- Chris Weitz
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Chris Weitz 
Chris Weitz at the New Moon Photocall in Paris, France in November 2009Born Christopher John Weitz
October 23, 1969
New York City, New YorkOccupation Film director, Producer, and Screenwriter Spouse Mercedes Martinez (1 child) Christopher John "Chris" Weitz (born November 30, 1969)[1] is an American producer, writer, director and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother, Paul Weitz, on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy, as well as directing the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass and the film adaptation of New Moon from the series of Twilight books.[2] His most recent film is A Better Life.
Contents
Personal life
Weitz was born in New York City, New York, the son of actress Susan Kohner and novelist/fashion designer John Weitz. His brother is Paul Weitz. He is the grandson of producer Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar on his maternal side.[3] His grandmother, Lupita, starred in Santa, Mexico's first talkie, in 1932.
He was educated at St Paul's School in London and went on to graduate with an English degree from Trinity College in Cambridge.[4][5] He is married to Mercedes Martinez, who is Cuban Mexican, with whom he has one son, Sebastian.[3]
Career
Early career
Weitz began his film career as a co-writer on the 1998 animated film Antz. He followed this with work on various sitcoms such as Off Centre and the 1998 revival of Fantasy Island. In 1999, he and Paul directed and produced American Pie, which became a major box office success. Chris returned as executive producer on the film's two theatrical sequels. In 2001 he directed his second film, the Chris Rock comedy Down To Earth. The following year the brothers co-wrote and directed About a Boy, which earned them an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Golden Compass
In 2003, Weitz was hired to direct New Line Cinema's adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, The Golden Compass, after approaching the studio with an unsolicited 40-page treatment. He was subsequently invited by director Peter Jackson to visit the set of King Kong, in order to gain insight into directing a big-budget film and advice on how to deal with New Line. In 2005, Weitz announced his departure from the film, citing the enormous technical challenges involved, and the fear of being denounced by both the book's fans and detractors;[6] he was subsequently replaced by British director Anand Tucker. Ironically, Tucker left the project in 2006 over creative differences with New Line, and Weitz returned to the director's chair after receiving a letter from Pullman asking him to reconsider.
The film was released in 2007 and was met with mixed reviews. Its U.S. grosses have been described as disappointing[7] in relation to film's $180 million USD budget, although it was a "stellar performer" outside the U.S. with a "stunning" box office likely to hit $250 million.[8] When questioned about a possible sequel, New Line studio co-head Michael Lynne said that "The jury is still very much out on the movie..."[9] Although the second and third screenplays have been written, the economic recession, and protests from religious groups it appears that subsequent production for the series is at a standstill.[10] Its worldwide box office gross stands at $372,234,864.[11]
Other projects
Weitz has produced a number of films including In Good Company and American Dreamz, both of which were directed by his brother, Paul. His current projects include a live action adaptation Michael Moorcock's Elric saga, which he enjoyed as a child. Weitz's Depth of Field production company will create the films as a potential trilogy for Universal Pictures. In a May, 2007 interview with Empire magazine he announced that he had met with Moorcock, who trusted him with the films, and described his wish for Paul to direct the film.[12] In June 2011 Summit Entertainment released his latest film A Better Life, written by Eric Eason about a Hispanic gardener and his son in Los Angeles searching for their stolen truck. This film is unusual among Hollywood productions in that it is set in a Hispanic community and features an almost entirely Hispanic cast.[13]
Weitz has also occasionally worked as an actor, playing the lead role in the 2000 comedy film Chuck & Buck and a bland suburbanite in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
On December 13, 2008, he was confirmed as directing the sequel to Twilight, the film adaptation of the novel New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.[14]The Twilight Saga: New Moon opened on November 20, 2009, one year after the first movie was released. New Moon set records as the biggest midnight opening in domestic box office history, grossing an estimated $26.3 million in 3,514 theatres. The record was previously held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which grossed $22.2 million domestically during its midnight premiere. The film grossed $72.7 million on its opening day domestically, becoming the biggest single-day opening in domestic history, beating the $67.2 million tally of The Dark Knight. This opening strongly contributed to another record: the first time that the top ten films at the domestic box office had a combined gross of over $100 million in a single day.[11]
The opening weekend of New Moon was the third-highest opening weekend in US domestic history with $142,839,137, and the sixth-highest worldwide opening weekend with $274.9 million total.[11] With an estimated budget of just under $50 million, New Moon is the least expensive movie to ever open to more than $200 million worldwide. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the film grossed $42.5 million, and including Wednesday and Thursday ticket sales, grossed $66 million. It has earned $230.7 million in its first ten days,[11] $38 million more than the previous installment grossed in its entire theatrical run. Internationally, the film grossed roughly $85 million over Thanksgiving weekend, adding up to a total worldwide gross of $473.7 million in just ten days.[15]
Filmography
- Chris and Paul Weitz
- 1999: American Pie
- 2001: Down to Earth
- 2002: About a Boy
- Chris Weitz
- 2007: The Golden Compass
- 2009: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- 2011: A Better Life
- Acting credits
- 1999: American Pie (cameo)
- 2000: Chuck & Buck (main role)
- 2004: See This Movie (also executive producer)
- 2005: Mr. & Mrs. Smith (supporting role)
- 2006: Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (voice)
- Writer credits
- 1998: Antz (with Paul Weitz & Todd Alcott)
- 1998-1999: Fantasy Island (TV series)
- 2000: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
- 2002: About a Boy (also director with Paul Weitz)
References
- ^ the most accurate source of Weitz's birth date is the 1969 given in the production notes on the DVD for "Chuck & Buck." A check of the database at ancestry.com will give greater detail.
- ^ Chris Weitz to Direct Two-Part 'Breaking Dawn' Finale?
- ^ a b Horn, John (21 June 2011). "Chris Weitz's 'Better Life' shines light on illegal immigrant issues". The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-better-life-20110621,0,5165889.story. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ IMDB.com (2009-02-06). "Chris Weitz - Biography". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919363/bio. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ Notable Biographies (2009-02-06). "Rachel Weisz Biography". Notable Biographies. http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-Ra-Z/Weisz-Rachel.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ Devin Gordon (2007-11-27). "A Director Confronts Some Dark Material". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/72020. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ Dean Goodman (2007-12-09). "'Golden Compass' loses its way at U.S. box office". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN0933149320071209. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
- ^ Dave McNary (2008-01-01). "Foreign box office hits record levels". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978262.html. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ^ Peter Sanders (2007-12-19). "New Line and Director Settle 'Rings' Suit, Look to 'Hobbit'". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ IMDB (18-July-2008). "The Golden Compass Sequel axed?". http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0263390/.
- ^ a b c d [1]
- ^ Empire: Movie News - Exclusive: Weitz Brothers Making Elric
- ^ Cieply, Michael (2010-06-01). "Another Los Angeles in 'Gardener'". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/movies/02weitz.html?hpw. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Chris Weitz to helm 'Twilight' Sequel". omg! news on Yahoo! (Yahoo!). 2008-12-13. http://omg.yahoo.com/news/chris-weitz-to-helm-twilight-sequel/16533. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- ^ Chris Weitz Not Keen on Returning to The Twilight Saga for Breaking Dawn
External links
- Chris Weitz at the Internet Movie Database
- His Dark Materials Interview
- Times story on His Dark Materials film 'controversy'
Films directed by Paul and Chris Weitz Together Paul only In Good Company (2004) · American Dreamz (2006) · Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) · Little Fockers (2010)Chris only Categories:- 1969 births
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- American businesspeople
- American Jews
- American film directors
- Living people
- American people of Czech descent
- American people of Mexican descent
- Hispanic and Latino American people
- People from New York City
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