Louis Leterrier

Louis Leterrier
Leterrier in Paris, July 22, 2008
Born	June 17, 1973 (1973-06-17) Paris, France
Occupation	Film director

Louis Leterrier (born June 17, 1973) is a French film director whose notable films include the first two Transporter movies, Unleashed (2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Clash of the Titans (2010).

Life and career

Leterrier was born in Paris, the son of director François Leterrier. He was guided artistically by his mother. Leterrier was at first a drummer for a music group before experimenting with short films. At the age of 18, after some training in advertising and publicity, he left France to study cinema at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

In 1997, he assisted Jean-Pierre Jeunet on the set of Alien Resurrection. On returning to France, he worked with Luc Besson on the production of commercials for Internet Club and L'Oréal as well as on the film Joan of Arc. He also collaborated, as the second assistant director, with Alain Chabat on the production of Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002).

Later in 2002, Louis Leterrier directed The Transporter, an action movie starring Jason Statham. Although the US release lists him as artistic director and Corey Yuen as director, the opening credits of the European release grant him directorial credit and list Yuen as action director. Leterrier later entered the so-called "Besson stable" - a group of directors working on films produced by or associated with Luc Besson - alongside Chris Nahon and Pierre Morel. He directed Jet Li in Unleashed, his solo debut feature, a full-length martial arts film (2004). Luc Besson then entrusted him with directorial control of Transporter 2, set this time in Miami.

In 2008, as part of the current wave of the French directors employed in Hollywood, he directed his first big-budget American film, The Incredible Hulk. His most recent project is a remake of the 1981 Clash of the Titans, from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, and produced by Warner Bros. It was released on April 2, 2010. Leterrier mentioned that he would like to create a Clash of the Titans franchise should the latest film prove to be successful. However, in June 2010, Jonathan Liebesman was named as director of the sequel, leaving Leterrier's involvement in future films in doubt.

Filmography as director

• The Transporter (2002)
• Unleashed (2005)
• Transporter 2 (2005)
• The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Clash of the Titans (2010)

External links

• Louis Leterrier at the Internet Movie Database