One of the great things about cinema is that there is constantly an inflow of great new talents. These three directors are on the brink of becoming well known filmmakers in the States.
Filmography to Date:
Winding Refn, a Danish filmmaker, started his career in 1993 when he came to America to study film at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his first film in Denmark – the 1996 crime thriller Pusher. It is considered one of the greatest director debut films in cinema history. He made another film in Denmark, Bleeder, before making his first English language film (filmed in the U.K., Canada and Denmark) Fear X. Neither film was as well received as his first, so Winding Refn decided to return to the world of Pusher to make two sequels (With Blood on My Hands and I’m the Angel of Death) to complete the trilogy. His films in Denmark are also highlighted by his collaboration with Danish star Mads Mikkelsen (who appears in four of his films). He next took two films solely in the U.K. First, the TV movie Miss Marple: Nemesis and then the crime biography Bronson. Bronson served as Winding Refn’s breakthrough film for English-speaking audiences, also leading to many discovering the Pusher Trilogy. The film’s star Tom Hardy also was praised by critics leading to a breakthrough in his career. Winding Refn then returned to Denmark to make the very atmospheric Viking epic with Mads Mikkelsen Valhalla Rising, which is probably his most artistically interesting but inaccessible film to date.
September Film:
Drive marks Winding Refn’s (who is considered to be a Danish auteur) debut in Hollywood (and to a degree in America). He has a great cast with Ryan Gosling starring and supporting work from Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks (among others), and critical acclaim coming out of the Cannes Film Festival winning Best Director and being nominated for Best Film. Critics in general love the movie, many calling it the best film of the year (so far). I am most interested in seeing how the material, the film being an action crime thriller, meshes with Winding Refn’s style of late (specifically the great, and awful at the same time, tone and style of Valhalla Rising). Though, if the Pusher Trilogy is any indication, he can handle the crime genre very well. If the film is received as well by moviegoers as it has been by critics (and the box office is there), Winding Refn could be the next hot director in Hollywood. Here is a trailer for Drive.
Upcoming:
Up next in 2012, Winding Refn is again working with Ryan Gosling in the crime drama Only God Forgives. It is about a Bangkok police lieutenant and a gangster who settle their differences in a Thai-boxing match. It also stars Kristin Scott Thomas.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s Picks
Filmography to Date:
Miller, a New York City filmmaker, started his career directing commercials and music videos before making the very good and deeply personal to New York City documentary The Cruise in 1998. It is about Tim “Speed” Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan’s Gray Line double-decker buses. There is such a love for the city in the film. Continuing to make commercials and music videos, Miller did not return to film until deciding to tackle the biography of Truman Capote, specifically focusing on his writing of the novel In Cold Blood about the murder of a Kansas family and the two men who committed it. The film, Capote, is excellent (and I cannot think of too many better dramatic feature debuts). It was nominated for Best Director, Film, Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and won Best Actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman at the 2006 Oscars. It is a haunting character piece, and Miller made a case of himself as an auteur with only one feature under his belt.
September Film:
Taking his time to make his follow-up to Capote, Miller finally has a new film – this month’s Moneyball. As a huge fan of baseball films (I think baseball translates to film the best of all sports), I was excited about this before knowing anything about who was involved. Now, knowing who is making the film, I think it is likely to be on many 10 Best Lists. Along with Miller directing, it features work from writers Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin, cinematographer from Wally Pfister and production design from Jess Goncher, all excellent talents. Plus, it has a great cast with Brad Pitt starring and supporting work from Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman (working again with Miller) and Chris Pratt. It is about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who revolutionized the game with the use of sabermetrics to build a good team on a tight budget. Here is the trailer. This is another film, like Drive, that has critics enamored as it plays at Fall Festivals ahead of its release, further strengthening Miller’s stock as a wonderful filmmaker.
Upcoming:
As of now, he has no new projects announced, but with the likely success of Moneyball it is only a matter of time and finding the right film.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s Picks
Filmography to Date:
Levine, another NYC filmmaker, attended Brown University before doing his masters at the American Film Institute. He also worked as director Paul Schrader’s (if nothing else, see Schrader’s film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters) assistant before focusing on his own filmmaking – beginning with two shorts the drama Shards and the documentary Love Bytes. Next he made the popular horror B-movie All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which also sprouted rising star Amber Heard’s career. In 2008, Levine had his breakthrough (outside the schlock fan base that loves All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) with the comedy drama The Wackness, which he also wrote. It won the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, catapulting Levine into the league of hot indie directors. However, Levine took his time to pick his next project, directing an episode of How to Make It in America during the break from film.
September Film:
Levine has finally found a project that seems to be right in his wheelhouse, the comedy drama 50/50 about a 27-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer and is given a fifty percent chance of survival (it is somewhat based on writer Will Reiser’s own experiences). Here is the trailer. It has a fantastic young cast with Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring and supporting work from Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard. Even though it deals with a tough subject, the film looks hysterically funny, and it will be good to see Anna Kendrick in a real dramatic role again after she was so good in Up in the Air. Like the other two directors, Levine could see his services become in high demand if this film does as well, critically and commercially, as it is expected to do.
Upcoming:
Levine has is next project slated for 2012 with Summit Entertainment. It is a horror romance drama about a zombie who becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims (yes, it sounds ridiculous, can you say My Boyfriend’s Back, but also kind of potentially awesome). It is called Warm Bodies and stars Nicholas Hoult (who is brilliant in Skins generation 1, and ready to breakout in America after co-starring in X-Men: First Class), Teresa Palmer (also a rising star), Analeigh Tipton (who was fantastic in Crazy, Stupid, Love.), and Rob Corddry.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s Picks
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