Alex Proyas

Alexander "Alex" Proyas (born 23 September 1963) is a Greek Australian film director, writer and producer best known for directing The Crow, Dark City, and I, Robot.

Biography

Proyas was born to Greek parents in Egypt and moved to Sydney, Australia when he was 3 years of age. At seventeen he went to film school and began directing music videos. He moved to Los Angeles in the United States to further his career, working on MTV music videos and commercials.

Career

Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds. This was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design. Next, Proyas directed the 1994 fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee. Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film in March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script, and using a stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes. Proyas then wrote and directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller Dark City, which had disappointing box office results despite winning several awards, but has since gained a strong cult following. In 2004, he directed I, Robot, a science fiction film suggested by the Isaac Asimov short story compilation I, Robot that starred Will Smith. It was a box office success, but met with mixed reactions by readers and fans of the Asimov stories.

Proyas' next film will be thriller Knowing starring Nicolas Cage and Isaac Stephens. It began production in Melbourne in March 2008.

Awards

At the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Proyas was nominated for a Golden Palm award for his short film, Book of Dreams: 'Welcome to Crateland'. For Dark City, he was nominated for several awards and won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, the Bram Stoker Award, the Film Critics Circle of Australia Award and the Pegasus Audience Award at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film.

Filmography

Short films

• Neon (1980)
• Groping (1980)
• Strange Residues (1981)
• Spineless (1987)
• Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland (1994, short)

Feature films

• Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989)
• The Crow (film)|The Crow]] (1994)
• Dark City (1998)
• Garage Days (2002)
• I, Robot (2004)
• Knowing (2009)

Music videos

• "Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House (1987)
• "Holiday - The Other Ones(1987)
• Songlines (1989)
• The Best of Sting: Fields of Gold 1984-1994 (1994)
• I'm Only Looking: The Best of INXS (2004)

External links

• Mystery Clock

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