Biography for
Michel Hazanavicius More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 March 1967, Paris, France

Height

6' 1½" (1.87 m)

Mini Biography

Michel Hazanavicius was born and raised in Paris, France. His grandparents were originally from Lithuania, but relocated to France in the 1920s. Hazanavicius attended art school, and moved on to work as a director for commercials and television projects. In 1999, he wrote and directed his first feature film Mes amis (1999), which featured his brother Serge Hazanavicius. His next feature film, spy parody, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) was a success at the French box office, and warranted a sequel, OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009), which was also a hit. Hazanavicius came to the attention of international audiences with the release of an almost wordless film, The Artist (2011), which starred his wife, Bérénice Bejo and OSS 117 star Jean Dujardin. The film was a critical and popular hit, garnering many major nominations and awards.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Bérénice Bejo

(? - present) 2 children

Trivia

Brother of Serge Hazanavicius.

Two children with Bérénice Bejo: Lucien (b. 25 June 2008) and Gloria (b. 18 September 2011).

Has directed 2 actors to Oscar nominations: Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. Dujardin won Best Actor for The Artist (2011)).

As of 2012, he is one of seven directors who has directed his wife to a Best Actress Oscar nomination (Bérénice Bejo in The Artist (2011)). The other five are Joel Coen directing Frances McDormand in _Fargo (1996)_, 'John Cassavetes' directing Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) & Gloria (1980), Richard Brooks directing Jean Simmons in The Happy Ending (1969), Blake Edwards directing Julie Andrews in Victor Victoria (1982), Paul Czinner directing Elisabeth Bergner in Escape Me Never (1935) and Paul Newman directing Joanne Woodward in Rachel, Rachel (1968). Jules Dassin also directed his future wife Melina Mercouri in an Oscar-nominated performance (Never on Sunday (1960)), but they weren't married yet at the time of the nomination.

Personal Quotes

I love silent cinema but don't hold it sacred. Like any branch of film there are some very boring films alongside the masterpieces. These films are old because of the era they're from, not specifically the format they're made in. It was important not think of ['The Artist'] as an 'old movie'. It's now, it's new. But you have the benefit of this neglected format which gives you some exciting options as a storyteller.

[on receiving an Oscar nomination for 'The Artist'] The happy ending is a matter of politeness. I asked people to watch this, so that I could do something other than a happy ending. It's a way of saying thank you to the audience because they went to something that's not so easy to see.

Salary

Lucky Luke and the Daltons (2004)

€60,980