Marc Forster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marc Forster | |
 Forster in November 2008 |
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| Born | January 27, 1969 Illertissen, Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, West Germany |
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| Occupation | film director & screenwriter |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
Marc Forster (born January 27, 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter, known for films such as Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, and Quantum of Solace.
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[edit] Life and career
Marc Forster was born in Au (today Illertissen), in the Neu-Ulm district of Bavaria, as the son of a German doctor and a Swiss architect and grew up in Davos, a winter resort in eastern Switzerland. When still very young, his family moved to Switzerland after learning they were blacklisted by the Baader-Meinhoff group, the predecessor to the German terrorist organisation Red Army Faction (RAF).[1] The first film he saw in a cinema was Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola, when he was 12. He was so excited about it, that from that time on he didn't hesitate when asked about his dream job: "Director".
In 1990, when he was 20 years old, Forster moved to New York, in the United States. For the next three years, he attended New York University's film school, making several documentary films. In 1995, he moved to Hollywood and shot an experimental low budget film ($10,000) called Loungers, which won the Slamdance Audience Award. Forster's first motion picture was the psychological drama Everything Put Together, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
His breakthrough film was Monster's Ball (2001), in which he directed Halle Berry in her Academy Award-winning performance as the wife of a man on death row. His next film, Finding Neverland (2004), was based on the life of author J.M. Barrie. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Forster received BAFTA, Directors Guild of America, and Golden Globe nominations for his direction.
The thriller Stay (2005) starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts was poorly received by critics. [2] The film grossed a scant $4 million (USD) in the United States. [3] Stranger than Fiction (2006), a surreal romantic comedy starring Will Ferrell, was a modest success at the box office, earning $54 million worldwide off a $30 million budget. [4]
Forster then directed an adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, scripted by repeat collaborator David Benioff and starring British newcomer Khalid Abdalla. The film follows an Afghani-American man who returns to his war-ravaged country to save the son of his former best friend. The Kite Runner was released on December 14, 2007.
In a complete turnaround in his usual field of films, Forster directed the twenty-second James Bond film, Quantum of Solace beginning on January 2, 2008. The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2008. [5][6]
Forster will next direct the film adaptation of Max Brooks' epic zombie novel World War Z.
[edit] Humanitarian efforts
Marc Forster was, together with Renée Zellweger, part of the 2005 HIV prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department. He's shown smiling and making the V sign with his hand and the text "Don't get semen or blood in your mouth" and "Penetrate only with condoms". [1]
[edit] Selected filmography
| Year | Title | No. of Oscar nominations | No. of Oscar wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Loungers | ||
| 2000 | Everything Put Together | ||
| 2001 | Monster's Ball | 2 | 1 |
| 2004 | Finding Neverland | 7 | 1 |
| 2005 | Stay | ||
| 2006 | Stranger Than Fiction | ||
| 2007 | The Kite Runner | 1 | |
| 2008 | Quantum of Solace |
[edit] References
- ^ a conversation with 21 directors
- ^ Collected reviews at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Box office data at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Box office data at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Forster back in action with 'Bond 22'". The Hollywood Reporter. 2007-06-19. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iccebdd9e18efe05191dda128a6adfd13. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ "New Bond film title is confirmed". BBC News Online. 2008-01-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7206997.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
[edit] External links
- Marc Forster at the Internet Movie Database
- Marc Forster - Von Davos nach Hollywood at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Martin Campbell 2006 |
James Bond film director 2008 |
Succeeded by undecided 2010 |
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