Robert Zemeckis: Offbeat Writer and Director
Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Back To The Future, Forrest Gump, A Christmas Carol, Romancing The Stone, Beowulf, Polar Express, Contact, Visual Effects, Writers, Directors, Oscar Award, AFI, bewulf, who framed roger the rabbit, cast away, the polar e,
Robert Zemeckis Profile
His films have increasingly emphasized the use of special effects in order to bring his stories to life. Welcome to watchmojo.com and today we will be exploring the career of writer and director Robert Zemeckis.
Born to a working class family in 1952, the Chicago native developed an early fascination with the Television screen. As a result, he spent his childhood toying away with his parents’ 8mm movie camera, a hobby that would later inspire him to abandon his blue-collar upbringing, despite the wishes of his parents.
Zemeckis went on to study at Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts where one of his student films caught the eye of Steven Spielberg, who decided to take him under his wing, and help him land a deal writing the screenplay for “1941”, a movie which Spielberg himself directed in 1979.
Zemeckis made his directorial debut in 1978 with the film, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, which he followed with 1980’s “Used Cars”. Both features were co-written with his partner Bob Gale, and despite a warm critical reception, they suffered humiliating box office defeats. As a result, Zemeckis had difficulty finding work throughout the early 80s, and the duo couldn’t find a studio to pick up their offbeat script about a boy who travels back in time to the 1950s, which would later become the mega hit “Back to the Future”.
After a long period of difficulty finding work, Zemeckis was hired by Michael Douglas to pen the romantic adventure “Romancing the Stone”. A lackluster first impression of the film by studio executives caused them to predict it would flop. This resulted in Zemeckis being stripped of his directorial role for the upcoming film “Cocoon”.
Miraculously, “Romancing the Stone” turned into a sleeper hit. It’s success inspired the studio to finance his “Back To The Future” screenplay. The film went on to have a large cultural impact and was instantly successful at the box office. “Back To The Future” received several nominations and awards, including a Saturn for best science fiction film. To this day it is hailed by AFI as the 10th best Sci-Fi Movie of all time.
Universal Studios immediately urged Zemeckis to begin pre-production on two sequels which he would direct and co-write, after he finished tackling the visually complex 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, which combed live action actors with animation.
Following an urge to continue producing wacky, yet visually stunning films, Zemeckis directed the dark comedy “Death Becomes Her”, which starred Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. The film was a visual complex project and his first to include more dramatic elements. However, he would only dabble in serious horror with 2000’s “What Lies Beneath”.
Zemeckis had his most high profile success in 1994 when he unleashed the worldwide phenomenon “Forest Gump”, an offbeat tale of a dim man who unwittingly played a role in many of the mid 20th Centuries key historic moments. The film pushed visual effects in ways that had not been attempted before. The film made extensive use of CGI and archive footage to allow Gump to meet deceased presidents and even shake their hands. Forest Gump won 6 Academy Awards, and earned Zemeckis the title of best director while earning an unprecedented 677 Million dollars worldwide. Zemeckis would later re-use Tom Hanks to give heart to his reflective film “Cast Away”.
Zemeckis love for bringing effects to the screen led him to coordinate with 8 separate visual FX studios while producing 1997’s sci-fi film “Contact”. This shift from relying heavily on Industrial Light and Magic showed Zemeckis’s unhappiness with the limitations he faced with 2D special effects. This led Zemeckis to producing 3D films as of 2004 with “The Polar Express”, followed by 2007’s “Beowulf” and 2009’s “A Christmas Carol” starring Jim Carrey.
Zemeckis is currently attached to producing a 3D remake of animated Beatles classic “Yellow Submarine” for a 2012 release.
His films have increasingly emphasized the use of special effects in order to bring his stories to life. Welcome to watchmojo.com and today we will be exploring the career of writer and director Robert Zemeckis.
Born to a working class family in 1952, the Chicago native developed an early fascination with the Television screen. As a result, he spent his childhood toying away with his parents’ 8mm movie camera, a hobby that would later inspire him to abandon his blue-collar upbringing, despite the wishes of his parents.
Zemeckis went on to study at Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts where one of his student films caught the eye of Steven Spielberg, who decided to take him under his wing, and help him land a deal writing the screenplay for “1941”, a movie which Spielberg himself directed in 1979.
Zemeckis made his directorial debut in 1978 with the film, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, which he followed with 1980’s “Used Cars”. Both features were co-written with his partner Bob Gale, and despite a warm critical reception, they suffered humiliating box office defeats. As a result, Zemeckis had difficulty finding work throughout the early 80s, and the duo couldn’t find a studio to pick up their offbeat script about a boy who travels back in time to the 1950s, which would later become the mega hit “Back to the Future”.
After a long period of difficulty finding work, Zemeckis was hired by Michael Douglas to pen the romantic adventure “Romancing the Stone”. A lackluster first impression of the film by studio executives caused them to predict it would flop. This resulted in Zemeckis being stripped of his directorial role for the upcoming film “Cocoon”.
Miraculously, “Romancing the Stone” turned into a sleeper hit. It’s success inspired the studio to finance his “Back To The Future” screenplay. The film went on to have a large cultural impact and was instantly successful at the box office. “Back To The Future” received several nominations and awards, including a Saturn for best science fiction film. To this day it is hailed by AFI as the 10th best Sci-Fi Movie of all time.
Universal Studios immediately urged Zemeckis to begin pre-production on two sequels which he would direct and co-write, after he finished tackling the visually complex 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, which combed live action actors with animation.
Following an urge to continue producing wacky, yet visually stunning films, Zemeckis directed the dark comedy “Death Becomes Her”, which starred Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. The film was a visual complex project and his first to include more dramatic elements. However, he would only dabble in serious horror with 2000’s “What Lies Beneath”.
Zemeckis had his most high profile success in 1994 when he unleashed the worldwide phenomenon “Forest Gump”, an offbeat tale of a dim man who unwittingly played a role in many of the mid 20th Centuries key historic moments. The film pushed visual effects in ways that had not been attempted before. The film made extensive use of CGI and archive footage to allow Gump to meet deceased presidents and even shake their hands. Forest Gump won 6 Academy Awards, and earned Zemeckis the title of best director while earning an unprecedented 677 Million dollars worldwide. Zemeckis would later re-use Tom Hanks to give heart to his reflective film “Cast Away”.
Zemeckis love for bringing effects to the screen led him to coordinate with 8 separate visual FX studios while producing 1997’s sci-fi film “Contact”. This shift from relying heavily on Industrial Light and Magic showed Zemeckis’s unhappiness with the limitations he faced with 2D special effects. This led Zemeckis to producing 3D films as of 2004 with “The Polar Express”, followed by 2007’s “Beowulf” and 2009’s “A Christmas Carol” starring Jim Carrey.
Zemeckis is currently attached to producing a 3D remake of animated Beatles classic “Yellow Submarine” for a 2012 release.
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