Director Name: Tim Burton

Movies Directed: (imdb.com)

Frankenweenie
Alice in Wonderland
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Cinema16: American Short Films
Corpse Bride
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Big Fish
Planet of the Apes
The World of Stainboy
Sleepy Hollow
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands
Batman
Beetle Juice
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

Future projects:
Frankenweenie remake
Dark Shadows

Links to website:

http://www.timburton.com/

http://www.timburtoncollective.com/

Short Director Bio: (wikipedia.org)

His early film career was fueled by almost unbelievable good luck, but it’s his talent and originality that have kept him at the top of the Hollywood tree. Tim Burton began drawing at an early age, going on to attend the California Institute of the Arts, studying animation after being awarded a fellowship from Disney, for whom he went on to work. Although he found that the mainstream Disney films he worked on (The Fox and the Hound (1981)) were far removed from his own sensibility, Disney let him have the freedom to work on his own personal projects, the six-minute animated black-and-white Gothic Vincent Price tribute Vincent (1982), and the 27-minute live-action Frankenweenie (1984), which was judged unsuitable for children and never released. However, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) saw it and decided that Burton, still only in his mid-twenties, would be the ideal person to direct his feature debut, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985). An enormous (and surprise) box-office hit, it led to the supernatural comedy Beetle Juice (1988), which in turn led to Burton being entrusted with the reins on the hugely expensive Batman (1989).    (cont. on forum)

A short review on the director:
Tim Burton’s ideas and imagination are something that go beyond any film maker I’ve ever seen. There is not another word to describe Tim Burton other than a genius.Born in California in 1958, Burton was drawn to art and animation early in his career. His sensibilities conflicted with the mainstream, and he sought unconventional outlets for his vision. Burton’s first foray into feature directing was the off-beat Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which was a huge hit. This lead to Tim’s helming of 1989’s Batman, the cache of which solidified his power to pursue his art in Hollywood. Henceforth examples of which range from Edward Scissorhands to Sweeney Todd.

Read more HERE

Are you fan of Tim Burton? What is it about his film making that you enjoy most? Which are some your favorite movies he has directed?

This week’s director profile comes from staff member Emily-June

Director Name: M. Night Shyamalan (Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan)

Movies Directed:

-The Last Airbender (2010)

-The Happening (2008)

-Lady in the Water (2006)

-The Village (2004)

-Signs (2002)

-Unbreakable (2000)

-The Sixth Sense (1999)

-Wide Awake (1998)

-Praying with Anger (1992)

Upcoming Projects:

-Unbreakable 2

-Bollywood Blues

Short Bio (from IMDB.com)

Born in India but raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is the son of two doctors. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, Steven Spielberg. His first film, Praying with Anger (1992), was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. Wide Awake (1998), his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended–even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.

Links

http://www.mnightshyamalan.com/site.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796117/

Short Review

Many will say that M. Night Shyamalan movies are a hit or a miss. But I have seen a majority of his movies and I loved them all. Shyamalan takes chances in the movies that he writes and directs, which “main stream” movie-goers sometimes do not understand. Most of his movies have messages that are buried deep and others are right on the surface. In his most recent film, “The Happening”, Mother Nature fights back against humans to make balance again in the world. This entertaining thriller kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end when the message was delivered and I have to say, message received! Shyamalan is an amazing director that can create twists and turns to keep movie enthusiasts flocking to his movies.

Read more HERE

Are you a fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies? What do you like best about his unique style of filmaking? What is your favoirte movie of his?

This week’s director profile comes from staff member Caro.

Director Name: Christopher “Chris” Columbus

List of Movies:

*Director

-Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
-Heartbreak Hotel (1990)
-Home Alone (1990)
-Only the Lonely (1991)
-Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
-Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
-Nine Months (1995)
-Stepmom (1998)
-Bicentennial Man (1999)
-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
-Rent (2005)
–I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
-Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
-The Last Campaign (2010)
-Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (2011)

*Writer

-Reckless (1984)
-Gremlins (1984)
-The Goonies (1985)
-Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
-Heartbreak Hotel (1988)
-Only the Lonely (1991)
-Nine Months (1995)

Review about the director:

Chris Columbus was born September 10, 1958 in Spangler, Pennsylvania; son to Irene and Alex Columbus a factory worker and aluminum plant worker. Chris was then raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated from Tisch School of the Arts and made his directorial debut with the teen comedy Adventures in Babysitting in 1987. Chris is a film director, producer and screenwriter. He married Monica Devereux in 1983, with whom he had four children. In 1984 he wrote his first film named Reckless which was then followed by Gremlins, the same year. In the years 1986 and 1987 he also created and wrote the first episodes of the animated series Galaxy High.

In 2001, he directed and produced the films Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and its sequel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 based on the book series by author J.K. Rowling. Later in 2004 he returned to the series, but this time as producer for the third book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In the previous films some of his children appeared in cameos, such as one being the character of Susan Bones.

One of his most upcoming films where he’ll be directing is Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the book series by author Rick Riordan.

Upcoming events/films:

Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, February 12, 2010.

The Last Campaign in 2010 where he’ll be directing and producing.

The Help in 2010.

Will Sebastian in 2011.

Welcome to Hoxford in 2011.

Repley’s Believe It or Not! As a director and starting Jim Carey.

Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom.

Read more about Chris Columbus HERE

Are you a fan of Chris Columbus? Which are some of your favorite movies, he has either directed, written, or produced?

Director Name: Garth Jennings

Director:
- The Best of Blur (2000)
- Pulp Anthology (2002)
- The Best of R.E.M.(2003)
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
- Son of Rambow (2007)
- Aron (2008)

Actor:
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
- Hot Fuzz (2007)
- Aron (2008)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Writer:
- Son of Rambow (2007)
- Aron (2008)

Producer Name: Nick Goldsmith

Producer:
- The Best of Blur (2000)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
- Son of Rambow (2007)

Videos:
- The Mutton Birds – Dominion Road (1995)
- Mens wear – Being Brave (1996)
- Goya Dress – Crush (1996)
- Sleeper – Nice Guy Eddie (1996)
- Bentley Rhythm Ace – Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out! (1997)
- Del Amitri – Medicine (1997)
- Ash – A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
- Pulp – Help the Aged (1997)
- Pressure Drop – Silently Bad Minded (1998)
- Moloko – The Flipside (1998)
- Marcy Playground – Saint Joe on the School Bus (1998)
- Pulp – A Little Soul (1998)
- Eels – Last Stop: This Town (1998)
- Eels – Cancer for the Cure (1999)
- Blur – Coffee & TV (1999)
- Fatboy Slim – Right Here, Right Now (1999)
- Travis – Driftwood (1999)
- Supergrass – Pumping On Your Stereo (1999)
- Bentley Rhythm Ace – Theme from Gutbuster (2000)
- Wannadies – Big Fan (2000)
- Badly Drawn Boy – Disillusion (2000)
- Fatboy Slim & Macy Gray – Demons (2000)
- Zero 7 – I Have Seen (2001)
- R.E.M. – Imitation of Life (2001)
- Badly Drawn Boy – Spitting in the Wind (2001)
- Badly Drawn Boy – Silent Sigh (2002)
- Beck – Lost Cause (2003)
- Beck – Lonesome Tears (2004)
- Supergrass – Low C (2005)
- Beck – Hell Yes (2005)
- Hot Chip – Boy From School (2006)
- Vampire Weekend – A-Punk (2008)
- Vampire Weekend – Cousins (2009)

Links:
‘Coffee & TV’ by Blur

‘Pumpkin On Your Stereo’ by Supergrass

Short Bio and Review:
Garth Jennings born 1972 in Epping, Essex – UK and Nick Goldsmith born 1971, UK have a production company named ‘Hammer & Tongs’. They made inventive music videos for Blur, Pulp and R.E.M. With their debut feature film, an adaptation of Douglas Adams’ ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, they showed off a sweet sensibility that belied the metallurgical toughness of that name, and with the just-released ‘Son of Rambow’, they go one step further.

Some great movies have come out of the collaboration between these two people.

Have you seen their work? What do you think about it?

Director Name: Robert Schwentke

Director:
- Heaven! (1993)
- Tattoo (2002)
- The Family Jewels (2003)
- Flightplan (2005)
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
- Red (2010) (pre-production)
- Conspiracy of Fools (2011)

Writer:
- Heaven! (1993)
- Tattoo (2002)
- The Family Jewels (2003)
- Conspiracy of Fools (2011) (announced)

Short Bio and Review:
Robert was born in 1968 in Stuttgart, German and graduated from the Columbia College Hollywood in 1992. Mostly new to the US Hollywood scene, Robert is best known for directing the 2009 movie The Time Traveler’s Wife. In 2008 Summit Entertainment announced that he would also be working on the film adaptation of the graphic novel Red

New to the Hollywood scene, Robert looks to he a big hit based on his work with The Time Traveler’s Wife. Look forward to seeing more from this excellent director in the future.

Did you see The Time Traveler’s Wife?
What did you think of his directorial work?

Director Name: Bryan Singer

Director:
- Lion’s Den (1988)
- Public Access (1993)
- The Usual Suspects (1995)
- Apt Pupil (1998)
- X-Men (2000)
- X2 (2003)
- House M.D. (2004, 3 episodes)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- Football Wives (2007, TV)
- Valkyrie (2008)
- Battlestar Galactica (2011)
- Jack the Giant Killer (2011)
- Excalibur (2012)

Producer:
- Public Access (1993)
- The Usual Suspects (1995)
- Burn (1998)
- Apt Pupil (1998)
- X2 (2003)
- The Triangle (2005, TV mini-series)
- Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006, TV)
- The Science of Superman (2006, TV)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- Color Me Olsen (2007)
- Football Wives (2007, TV)
- Trick ‘r Treat (2008)
- Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler (2008, TV)
- Valkyrie (2008)
- Dirty Sexy Money (2007-2009, 23 episodes)
- House M.D. (2004-2009, 119 episodes)
- Battlestar Galactica (2011) (pre-production)
- Excalibur (2012) (pre-production)
- Sellevision (2012) (announced)

Awards:
1993 Critics Award for ‘Public Access’
1996 Empire Award for ‘The Usual Suspects’
2001 Saturn Award & Empire Award for ‘X-Men’
2007 Saturn Award for ‘Superman Returns’

Short Bio and Review:
Singer was born September 17, 1965 in NYC and was adopted by Norbert and Grace Singer. He was raised in Princeton Junction New Jersey. He began making films at the age of 13. Bryan attended New York’s School of Visual Arts for filmmaking. Although Singer has dyslexia he enjoys comics and short stories. His love of comic books is evident in Superman Returns and X-Men. Singer is currently working on Battlestar Gallactica and Sellevision.

I have liked Bryan Singers’ work since I saw him answer questions on a panel at Comic-Con. He is intelligent and passionate about his work. I’m excited to follow him as he directs and produces more in the coming years.

Read more on Bryan Singer brought to us by OBS owner Dawn here.