Alex Proyas

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Alex Proyas
Born	Alexander Proyas 23 September 1963 (1963-09-23) Egypt
Occupation	film & music video director, producer and screenwriter

Alexander "Alex" Proyas (born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot and Knowing.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Awards 4 Filmography 4.1 Short films 4.2 Feature films 4.3 Music videos 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

Proyas was born to Greek parents in Egypt and moved to Sydney, Australia when he was 3.^[1] At 17 he went to film school and began directing music videos.^[1] He moved to Los Angeles in the United States to further his career, working on MTV music videos and TV commercials.^[1]

[edit] Career

Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds, which was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design.^[2] Next, Proyas directed the 1994 fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee. Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film in March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script and using a stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes.^[3] The Crow was released in May 1994 and was a box office and critical success.^[4]

Proyas then wrote and directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller Dark City, which had disappointing box office results despite winning several awards,^[5] but has since gained a strong cult following.^{[citation needed]} In 2004, he directed I, Robot, a science fiction film suggested by^[6] the Isaac Asimov short story compilation I, Robot that starred Will Smith. It was a box office success, but met with mixed reactions by readers and fans of the Asimov stories.^{[citation needed]}

Proyas' most recent film, the thriller Knowing, began production in Melbourne in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009.^[7]

[edit] Awards

At the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Proyas was nominated for a Golden Palm award for his short film, Book of Dreams: 'Welcome to Crateland'. For Dark City, he was nominated for several awards and won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, the Bram Stoker Award, the Film Critics Circle of Australia Award and the Pegasus Audience Award at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film.^[8]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Short films

• Neon (1980)
• Groping (1980)
• Strange Residues (1981)
• Spineless (1987)
• Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland (1994, short)

[edit] Feature films

Year	Film	Credited as
		Director	Producer	Screenwriter
1991	Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds	Yes	Yes	Yes
1994	The Crow	Yes
1998	Dark City	Yes	Yes	Yes
2002	Garage Days	Yes	Yes	Yes
2004	I, Robot	Yes
2009	Knowing	Yes	Yes	Yes

[edit] Music videos

• Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)]]" - INXS (1986)
• Magic Touch" - Mike Oldfield
• Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House (1987)
• Holiday - The Other Ones(1987)
• Better Be Home Soon " - Crowded House (1988)
• Songlines (1989)
• The Best of Sting: Fields of Gold 1984-1994 (1994)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mystery Clock
• Alex Proyas at the Internet Movie Database
• Alex Proyas Discusses Dark City Sequel at AMCtv.com

v • d • e Films directed by Alex Proyas Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989) • The Crow (1994) • Dark City (1998) • Garage Days (2002) • I, Robot (2004) • Knowing (2009)