Today, the name of Francis Lawrence is familiar to every movie fan - after all, he became the director of the famous saga "The Hunger Games". In his filmography, the mass of paintings that have become iconic, although in the piggy bank of awards there is only one nomination for the Saturn Prize in 2014 for the film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
The director’s best films are: “I am a legend” (2007), “Konstantin is the lord of darkness” (2005), “Water for elephants!” (2011), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative (2004). The best series: "Kings" (2009) and "Communication" (2012-2013).
Biography
The future famous director was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria. When he was three years old, his parents moved to Los Angeles, so we can say that Francis grew up in the immediate vicinity of the main dream factory. However, he never thought that he would become an actor or some other celebrity.
Just once, he received a video camera as a gift, and, like any boy, he began to shoot everything he saw around him. Once he came to a basketball game where his friends were playing, and recorded the whole game. The video was not bad, and the guys started sending it to each other - everyone liked the video.
And when Francis grew up, he began to film parties, school events, competitions of sports teams, and even made clips with friends' cars.
Parents realized that his son has a talent for directing, and therefore did not mind when Francis entered the film school of Loyola Merimont. Here he showed good results, and already in his second year he helped to shoot the picture "Cut to the fullest" (1990). Then the young filmmaker met some famous actors, including Christian Slater.
While studying at the film school, Francis also did independent work: he found little-known performers of popular songs and made video clips for them. It was a kind of hobby, although it helped to get my hand on the set and earn more. The scripts for these clips, as a rule, had to be written by him.
Lawrence realized that music videos were a very lucrative business, and after graduating from a film school in 1990, he came to grips with this business. His family always supported him in his aspiration to become a director, so his parents gave him money for a personal film studio. His long-time acquaintance Mika Rosen also contributed - she became the co-founder of the studio.
Movie career
Young and active guys quickly gained fame as good specialists in creating commercials for musicians, and celebrities such as Missy Eliot, Britney Spears and even Aerosmith and many other artists began to turn to them. Moreover, most of the scripts for the clips were written by Lawrence. This work helped him become an authoritative director in a wide circle of professionals.
The director remembers with a smile about this time - he says that he was pleased to see these videos on TV every day and to know that "you did it." However, he always wanted something more, and the movie was great for him.
Soon it came true: in 2005, he began to shoot the full-length film "Constantine: Lord of Darkness." And this was not a picture of a novice director - the film was a resounding success, the box office was huge.
The swirling plot lines, excellent graphics, the famous Keanu Reeves in the title role and an exciting topic - all this merged into one sheer pleasure for the audience, who received a lot of drive. The picture was also appreciated by critics: it was nominated for the Saturn Prize.
The start was excellent, and this inspired Lawrence to the next work - the picture "I am a Legend" (2007) with Will Smith in the title role. The project was grandiose: at a cost of one hundred and fifty million dollars, the creators wanted not only to recoup it, but also to make a profit. However, what happened after the release of the picture exceeded the wildest expectations: the fees amounted to six hundred million dollars. Of course, the money does not appreciate the emotions and feelings of people, but the fact that the audience filled the cinema for several months suggests that success was well-deserved.
In 2011, the director made another magnificent film: "Water for Elephants!". This picture is completely different from the previous theme, atmosphere and presentation of the material, which speaks of the versatility of Lawrence as a director. The main roles in this film starred Reese Witherspoon and Robert Patinson. They became an excellent couple in this film and showed a moving love story when personal life and profession are so intersected that you no longer know where one is and where the other is. And this gives rise to real drama.
In the intervals between large projects, Lawrence made films about Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and other artists, his portfolio also contains series. And the video of Lady Gaga, which was shot by Lawrence, was recognized as the best video of the year at the VMA Awards ceremony.
