a Nika. From then on Sergei's career began. In 1997 he played a lead role in Brother (1997) which turned him into a star and made him one of the most known and beloved Russian actors.
He followed up the role with Brat 2 (2000) in 2000. He made his directorial debut in 2001 with Sisters (2001). The movie was a hit with audiences and critics alike.
In 2002 he was supposed to direct a movie, "Messenger", for which he traveled to the Caucasus mountains. On September 20th 2002, an avalanche due to a glacier slide came down from the mountains. Bodrov and his production group are still reported missing, believed killed. He is survived by his wife and two children, a four year old daughter and a two-month old son.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Jae-eun Jeong was born on 1 January 1969 in South Korea. He is a director and writer, known for Take Care of My Cat (2001), Talking Architect (2011) and Butterfly Sleep (2017).- Visual Effects
- Producer
- Director
Pitof started his career in 1976 as photographer, assistant director and editor for films and commercials. He then branched out into musical scoring, software design and graphic design for televisions, music videos and commercials.
A pioneer of digital imaging in France, Pitof made his debut in visual effect in 1986. Co-founder of Duran Duboi the digital postproduction company leader in France, Pitof worked on commercials, videos and feature films for recognized directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Lars Von Trier, Wim Wenders, Bertrant Travernier, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Jean-Paul Goude, Alain Chabat , Luc Besson...
Pitof then achieved the first French software for digital visual effects used in feature films.
In 1994, Pitof won the Technical Grand Prize for visual effects at the Cannes Film Festival for his work in "Dead Tired".
In 1995, the Minister of Culture in France honored him with the Medal of Arts and Letters.
Pitof went on to direct commercials and short films, most notably " A Tribute to Jessie Owens and Carl Lewis", for which he won the Gold Podium medal at MIFED in 1996 and the Gold Teapot medal at Imagina in 1996.
In 1997, Pitof took on the role of second unit director for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Alien: Resurrection", and consequently won second prize for visual effects at Imagina that year. It was Pitof's third collaboration with Jeunet after working together on the Jeunet-Caro films "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children".
In the meantime the immense success of Duran Duboi brought the company on the stock market in Paris.
In September 2001, "Vidocq", starring Gerard Depardieu and Guillaume Canet, premiered in France. It was Pitof's feature film directorial debut.
"Vidocq" was the first feature film ever made in High Definition. The film was an international commercial success and garnered many awards including five honors: The Citizen Kane Award, Best Film, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Music, and Best Makeup from the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges, Spain.
Pitof makes his Hollywood debut in 2003, directing "Catwoman" for Warner Brothers, starring Halle Berry and Sharon Stone.
While developing and shooting projects with major producers in Hollywood, in 2008 Pitof is called in Beijing, China to help the development and the pre-production of an epic effect driven feature film.
Back in Hollywood Pitof has been developing various film projects and producing cutting edge commercials and music videos as well as developing Virtual Reality content.
Recently he co-produced 3 feature films in Los Angeles and produced a 10' by 10 episodes Mobile-Ready Series for Studio Plus, a French studio pioneer in the mobile content for Vivendi.
Decorations
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 1995 One of the French highest cultural honors Awarded by the Minister of Culture
Awards
Kid's Choice Award (nominated) USA 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
CNOMA Award Best Make-Up Canada 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
World Stunt Award (nominated) USA 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
International Fantasy Film Award Best Special Effects Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
International Fantasy Film Award Best Film (nominated) Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Film Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Citizen Kane Award to the Director Revelation Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Visuals Effects Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Make Up Effects Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Banda Original Soundtrack Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Achievement in Post Production Solutions Productions 1999 "Asterix & Obelix vs Ceasar " dir. Claude Zidi
Saturn Award (nominated) USA 1998 « Alien Resurrection » dir. Jean Pierre Jeunet
Best Visual Effects 2nd prize in Imagina 1997 « Alien Resurrection » dir. Jean Pierre Jeunet
Golden Teapot in Imagina 1996 « Homage to Jesse and Carl » dir. Pitof
Golden Prize in MIFED 1996 « Homage to Jesse and Carl » dir. Pitof
Master Of Visual Effects in Paris 1996 « Orangina the flipper » dir. Alain Chabat
Best Use Of Visual Effects - Spotitalia 1995 « Mulino Bianco » dir. Jean Paul Seaulieu
Technical Grand Prize in Cannes Festival 1994 « Dead tired » dir. Michel Blanc- Director
- Actor
- Writer
David Wain was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
He met the other members of the comedy troupe The State while a film student at NYU, where he graduated from in 1991.
As part of The State, he co-created and co-starred on their self-titled MTV sketch comedy show in the mid 90's. He then continued to work with his State partners on many other projects, beginning with Stella (2005), a nightclub show which then became a series of web shorts and a Comedy Central Series.
His first film as co-writer and director was the indie summer camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer (2001), which was then turned into two mini-series on Netflix.
He has subsequently co-written and directed a total of five feature films, the most successful being Role Models (2008).
His most recent feature, A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018), is a biopic about Doug Kenney, the founder of National Lampoon.
He is executive producer of the Emmy award winning series Childrens Hospital (2008) as well as its spin-offs Newsreaders (2013) and Medical Police (2020).
He's also worked consistently over the years as an actor, including the recurring role of Rabbi Jewy McJewJew on "Childrens Hospital", a version of himself in his semi-autobiographical web series Wainy Days (2007), and as "Yaron" in the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015).