Father Geek here. Well, film fans Euro-AICN is serving up a broad view OPINION piece on recent European Directors that have gone Hollywood. And like ANY opinion story there will be things you agree with and things you don't, and you probably won't agree with each other on everything either. I feel their writer took on a tough task here and I side with him some of the time and sometimes I don't, just like Darth Bond and Edgard. Look at this piece as something to get you thinking about these Directors and the issues brought up, and let's see if we can discuss it in talkback in a thoughtful manner. If you do then the boys in Paris would have accomplished their goal to stimulate a healthy, intelligent debate on the subject...
Darth Bond here with a report (more like an essay) by
Ethan on European directors abroad. Ethan is a quite
good EuroAICN helper and really likes to write. His
first special report is quite interesting and worth a
look, if only to surprise yourself with the large
number of Euro-directors in Hollywood. While EuroAICN
does not share some of Ethan's opinions about these
directors and their movies it is, however, a well
documented and well structured read. So go ahead and
indulge yourself, and if you don't like it, there's
always talk-back (you gotta love that freedom of
speech).
EUROPEAN MERCENARIES
Darth Bond here with a report (more like an essay) by
Ethan on European directors abroad. Ethan is a quite
good EuroAICN helper and really likes to write. His
first special report is quite interesting and worth a
look, if only to surprise yourself with the large
number of Euro-directors in Hollywood. While EuroAICN
does not share some of Ethan's opinions about these
directors and their movies it is, however, a well
documented and well structured read. So go ahead and
indulge yourself, and if you don't like it, there's
always talk-back (you gotta love that freedom of
speech).
EUROPEAN MERCENARIES
History of Hollywood is marked by immigrant directors that came from Europe. In the beginning of Hollywood many directors were signed by major studios since moguls wanted to have the best creative forces at their disposal. Many of those directors actually never got an opportunity to make a movie since many of them were signed just to cripple the European competition. Let me remind you that the world's movie forces were in different constellation then. At the time, Germany had UFA studios and that company was on the level of any American major. The cultural colonisation of the world hadn't began then so they had a prolific production, commercial success and strategy. This is why Hollywood felt that UFA and other European studios could be competition. Today it is a whole different ballgame. European cinema is competitive only on the level of invention and `art house` concept. One of the reasons for such state of European cinema is a lack of concept and strategy. Hollywood is winning the battle on the level of big genre extravaganza mainly because of the fact that they have control over the needed software and hardware for such works. Also Hollywood movies are made in English and they can be well received everywhere since English is the language of technology and the new generation. Even today Hollywood imports European directors. In general, Hollywood either needs `art-house` authors `par excellence` or top-notch `shooters`. We should leave here British authors out of the equation since they frequently collaborate with Hollywood studios even in their homeland. Different ethnic styles of filmmaking refresh Hollywood and these styles help the development of cinema culture as a whole.
GERMANS
We all know how much German filmmakers influenced Hollywood and how they reinvented the cinema during the thirties. Today German cinema is in coma. American siege of Germany after the war completely destroyed their culture and the seventh art suffered a lot. Of course there were a couple of authors like Fassbinder, Hans-Jurgen Syberberg and Wim Wenders that made an impact but overall today German cinema rarely comes out with something potent. Even though some of the Hollywood's most prolific `shooters` are Germans. The best of them is Wolfgang Petersen, the director who came to Hollywood with nothing to prove since he had a lot of critical success with `Das Boot`, a gripping submarine drama that ranks high in the genre of submarine cinema, and commercial success with `The NeverEnding Story`. After that he made a bad `racial-tolerance-manifest` `Enemy Mine` and a routine `noir` `Shattered`. After these extremely irrelevant films he rebounded with two `back-to-back` hits-`In the Line of Fire` and `Outbreak`. `In the Line of Fire` was a `clever as hell` intelligent reinvention of Clint Eastwood for the nineties while `Outbreak` took us back to the genre of `disaster movie` while cleverly paving the way for Jan De Bont`s `Twister`. `Air Force One` was an entertaining yarn which wasn`t edgy enough to be memorable. The edginess was taken away from Andrew W.Marlowe`s (The Hollow Man)script e.g. The President was turned into a liberator instead of being a vigilante as Marlowe intended (idea was that President avenges the death of his family).This summer Petersen will be back with `The Perfect Storm` another disaster movie which will be well-made but it will also probably stay within the boundaries of the `true story movie` genre. Petersen is a true example of a European `shooter` that has a mind of his own but also lacks will to risk. If the whole package is good then Petersen will create a memorable picture but if he gets orders from the studio to make it too PC or too PG-13 he is not the one that will stand up for any kind of risky display of creativity. Too bad since this guy really knows how to direct (remember `Das Boot`). Wolfgang Petersen's case is the story of the director that slowly established himself through German-American co-productions and the story of a Hollywood player that made solid but slow progress through Hollywood ranks. But there are other ways to Hollywood establishment.
Roland Emmerich's case is similar to Petersen`s. His progress began with German-American co-productions. The only difference is that he never made a decent movie. His pics like `Joey`,`The Noah`s Ark Principle`and `Moon 44`were simple minded exploitation flicks for desperate people who dig around forgotten parts of video stores. `Universal Soldier` was also a flop considering the fact that it had the Van Damme-Lundgren axis in the lead. As a devoted fan of Dolph Lundgren I must say that this movie destroyed his opportunities to make it as a major action star. Emmerich after that made `Stargate` that was thrashy as hell and it was a bad movie that can`t be watched even by less discriminating fans. Even though this `would-be` fantasy made around 70 million in the States and it propelled Emmerich into the upper echelons of Hollywood hackers. After `Stargate` he made the notorious `ID-4` which presents the ultimate disgrace for American majors. First of all this movie was a quite incompetent cinematic experience. It was also a disgraceful attempt of creating something that resembles `The Big American Patriotic Movie`. This attempt failed because the movie was filled with bad characters and stupid plot. It was a hell of a concept but the lack of creativity and wit turned it into a bomb. `Godzilla` was even worse while `Patriot` sounds like a bizarre experience. It is bizarre since a German is tackling the subject from American history. This Civil-War-Mel Gibson-extravaganza sounds as bizarre as Ang Lee`s account of Civil War in `Ride With the Devil` since both directors were born outside of the U.S. Emmerich`s sidekick is failed-actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Devlin and they form the scariest team in the industry since their movies have `BOMB` but not `FLOP` written all over them. It is also interesting that both Petersen and Emmerich are making the new wave of American patriotic cinema. It is a paradox not just because they are Germans but also because Emmerich`s films are so annoyingly stupid that they are actually anti-American.
Marcus Nispel is an `up-and-coming`German `shooter` who made his name through a rich commercial and video clip opus. His cult clips include works for Rammstein, Cher, George Michael and many others. He was attached to do `End of Days` but the whole idea ended in a disagreement between Nispel and `Beacon Communications` over the final cut. This `Universal` release was later done by Peter Hyams who had a bad idea of movie`s visual identity and made it in a manner of realistic actioner instead of a stylish action fetish film. Nispel would have made a masterpiece since the script (again written by Marlowe) was tailor made for Arnie`s come-back from the dead. It just needed more style and Hyams wasn't ready to provide it. Nispel`s Hollywood debut is further delayed by his anti-SAG campaign but his talents will soon get him under the spotlight.
Tom Tykwer is also a talented director whose movie `Run, Lola Run` was released Stateside by Sony. This one-joke movie refreshed the American season and Tykwer`s Hollywood debut has some notions of inevitability.
DUTCH
Dutch cinema is one of the vital European film cultures. Their recent Oscar triumphs proved this although Oscars lost their authority long time ago. In Hollywood they are represented by two high-profile players. One is `author` Paul Verhoeven and the other is a classy `shooter` Jan De Bont.
Verhoeven is an one of the eminent Hollywood filmmakers and his movies are cinema events that are eagerly anticipated. After a great career in his homeland he moved to Hollywood in order to make a step forward and he succeeded in many ways. His movies like `Robocop`, `Total Recall` and `Basic Instinct` invented some of the crucial genre concepts while developing three of the most potent commercial styles of Hollywood studio filmmaking. His pictures like `Starship Troopers` showed his distinctive ideology that shines through thrashy concepts. Even `Showgirls` was a nice movie on the level of what you get in the final sum while being a `thrashy-and-proud-of-it` mainstream big budget major picture. Like Terry Gilliam, Verhoeven makes a step forward with each of his new movies. He doesn`t fit the Hollywood policy of limiting the audience's expectations-to the contrary, with each of his new movies he breaks the boundaries of the cinema experience. This summer Verhoeven will be back with `The Hollow Man` and it seems that this `invisible-man-slasher-movie` can't fail. I hope that this film will also make big bucks on the box-office because Verhoeven`s renewed bankability and the commercial result of Ridley Scott`s `Gladiator` may revive the long developed `Crusade` project with Schwarzenegger. `Crusade` may as well be Arnie`s testamental pic so it is fundamentally important that Verhoeven is at the helm. Imagine how great `Gladiator` would have been if Verhoeven had made it.
Jan De Bont is a cinematographer-turned-director who came to Hollywood in 1981 and debuted with highly involving `thrashy-coming-of-age-noir` named `Private Lessons` starring Sylvia Kristel, the 1970`s erotic icon of `Emmanuelle` fame. De Bont made his reputation as frequent Verhoeven`s collaborator. He also worked with such great director like John McTiernan. His debut was a masterful `Die Hard` clone named `Speed` which turned the summer of 1994 into a memorable movie season. After that he did a nice disaster pic `Twister` which made no sense but looked great. Sadly, whenever De Bont made a movie after this one there were no writers around. This is how he made such mindless flops like `Speed 2` and `The Haunting`. De Bont`s Hollywood success came slowly and he has been a diligent craftsman for years until he got to work on expensive projects as director of photography and helmer.
Mike Van Diem is an `up-and-coming` Dutch hope. His movie `Karakter` won the Foreign Feature Oscar and got released by Buena Vista. The Oscar was a major boost for his career. Altough `Karakter` is mostly forgotten today it was a well-shot movie and the knowledge Van Diem showed brought him an offer to helm `Spy Game` for `Beacon` starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. Similarly like Nispel he left this `Beacon` production and let`s hope that he`ll get to do another high-profile project that ought to be fuelled by some European creativity.
SLAVS
Slav directors bring a special flavour to movies. That flavour consists on their ability to mix tragedy and humour. If we exclude Milos Forman out of the report since he is a more of an American director now, we can focus on three current Slavic investments of Hollywood studios.
Predrag Antonijevic is a Yugoslav filmmaker who`s been trying to make his Hollywood break for ten years. Before his Hollywood phase began he made a nice opus in the homeland. Finally, he got on board of Oliver Stone-produced `Savior` and made a great movie starring Dennis Quaid. I sincerely suggest you to see this movie. His next projects also include Quaid. The first one is the long delayed `Night of the Iguana`-remake. Antonijevic is the example of the European author who came to Hollywood without any prior recommendations and worked his way through auditions until he finally made it to the helm of the Hollywood movie.
Srdjan Dragojevic is a Yugoslav filmmaker who made three great and highly acclaimed movies back home. I suggest you to see `Pretty Village, Pretty Flame`which is obtainable on VHS and DVD. He has a unique and accomplished visual and storytelling style. Right now he is under a `first-look` deal at `Miramax`. It is rumoured that he turned down an offer to make one instalment in `Miramax`-based `Alien Love Trilogy` which is bound for more delays since Gary Fleder`s story has developed into a feature lenght movie. He is also rumoured to be involved with the remake of `Westworld`, the movie originally made by Michael Crichton. His move to Hollywood is the example of how well-made movies from whatever country influence Hollywood agents and moguls to sign authors.
Milco Mancevski is the macedonian helmer who made a great impact with his debut `Before the Rain` and won all the major European awards and an Oscar nomination. After that he refused a lot of major projects. He began work on `Ravenous` but he left the production in painful disagreement. Too bad since he was replaced by Antonia Bird who spoiled the great script by Ted Griffin (`Best Laid Plans`).Hollywood lost patience on Mancevski who got used to refusing projects so he moved back to Europe and he is right now working on `Dust` a post-modern western. His example is special since we can`t determine if his artistic integrity or bad temper or his own fear that his second film won`t work got him to be expelled from Hollywood.
SCANDINAVIANS
Lasse Hallstrom is the major Swede director operating in Hollywood right now. His movies are pretentious dramas and sagas that tackle subjects like birth control, life of disabled and other Oscar-oriented concepts. He was some kind of a kid wonder filmmaker in his native Sweden but he haven't managed to transfer that vitality to Hollywood. None of his Hollywood pictures were as distinctive as his first acclaimed film `Mitt liv som hund`. It is strange that studios kept giving him opportunities despite the fact that his output wasn't as good as expected. He also had a chance to work with stars like Julia Roberts or Johnny Depp and failed to even make some money at the box-office. This year he got nominated for the third time in the Academy Awards but he again lost the battle to `American Beauty`.
Renny Harlin is the most successful of current Scandinavians in Hollywood. He is the disciple of two important styles of Hollywood filmmaking. First of all, he was discovered by producer genius Joel Silver who has a distinctive ability to recognise a hyper-talented genre director. He is also the disciple of the `Die Hard` school of smart action thrillers. He began in the Finn film industry. His first relevant movie was a Finn-American co-production `Born American` starring the son of Chuck Norris. This movie gained him the opportunity to do as a `shooter` on the fourth `Nightmare on Elm Street `instalment, `Prison` and `The Adventures of Ford Fairlane`. After that Joel Silver and Lawrence Gordon gave him to do `Die Hard 2'. His next movie was `Cliffhanger` the best Stallone vehicle in years. `Cliffhanger` was followed by `Cuttroath Island` which was a flop but also was a nice swashbuckler. `Long Kiss Goodnight` was a great hard-boiled actioner written by Shane Black and I still can`t understand that it failed on the box-office Finally `Deep Blue Sea` was a movie with a bad script that became the ultimate monster movie of the 1999 because of the `Jaws 3-D`-concept that got refreshed by the `Die Hard` idea of action that has a meaning in a movie. The scene when Samuel L.Jackson`s character dies (sorry for the spoiler) is something that creates a whole new pattern of suspense direction and editing. Harlin`s next project is the new Stallone vehicle about Formula One and after that a `Die Hard`-clone with Jackie Chan.
Ole Bornendal is the young director that came to Hollywood after the great success of his Denmark-made thriller. `Miramax` wanted him to remake it for the U.S. market as `Nightwatch` and they even assigned Steven Soderbergh to shepherd him during the production. This case is just another example of Hollywood`s need to import fresh ideas from other film industries. The version you've seen is the cut version. The scenes of Ewan McGregor and Patricia Arquette having sex, one attempt at blasphemy and the explanation of the ending have been deleted. I know this since I've seen the bootleg version of the movie on the video prior to the release. `Nightwatch` wasn't actually the best entry in the genre of `serial killer` movies but it had certain fresh ideas. Ole Bornendal`s Hollywood story is not the easy one. His Danish idea was imported, remade and cut, it failed to click with the audience so we may say that his Hollywood career hasn`t gone well so far. He is preparing a new film in an international co-production and let`s hope that this time he`ll have the creative control and enough ideas to make it work.
ROMANS
Luc Besson`s Hollywood career was inevitable since his movies have grown bigger than average European productions. His style was so accomplished that it was time for all the world to see his work. After such masterpieces as `The Big Blue`, `Le femme Nikita` he moved to Hollywood and made the great movie `Leon`. Sadly after this string of success he made `Fifth Element` which was a typical overkill eve though it featured Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman. In his homeland he wrote and produced `Taxi`-series of `car chase` flicks that managed to be worse and more disgusting than most of the movies ever made. To prove that he haven`t lost any idea of filmmaking he made `Joan of Arc`, a stylish and overall powerful epic about the French national icon. Even this movie had some flaws of it`s own. For example, Besson never seems to make his own point. Instead he gives us all the aspects of Joan`s personality and we end up confused. Besson is the example of the European director whose reputation granted him an opportunity to do whatever he wants. He is also the example of the author that lost his discipline with so much freedom and assets.
Alejandro Amenabar is the young Chilean author who made his crucial movies in Spain. His movie `Open Your Eyes` which is obtainable in the US is the cult classic already and I suggest it as a `must-see` feature (don`t hesitate because of the bad mark this movie got in Maltin`s guide-Maltin is wrong).Tom Cruise loved the movie so he brought Amenabar to States and he is right now preparing a vehicle for Nicole Kidman named `The Others` at `Miramax`. Cruise is a man who knows how to pick prospective collaborators and Amenabar is obviously one of those authors that Cruise wants to have by his side. There were also rumours that Cruise would like to make a remake of `Open Your Eyes` as a vehicle for himself.
Carlo Carlei is a prolific Italian director that made one great movie in Italy named `Flight of the Innocents`and one great movie in Hollywood named `Fluke`. There were no news about his work in Hollywood since 1995 but let`s hope studios still count on him.
As always there are always directors that are missed or skipped in this report. This is just an opinion about the fate and works of the colony of filmmakers that came to Industry from non-English cultures.
Ethan
Edgard here for a quick conclusion... as my pal Darth Bond said before, this text does not intend to give the definitive view on these directors, so please Talk-Backers don't start getting angry because Ethan forgot some directors here or because he hates Emmerich (but who doesn't ?)... again this is just an opportunity to launch a peaceful debate, exchange ideas and discuss our tastes. As I can't personally comment on all this, here's quickly my 2 cents on this text : like Ethan I think it's a paradox that ID-4, one of the most American patriotic movie of these last years, was directed by a German director; I also think Verhoeven is one of the rare European directors working in the States who did not lose his soul... If I wanted to add a few names to this list it would be Jeunet (who started a beautiful ALIEN but... that ending... how could he ???), Alain Berliner (acclaimed Belgian director of 'Ma Vie en Rose' who just made that awful new Demi Moore movie), and JJ Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet was too superficial)...
So the question now is : what do YOU think, dear AICN readers, about these European directors working in Hollywood ??
