Alfonso Cuarón
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| Alfonso Cuarón | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Alfonso Cuarón at the Mexico premiere of Children of Men, 2006 |
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| Born | Alfonso Cuarón Orozco November 28, 1961 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Years active | 1983 – present |
| Spouse | Mariana Elizondo (1980–1993) Annalisa Bugliani (2001–2008) |
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈfonso kwaˈɾon]; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.
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[edit] Early life
Alfonso Cuarón was born in México City and is the son of Alfredo Cuarón, a nuclear physicist who worked for the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency for many years.
Cuarón studied Philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and filmmaking at CUEC (Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos), a faculty of the same University. There, he met director Carlos Marcovich and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, and they made what would be his first short film, Vengeance is mine. The controversy caused by the fact that the film was shot in English was the reason he was expelled from the film school.
[edit] Career
Cuarón began working in television in Mexico, first as a technician and then as a director. His television work led to assignments as an assistant director for several Latin American film productions including Gaby: A True Story and Romero, and in 1991, he landed his first big-screen directorial assignment.
[edit] Sólo con tu pareja
Sólo con tu pareja was a sex comedy about a womanizing businessman (played by Daniel Giménez Cacho), who after spurning an attractive nurse, is fooled into believing he's contracted HIV. In addition to writing, producing, and directing, Cuarón co-edited the film with Luis Patlán. It is somewhat unusual for directors to be credited co-editors, although the Coen Brothers and Robert Rodriguez have both directed and edited nearly all of their films. Cuarón continued this close involvement in editing on several of his later films.
The film, which also starred cabaret singer Astrid Hadad and model/actress Claudia Ramírez — with whom Cuarón was linked between 1989 and 1993 — was a big hit in Mexico. After this success, director Sydney Pollack hired Cuarón to direct an episode of Fallen Angels, a series of neo-noir stories produced for the Showtime premium cable network in 1993; other directors who worked on the series included Steven Soderbergh, Jonathan Kaplan, Peter Bogdanovich, and Tom Hanks.
[edit] International success
In 1995, Cuarón released his first feature film produced in the United States, A Little Princess, an adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel. Cuarón's next feature was also a literary adaptation, a modernized version of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro.
Cuarón's next project found him returning to Mexico with a Spanish-speaking cast to film Y tu mamá también, starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. It was a provocative and controversial road comedy about two sexually obsessed teenagers who take an extended road trip with an attractive married woman in her late twenties. The film's open portrayal of sexuality and frequent rude humor, as well as the politically and socially relevant asides, made the film an international hit and a major success with critics. Cuarón shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay with co-writer and brother Carlos Cuarón.
In 2003, Cuarón directed the third film in the successful Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Cuarón faced criticism from some of the more purist Potter fans for his approach to the film. At the time of the movie's release, however, author J. K. Rowling said that it was her personal favorite from the series so far.[1] Critically, the film was also better received than the first two instalments, with some critics remarking that it was the first Potter film to truly capture the essence of the novels. During the middle of the film, Cuarón can be seen making a cameo appearance as a wizard in The Three Broomsticks.
Cuarón's feature, Children of Men, an adaptation of the P. D. James novel starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine, received wide critical acclaim, including three Academy Award nominations. Cuarón himself received two nominations for his work on the film in both Editing (with Alex Rodríguez) and Adapted Screenplay (with several collaborators).
He created the production and distribution company Esperanto Films, which has credits on the films Duck Season and Pan's Labyrinth.
Cuarón also directed the controversial public service announcement "I Am Autism" for Autism Speaks that was sharply criticized by disability rights groups for its negative portrayal of autism.[2]
In 2010, Cuarón began to develop a science fiction film named Gravity, which he is set to direct. He is joined by his old Potter colleague David Heyman, who will produce the film. The film will be released in 2012.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2003: Best Screenplay - Original (Y tu mamá también, nominated)
- 2007: Best Screenplay - Adapted (Children of Men, nominated)
- 2007: Best Editing (Children of Men, nominated)
- 2003: Best Film Not in the English Language (Y tu mamá también, nominated)
- 2003: Best Screenplay - Original (Y tu mamá también, nominated)
- 2004: BAFTA Children's Award - Best Feature Film (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won)
- 2005: Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, nominated)
- 2007: Best Film Not in the English Language (Pan's Labyrinth, won)
- 2011: BAFTA Children's Award - First Light Awards - Kids' Vote for Film of the Decade (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won)
- 2011: Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema (Harry Potter series, joined by J. K. Rowling, David Heyman, David Barron, David Yates and Mike Newell, shared with Harry Potter cast and crew)
- 2003: Best Foreign Film (Y tu mamá también, won)
- 2007: Best Feature (Pan's Labyrinth, nominated)
- 2001: Golden Lion (Y tu mamá también, nominated)
- 2001: Best Screenplay (Y tu mamá también, won)
- 2006: Golden Lion (Children of Men, nominated)
- 2006: Laterna Magica Prize (Children of Men, won)
- 2005: Best Director (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, nominated)
- 2005: Best Director (Children of Men, nominated)
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Assistant director | ||
| 1986 | Les Pyramides Bleues | Yes | ||||
| 1991 | Sólo con tu pareja | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1995 | A Little Princess | Yes | ||||
| 1998 | Great Expectations | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2001 | Y tu mamá también | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Yes | ||||
| Crónicas | Yes | |||||
| The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Yes | |||||
| 2005 | Black Sun | Yes | ||||
| 2006 | Children of Men | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Pan's Labyrinth | Yes | |||||
| 2007 | Year of the Nail | Yes | ||||
| 2008 | Rudo y Cursi | Yes | ||||
| 2010 | Biutiful | Yes | ||||
| 2012 | Gravity | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
[edit] Short films
- Who's He Anyway (1983)
- Vengeance Is Mine (1983) Co-director
- Cuarteto para el fin del tiempo (1983)
- Paris, je t'aime (2006) (segment "Parc Monceau")
- The Shock Doctrine (2007) Co-writer and Producer (a short film directed by his son Jonás Cuarón, different than book with same time)[3]
[edit] Documentary films
- The Possibility of Hope (2007) Short
[edit] TV
- Hora Marcada (1986) (episodes "Ángel Pérez", "El taxi", "Zangamanga", "No estoy jugando", and "A veces regresa")
- Fallen Angels (1993) (episode "Murder, Obliquely")
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alfonso Cuarón |
[edit] External links
- Alfonso Cuarón at the Internet Movie Database
- Alfonso Cuarón: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast, 27 July 2007
| Preceded by Chris Columbus |
Harry Potter film director 2004 |
Succeeded by Mike Newell |
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