Andrew Dominik (born 1967) is a New Zealand-born Australian film director and screenwriter.
[>>]Source: WikipediaAndrew Dominik (born 1967) is a New Zealand-born Australian film director and screenwriter.
He has directed two films so far: Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, both dark character studies of famous real-life individuals. His next film, Blonde, will follow up with this tradition of examining fame and the price that comes with it, bringing insight to the tragic misrepresentation and even romanticization of celebrity figures.
Early life and career
Dominik has lived in Australia since he was 2 years old and graduated from Melbourne's Swinburne Film School in 1988.
Chopper (2000)
His career in films began in 2000 when he directed Chopper based on notorious Australian criminal Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, starring Eric Bana and Simon Lyndon. Chopper received generally positive reviews, and Bana in particular was widely praised for his intense portrayal of Chopper. The Australian Film Institute awarded the film with Best Director (Dominik), Best Actor (Bana), and Best Supporting Actor (Lyndon).
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
His next film was The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, based on the novel of the same name which he came across in an Australian bookstore. The film explores the peculiar relationship between Jesse James and his would-be assassin Robert Ford. Pitt was a big fan of Dominik's first feature Chopper, and had hoped to collaborate with the filmmaker in the future, especially when Pitt had the chance to work with Chopper star Eric Bana in Troy. Pitt contacted the director, and with a big star interested to lead his new film, Dominik was therefore able to get Warner Bros. to finance the production.
Principle shooting in Canada was completed in 2005, though The Assassination's 2006 release was delayed to a fall 2007 release, largely due to studio interference with the film's editing process. Dominik and Pitt were pulling for a less quick-paced and more contemplative cut of the film while the studio wanted "less contemplation and more action." There were reportedly more than a dozen edited versions of the film at one time fighting to be the final cut, the longest version being over four hours. The disputes during post-production lasted for over a year before a final version was settled upon. Over an hour of scenes were deleted for the theatrical version, but Dominik remarked he was still very proud of the film the way it is now. Trailers and teasers for the film with a shoot-em-up commercial appeal intended for the 2006 release can still be viewed in various video-hosting sites over the web. The film garnered two Academy Award nominations: Best Cinematography (Deakins) and Best Supporting Actor (Affleck).
Previously attached projects
In 2003, Paramount Pictures approached Dominik and offered him to direct an adaptation of Alfred Bester's 1953 novel The Demolished Man, but as time passed, the project eventually became stuck in development hell when there were disagreements with the screenplay.
Dominik had also written an adapted screenplay for The Killer Inside Me, an acclaimed noir novel by Jim Thompson, and was at one point considered to direct it, but dropped out. Michael Winterbottom eventually directed the film.
[<<]This text is based on a article from the open encyclopedia Wikipedia and stands under GNU license for free documentation. On Wikipedia there is List of the authors Available.
