Roger Donaldson
Roger Donaldson Victoria, Australia | |
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Nationality |
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Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
Relatives | Chris Donaldson (son) |
Roger Lindsey Donaldson
Donaldson’s best-known films include the historical drama The Bounty (1984), the neo-noir No Way Out (1987), the romantic comedy Cocktail, the Cuban Missile Crisis docudrama Thirteen Days (2000), the science-fiction horror film Species (1995), the disaster film Dante's Peak (1997), the Burt Munro biopic The World's Fastest Indian (2005), and the historical thriller The Bank Job (2008).[2]
Donaldson has worked twice each with actors
Life and career
Donaldson was born in
In 1976, Donaldson directed and produced his first feature, Sleeping Dogs. The film starred Mune and Sam Neill as two men fighting for their lives in a totalitarian New Zealand. He followed it with Smash Palace, starring Bruno Lawrence as a man who kidnaps his daughter after his marriage disintegrates.
Donaldson's international break came when producer
Donaldson went on to direct many popular and successful movies. His breakthrough American hit was the thriller No Way Out, starring Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman. Cocktail, starring Bryan Brown and Tom Cruise, was panned by critics but did very well at the box office, based largely on Cruise's starpower. The volcano disaster movie Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton, helped restore Donaldson's status after a string of less successful films. Thirteen Days, a political thriller starring Kevin Costner, adapted The Kennedy Tapes, a book by Ernest R. May and Philip Zelikow, which was a detailed account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also directed science fiction tale Species, and in 2003, the Al Pacino and Colin Farrell film The Recruit. Donaldson wrote and directed The World's Fastest Indian, which released in 2005. The film starred Anthony Hopkins and depicted Burt Munro's successful attempts at motorcycle speed records at Bonneville Salt Flats in the 1950s.
His son Chris is a sprinter who has represented New Zealand at the Olympic level in 100m and 200m events.[5]
In the
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Sleeping Dogs | Yes | Yes | No |
1980 | Nutcase | Yes | No | No |
1981 | Smash Palace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1984 | The Bounty | Yes | No | No |
1985 | Marie | Yes | No | No |
1987 | No Way Out | Yes | No | No |
1988 | Cocktail | Yes | No | No |
1990 | Cadillac Man | Yes | Yes | No |
1992 | White Sands | Yes | No | No |
1994 | The Getaway | Yes | No | No |
1995 | Species | Yes | No | No |
1997 | Dante's Peak | Yes | No | No |
2000 | Thirteen Days | Yes | No | No |
2003 | The Recruit | Yes | No | No |
2005 | The World's Fastest Indian | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2008 | The Bank Job | Yes | No | No |
2011 | Seeking Justice | Yes | No | No |
2014 | The November Man | Yes | No | No |
Documentary film
Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | The Making of "Sleeping Dogs" | No | Yes |
2017 | McLaren | Yes | No |
Short film
- Lawyers (2010)
Television
TV series
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed | Yes | Yes | No | TV Short |
1974 | Derek | Yes | No | Yes | |
1975–1976 | Winners & Losers | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1999 | Fearless | No | Executive | No |
TV movies
- Survey (1972)
- Jocko (1981)
References
- ^ Screen, NZ On. "Roger Donaldson | NZ On Screen". www.nzonscreen.com. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Roger Donaldson - Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2018". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ Gliddon, Greg (5 June 2018). "This Ballarat-born director is credited with inventing New Zealand's film industry". The Courier. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ The-Sports.org entry for Chris Donaldson
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2018". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
External links
- Roger Donaldson at IMDb