Timur Bekmambetov

Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Bekmambetov (December 2009)
Born	Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov June 25, 1961 (1961-06-25) Atyrau, Kazakhstan, Soviet Union
Occupation	film director, film producer, screenwriter

Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (Kazakh: Темір Нұрыахытұлы Бекмәмбет, Temir Nurıaxıtulı Bekmambet; Russian: Тимур Нуруахитович Бекмамбетов, Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov; born 25 June 1961) is a Kazakhstan-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch (2004) and its sequel Day Watch (2006), and the American film Wanted (2008).

Early life

Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the city of Atyrau, Kazakhstan. At the age of 19, he moved to Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, to study at the A. N. Ostrovsky Theatrical and Artistic Institute with a degree in theater and cinema set designing, which he graduated from in 1987.

Film and television career

Between 1992 and 1997, Bekmambetov was one of the directors of Bank Imperial's popular World History commercials. In 1994 he founded Bazelevs Group, an advertising and film production, distribution and marketing company.

Bekmambetov's first feature, Peshavar Waltz (1994) aka Escape from Afghanistan (English title) was a violent and realistic look at the war between Russia and Afghanistan. The film was dubbed in English and released direct-to-video by Roger Corman in 2002. Bekmambetov next produced and directed an eight-part miniseries for television entitled Our '90s. Bekmambetov then returned to directing features, with the Roger Corman-produced The Arena (2001), which starred Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan. The film was a remake of the 1974 film of the same name. In 2002, Bekmambetov directed and co-produced (with Bahyt Kilibayev) the film GAZ--Russian Cars.

In 2004, Bekmambetov wrote and directed Night Watch (2004), a popular Russian fantasy film based on the book by Sergey Lukyanenko. The film was extremely successful in Russia, and at the time became its highest-grossing release ever, making US$16.7 million in Russia alone, more money than The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch (2006), was likewise written and directed by Bekmambetov. The two films attracted the attention of Fox Searchlight Pictures, which paid $4 million to acquire worldwide distribution rights (excluding Russia and the Baltic states).

Bekmambetov followed up Day Watch with the smash hit The Irony of Fate 2 (2007). This sequel to the famous Soviet film The Irony of Fate (1971) is one of the most successful in Russian history, second only to Avatar for total box office receipts.

Bekmambetov's Hollywood directorial debut, Wanted (2008), an action blockbuster about a secret society of assassins, was based on a comic-book miniseries of the same name created by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones.

Bekmambetov has also produced a number of films in the US and Russia. 9 (2009), the story of a rag doll in a post-apocalyptic world, was directed by Shane Acker and produced by Bekmambetov, Tim Burton and Jim Lemley. Bekmambetov also produced the Russian language action movie Black Lightning (2009) with Universal Pictures.

In 2010, Bekmambetov produced and was one of the directors of Yolki a.k.a. "The Six Degrees to Celebration" (English title) which became the second highest grossing Russian movie in Russian box office history. In February 2011 Bazelevs will release the Bekmambetov-produced Vykrutasy (a.k.a. "Lucky Trouble" (English title) starring Milla Jovovich and Konstantin Khabensky.

In 2011, Bekmambetov produced Apollo 18, along with The Weinstein Company, a found footage science fiction thriller, and The Darkest Hour, a science fiction film set in Moscow and produced by New Regency.

Bekmambetov is currently directing and producing the live action adaption of the Seth Grahame-Smith novel Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, also produced by Tim Burton and Jim Lemley.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as
		Director	Producer	Screenwriter
1994	Peshavar Waltz	Yes		Yes
2001	The Arena	Yes
2004	Night Watch	Yes		Yes
2006	Day Watch	Yes		Yes
2007	The Irony of Fate 2	Yes	Yes
2008	Wanted	Yes
2009	9		Yes
2009	Black Lightning		Yes
2010	Six Degrees of Celebration	Yes	Yes
2011	Lucky Trouble		Yes
2011	Apollo 18		Yes
2011	The Darkest Hour		Yes
2011	Kikoriki the Movie		Yes
2012	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter	Yes	Yes

External links

• Timur Bekmambetov at the Internet Movie Database