Happy 65th Birthday, Paul Greengrass! Born today in 1955, this English former journalist, screenwriter, film producer and film director specializes in dramatizations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.
In the early 2000s, Greengrass directed the 2002 British-Irish drama/war film 'Bloody Sunday'. Being his early film, it told about the 1972 shootings in Derry, Northern Ireland.
The film later won the Golden Bear at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival in February of that same year.
Four years later, Greengrass wrote, co-produced and directed the first film of which he is best known.
This was the 2006 American/British/French biographical drama/thriller film 'United 93'. based on the September 11, 2001 hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93.
The film attempts to recount the hijacking and subsequent events in the flight with as much veracity as possible (there is a disclaimer that some imagination had to be used) and in real time (from the flight's takeoff).
For the film, the passengers' response to the hijacking has come to be invested with great moral significance.
According to the filmmakers, 'United 93' was made with the cooperation of all of the passengers' families.
The actual United 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on board, as part of the September 11 attacks.
Destined for the San Franciso International Airport, the plane crashed into a field near Indian Lake in Somerset County in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m., roaring towards the ground at more than 570 miles per hour.
During an attempt by the passengers and crew to regain control, United 93 eventually claimed the lives of thirty-seven passengers (including the terrorists) onboard. There were no survivors.
'United 93' premiered on April 26, 2006, at the 5th Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, New York.
The event had been co-founded (most notably by Robert De Niro) to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute towards the long-term recovery of Lower Manhattan.
For the film's premiere, several family members of the passengers aboard the doomed flight attended the screening to show their support.
'United 93' opened in North America on April 28, 2006, to critical acclaim. The film received critical acclaim, particularly for Greengrass' quasi-documentary-style.
Ten percent of the gross income from the three-day opening weekend was promised toward a donation to create a memorial for the victims of United 93.
On a budget of $15 million, the total gross intake of 'United 93' was $31.4 million in the United States, and $76.3 million worldwide.
The following year, 'United 93' received two Oscar nominations, including Best Director for Greengrass. This occurred at the 79th Academy Awards in late February 2007.
Later that same year, Greengrass directed the second and final film of which he is best known. This was the 2007 American action/thriller film 'The Bourne Ultimatum'.
The film is the third installment of the Bourne series, and was based on American author Robert Ludlum's titular 1990 thriller adventure spy fiction novel.
'Ultimatum' was produced by Universal pictures and was released on August 3, 2007. It had grossed a total of $444.1 million worldwide on a budget of $110 million, becoming, at the time, Matt Damon's highest-grossing film with him as the lead.
Upon release, 'Ultimatum' received acclaim from critics, who considered it to be the best film in the series, and praised the performances, action sequences, sound design, story, stunts, camerawork and English composer John Powell's musical score.
The film was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the top en films of 2007 and went on to win all three of its nominations at the 79th Academy Awards: Best Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
'Ultimatum' was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. American writer of thriller and fantasy novels Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.
In 2007, Greengrass co-founded Directors UK a professional organization of British filmmakers, and was its first president until 2014.
In 2008, The Telegraph named him among the most influential people in British culture.
In the late 2010s, Greengrass returned to direct the fifth Jason Bourne film, Jason Bourne, with Damon starring again. The film was released on July 29, 2016.
In 2017, Greengrass was honoured with a British Film Institute Fellowship.
According to his personal life, Greengrass has said that he professes irreligion but has "great respect for the spiritual way".
He is a supporter of Crystal Palace FC, and has had many banter-filled football chats on the BBC Radio 5 radio programme Kermode & Mayo Film Programme when publicising his features.
Greengrass is also known for directing 'The Bourne Supremacy' (2004), 'Green Zone' (2010), 'Captain Phillips' (2013), and 'Jason Bourne' (2018).
However, Greengrass did not direct 'The Bourne Identity' (2002) or 'The Bourne Legacy' (2012).
Greengrass has been active from 1978–present.
#borntodirect
@DirectorsUKcmo
@BFI
@bafta
@Tribeca
@TheNationalBoardOfReview
@TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
@RogerEbert
@nytimes
@theguardian
@empiremagazine
@comingsoon
No comments:
Post a Comment