Happy 48th Birthday, Tom Hooper! Born today in 1972 as Thomas George Hooper, this British-Australian writer, producer and film and television director has made a handful of historical films quite unlike that of which a very few filmmakers have.
Hooper was educated at Highgate School and later the prestigious Westminster.
His initial interest in drama was triggered by his English and drama teacher at Highgate, former Royal Shakespeare Company actor Roger Mortimer, who produced an annual school play.
At the age of twelve, Hooper read a book entitled "How to Make Film and Television" and decided he wanted to become a director.
For the next year, Hooper researched filmmaking from publications such as author Harris Watts' 1984 book On Camera: How to Produce Film and Video.
At thirteen, Hooper made his first film using a clockwork 16mm Bolex camera his uncle had given to him.
He later said: "The clockwork would run out after thirty seconds, so the maximum shot length was thirty seconds.
I could only afford a hundred feet of Kodachrome reversal film, which cost about twenty-five [pounds], and you had to send off for two weeks to be processed. I could only make silent movies, because sound was too expensive and complicated."
Hooper then slowed down the frame rate of the camera so he could maximize what little film stock he had.
He later classified the short film, about a dog which kept running away from its owner, as a comedy, and filmed it on location in Oxfordshire.
Hooper finished school aged sixteen. After graduating, he then wrote the script and directed his debut professional short film, the twenty-five-minute 1992 British short film 'Painted Faces'. Hooper had edited, wrote, produced, directed it.
The short was eventually sold to Channel 4 and broadcast on the channel's First Frame strand in July 1992. It later had a screening at the 39th London Film Festival and also had a limited theatrical release.
After taking a gap year to finance 'Painted Faces', Hooper read English at University College, Oxford.
He later joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society, where he directed English actress and model Kate Beckinsale in American playwright Arthur Miller's 1955 stage production 'A View From the Bridge".
Hooper had also directed English actress and screenwriter Emily Mortimer in the stage production of Franz Kafka's 1925 philosophical dystopian paranoid fiction novel Der Proceß (The Trial).
Hooper later directed his first television advertisements. Most notably, this was for the 1994 American platform game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 featuring London-based English band Right Said Fred.
In 1996, Hooper joined the English commercial production company John S. Clarke Productions and in 2001 he signed with the London-based Infinity Productions.
Post graduating alma mater from Oxford, Hooper directed further television commercials, intending to break into the film industry the same way Ridley Scott and English film director Hugh Hudson ('Chariots of Fire') did.
Hooper was later introduced by his father to British film and television executive producer, producer, director and writer Matthew Robinson. He mentored Hooper and gave him his first television directing work.
Hooper had been influenced by English director of photography Ben Smithard, of whom had also worked with Stanley Kubrick. Smithard had advised Hooper of the techniques used by Kubrick.
He had also been influenced by the unusual framing from social photography of the 1970s, and he and Smithard decided to adopt the framing style while scouting locations.
Hooper then began to experiment with using wide-angle lenses and putting actors in the extreme edges of the frame.
He later used the same style in directing the first film of which he is best known. This was the 2010 British historical drama film 'The King's Speech'. On a budget of $15 million, 'The King's Speech' grossed $424 million internationally.
The film tells of England's Prince Albert (Colin Firth), who must ascend the throne as King George VI. However, he has a speech impediment.
Knowing that the country needs her husband to be able to communicate effectively, Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) hires Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian actor and speech therapist, to help him overcome his stammer.
Eventually, an extraordinary friendship develops between the two men, as Logue uses unconventional means to teach the monarch how to speak with confidence.
Another frequently used technique is Hooper's tendency to use a variety of focal length camera lenses to distort the resulting picture.
In 'The King's Speech', Hooper used "typically 14mm, 18mm, 21mm, 25mm and 27mm" lenses and put the camera close to the actors' faces.
As in the 1970s when he and Smithard decided to adopt the unusual framing style while scouting locations, Hooper used the same style in 'The King's Speech'.
This was particularly in the scene where Prince Albert and Logue meet in his consulting room; Firth is framed to the extreme left of the picture, leaving most of the shot dominated by the rough wall behind Firth.
Hooper said that the use of this method in the first consulting room scene served to "suggest the awkwardness and tension of Logue and Bertie's (Prince Albert) first meeting".
The following year, 'The King's Speech' received five BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best British Film, Best Actor in a Leading Rold (Colin Firth), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Geoffrey Rush), and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Helena Bonham Carter).
This occurred at the 64th British Academy Film Awards on February 13, 2011.
Two weeks later, 'The King's Speech' was nominated for twelve Oscars, more than any other film of that year.
However, it only won four for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Directing and Best Writing. This occurred at the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27, 2011.
One year later, Hooper directed the second and final film of which he is best known. This was the epic 2012 British/American historical period musical/drama film 'Les Misérables'. On a budget of $61 million, the film grossed $441.8 million worldwide.
The film was based on Victor Hugo's epic 1862 French tragedy historical fiction novel of the same name. It is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
The film had also been based on the sung-through musical colloquially known as "Les Mis" or "Les Miz". It was also adapted from Hugo's novel. The original French musical premiered in Paris, France in 1980.
The following year, 'Les Misérables' won four BAFTA Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Anne Hathaway), Best Makeup & Hair, Best Sound, and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in February 10, 2013.
Two weeks later, 'Les Misérables was nominated for eight Oscars. This was the first musical nominated since 2002's winner 'Chicago'.
However, it only won three for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Sound Mixing. This occurred at the 85th Academy Awards on February 27, 2013.
Two years later, Hooper directed the 2015 British/American/German/Danish/Belgian/Japanese biographical romance/drama film 'The Danish Girl'. For the film, Hooper again worked with Eddie Redmayne, of whom played the title character.
The film was based off of American writer, editor, and teacher David Ebershoff's debut 2000 biographical historical fiction novel of the same name.
The film was also loosely inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener.
Three years later, Hooper co-wrote, co-produced and directed the 2019 American musical/family fantasy film 'Cats'.
It was based off of Andrew Lloyd Weber's 1981 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on T. S. Eliot's 1939 light poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
The film featured an ensemble cast, including Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Judi Dench, Rebel Wilson, Idris Elba, and Ian McKellen.
Upon release, 'Cats' received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the CGI effects, plot, and tone, with many calling it one of the worst films of all time.
On a budget of $95 million, 'Cats' only grossed $75.5 million, making it a box office bomb.
On his Rotten Tomatoes webpage, 'Cats' is currently his lowest-rated film to date. It holds a 20% score from three hundred and eighteen critics.
For 'Cats', Hooper received two Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. This occurred at the 40th Golden Raspberry Awards in mid-March 2020.
Despite this, Hooper has directed seven actors in Oscar-nominated performances. These include Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, and Alicia Vikander.
The trademarks in Hooper's films include often using distorting wide-angle lenses, often working with English cinematographer Larry Smith.
Hooper's other trademarks include often directing historical dramas and period pieces and distinctive visual style involving Dutch angles, hand-held cameras, and putting actors in the far side of a shot.
Hooper uses camera styles "that encode the DNA of the storytelling in some way" and will reuse and develop filming styles in successive productions.
He also identifies research as being key to his process of directing period dramas in order to make the scenes authentic, and uses uncommon framing techniques to emphasize story.
He has the gift of seemingly getting inside the minds of some of the most powerful figures in history and exploring onscreen their struggles, vanities, failures and successes.
Hooper has been active from 1992–present.
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