Director Research:
Here is some background information on some directors and what inspires them.
Hayao Miyazaki:
Miyazaki's films have long enjoyed both commercial and critical success in Japan, he remained largely unknown to the West until Miramax Films released Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke was the highest-grossing film in Japan—until it was eclipsed by another 1997 film, Titanic—and the first animated film to win Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards. Miyazaki returned to animation with Spirited Away. The film topped Titanic's sales at the Japanese box office, also won Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards and was the first anime film to win an American Academy Award.
Miyazaki's films often contain recurrent themes like humanity's relationship with nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. The protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women. While two of his films, The Castle of Cagliostro and Castle in the Sky, involve traditional villains, his other films like Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke present morally ambiguous antagonists with redeeming qualities. He recently co-wrote the film The Secret World of Arrietty, which was released in July 2010 in Japan and February 2012 in the United States
Manga career:
Miyazaki has illustrated several manga, beginning in 1969 with Puss in Boots (Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko). His major work in this format is the seven-volume manga version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which he created from 1982 to 1994 and in which this has sold millions of copies worldwide. Other works include Sabaku no Tami (People of the Dese), Shuna no Tabi (The Journey of Shuna), The Notebook of Various Images, which was the basis of Porco Rosso.
In October 2006, A Trip to Tynemouth was published in Japan. Miyazaki based it on the young adult short stories of Robert Westall, who grew up in World War II England. The most famous story, first published in a collection called Break of Dark, is titled Blackham's Wimpy, the name of a Vickers Wellington Bomber featured in the story, whose nickname comes from the character J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye comics and cartoons (the Wellington was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon).
In early 2009, Miyazaki began writing a new manga called Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises), telling the story of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter designer Jiro Horikoshi. The manga was published in two issues of the Model Graphix magazine, published on February 25 and March 25, 2009.
Influences:
A number of Western authors have influenced Miyazaki's work, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Lewis Carroll, and Diana Wynne Jones. Miyazaki confided to Le Guin that Earthsea had been a great influence on all his works, and that he kept her books at his bedside. Miyazaki and French writer and illustrator Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius) have influenced each other and have become friends as a result of their mutual admiration. Monnaie de Paris held an exhibition of their work titled Miyazaki et Moebius: Deux Artistes Dont Les Dessins Prennent Vie (Two Artists’s Drawings Taking on a Life of Their Own) from December 2004 to April 2005. Both artists attended the opening of the exhibition. Moebius named his daughter Nausicaa after Miyazaki's heroine. Miyazaki has been deeply influenced by another French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. He illustrated the Japanese covers of Saint-Exupéry's Night Flight (Vol de nuit) and Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des Hommes), and wrote an afterword for Wind, Sand and Stars.
In an interview broadcast on BBC Choice on 2002-06-10, Miyazaki cited the British authors Eleanor Farjeon, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Philippa Pearce as influences. The filmmaker has also publicly expressed fondness for Roald Dahl's stories about pilots and airplanes; the image in Porco Rosso of a cloud of dead pilots was inspired by Dahl's They Shall Not Grow Old. As in Miyazaki's films, these authors create self-contained worlds in which allegory is often used, and characters have complex, and often ambiguous, motivations. Other Miyazaki works, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, incorporate elements of Japanese history and mythology.
Pete Docter, director of the popular films Up and Monsters, Inc. as well as a co-creator of other Pixar works, has praised Miyazaki and described him as an influence. Glen Keane, the animator for successful Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Tangled, has also credited Miyazaki as a "huge influence" on his work and on Disney in general during the past two decades. Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino have cited Miyazaki's work as having the biggest influence on the universe and style of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Miyazaki's films often contain recurrent themes like humanity's relationship with nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. The protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women. While two of his films, The Castle of Cagliostro and Castle in the Sky, involve traditional villains, his other films like Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke present morally ambiguous antagonists with redeeming qualities. He recently co-wrote the film The Secret World of Arrietty, which was released in July 2010 in Japan and February 2012 in the United States
Manga career:
Miyazaki has illustrated several manga, beginning in 1969 with Puss in Boots (Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko). His major work in this format is the seven-volume manga version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which he created from 1982 to 1994 and in which this has sold millions of copies worldwide. Other works include Sabaku no Tami (People of the Dese), Shuna no Tabi (The Journey of Shuna), The Notebook of Various Images, which was the basis of Porco Rosso.
In October 2006, A Trip to Tynemouth was published in Japan. Miyazaki based it on the young adult short stories of Robert Westall, who grew up in World War II England. The most famous story, first published in a collection called Break of Dark, is titled Blackham's Wimpy, the name of a Vickers Wellington Bomber featured in the story, whose nickname comes from the character J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye comics and cartoons (the Wellington was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon).
In early 2009, Miyazaki began writing a new manga called Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises), telling the story of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter designer Jiro Horikoshi. The manga was published in two issues of the Model Graphix magazine, published on February 25 and March 25, 2009.
Influences:
A number of Western authors have influenced Miyazaki's work, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Lewis Carroll, and Diana Wynne Jones. Miyazaki confided to Le Guin that Earthsea had been a great influence on all his works, and that he kept her books at his bedside. Miyazaki and French writer and illustrator Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius) have influenced each other and have become friends as a result of their mutual admiration. Monnaie de Paris held an exhibition of their work titled Miyazaki et Moebius: Deux Artistes Dont Les Dessins Prennent Vie (Two Artists’s Drawings Taking on a Life of Their Own) from December 2004 to April 2005. Both artists attended the opening of the exhibition. Moebius named his daughter Nausicaa after Miyazaki's heroine. Miyazaki has been deeply influenced by another French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. He illustrated the Japanese covers of Saint-Exupéry's Night Flight (Vol de nuit) and Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des Hommes), and wrote an afterword for Wind, Sand and Stars.
In an interview broadcast on BBC Choice on 2002-06-10, Miyazaki cited the British authors Eleanor Farjeon, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Philippa Pearce as influences. The filmmaker has also publicly expressed fondness for Roald Dahl's stories about pilots and airplanes; the image in Porco Rosso of a cloud of dead pilots was inspired by Dahl's They Shall Not Grow Old. As in Miyazaki's films, these authors create self-contained worlds in which allegory is often used, and characters have complex, and often ambiguous, motivations. Other Miyazaki works, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, incorporate elements of Japanese history and mythology.
Pete Docter, director of the popular films Up and Monsters, Inc. as well as a co-creator of other Pixar works, has praised Miyazaki and described him as an influence. Glen Keane, the animator for successful Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Tangled, has also credited Miyazaki as a "huge influence" on his work and on Disney in general during the past two decades. Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino have cited Miyazaki's work as having the biggest influence on the universe and style of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Tim Burton:
Timothy Walter "Tim" Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for his dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 9 and Dark Shadows, and for blockbusters such as Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, which was the second highest-grossing film of 2010, and the twelfth highest-grossing film of all time.
Burton is known for using recurring collaborators on his works; among them are Johnny Depp, who has become a close friend of Burton since their first film together; musician Danny Elfman, who has composed scores for all but five of the films Burton has directed and/or produced; and domestic partner Helena Bonham Carter. He also wrote and illustrated the poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997, and a compilation of his drawings, sketches and other artwork, entitled The Art of Tim Burton, was released in 2009.
Burton has directed 16 films and produced 12, as of 2012. His latest films are an adaptation of the soap opera Dark Shadows, released on May 10, 2012, and a remake of his 1984 short, Frankenweenie, released on October 5, 2012.
For years, Tim Burton has been an acknowledged creative force in Hollywood in a league of his own. His unique visions have even given birth to the phrase, “Burton-esque;” a term, that instantly conjures up visions of the sights that can only come from the mind of Burton; his films truly have to been seen, to be believed. The roots of his creative genius lie in the obvious: the work of stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen and the Hammer horror films starring such cinematic legends as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, to schlock-y matinee escapades featuring Vincent Price, and the not so obvious: from the early works of Walt Disney to the films of cinematic auteur Federico Fellini. Unlike some filmmakers who merely to steal from the greats, Burton uses his inspirations more as a canvas onto which he creates his incredible sights for all to behold.
The Disney influence on Burton may not be overt at first glance, but it is evident when looking at the specific qualities that drew Burton to those films as a child, and this interest in the Disney films certainly played a part in his attending Cal Arts and later working as an animator for the Disney animation department, however brief it may have been. The early Disney films, such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” were fantasy films geared towards both children and adult audiences alike. They blended the terrifyingly dark with the whimsical and cheerful in a way that had not been done before. Looking at Burton’s films, such as “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” or “Edward Scissorhands,” it’s clear that he was aiming for this same broad audience to tell his stories to as well. Much like Walt Disney, Burton respects both the adult and child audience that goes to his pictures by telling a story that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age.“Vincent Price, Edgar Allen Poe, those monster movies, those spoke to me.” (Tim Burton: Burton on Burton) Burton’s love affair with Vincent Price is no secret. As a child growing up in Burbank California, there was something undeniably fascinating about this playfully, creepy actor that Burton latched onto during his adolescence (and you know that lisp of his didn’t hurt Price’s creep-out factor in Burton’s view). You can see this trait in many of Burton’s characters (and probably in Burton himself): from the cheerfully mischievous Pee-wee Herman to Edward Bloom, a man who delighted in spinning elaborate yarns about his younger years, in Burton’s latest and greatest: “Big Fish.” Clearly, the work of animator Ray Harryhausen had a huge influence on Burton as a filmmaker, and not just with films like “Vincent” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Much like the presence of Vincent Price, the sights of skeletons coming to life and Pegasus taking flight were unlike anything Burton had experienced in his suburban hometown. With scenes in films like, “Sleepy Hollow,” and “Beetlejuice” Burton has given his audiences the same movie-going thrills he must have experienced as a youth as well as pay homage to the fantasy epics and Hammer horror films he grew up on.
It’s difficult to say which filmmakers have personally inspired Burton over the years simply by looking at his films. Yes, there are scenes in Burton’s films that scream of his love for the films of Italian master Federico Fellini (most evidently in the final moments of “Big Fish”); but Burton seems to have been influenced more by entire genres of films than specific filmmakers. Take his love of the Hammer horror films; specific filmmakers from that studio are rarely cited by Burton, it’s more about the feelings and images that the term “Hammer horror” conjures up in the minds of people who love those films and even those who have never seen one. Burton’s name on a film almost lends it the same feeling; you know walking into a Burton film that you’re in for something special.
Walt Disney and Vincent Price may seem like strange bedfellows to cite as influences, but for a creative visionary like Tim Burton, such an odd pairing is almost expected. Tim Burton defines a whole other genre of films. He creates Gothic, dark films with sinister atmosphere. His style has been influenced by many artists and other factors. It’s the way Burton combines all the elements that touched him over the years and adds his own unique personal touch to those sights that makes his films so breath-taking to behold; he gives us something old, something familiar, and something completely unexpected.
Burton is known for using recurring collaborators on his works; among them are Johnny Depp, who has become a close friend of Burton since their first film together; musician Danny Elfman, who has composed scores for all but five of the films Burton has directed and/or produced; and domestic partner Helena Bonham Carter. He also wrote and illustrated the poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997, and a compilation of his drawings, sketches and other artwork, entitled The Art of Tim Burton, was released in 2009.
Burton has directed 16 films and produced 12, as of 2012. His latest films are an adaptation of the soap opera Dark Shadows, released on May 10, 2012, and a remake of his 1984 short, Frankenweenie, released on October 5, 2012.
For years, Tim Burton has been an acknowledged creative force in Hollywood in a league of his own. His unique visions have even given birth to the phrase, “Burton-esque;” a term, that instantly conjures up visions of the sights that can only come from the mind of Burton; his films truly have to been seen, to be believed. The roots of his creative genius lie in the obvious: the work of stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen and the Hammer horror films starring such cinematic legends as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, to schlock-y matinee escapades featuring Vincent Price, and the not so obvious: from the early works of Walt Disney to the films of cinematic auteur Federico Fellini. Unlike some filmmakers who merely to steal from the greats, Burton uses his inspirations more as a canvas onto which he creates his incredible sights for all to behold.
The Disney influence on Burton may not be overt at first glance, but it is evident when looking at the specific qualities that drew Burton to those films as a child, and this interest in the Disney films certainly played a part in his attending Cal Arts and later working as an animator for the Disney animation department, however brief it may have been. The early Disney films, such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” were fantasy films geared towards both children and adult audiences alike. They blended the terrifyingly dark with the whimsical and cheerful in a way that had not been done before. Looking at Burton’s films, such as “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” or “Edward Scissorhands,” it’s clear that he was aiming for this same broad audience to tell his stories to as well. Much like Walt Disney, Burton respects both the adult and child audience that goes to his pictures by telling a story that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age.“Vincent Price, Edgar Allen Poe, those monster movies, those spoke to me.” (Tim Burton: Burton on Burton) Burton’s love affair with Vincent Price is no secret. As a child growing up in Burbank California, there was something undeniably fascinating about this playfully, creepy actor that Burton latched onto during his adolescence (and you know that lisp of his didn’t hurt Price’s creep-out factor in Burton’s view). You can see this trait in many of Burton’s characters (and probably in Burton himself): from the cheerfully mischievous Pee-wee Herman to Edward Bloom, a man who delighted in spinning elaborate yarns about his younger years, in Burton’s latest and greatest: “Big Fish.” Clearly, the work of animator Ray Harryhausen had a huge influence on Burton as a filmmaker, and not just with films like “Vincent” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Much like the presence of Vincent Price, the sights of skeletons coming to life and Pegasus taking flight were unlike anything Burton had experienced in his suburban hometown. With scenes in films like, “Sleepy Hollow,” and “Beetlejuice” Burton has given his audiences the same movie-going thrills he must have experienced as a youth as well as pay homage to the fantasy epics and Hammer horror films he grew up on.
It’s difficult to say which filmmakers have personally inspired Burton over the years simply by looking at his films. Yes, there are scenes in Burton’s films that scream of his love for the films of Italian master Federico Fellini (most evidently in the final moments of “Big Fish”); but Burton seems to have been influenced more by entire genres of films than specific filmmakers. Take his love of the Hammer horror films; specific filmmakers from that studio are rarely cited by Burton, it’s more about the feelings and images that the term “Hammer horror” conjures up in the minds of people who love those films and even those who have never seen one. Burton’s name on a film almost lends it the same feeling; you know walking into a Burton film that you’re in for something special.
Walt Disney and Vincent Price may seem like strange bedfellows to cite as influences, but for a creative visionary like Tim Burton, such an odd pairing is almost expected. Tim Burton defines a whole other genre of films. He creates Gothic, dark films with sinister atmosphere. His style has been influenced by many artists and other factors. It’s the way Burton combines all the elements that touched him over the years and adds his own unique personal touch to those sights that makes his films so breath-taking to behold; he gives us something old, something familiar, and something completely unexpected.
Steven Spielberg:
Spielberg is one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film. Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Spielberg has countless big-grossing, critically acclaimed credits to his name, as producer, director and writer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1946. He went to California State University Long Beach, but dropped out to pursue his entertainment career. He gained notoriety as an unaccredited assistant editor on the classic western "Wagon Train" (1957). Among his early directing efforts were Battle Squad (1961), which combined World War II footage with footage of an airplane on the ground that he makes you believe, is moving. He also directed Escape to Nowhere (1961), which featured children as World War Two soldiers, including his sister Anne Spielberg, and The Last Gun (1959), a western. All of these were short films. The next couple of years, Spielberg directed a couple of movies that would portend his future career in movies. In 1964, he directed Firelight (1964), a movie about aliens invading a small town. In 1967, he directed Slipstream (1967), which was unfinished. However, in 1968, he directed Amblin' (1968), which featured the desert prominently, and not the first of his movies in which the desert would feature so prominently. Amblin' also became the name of his production company, which turned out such classics as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg had a unique and classic early directing project, Duel (1971) (TV), with Dennis Weaver. In the early 1970s, Spielberg was working on TV, directing among others such series as Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" (1969), "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969) and "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971). All of his works in television and short films, as well as his directing projects, were just a hint of the wellspring of talent that would dazzle audiences all over the world..
The late 1980s found Spielberg's projects at the centre of pop-culture yet again. In 1988, he produced the landmark animation/live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The next year proved to be another big one for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always (1989) as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Back to the Future Part II (1989).
The late 1980s found Spielberg's projects at the centre of pop-culture yet again. In 1988, he produced the landmark animation/live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The next year proved to be another big one for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always (1989) as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Back to the Future Part II (1989).
Ron Clements:
Clements was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of Gertrude (née Gereau) and Joseph Clements.
Clements began his career as an animator for Hanna-Barbera. After a few months there, he was accepted into Disney's Talent Development Program, an animator training ground and workshop. After that, he served a two year apprenticeship with famed animator Frank Thomas, a supervising animator in classic Disney films such as Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and The Aristocats (1970).
Clements made his feature debut as a character animator on The Rescuers (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). In 1981, he became the supervising animator on The Fox and the Hound. Future partner John Musker worked as a character animator under him. Clements later teamed up with Musker as story artists on the ambitious animated flop The Black Cauldron (1985). In 1986, Clements made his directorial debut alongside Musker and two other collaborators on the feature The Great Mouse Detective. This feature was based on a pre-Disney short made by Clements.
Together, Clements and Musker wrote and directed The Little Mermaid (1989), a touching retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. With dazzling animation and Oscar-winning music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, it brought back critical and commercial clout for feature animation. Later on, the two wrote, directed and produced Aladdin (1992), which was an even larger success. They also directed Hercules (1997), which while not as successful as their last two films, was still well received by critics and audiences.
Their next directorial collaboration would be the sci-fi Treasure Planet (2002), critic’s reviews were generally positive but it was unfortunately a commercial failure. The film lacked the songs and colorful characters which were crucial to the success of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid although he was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
However, after Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, the studio has rekindled interest towards 2-D animation thanks to new leaders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. A new 2-D animated feature, The Princess and the Frog was released in 2009, with Musker and Clements directing and Randy Newman handling the music. The film returns to the Broadway-style musical of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and other successful Disney animated films of the late '80s and early '90s.
Clements began his career as an animator for Hanna-Barbera. After a few months there, he was accepted into Disney's Talent Development Program, an animator training ground and workshop. After that, he served a two year apprenticeship with famed animator Frank Thomas, a supervising animator in classic Disney films such as Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and The Aristocats (1970).
Clements made his feature debut as a character animator on The Rescuers (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). In 1981, he became the supervising animator on The Fox and the Hound. Future partner John Musker worked as a character animator under him. Clements later teamed up with Musker as story artists on the ambitious animated flop The Black Cauldron (1985). In 1986, Clements made his directorial debut alongside Musker and two other collaborators on the feature The Great Mouse Detective. This feature was based on a pre-Disney short made by Clements.
Together, Clements and Musker wrote and directed The Little Mermaid (1989), a touching retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. With dazzling animation and Oscar-winning music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, it brought back critical and commercial clout for feature animation. Later on, the two wrote, directed and produced Aladdin (1992), which was an even larger success. They also directed Hercules (1997), which while not as successful as their last two films, was still well received by critics and audiences.
Their next directorial collaboration would be the sci-fi Treasure Planet (2002), critic’s reviews were generally positive but it was unfortunately a commercial failure. The film lacked the songs and colorful characters which were crucial to the success of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid although he was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
However, after Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, the studio has rekindled interest towards 2-D animation thanks to new leaders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. A new 2-D animated feature, The Princess and the Frog was released in 2009, with Musker and Clements directing and Randy Newman handling the music. The film returns to the Broadway-style musical of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and other successful Disney animated films of the late '80s and early '90s.
John Musker:
Musker was born in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of eight children in an Irish Catholic family. He first met Ron Clements during the production of The Fox and the Hound (1981), where he worked as a character animator under Clements and Cliff Nordberg. Musker later worked with Clements again on the ambitious animated flop The Black Cauldron (1985). In 1986 he made his directorial debut with Clements and two other collaborators on the feature The Great Mouse Detective.
Together, Musker and Clements wrote and directed The Little Mermaid (1989), a touching retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. With Oscar-winning songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the film was a huge success, bringing back critical and commercial clout for feature animation. Later on, the two wrote, directed, and produced Aladdin (1992), which was an even larger success. They also directed Hercules (1997), which was not as successful as the previous two films but was still profitable.
Their next directorial collaboration would be the sci-fi Treasure Planet (2002), which was a critical success, but a box office flop. The film lacked the songs and colorful characters which were crucial to the success of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid although the film was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
After Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, the studio has rekindled interest towards 2D animation thanks to the new leaders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. A new 2D animated feature, The Princess and the Frog, was released in 2009, with Musker and Clements directing and Randy Newman handling the music. The film returns to the Broadway-style musical, like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and other successful Disney animated films of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Together, Musker and Clements wrote and directed The Little Mermaid (1989), a touching retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. With Oscar-winning songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the film was a huge success, bringing back critical and commercial clout for feature animation. Later on, the two wrote, directed, and produced Aladdin (1992), which was an even larger success. They also directed Hercules (1997), which was not as successful as the previous two films but was still profitable.
Their next directorial collaboration would be the sci-fi Treasure Planet (2002), which was a critical success, but a box office flop. The film lacked the songs and colorful characters which were crucial to the success of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid although the film was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
After Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, the studio has rekindled interest towards 2D animation thanks to the new leaders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. A new 2D animated feature, The Princess and the Frog, was released in 2009, with Musker and Clements directing and Randy Newman handling the music. The film returns to the Broadway-style musical, like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and other successful Disney animated films of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Renny Harlin:
Renny was born on 15th March 1959, as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat". The project started fast and soon they had Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris left the project, but Selin and Harlin got Mike Norris for the leading role. They wrote new script, Born American (1986), and got financial help from USA. In the year 1986 Born American (1986) was finished and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000 theatres and it reached number 9.
The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin moved to Los Angeles and got a job from “Halloween” producer Irwin Yablans who offered him script of "Prison" to film. This film was made an a low budget and was distributed with only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema to direct A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) after meeting producer Robert Shaye numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film. It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film.
20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988). Harlin made the both, but only Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he directed Cliffhanger (1993) with Sylvester Stallone which made $255 million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative differences.
His next film Cutthroat Island (1995) was a pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30 million domestically with a $65 million budget.
In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year 1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came to theatres after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160 million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.
Harlin was hired to direct Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) after John Frankenheimer left the job and died shortly after it, and Paul Schrader was fired. The producers then knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script, and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and grossed $80 million worldwide.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat". The project started fast and soon they had Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris left the project, but Selin and Harlin got Mike Norris for the leading role. They wrote new script, Born American (1986), and got financial help from USA. In the year 1986 Born American (1986) was finished and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000 theatres and it reached number 9.
The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin moved to Los Angeles and got a job from “Halloween” producer Irwin Yablans who offered him script of "Prison" to film. This film was made an a low budget and was distributed with only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema to direct A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) after meeting producer Robert Shaye numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film. It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film.
20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988). Harlin made the both, but only Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he directed Cliffhanger (1993) with Sylvester Stallone which made $255 million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative differences.
His next film Cutthroat Island (1995) was a pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30 million domestically with a $65 million budget.
In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year 1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came to theatres after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160 million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.
Harlin was hired to direct Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) after John Frankenheimer left the job and died shortly after it, and Paul Schrader was fired. The producers then knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script, and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and grossed $80 million worldwide.
Steve Beck:
Steve Michael Beck is an award winning commercial Director. He directed commercials for First union, GMC and Chevrolet, McDonalds and Gatorade. He has spent several years working for ILM as an Visual effects art Director on Films like "Indiana Jones and the last Crusade", "The Abyss" and "The Hunt for red October". He has directored "Ghost Ship" which was in 2002, and "Thirteen Ghosts" in 2001.
John Carpenter:
Almost all the films in Carpenter's career were critical and commercial failures, with the notable exceptions of Halloween (1978) and Escape from New York (1981). However many of his works from the 1970s and the 1980s such as Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Thing (1982), Starman (1984), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and They Live (1988) have since been seen as cult classics, while Carpenter has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker.
2010s: Present:
The Ward was his first movie since 2001's Ghosts of Mars, and it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2010. Carpenter narrated the video game F.E.A.R. 3. On 10 October 2010 Carpenter received the Lifetime Award from the Freak Show Horror Film Festival.
In 2011 at the Fright Night Film Festival Carpenter revealed that he is currently working on what he described as a "gothic western" movie and hopes to get it off the ground soon. He went on to say that he is unsure of the film's fate as it is
His films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, static cameras, use of steadicam, and distinctive synthesized scores (usually self-composed). With the exception of The Thing, Starman, The Ward, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man, he has scored all of his films (though some are collaborations), most famously the themes from Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13. His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics.
Carpenter is an outspoken proponent of widescreen filming, and all of his theatrical movies (with the exception of Dark Star and The Ward) were filmed anamorphic with a 2.35:1 or greater aspect ratio. The Ward was shot flat and scanned for anamorphic 2.35:1.
2010s: Present:
The Ward was his first movie since 2001's Ghosts of Mars, and it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2010. Carpenter narrated the video game F.E.A.R. 3. On 10 October 2010 Carpenter received the Lifetime Award from the Freak Show Horror Film Festival.
In 2011 at the Fright Night Film Festival Carpenter revealed that he is currently working on what he described as a "gothic western" movie and hopes to get it off the ground soon. He went on to say that he is unsure of the film's fate as it is
His films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, static cameras, use of steadicam, and distinctive synthesized scores (usually self-composed). With the exception of The Thing, Starman, The Ward, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man, he has scored all of his films (though some are collaborations), most famously the themes from Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13. His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics.
Carpenter is an outspoken proponent of widescreen filming, and all of his theatrical movies (with the exception of Dark Star and The Ward) were filmed anamorphic with a 2.35:1 or greater aspect ratio. The Ward was shot flat and scanned for anamorphic 2.35:1.