Happy 68th Birthday, Robert Zemeckis! Born today in 1952 as Robert Lee Zemeckis, this American screenwriter, film producer and film director is frequently credited as an innovator in visual effects.
Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the 1984 American romantic comedy-adventure film 'Romancing the Stone'.
During this decade, however, Zemeckis is best known for directing the 1985 American sci-fi/ comedy film 'Back to the Future'. This was the first film of the Back to the Future trilogy.
The other two installments included him directing the 1989 American science-fiction/comedy film 'Back to the Future Part II' and the 1990 American science-fiction comedy/Western film 'Back to the Future Part III'.
The original film had grossed $389.1 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1985.
The following year, 'Back to the Future' received three Oscar nominations. However, it only received one for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing (Charles L. Campbell, Robert R. Rutledge). This occurred at the 58th Academy Awards in late March 1986.
In the late 1980s, Zemeckis is also best known for directing the 1988 American live-action/animated mystery comedy film 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'. The film is based on American author Gary K. Wolf's 1981 humour mystery fiction novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
In the early 1990s, Zemeckis directed the 1992 American black comedy/fantasy film 'Death Becomes Her'. It was here that he then diversified into more dramatic fare.
This included the film of which too Zemeckis is best known for directing, being the 1994 American drama/comedy-drama film 'Forrest Gump'. The film had been based on American novelist and non-fiction writer Winston Groom's 1986 eponymous humor drama Bildungsroman novel.
Zemeckis' films are characterized by an interest in state-of-the-art special effects, including the early use of the insertion of computer graphics into live-action footage, as seen in 'Back to the Future Part III' and 'Forrest Gump'.
In the early 2000s, this included the pioneering performance capture techniques, seen in the 2004 American computer-animated family/adventure film 'The Polar Express' and the 2006 American computer-animated supernatural fantasy film 'Monster House'.
In the late 2000s, this included the 2007 American 3D computer-animated fantasy action film 'Beowulf' and the 2009 American 3D computer-animated fantasy film 'A Christmas Carol'.
These special effects didn't appear again until the late 2010s, with the 2018 American fantasy/drama film 'Welcome to Marwen'.
This also includes the scores of his films to be written by his longtime collaborator, being American composer and conductor Alan Silvestri.
In 2007, the Library of Congress selected 'Back to the Future' for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In June 2008 the American Film Institute's special AFI's 10 Top 10 designated it the 10th-best science fiction film.
In 2011, the Library of Congress selected 'Forrest Gump' for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2016, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Zemeckis is also known for directing the 2000 American supernatural horror/thriller film 'What Lies Beneath', the 2000 American survival adventure/drama film 'Cast Away' and the 2012 American drama/thriller film 'Flight'.
Though Zemeckis has often been pigeonholed as a director interested only in special effects, his work has been defended by several critics.
This included British film critic and historian David Thomson, who wrote that "No other contemporary director has used special effects to more dramatic and narrative purpose."
This included British film critic and historian David Thomson, who wrote that "No other contemporary director has used special effects to more dramatic and narrative purpose."
Zemeckis has been active from 1972–present.
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