Jan de Bont
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Jan de Bont (Template:IPA; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch former cinematographer, film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the action films Speed (1994) and Twister (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbusters and genre films, including Roar (1981), Cujo (1983), Flesh and Blood (1985), Die Hard (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and Basic Instinct (1992).
Early life and career
De Bont was born to a Roman Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands, one of 17 children. His earliest works were made while studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy with Dutch avant-garde director Adriaan Ditvoorst.<ref name="nytimes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He first became known in the Netherlands as the cinematographer for the infamous 1971 film Blue Movie, followed by the 1973 film Turkish Delight (1973), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. Followed by Max Havelaar Since the early 1980s, he has worked frequently in Hollywood, often collaborating with directors including Verhoeven and John McTiernan.Template:Citation needed
While serving as cinematographer for the 1981 film Roar, de Bont experienced one of many on-set injuries during filming, when a lion lifted his scalp, requiring 220 stitches.<ref name="bmd">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After Roar, de Bont shot the 1983 horror film Cujo, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name.
In 1988, he was director of photography on the critically acclaimed action film Die Hard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following year, de Bont shot the Ridley Scott-directed action thriller Black Rain.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Directing
De Bont made his directorial debut with the action thriller Speed in 1994, which was a sleeper hit. He followed this up with the even more successful Twister in 1996. His output since has had mixed commercial and critical success. In 1997, he returned to direct SpeedTemplate:'s sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control, which achieved the opposite of its predecessor, faring much worse both critically and commercially. In 1999, he oversaw the commercially successful remake of The Haunting, which received generally negative reviews from critics at the time. His most recent directorial outing was the 2003 action adventure film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, based on the video game series of the same name, and starring Angelina Jolie as the eponymous Lara Croft.
Unrealised projects
De Bont began pre-production on an American Godzilla film for a summer 1996 release, but quit at the end of 1994 when Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures's parent company) refused to approve his budget request. He was eventually replaced by Roland Emmerich, who rewrote the script in addition to directing. While critically panned, Emmerich's Godzilla was moderately successful at the box-office.<ref name=Variety>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
At one point, de Bont mooted an asteroid/space shuttle disaster film project called Galileo's Wake as a possible follow-up to Speed 2: Cruise Control.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1997, de Bont was originally attached to direct the film Minority Report, which Steven Spielberg would end up directing instead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also that year, de Bont was attached to direct Supertanker at Centropolis Entertainment. Bill Pullman and Samuel L. Jackson were set to star to the film.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In May that same year it was reported the 20th Century Fox thriller film Zero Hour would be his next film;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> though he would drop out by the end of the year.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In February 1998, Fox optioned the rights to Gregory Benford's sci-fi novel Cosm for de Bont's Blue Tulip Productions to produce as a feature film, with Robert Collins attached as script writer.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March he was developing to produce and direct the action film Pathfinder for Paramount Pictures.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> By September, he was confirmed to additionally direct Cosm. Other projects touted as potential directing vehicles for de Bont that year included the Tazio Nuvolari biopic Nuvolari, the time travel thriller Old City, and the thriller Hindenberg.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1999 it was announced that he would direct The Adaptive Ultimate for Fox, with Nicole Kidman attached to star but her schedule was too busy to commit at the time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In January 2000, it was reported that de Bont would take on Dust as his next film, which would have been based upon the novel of the same name by Charles Pellegrino. De Bont planned to develop the script with his production partner Lucas Foster under his company label, Blue Tulip, based on an adaptation already written by Ted Humphrey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Peter Dowling, Patrick Massett and John Zinman also worked on the script.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In June 2000, de Bont was considering directing either Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat, Food, LAX, or The 28th Amendment as his next film.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> None of the projects were produced, though the latter was reportedly further developed with Artists Production Group for Warner Bros.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
More recently, de Bont was attached as the director of an early version of The Meg,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Dracula sequel The Undead,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> the John Cusack action thriller vehicle Stopping Power,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Point Break sequel Indo,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the live action Mulan, which would have starred Zhang Ziyi,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> as well as a proposed remake of the Johnny Cash film Five Minutes to Live written by Raul Inglis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
De Bont's passion project, a film titled Riders in the Sky, about Indian tribes in the Midwest has been stuck in development hell for many years. "It was a beautiful story, very imaginative," said de Bont. The project went as far as locations having already been scouted and the sets designed, before being cancelled.<ref name=Variety/>
Personal life
He was married to Dutch actress Monique van de Ven from 1973 to 1988. Monique starred in the 1973 film Turkish Delight, for which de Bont did the cinematography. De Bont has two children from his second marriage with Trish Reeves.<ref name="nytimes"/> He is an avid collector of photographic prints from noted photographers, having hundreds of them in his house.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Speed | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 1996 | Twister | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 1997 | Speed 2: Cruise Control | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Also story writer |
| 1998 | SLC Punk! | Template:No | Template:Yes | |
| 1999 | The Haunting | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | |
| 2002 | Equilibrium | Template:No | Template:Yes | |
| Minority Report | Template:No | Template:Yes | ||
| 2003 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| Thoughtcrimes | Template:No | Template:Yes | Television film | |
| 2012 | The Paperboy | Template:No | Template:Yes |
As cinematographer
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Saturn Awards | Best Director | Speed | Template:Nom |
| 1997 | Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Sense of Direction (Stop them before they direct again!) | Speed 2: Cruise Control | Template:Nom |
| 1999 | The Haunting | Template:Nom | ||
| 1998 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Speed 2: Cruise Control | Template:Nom |
| Worst Director | Template:Nom | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Template:Nom | |||
| 2000 | Worst Director | The Haunting | Template:Nom |
References
External links
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Template:Jan de Bont Template:MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence