Roger Christian (filmmaker)
Roger Christian | |
---|---|
Born | [1] London, England, United Kingdom | 25 February 1944
Occupation(s) | Film director, production designer, set decorator |
Years active | 1968–present |
Spouse | Lina Dhingra |
Website | www.rogerjchristian.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 July 2011) |
Roger John Christian (born 25 February 1944)[1] is an English set decorator, production designer and feature film director. He won an Academy Award for his work on the original Star Wars and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Alien. Christian directed the second unit on both Return of the Jedi[2] and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as well as feature films including The Sender and Nostradamus. He also directed the 2000 film Battlefield Earth.
Career
He began his career as an assistant art director on several UK productions including the
Christian began his directing career with the shorts
His biggest project to date was the big budget L. Ron Hubbard science fiction adaptation Battlefield Earth (2000)[13] starring John Travolta and Barry Pepper, which The Guardian considered a commercial and critical disaster, and as one of the "worst films ever made".[14][15][16] In 2009, NPR declared the film "the worst science fiction film of the decade".[17] Christian does not consider Battlefield Earth to be a "Scientology movie" as he intended it as a throwback to regular science fiction.[18] He also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.
In 2006, he directed an action/adventure/mystery movie, Prisoners of the Sun, starring John Rhys-Davies, David Charvet, Carmen Chaplin, and Gulshan Grover. It was unreleased until 2014 when it had geographically limited release in Nordic countries.
Personal life
Christian is a Buddhist. He is an admirer of filmmakers Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino.[18][19]
Filmography
Directorial credits
Year | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|
1980 | Black Angel | Also screenwriter and producer Short film |
1981 | The Dollar Bottom | Short film; Oscar winner |
1982 | The Sender | Directorial debut |
1984 | Starship | Also screenwriter |
1985 | "Election Day" | Music video for Arcadia |
1986 | ''Fire on the Water" | Music video for Chris de Burgh |
1994 | Nostradamus | Also story writer |
1995 | The Final Cut | |
1996 | Underworld | Also wrote lyrics for the song My Pop |
1997 | Masterminds | |
2000 | Battlefield Earth | Razzie winner |
2004 | American Daylight | |
Bandido | Also producer and production designer | |
2013 | Dangerous Intuition | TV film |
Stranded | Also screenwriter | |
Prisoners of the Sun | ||
2016 | Joseph & Mary | |
Bear Clan Station | ||
2022 | Galaxy Built On Hope | Also screenwriter and producer Documentary film[20] |
TBA | Black Angel | Also screenwriter and producer Feature remake short film |
Producing credits
Year | Name | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Riddle of the Black Cat | Jonathan Rinzler | Short film |
2013 | 13 Eerie | Lowell Dean | Executive producer |
2017 | The Black Prince | Kavi Raz | Consulting producer |
Technical credits
Year | Name | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Oliver! | Art department assistant | Uncredited |
1969–1970 | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | Set dresser | TV series, 8 episodes |
1970 | And Soon the Darkness | Assistant art director | |
1971–1972 | Jason King | Set dresser | TV series, 25 episodes |
1973 | The 14 | Assistant art director | |
The Final Programme | Assistant art director | ||
1974 | Mahler | Associate art director | |
Akenfield | Art director | ||
1975 | Lucky Lady | Assistant art director | Uncredited |
1977 | Star Wars | Set decorator | Oscar winner |
The Last Remake of Beau Geste | Set decorator | ||
1979 | Alien | Art director | Oscar nominee |
Monty Python's Life of Brian | Art director | ||
1983 | Return of the Jedi | Second unit director | Uncredited |
1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Second unit director | |
2000 | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: My First Adventure | Second unit director | Uncredited, TV film |
Awards
Fim | Awards and nomation(s) |
---|---|
Star Wars | Saturn Award for Outstanding Set Decoration
|
Alien | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Art Direction Shared with Michael Seymour, Leslie Dilley & Ian Whittaker[22] |
The Dollar Bottom | Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Film
|
Starship | Nominated – International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film |
Battlefield Earth | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst 'Drama' of Our First 25 Years
|
References
- ^ a b "Roger Christian". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ Revenge of the Jedi call sheet
- ^ 1978|Oscars.org
- ^ a b Singer, Jeremy (4 May 2014). "The Man Who Literally Built 'Star Wars'". Esquire. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ 1980|Oscars.org
- ^ Martin Anderson (2 September 2009). "In praise of the sci-fi corridor". Den of Geek.
- ISBN 978-1-4197-1780-2.
- ^ Short Film Winners: 1981 Oscars
- ^ 1981|Oscars.org
- ^ a b c Anderson, Martin (9 March 2010). "Exclusive interview: The worlds of Roger Christian". Shadowlocked. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ Cole, Andrew (14 January 2008). "Every film mentioned by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino in their Hot Fuzz commentary track". Tysto. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
- YouTube
- ^ 25 MOVIES SO BAD THEY'RE UNMISSABLE < < Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (31 May 2000). "Cult classic". Guardian Unlimited. Guardian Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 29 July 2006.
[...] Battlefield Earth has opened to spectacularly bad notices, many of which have suggested that the film is the worst of the year, the decade, the millennium or whatever exotic time-frame the alien Psychlos recognise.
- E! Online. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
- ^ Christian, Roger (4 June 2000). "How dare they call my film a turkey; The director of the new John Travolta epic defends himself against his many critics". The Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ Raz, Guy (27 December 2009). "Movies That Should Die with the Decade". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ a b Anderson, Martin (21 March 2012). "Roger Christian Talks Zombies, Prometheus & Battlefield Earth". Shadowlocked. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ 11. Academy award-winner Roger Christian on the making of Battlefield Earth, retrieved 6 May 2022
- ^ "Galaxy Built On Hope". Galaxy Built On Hope. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Star Wars Wins Art Direction: 1978 Oscars
- ^ "All That Jazz" winning the Oscar® for Art Direction-Oscars on YouTube
External links
- Official website (archived)
- Roger Christian at IMDb
- Official Black Angel website (archived)