Alex Proyas
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Alex Proyas has moved
effortlessly between helming TV commercials and music videos to feature
films. Born to Greek parents in Egypt, Proyas
relocated to Australia with his family when he was three years old. He
began making films at age ten and went on to attend the Australian Film
Television and Radio School along with
Jane Campion and
Jocelyn Moorhouse. Proyas collaborated
with Campion on two of her shorts,
A Girl's Own Story (1984), for
which he wrote and performed a song, and
Passionless Moments (1983),
which he photographed. Proyas' own short,
Groping (1980), had earned him some
attention at festival screenings in Sydney and London. Also while still
a student, the enterprising novice formed Meaningful Eye Contact, a
production company.
Spirits of the Air: Gremlins of the Clouds (1987)
marked Proyas' feature debut as director and screenwriter. Set in a
post-apocalyptic world, the film, with its stylized production design
and aural texture, was atypical of standard Australian fare, more
closely resembling a longform music video. Critics admired the
director's vision, but felt the overall result was lacking. Proyas
continued to hone his craft helming TV advertisements for products like
Nike, Nissan and Swatch (earning kudos from advertising associations in
both Australia and England) and directing videos for such artists as
Sting, INXS and
Crowded House. In 1993 Proyas was tapped
to helm the screen adaptation of
James O'Barr's comic strip
The Crow (1994). During production, star
Brandon Lee died of an accidental
gunshot wound (ironically, the film's story revolves around his
character's resurrection). His death cast a pall over the remainder of
the filming and its subsequent theatrical release, although reviews
were generally favorably, most singling out the production values which
created a colorless rain-soaked wasteland that invoked comparisons with
Ridley Scott's seminal
Blade Runner (1982) and
Tim Burton's
Batman (1989). Made for about $14 million,
it grossed close to $50 million domestically. Proyas seemed set to move
on to other projects and was announced as the director of
Casper (1995), but left the project and
was replaced by Brad Silberling. After a
four-year absence he returned with another thriller,
Dark City (1998), about an amnesiac who
may or may not have been a serial killer.
Garage Days (2002) marked Proyas'
return to his homeland, Australia: the movie tells the story of a young
Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitive
world of rock 'n' roll. In 2004 Proyas returned to Hollywood: he
directed I, Robot (2004), a
science-fiction film suggested by the
'Isaac
Asimov' short story compilation of the
same name that starred Will Smith. It
was a box office success, but met with mixed reactions by readers and
fans of the Asimov stories.
