Chris Columbus (filmmaker)

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Chris Columbus
File:Chris Columbus.jpg
Born Chris Joseph Columbus
(1958-09-10) September 10, 1958 (age 65)
Spangler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality American
Education John F. Kennedy High School
Alma mater New York University
Occupation Filmmaker
Years active 1984–present
Notable work Adventures in Babysitting, Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Only the Lonely, Mrs. Doubtfire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Help
Spouse(s) Monica Devereux (m. 1983)
Children 4

Chris Joseph Columbus[1][2] (born September 10, 1958) is a American filmmaker. Columbus is known for directing movies such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and for writing movies such as Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985).

Home Alone received a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Film. Columbus received an Academy Award nomination for producing The Help (2011).

Early life

Columbus was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania and raised in Champion, Ohio, the son of Mary Irene (née Puskar), a factory worker, and Alex Michael Columbus, an aluminum plant worker and coal miner.[3][4][5] Columbus is of Italian and Czech descent.[6] He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio and went on to study at New York University's film school at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he was a schoolmate of writer/director Charlie Kaufman[7] and Alec Baldwin.[8]

Career

Columbus worked as a screenwriter with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, working on Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). He wrote the first episodes of the animated series Galaxy High (1986) and later made his directorial debut with the teen comedy Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Heartbreak Hotel (1988).

His directorial work includes Home Alone (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Nine Months (1995), Stepmom (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rent (2005), I Love You Beth Cooper (2009), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) and most recently Pixels (2015)

He was the producer of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), the third film in the Harry Potter film series, and received an Academy Award nomination for producing The Help (2011).

Columbus founded his production company named 1492 Pictures in 1995.

The character types preferred by Columbus are the everyday American men, women and children who struggle to uphold family traditions against a changing, sometimes intimidating society.[3] In 1993 he said: "I can understand the validity of showing people the ugliness of the world, but I also think there is a place for movies to leave people with a sense of hope. If your film isn't going to do that, I just don't think it's worth making."[3]

Columbus is currently writing the House of Secrets book series with Ned Vizzini[9] and co-founded a new animation studio called ZAG Animation Studios with Saban Capital Group and ZAG Entertainment.[10]

Personal life

In 1983 Columbus married Monica Devereux, with whom he has four children: Eleanor, Violet, Brendan, and Isabella. Columbus lives in San Francisco's Pacific Heights. Columbus and his wife listed their Pacific Heights home for sale in September 2013 for $12.995M. His children attend or previously attended Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. He donated money to the school for a new building, and the school's "piazza" is named after him.

Many of Columbus' family members —including his children, his wife, his mom, his father-in-law and his cousin Robert Ayres— have appeared in cameo roles in his films. Particularly, his own daughter, Eleanor, portrayed the Hogwarts student Susan Bones in the first two Harry Potter films.

Filmography

Year Title Writer Director Producer Cameo
1984 Reckless Yes
Gremlins Yes
1985 The Goonies Yes
Young Sherlock Holmes Yes
1987 Adventures in Babysitting Yes
1988 Heartbreak Hotel Yes Yes
1989 Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland Yes
1990 Home Alone Yes
1991 Only the Lonely Yes Yes
1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Yes Man in toy store (uncredited)
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Yes
1995 Nine Months Yes Yes Yes
1996 Jingle All the Way Yes
1998 Stepmom Yes Yes
1999 Bicentennial Man Yes Yes
2001 Monkeybone Yes
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Yes Yes
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Yes Yes
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Yes
Christmas with the Kranks Yes Yes
2005 Fantastic Four Yes
Rent Yes Yes Angry man in car (uncredited)
2006 Night at the Museum Yes
2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Yes
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Yes
I Love You, Beth Cooper Yes Yes Yes
2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Yes Yes
2011 The Help Yes
2012 Applebaum Yes Yes
2013 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Yes
2014 Little Accidents Yes
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Yes
2015 Mediterranea Yes
Pixels Yes Yes
2016 The Witch Yes
The Young Messiah Yes
It Had To Be You Yes

Critical reception

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic IMDb
Overall
Adventures in Babysitting (1987) 76%[11] N/A 6.8[12]
Heartbreak Hotel (1988) 38%[13] N/A 5.7[14]
Home Alone (1990) 54%[15] 63%[16] 7.5[17]
Only the Lonely (1991) 62%[18] N/A 6.3[19]
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 24%[20] N/A 6.6[21]
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) 71%[22] 53%[23] 6.9[24]
Nine Months (1995) 28%[25] N/A 5.4[26]
Stepmom (1998) 44%[27] 58%[28] 6.6[29]
Bicentennial Man (1999) 37%[30] 42%[31] 6.8[32]
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) 80%[33] 64%[34] 7.5[35]
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 82%[36] 63%[37] 7.4[38]
Rent (2005) 46%[39] 53%[40] 7.0[41]
I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009) 14%[42] 32%[43] 5.3[44]
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) 49%[45] 47%[46] 5.9[47]
Pixels (2015) 17%[48] 27%[49] 5.7[50]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result[51]
1985 Saturn Award Best Writing Gremlins Nominated
1986 Young Sherlock Holmes Nominated
2002 Amanda Award Best Foreign Feature Film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Nominated
Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film Best Film Shared with David Heyman Nominated
BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film Shared with David Heyman and Steve Kloves Nominated
Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Michael Barnathan, Duncan Henderson, David Heyman, Steve Kloves and Mark Radcliffe Nominated
Saturn Award Best Director Nominated
2003 Amanda Award Best Foreign Feature Film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nominated
BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film Shared with David Heyman and Steve Kloves Nominated
Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling Nominated
Mainichi Film Award Best Foreign Language Film Won
Saturn Award Best Director Nominated
2004 BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film Shared with Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Won
2005 Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film Best Film Shared with Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe Nominated
Satellite Award Outstanding Director Rent Nominated
2012 Academy Award Best Picture Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green The Help Nominated
AFI Award Movie of the Year Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green Won
Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film Best Film Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green Nominated
Black Reel Award Best Film Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green Won
Christopher Award Best Feature Films Shared with Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, Michael Barnathan, Jennifer Blum, Brunson Green, Sonya Lunsford, John Norris, Mark Radcliffe, Jeff Skoll and Tate Taylor Won
Producers Guild of America Award Best Theatrical Motion Pictures Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green Nominated
2016 Golden Raspberry Award Worst Picture Shared with Adam Sandler, Mark Radcliffe and Allen Covert Pixels Pending

Cultural references

In The Big Bang Theory episode titled "The Pirate Solution', the characters celebrate Columbus Day by watching The Goonies, Gremlins and Young Sherlock Holmes because "They were all written by Chris Columbus."[52]

References

  1. ↑ In the Matter of CERTAIN PRODUCTS WITH GREMLINS CHARACTER DEPICTIONS, p. 54
  2. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/26/chris-columbus-childrens-novel-house-secrets
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Filmreference Biography
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  7. ↑ Box Office Prophets
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  10. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/haim-saban-launches-animation-studio-744746
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External links

Preceded by
None
 Harry Potter film director
2001–2002		 Succeeded by
Alfonso Cuarón
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