Chris Weitz Biography
Summary
"Christopher John Weitz" (born November 30th 1969, New York City, New York), is an Academy Award nominated producer, writer and director. He is best known for his work with his brother, Paul Weitz, on the comedy films "American Pie" and "About a Boy", as well as directing the film adaptation of the novel "The Golden Compass". Also, he is directing the film adaptation of "New Moon" from the series of "Twilight" books.
Personal
Weitz was born in New York, New York on November 30th,1969 the son of actress Susan Kohner and novelist/fashion designer John Weitz. His brother is Paul Weitz. Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar are his grandparents. His grandmother, Lupita, starred in "Santa", Mexico's first talkie in 1932. He is married to Mercedes Martinez with whom he has one son, Sebastian.
He graduated with an English degree from Trinity College in Cambridge.
Career
Early career
Weitz began his film career as a co-writer on the 1998 animated film "Antz". He followed this with work on various sitcoms such as Off Centre and the 1998 revival of "Fantasy Island". In 1999, he and Paul directed and produced "American Pie", which became a major box office success. Chris would return as executive producer on the film's two theatrical sequels. In 2001 he directed his second film, the Chris Rock comedy "Down To Earth". The following year the brothers co-wrote and directed "About a Boy", which earned them an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
"The Golden Compass"
In 2003, Weitz was hired to direct New Line Cinema's adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series, "The Golden Compass", after approaching the studio with an unsolicited 40-page treatment. He was subsequently invited by director Peter Jackson to visit the set of "King Kong", in order to gain insight into directing a big-budget film and advice on how to deal with New Line. In 2005, Weitz announced his departure from the film, citing the enormous technical challenges involved, and the fear of being denounced by both the book's fans and detractors; he was subsequently replaced by British director Anand Tucker. Ironically, Tucker left the project in 2006 over creative differences with New Line, and Weitz returned to the director's chair after receiving a letter from Pullman asking him to reconsider.
The film was released in 2007 and was met with mixed reviews. Its U.S. grosses have been described as disappointing in relation to film's $180 million USD budget, although it was a 'stellar performer' outside the U.S. with a 'stunning' box office likely to hit $250 million. When questioned about a possible sequel, New Line studio co-head Michael Lynne said that 'The jury is still very much out on the movie...'
Other Projects
Weitz has produced a number of films including "In Good Company" and "American Dreamz", both of which were directed by his brother, Paul. His current projects include a live action adaptation Michael Moorcock's Elric saga, which he enjoyed as a child. Weitz's Depth of Field production company will create the films as a potential trilogy for Universal Pictures. In a May, 2007 interview with "Empire" magazine he announced that he had met with Moorcock, who trusted him with the films, and described his wish for Paul to direct the film.
Weitz has also occasionally worked as an actor, playing the lead role in the 2000 comedy film "Chuck & Buck" and a bland suburbanite in "Mr. & Mrs. Smith".
On December 13, 2008, he was confirmed as directing the sequel to "Twilight", the film adaptation of the novel "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer.
External links
(His Dark Materials Interview)
(Times story on His Dark Materials film 'controversy')
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Chris Weitz.
