Warren Miller (director)

Warren Miller (born October 15, 1924) is an American ski & snowboarding filmmaker. His credits include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of published non-fiction stories. His annual films on skiing and other outdoor sports are renowned for their stunning photography, witty humor, and exhibition of incredible talent showcasing Olympians and celebrity athletes. He has received wide acclaim for his promotion of the sport of modern skiing through his films spanning over 50 years.

Biography

Early years

Warren Miller was born in Hollywood, and as a young man he took up the hobbies of skiing, surfing, and photography. At the age of 18, with the U.S. ten months into World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific. [Warren Miller by Mort Lund (2005). [http://www.warrenmiller.net/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=37&Itemid=54] ] Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1946 he bought his first 8mm movie camera. He and a friend moved to Sun Valley, Idaho where they camped in the parking lot of the Sun Valley ski resort, living out of a teardrop trailer and earning money as ski instructors. In their free time, they would film each other skiing to critique and improve their ski techniques. During the summers they shifted their lifestyle to the California coast where they filmed each other surfing. [Miller, Warren (2005). [http://www.warrenmiller.net/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=36&Itemid=53] ]

Career

Warren Miller Entertainment

Warren Miller would often show his skiing and surfing films to friends, making jokes about their exploits throughout the showing of the film. When he began to receive invitations to show and narrate his films at parties, it occurred to him that he could turn this hobby into a business. In 1949, Miller founded Warren Miller Entertainment and began a long standing tradition of producing one feature-length ski film per year. He rented out halls and theaters, usually with borrowed money, and charged admission to his shows. He booked show halls near ski resorts so that he could film the next year's footage during the day, and show the current film in the evening. Before long he was showing his films in 130 cities a year. [Miller, Warren (2005). [http://www.warrenmiller.net/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=36&Itemid=53] ]

Current work

Miller continued to head the company both creatively and executively until the late 1980s when he sold the company to his son, Kurt Miller. Kurt later sold the company to Time, Inc., and the company still produces a new film every year, which is then taken on a screening tour near the end of the Northern autumn and again 6 months later for the Southern Hemisphere. The screenings of the annual films are elaborate events designed as celebrations of the beginning of each skiing season.

While phasing out of his executive role, Miller still maintained his creative role as director and narrator for the films into the 1990s, but due to his age (now over 80 years old) and ailing health, Miller has distanced himself from production in recent years. The makers of recent films such as, "Warren Miller's Higher Ground" (2005) and "Warren Miller's Off the Grid" (2006), opted to use Miller's narration from previous films rather than recording new narration. [Miller, Warren (2005). [http://www.warrenmiller.net/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=36&Itemid=53&bridgeVar1=0&bridgeVar3=0 "My Bio: Warren on Warren"] (Commercial site), warrenmiller.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.] [ [http://www.skinet.com/skinet/warren_miller/article/0,26908,1478963,00.html "Warren Miller’s Off the Grid: The world’s largest winter sports movie announces 2006 U.S. tour."] (Press release, commercial website). Skinet.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.] [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135646854.html "Warren Miller's Higher Ground."] (Press release), PR Newswire, 2005-08-31, via highbeam.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.]

Recent films have been criticized as a departure from the traditional Warren Miller films.Fact|date=January 2008 Miller himself has indicated that he is not content with recent productions.Fact|date=January 2008 Still, the films get mostly positive reviews and continue to garner a loyal fanbase of both skiers and snowboarders.

Personal life

Warren Miller currently resides with his wife, Laurie, in Seattle, Washington, and is officially retired from filmmaking but remains an active writer. He has announced plans to publish a book about life in retirement called, "What Are You Doing with the Rest of Your Life?"

Filmography

Bibliography

* Wine, Women, Warren & Skis
* Lurching from One Near Disaster to the Next
* On Film in Print

References

External links

* [http://www.warrenmiller.com Warren Miller Entertainment]
* [http://www.warrenmiller.net Warren Miller Foundation]
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