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IMDbPro

Renny Harlin

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Renny Harlin at an event for Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
After being recruited by a group of unconventional thieves, renowned criminal Richard Pace finds himself caught up in an elaborate gold heist that promises to have far-reaching implications on his life and the lives of countless others.
Play trailer2:45
The Misfits (2021)
10 Videos
31 Photos
Born in 15 March 1959 as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.

Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat". The project started fast and soon they had Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris left the project, but Selin and Harlin got Mike Norris for the leading role. They wrote new script, Born American (1986), and got financial help from USA. In the year 1986 Born American (1986) was finished and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000 theaters and reached no 9.

The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin moved to Los Angeles and got a job from Halloween (1978) producer Irwin Yablans who offered him script of "Prison" to film. Film was made with low budget and distributed with only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema to direct A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) after meeting producer Robert Shaye numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film. It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film.

20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988). Harlin made the both, but only Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he directed Cliffhanger (1993) with Sylvester Stallone which made $255 million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative differences.

His next film Cutthroat Island (1995) was a pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30 million domestically with a $65 million budget.

In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year 1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came to theaters after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160 million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.

Harlin was hired to direct Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) after John Frankenheimer left the job and died shortly after it, and Paul Schrader was fired. Producers knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script, and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and grossed $80 million worldwide.

Probably most liked Harlin's film Mindhunters (2004) was released in 2004 after years post-production. It was released in USA in 2005 in over 1,000 theaters but it only reached 10th place. In 9 weeks it grossed only $4 million dollars.

The Covenant (2006) was released in 2006. With non-famous (but attractive) actors, the film hit the top in its opening weekend and became a successful film. With a $20 million budget, it grossed $37 million worldwide and DVD sale brought $20 million more.
BornMarch 15, 1959
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 15, 1959
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos31

Jackie Chan, Renny Harlin, and Johnny Knoxville in Skiptrace (2016)
Jackie Chan, Renny Harlin, and Johnny Knoxville in Skiptrace (2016)
Renny Harlin and Vittorio Storaro in Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Geena Davis and Renny Harlin in Speechless (1994)
Renny Harlin in Cliffhanger (1993)
Renny Harlin and John Cena in 12 Rounds (2009)
Renny Harlin in 5 Days of War (2011)
Renny Harlin in Mindhunters (2004)
Christian Slater, Renny Harlin, Eion Bailey, Patricia Velasquez, and Will Kemp in Mindhunters (2004)
Renny Harlin in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Renny Harlin in The Covenant (2006)
Renny Harlin, Steven Strait, and Taylor Kitsch in The Covenant (2006)

Known for

Driven (2001)
Driven
4.6
  • Producer
  • 2001
Devil's Pass (2013)
Devil's Pass
5.7
  • Producer
  • 2013
Cliffhanger (1993)
Cliffhanger
6.5
  • Producer
  • 1993
Geena Davis and Matthew Modine in Cutthroat Island (1995)
Cutthroat Island
5.7
  • Producer
  • 1995

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Producer

  • The Refuge
    • Post-production
  • Carrier
    • Pre-production
  • Kellan Lutz in The Legend of Hercules (2014)
    The Legend of Hercules
  • Devil's Pass (2013)
    Devil's Pass
  • 5 Days of War (2011)
    5 Days of War
  • Hilary Swank in The Resident (2011)
    The Resident
  • Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, Jonny Lee Miller, LL Cool J, Kathryn Morris, and Patricia Velasquez in Mindhunters (2004)
    Mindhunters
  • Driven (2001)
    Driven
  • Alicia Silverstone and Brendan Fraser in Blast from the Past (1999)
    Blast from the Past
  • Mistrial (1996)
    Mistrial
  • Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
    The Long Kiss Goodnight
  • Geena Davis and Matthew Modine in Cutthroat Island (1995)
    Cutthroat Island
  • Geena Davis and Michael Keaton in Speechless (1994)
    Speechless
  • Gladiaattorit (1993)
    Gladiaattorit
  • Leonardo DiCaprio in The Foot Shooting Party (1994)
    The Foot Shooting Party
  • Cliffhanger (1993)
    Cliffhanger
  • Angel City

Director

  • The Strangers
    • Post-production
  • The Bricklayer
    • Post-production
  • Komisario Palmu
    • Pre-production
  • The Refuge
    • Post-production
  • Carrier
    • Pre-production
  • Jaajo Linnonmaa, Aku Hirviniemi, and Sami Hedberg in Class Reunion 3 (2021)
    Class Reunion 3
  • Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon, Jamie Chung, Mike Angelo, Hermione Corfield, and Rami Jaber in The Misfits (2021)
    The Misfits
  • Nick Cheung, Roger Kwok, Richie Jen, Peng Ming, Jin Au-Yeung, Sonija Kwok, Ron Ng, Carlos Chan, Jiayi Feng, Zi Yang, Shuliang Ma, and Clara Lee in Bodies at Rest (2019)
    Bodies at Rest
  • Legend of the Ancient Sword (2018)
    Legend of the Ancient Sword
  • Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville in Skiptrace (2016)
    Skiptrace
  • Kellan Lutz in The Legend of Hercules (2014)
    The Legend of Hercules
  • Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit in Graceland (2013)
    Graceland
  • Devil's Pass (2013)
    Devil's Pass
  • Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Covert Affairs
  • Matt Bomer in White Collar (2009)
    White Collar
  • Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice (2007)
    Burn Notice
  • 5 Days of War (2011)
    5 Days of War
  • John Cena in 12 Rounds (2009)
    12 Rounds
  • Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Luis Guzmán, and Eva Mendes in Cleaner (2007)
    Cleaner
  • Kyle Schmid, Sebastian Stan, Steven Strait, and Taylor Kitsch in The Covenant (2006)
    The Covenant

Writer

  • Komisario Palmu
    • Pre-production
  • Jaajo Linnonmaa, Aku Hirviniemi, and Sami Hedberg in Class Reunion 3 (2021)
    Class Reunion 3
  • Kellan Lutz in The Legend of Hercules (2014)
    The Legend of Hercules
  • Gladiaattorit (1993)
    Gladiaattorit
  • Prison (1987)
    Prison
    • (uncredited)
  • Born American (1986)
    Born American
  • Huostaanotto
    • (as Lauri Harjola)
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos10

12 Rounds: "Stop That Train"
Clip 1:05
12 Rounds: "Stop That Train"
12 Rounds: "Running Out of Time"
Clip 1:06
12 Rounds: "Running Out of Time"
12 Rounds: "It's a Game"
Clip 1:05
12 Rounds: "It's a Game"
12 Rounds: "He's Going to Win"
Clip 1:04
12 Rounds: "He's Going to Win"
12 Rounds: "An Accident"
Clip 1:04
12 Rounds: "An Accident"
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:45
Official Trailer
12 Rounds: International Trailer
Trailer 1:49
12 Rounds: International Trailer
12 Rounds
Trailer 2:29
12 Rounds
5 Days of War
Trailer 1:35
5 Days of War
12 Rounds
Featurette 4:06
12 Rounds

Personal details

Edit
    • Official Site
    • March 15, 1959
    • Riihimäki, Finland
    • Geena DavisSeptember 18, 1993 - June 21, 1998 (divorced)
  • Other works
    Feature audio commentary for Deep Blue Sea (1999) with Samuel L. Jackson.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 3 Interviews
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Thinks The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) is his best film.
  • Quotes
    "Soon, a hundred million dollars is going to be a normal budget for an action picture. That size picture is in the works at every studio." (Precognitively, after seeing Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), USA Today, August 1, 1991).
    • Includes references to Finland, his country of birth [Finland]
    • Mannerheim
      700,000 EUR

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