Alex Proyas

Alexander Proyas (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker. He is known for directing the films The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), I, Robot (2004) and Knowing (2009).

Early life

Alexander Proyas was born in Alexandria (then in the United Arab Republic and now in Egypt) on 23 September 1963, the son of a Greek Cypriot mother and a father from Egypt whose Greek ancestors had moved to Egypt many generations ago.<ref name="looking">Template:Cite web</ref>

When he was three years old, the family moved to Australia, where he grew up in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo.<ref name="KL">Template:Cite book</ref> He grew up on a housing estate where the main tenants were fellow immigrants and Indigenous Australians, with whom he felt a kinship because they were all often subjected to racism by white Australians.<ref name="looking" />

At age 17, he joined the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and began directing music videos shortly after.<ref name="KL" />

He later moved to Los Angeles to further his career, working on MTV music videos and TV commercials.<ref name="KL" /><ref name="ic">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds, which was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and which won a Special Prize at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Next, Proyas directed the 1994 superhero fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee. Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film on 31 March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script and using a stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Crow was released in May 1994 and was a box office and critical success.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Proyas then wrote, directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller Dark City, which received positive critical reception and won several awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but was a commercial disappointment. In 2004, he directed I, Robot starring Will Smith, a science fiction film suggested by<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Isaac Asimov short story compilation I, Robot and was a box office success despite mixed reviews.

Proyas' next film, the thriller Knowing starring Nicolas Cage, began production in Melbourne in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Proyas directed Gods of Egypt, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and co-written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film was critically panned upon its release in 2016<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and bombed at the box office.

In 2019, Proyas founded a production company in Sydney called The Heretic Foundation.

In 2021, Proyas announced that he was developing a new video platform named VidiVerse for independent filmmakers as an alternative to YouTube.<ref name="ic"/>

In 2024, Proyas began filming R.U.R. a musical adaptation of the play of the same name by Karel Čapek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Proyas has long been married to artist Catherine "Cathy" Linsley, who worked in the art department for his first feature film Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds. She has also worked in various capacities on short films and animations produced or written by Proyas. She was thanked in the credits of his film Knowing.<ref>Cathy Linsley: Thanks (1 credit) 2009 Knowing (the producers wish to thank from IMDb Accessed 30 April 2019</ref>

Filmography

Feature film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
1989	Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
1994	The Crow	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1998	Dark City	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2002	Garage Days	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2004	I, Robot	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2009	Knowing	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2016	Gods of Egypt	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
TBA	R.U.R.	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
1980	Neon	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-directed with Salik Silverstein
	Groping	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-directed with Salik Silverstein; also cinematographer
1981	Strange Residues	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also editor
1987	Spineless	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also actor
1994	Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Also cinematographer
1995	Book of Dreams: Dream 7 – Ruben's Dream	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2019	Phobos	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
2021	Mask of the Evil Apparition	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Set in the Dark City cinematic universe

Music video

Year	Title	Artist
1980	"Ricky's Hand"	Fad Gadget
1983	"Flicker"	Fetus Productions
1985	"In Your Eyes"	Dropbears
1986	"Kiss the Dirt"	INXS
	"Don't Dream It's Over"	Crowded House
1987	"Holiday"	The Other Ones
	"Rhythm of Love"	Yes
1988	"Better Be Home Soon"	Crowded House
	"Magic Touch"	Mike Oldfield
1989	"Bring Down the Moon"	Boy Meets Girl
	"Nineteen Forever"	Joe Jackson
	"Mysteries of Love"	Alphaville
1994	"When We Dance"	Sting

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1987	ARIA Music Awards	Best Video	"Don't Dream It's Over"	Template:Won	<ref name="Video">ARIA Award previous winners. Template:Cite web</ref>
			"Kiss the Dirt"	Template:Nom
1994	Cannes Film Festival	Short Film Palme d'Or	Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland	Template:Nom
	Saturn Awards	Best Director	The Crow	Template:Nom
1998	Imagine Film Festival	Silver Scream Award	Dark City	Template:Won
	Bram Stoker Award	Best Screenplay		Template:Won
	Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival	Pegasus Audience Award		Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Saturn Awards	Best Science Fiction Film		Template:Won
		Best Director		Template:Nom
		Best Writing		Template:Nom
2016	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Picture	Gods of Egypt	Template:Nom
		Worst Director		Template:Nom

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Facebook
• Alex Proyas at Letterboxd https://boxd.it/130d
• Alex Proyas Discusses Dark City Sequel at AMCtv.com