Sam Mendes is a well-known British film director and producer who received an Oscar for his debut film American Beauty. Later he worked on a variety of theatrical productions and films, including The Blue Room, The Marines, 007: Skyfall Coordinates, and others.
Biography
Samuel Alexander Mendes, also known as Sam Mendes, was born on August 1, 1965 in Reading, England. His father, Jameson Peter Mendes, is originally from Trinidad, he was a Catholic of Portuguese descent. He taught literature at the University of Reading. Sam's mother Valerie Helen Barnett, a Jewish Jew of English descent, was the publisher and author of short stories for children. And his paternal grandfather Alfred Hubert Mendes is a famous novelist.
In 1970, when the boy was about five years old, Sam's parents divorced. However, the relationship between them remained friendly. Despite the fact that he and his mother moved to London, his father often visited them. He drove Sam to the movies and performances.
Mendes from an early age showed interest in literature and art. After moving to London, he attended Primrose Hill Elementary School. When the boy was 12 years old, he and his mother moved to Oxford, where he was enrolled in Magdalen College.
Oxford University Colleges Photo: SirMetal / Wikimedia Commons
Sam Mendes excelled at school. He spent a lot of time reading books and watching films. In addition, Sam was a talented cricketer. In 1983 and 1984, he played for his school team in this sport.
After leaving school, Mendes entered Peterhouse, the oldest college at Cambridge University. Here he successfully continued to receive education, played cricket for his college and became more interested in theater productions. Mendes became a member of the Marlowe Society - a theater club for Cambridge students. In 1987, he graduated from Cambridge University with honors and decided to devote his life to the theater.
Career
Soon he got a job at the Minerva Theater, which is part of the nearby Chichester Festival Theater. In 1988, Sam worked as an assistant director in a number of productions, including Bernard Shaw's three-act play Major Barbara. And soon Mendoza was offered directorial work.
In 1989, 24-year-old Sam moved to London. In the West End, under his leadership, Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard was staged. The starring director invited the famous British actress Judy Dench. Her performance was highly acclaimed and earned Mendoza the British Critics Circle Theater Award.
In 1990, Sam Mendes was appointed artistic director of Donmar Warehouse, a 251-seat non-profit theater in Covent Garden. The first two years of his tenure as a leader, he spent repairing and redesigning the theater. The updated Donmar Warehouse opened on October 29, 1992.
Nonprofit Theater Donmar Warehouse Photo: DonmarWarehouse / Wikimedia Commons
From that time until 2002, when Mendes left the post of artistic director, the musicals “Killers”, “Cabaret”, “Oliver!”, “Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, “Blue Room” by David Hayre and others.
Sam Mendes became famous in America for his directorial work. His excellent visual aesthetics and ability to look deep into history impressed representatives of the Hollywood film industry. In early 1998, he was approached by the famous American film company DreamWorks Pictures with a proposal to make a film based on Alan Ball's script American Beauty. For this work, Mendoza was awarded the prestigious Academy Award Oscar in the nomination for Best Director.
After American Beauty, Mendes decided to make a film in a different genre - with minimal dialogue and the transfer of emotions through images. In the end, he found what he was looking for in the script for the crime drama Cursed Way. The picture was presented on July 12, 2002, collecting more than $ 180 million at the box office.
In 2003, Sam Mendos, together with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, became a co-founder of the British production company Neal Street Productions. A year later, he began working on the film The Marines, which was released on November 4, 2005. The plot of the picture was based on the memoirs of the same name by the American marines Anthony Suofford. The military drama talks about the psychological problems faced by the participants in the Persian Gulf war.
In the period from 2006 to 2009, the director presented several more films. Among them are "Get into the top ten" (2006), "Road to change" (2008), "On the road" (2009) and others.
In November 2011, Mendoza began shooting the 23rd film about James Bond, British intelligence agent, 007: Skyfall coordinates. In the UK, the film was released on October 26, 2012. The director’s work was called one of the best in the history of Bond. raised more than $ 1 billion.
Advertising "007: Skyfall Coordinates" Photo: mattbuck / Wikimedia Commons
It is not surprising that in 2013 he was offered to shoot another film about Bond "007: Spectrum". Initially, Mendoza did not want to accept the proposal, but in May 2013 he began negotiations with the producers. Filming began in December 2014 in Austria. They later took place in the UK, Italy and Morocco and ended in July 2015 in Mexico. “007: Spectrum” was released in October 2015.
It is known that in 2020 Sam Mendoz plans to premiere the military film "1917", the plot of which will revolve around the events of the First World War.
