Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow

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Biography

Kathryn Bigelow (born 27.1.1951)

Kathryn Bigelow is an Academy Award-winning American film director.

Kathryn Bigelow: Childhood

Kathryn Bigelow was born in San Carlos, in California. She first became involved in film through her work as a painter. Bigelow then earned a master's degree from the graduate film program at Columbia University, where she studied theory and criticism. Among her tutors there were Susan Sontag and Vito Acconci.

Kathryn Bigelow: Career in Film

The Set-Up, in 1978, was Bigelow's debut short film. Her debut full-length feature was 1982's The Loveless, which she co-directed with Monty Montgomery. Five years later, Bigelow directed Near Dark, which she also co-scripted with Eric Reid.

Reid and Bigelow worked together again in 1990 on Blue Steel, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Ron Silver. The following year, Bigelow directed Point Break, staring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. The film was produced by Bigelow's ex-husband, James Cameron.

In 1995, Kathryn Bigelow directed Strange Days, which was also produced (and written) by James Cameron. Strange Days starred Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis and Angela Bassett. 2000's Weight of Water was based in the novel by Anita Shreve and the film version starred Elizabeth Hurley and Sean Penn.

Two years later, Bigelow directed K-19: the Widowmaker, with Harrison Ford in the lead role and also starring Liam Neeson. K19: the Widowmaker was a low point in Bigelow's career and was seen by many as her downfall as a director. It would be seven years until Bigelow found herself back in the director's chair.

However, when Kathryn did return to work as a director, her reputation took a dramatic upturn, with the release of The Hurt Locker. The film was first shown at the Venice Film Festival in September 2008. The lead actors of the film are Brian Geraghty, Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner. Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and David Morse also have cameo roles in the film. Bigelow has received a number of accolades for her directorial work on The Hurt Locker. She became the first woman to receive the Directors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on the film. Early in 2010, Kathryn Bigelow received an Oscar nomination for Best Director, becoming only the fourth woman in film history to earn that accolade. Before her, were Lina Wertmüller (for Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (for The Piano), and Sofia Coppola (for Lost in Translation).

Kathryn Bigelow: Other works

Kathryn Bigelow directed the music video for New Order's 'Touched by the Hand of God' in 1987.

In 1983, Kathryn Bigelow played the role of a newspaper editor in Lizzie Borden's 1983 film Born in Flames.

Kathryn Bigelow: Personal Life

Between 1989 and 1991, Kathryn Bigelow was married to the Oscar-winning film director James Cameron. Both directors were nominated for the same award at the 2010 Academy Awards.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Detroit Review

Extraordinary

After The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal reteam to tell a true story from half a century ago, finding unnerving present-day resonance in the details. Using exhaustive research, they recount the events surrounding the Detroit riots for the first time, with characters who feel achingly real. It's so impeccably assembled that it carries a strong punch to the gut.

It kicked off in July 1967 when white police raided a peaceful party, brutally arresting the blacks in attendance. People hit the streets in protest, and the officials cracked down. Caught up in this, aspiring Motown singer Larry (Algee Smith) and his pal Fred (Jacob Latimore) take refuge in the Algiers Motel, where they meet some other men (including Anthony Mackie and Jason Mitchell) and two white girls (Hannah Murray and Kaitlyn Dever). Thinking they heard shots fired, local cop Krauss (Will Poulter) and his partners (Jack Reynor and Ben O'Toole) charge in, lining everyone up and menacing them brutally. Caught in the middle, security guard Melvin (John Boyega) tries to diffuse the situation without further aggravating these viciously bigoted policemen.

The film opens with a lucid prologue tracing the roots of America's racial tensions in the continued segregation between inner-cities and suburbs, creating a police state with whites marginalising blacks. Bigelow's direction and Boal's script then recount events journalistically, throwing the audience right into the situation without character back-stories. This makes everything feel urgent and dangerous, a situation in which absolutely anything can happen. So when it leads to murder, we're deeply horrified.

Continue reading: Detroit Review

Kathryn Bigelow Talks About Detroit


Kathryn Bigelow

The events unfolded in July 1967, exposing rampant racial and economic oppression. But the true story of what happened had never been fully told. The big question was whether a middle-class white woman from San Francisco was the right person to make this movie. "I thought, 'Am I the perfect person to tell this story? No,'" Bigelow says. "However, I'm able to tell this story. And with the events unfolding today, the story needed to see the light of day."

Kathryn on the set of Detroit

Speaking with Contactmusic, Kathryn Bigelow expressed her deep passion to depict the story authentically. "I never thought about it as entertainment," she admits. "I saw it as a dramatisation of true events, based on court documents and first-hand accounts. It helped that we had some real people on the set, including the characters played by John Boyega [security guard Melvin Dismukes] and Hannah Murray [victim Julie Hysell]."

Continue reading: Kathryn Bigelow Talks About Detroit

'Detroit' Director Kathryn Bigelow Says Talking About Race Is "More Vital Than Ever"


Kathryn Bigelow John Boyega Will Poulter

Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow says that talking about the issue of race in America is “more vital than ever”, after headline-grabbing events in Charlottesville last weekend.

The 65 year old filmmaker spoke on the eve of the release of her new movie Detroit, which stars John Boyega and Will Poulter and tells the events of the Detroit rebellion in July 1967, that was triggered by heavy-handed policing of the city’s black population.

Bigelow wants to meet racism “head-on”, telling The Guardian that “to do nothing is not an option”.

Continue reading: 'Detroit' Director Kathryn Bigelow Says Talking About Race Is "More Vital Than Ever"

John Boyega And Will Poulter Bonded In Detroit


John Boyega Will Poulter Kathryn Bigelow

Boyega (The Force Awakens) plays Melvin Dismukes, a quietly observant security officer, while Poulter (The Revenant) plays Philip Krauss, an abusive policeman. As non-American actors, they're able to get under the skin of these characters without any cultural baggage. And despite the fact that they are playing characters on opposite sides of the conflict, the actors bonded on the set.

Detroit stars the two BritsDetroit stars the two Brits

Boyega says he heard about the film when the auditions came up, and he had time to fit one movie in before resuming his Star Wars role for The Last Jedi. "I wanted a movie that was grounded and based on a true story," he says. "And this was an issue that I'm very passionate about, given the subject matter. I see the movie as Detroit's origin story: the scars and the hurt. This place was victimised by systemic racism and violence. And that creates an imbalance that's very, very hard to sort out."

Continue reading: John Boyega And Will Poulter Bonded In Detroit

Jessica Chastain seen with John Madden and Kathryn Bigelow at Jessica's hand And Footprint Ceremony at TCL Chinese Theatre - Hollywood, California, United States - Thursday 3rd November 2016

John Madden, Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow
John Madden, Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow
John Madden, Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow
John Madden, Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow
John Madden, Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow

The Most Successful Women In The Film Industry


Sofia Coppola Jane Goldman Catherine Hardwicke Kathryn Bigelow

Despite an unfortunate continuation of women in subordinate roles, female actresses in Hollywood are very much in the ascendance, refusing to play second fiddle to the traditional male hierarchy. However, it is behind the camera where male domination prevails. Only four women in the entire history of the Academy Awards have been nominated for the Best Director Oscar, Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976), Jane Champion for The Piano (1993), Sofia Coppola for Lost In Translation (2003) and Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009). Bigelow is the only female director to take home the award. Such an overwhelming consortium of male influence seems perturbing, but a slew of female industry players are intent on overthrowing the status quo, breaking down gender barriers and paving the way for innovation on multiple levels. From the increasingly gargantuan Marvel juggernaut to low budget art-house pictures, women are beginning to make their mark in spheres in dire need of a feminine touch, free from a traditionally testosterone-fuelled male outlook.

 Nicole Perlman

.Nicole Perlman At Guardians Of The Galaxy Premiere
Nicole Perlman is the first woman to write a Marvel feature

Continue reading: The Most Successful Women In The Film Industry

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Is Chris Pratt The Next Big Hollywood Star?


Chris Pratt Kathryn Bigelow Osama Bin Laden James Gunn Dave Bautista Zoe Saldana Lee Pace Glenn Close Karen Gillan Benicio Del Toro John C Reilly Joel Edgerton Jack Huston Jim Sturgess Eddie Redmayne Joseph Gordon-Levitt Christian Bale

Chris Pratt, the 34-year-old actor who has bagged himself some pretty tasty roles in recent years, is bulking up for his role in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Pratt is the latest movie star to undergo a dramatic physical transformation and posted his progress in an Instragram photo this week.

It's not the first time the Parks and Recreation actor has changed weight for a movie role - he sported a hugely toned physique for his role as a member of Seal Team Six in Kathyn Bigelow's Osama Bin Laden movie 'Zero Dark Thirty' last year.

Continue reading: Guardians Of The Galaxy: Is Chris Pratt The Next Big Hollywood Star?

'Point Break' Remake Seats Ericson Core In Director's Chair


Kathryn Bigelow Keanu Reeves Patrick Swayze

The remake of Kathryn Bigelow’s classic movie Point Break has now got a director on board. According to Empire Online, Alcon Entertainment, who have been developing this one for some years now, have announced that they have Ericson Core on board to direct. Not only does Ericson Core have a superb name, for an action movie director, but he’s got pretty good form too. Rest assured, folks, he wasn’t selected on the basis of his name alone (we can’t actually verify that, we’re just assuming that he wasn’t).

It’s long been known that Kurt Wimmer has written the screenplay for the remake but now they have the man behind The Fast and the Furious, Daredevil and Payback (as cinematographer) on board. He’s also directed episodes of Family Law as well as the Mark Wahlberg-starring Invincible. According to IMDB, Core is currently attached to a project named Fair Trade, though no cast have actually been allocated to that one just yet, the site suggests. It’s likely that Point Break could well become the next project for Core, if Fair Trade isn’t going to fly.

The original Point Break, of course, starred Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent trying to infiltrate Patrick Swayze’s gang of adrenaline-hungry bank robbers. According to Empire, the remake “evolved” from an original plan to create a sequel. 

Continue reading: 'Point Break' Remake Seats Ericson Core In Director's Chair

Oscars 2013: Skyfall And Zero Dark Thirty Is First Tied Vote Since 1968


Kathryn Bigelow Sam Mendes Katharine Hepburn Barbra Streisand

Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and Sam Mendes's Skyfall tied the Oscar for Sound Editing on Sunday evening (February 24, 2013) - the first dead heat at the famous awards show since 1968, when Katherine Hepburn and Barbara Streisand famously tied for Best Actress for their performances in The Lion In Winter and Funny Girl respectively.

Presenter Mark Wahlberg, who announced the award with Ted, seemed stunned by the result, telling the audience there was "no bullsh*t," and that the vote was indeed a tie. Zero Dark Thirty was the first winner to be read out, before the sound editors behind the James Bond movie Skyfall were also rewarded.

It's only the third time in Oscars history that a vote has been tied, with the other occasion occurring in 1932 when Frederick March and Wallace Berry shared the prize for Best Actor for their roles in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Champ. It's a hugely unlikely result, given the amount of votes cast for each category - most of which contain five nominees.

Continue reading: Oscars 2013: Skyfall And Zero Dark Thirty Is First Tied Vote Since 1968

Unofficial Zero Dark Thirty Ban Rumored In Pakistan


Kathryn Bigelow

Amidst a backlash, there are rumors that Zero Dark Thirty has been banned in Pakistan unofficially.

The film deals with the real life story of the USA attempting to track down Al Queda leader Osama Bin Laden, the perpetrator behind the 9/11 tower attacks, and has it hasn’t come in for an easy ride at home either – with comments being passed on its depiction of torture and interrogation scenes. However that’s nothing compared to the reaction in Pakistan, according to NBC, where the response has been truly heated.

The official line from the Pakistan government is that the Kathryn Bigelow film has not been officially released, with no one having supposed to have seen the movie. However officially bootlegs and pirate copies have made their way onto the internet and into the hands of the country, with those watching furious at what they’ve seen. “It went ballistic bad in depicting everyday life on the streets of Pakistan” wrote critic Nadeem Farooq Paracha. The decision by distributors not to buy the movie for Pakistan prompted intrigue into what exactly the movie contained, and people didn’t like what they saw. “As a film buff, the movie was inaccurate about Pakistan. If you’re going to say something about a complicated part of the world, then you should say it right” said general manager of Cinepax Moshin Yaseen.

Continue reading: Unofficial Zero Dark Thirty Ban Rumored In Pakistan

Jennifer Lawrence To Win Best Actress Oscar? Poll Voters Seem To Think So...


Jennifer Lawrence Jessica Chastain Kathryn Bigelow Emmanuelle Riva Quvenzhane Wallis Naomi Watts Anne Hathaway

A poll conducted by voters reveals that the American public have got Jennifer Lawrence pegged as the winner of the Best Actress Oscar, for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. Lawrence has already bagged a Golden Globe, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, amongst others and the voters in Reuters’ poll seem pretty confident that she can repeat that success at next weekend’s Academy Awards.

With 15 per cent of the votes, Lawrence may have been the favourite but her heels were being well and truly snapped at by Jessica Chastain, star of Kathryn Bigelow’s political drama Zero Dark Thirty, with 11 per cent of the vote. Of course, awards shows are all about surprises and the statuette could well be awarded to one of the category outsiders, such as 85 year-old Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) and 9 year-old Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild). Naomi Watts is also nominated, for her role in the tsunami disaster movie the Impossible.

In the Best Supporting Actress category, 26 per cent of the 1,586 voters felt that Anne Hathaway was most likely to take home the prize, for her brief but powerful performance in Les Miserables. 

Continue reading: Jennifer Lawrence To Win Best Actress Oscar? Poll Voters Seem To Think So...

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow Quick Links

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Kathryn Bigelow

Date of birth

27th November, 1951

Occupation

Filmmaker

Sex

Female

Height

1.82


Kathryn Bigelow Movies

Detroit Movie Review

Detroit Movie Review

After The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal reteam to...

Detroit Trailer

Detroit Trailer

It's the summer of 1967 and the city of Detroit, Michigan is in the midst...

Zero Dark Thirty Movie Review

Zero Dark Thirty Movie Review

Blistering writing, directing and acting hold us firmly in our seats as this procedural drama...

Zero Dark Thirty Trailer

Zero Dark Thirty Trailer

Following the tragic events of the twin towers bombing on September 11th 2001 in New...

K-19: The Widowmaker Movie Review

K-19: The Widowmaker Movie Review

K-19: The Widowmaker is based on a true story about a Russian submarine sent to...

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