My Inspirations
Shawn Levy
One of my inspirations is Shawn Levy, who directed the TV show Stranger Things. He also directed the Night at the Museum franchise and Real Steel in the early 2010s. Levy also collaborated with famous actor Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy and The Adam Project. The two will also work together on the upcoming Deadpool 3, which will be released in 2024. Levy is an inspiration to me as he has worked on so many movies and shows, and while he may not be well known by an audience watching these products, he is a large inspiration to me.
Levy began his professional career whilst pursuing his undergraduate degree in the mid-1980s. While he was studying, he made his acting debut in Zombie Nightmare, which was a low-budget horror film. He also appeared in Liberace: Behind the Music: released in 1988.
Towards the end of the 1990s, Levy mainly directed television teen dramas, such as The Secret World of Alex Mack on Nickelodeon. He made his debut as a director in 1997 with Just in Time: this was followed by his 2002 teen comedy Big Fat Liar, his first theatrical release. For the remainder of the 2000s, Levy worked on big-budget films, such as The Pink Panther and the Night at the Museum franchise, with the first of them being one of the highest-grossing films in 2006.
In 2010, Levy worked with Steve Carrel, directing and producing the comedy Date Night. During this time he also started to work on Real Steel with Hugh Jackman. This film was also executively produced by Steven Spielberg.
In the mid-2000s, Levy and his company 21 Laps signed a production deal with 20th Century Fox, which was renewed in 2010. Levy used this deal to create a new television company with Marty Adelstein to develop comedy series.
Outside of 20th Century Fox, Levy worked to expand his own company's range to go further than just family-friendly comedies: this included him producing the drama The Spectacular Now in 2013, and the Academy Award-winning sci-fi film Arrival in 2016.
Levy was announced to be directing the film adaptation of the video game Uncharted but Levy decided to leave the project in December 2018. In December 2017, Netflix announced a 4-year contract with Levy following the first season of the show Stranger Things. Due to the successful seasons of Stranger Things, Levy will create TV projects exclusively for Netflix.
Levy's Filmography
Films:
Levy has worked on many films and shows, if not directing them, producing, or acting.
He is an inspiration to me as he is a great director, producer, and actor and despite my goals to become only a director rather than a 'triple threat' when it comes to film, Levy is still a talented man, and the fact that he has worked on so many things, some at the same time as others, is admirable.
References:
Taika Waititi
Another of my inspirations is Taika Waititi, also known as Taika Cohen. He is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is also the recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award. His feature films Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film.
Waititi's 2003 short film Two Cars, One night earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. He co-wrote, co-directed, and even starred in the horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows in 2014, alongside Jemaine Clement.
His most recent directing credits include the Marvel films: Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder as well as the comedy film Jojo Rabbit, all of which were released between 2017 and 2022. Jojo Rabbit received six Academy Award nominations and won Best Adapted Screenplay. He also earned a Grammy Award for producing the soundtrack to the film.
In television, Waititi co-created and executively produces the drama-comedy series Reservation Dogs and directs, produces, and stars in the comedy Our Flag Means Death. He also directed one episode of The Mandalorian, as well as voicing the character IG-11, for which he was nominated for an award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.
Waititi studied at Victoria University and was part of a five-member comedy ensemble, that toured New Zealand and Australia with some success. He was half of a comedy duo, alongside Jemaine Clement, which received New Zealand's highest comedy accolade: the Billy T Award in 1999.
In 2005, Waititi's short film Two Cars One Night earned him an academy award nomination. At the awards, Taika feigned falling asleep as the nominations were being read.
His second feature, Boy, premiered at the Sundance Film festival in January 1010 and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Waititi also took on one of the main roles in the film. On the film's release, it received enthusiastic reviews and was successful at the local box office. In 2011, Waititi also starred in the superhero film Green Lantern as Thomas Kalmaku.
In 2013, Waititi co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the vampire comedy mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows with Clement. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014.
Waititi's fourth feature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Festival. When it was released, the comedy adventure broke the record for a New Zealand film in its opening weekend.
In 2017, Waititi won the award for New Zealander of the Year but was unable to receive it in person due to work commitments. That same year he directed his first major studio film, Thor: Ragnarok, which was released in October. he also portrayed Korg in the film, via motion capture. Waititi had previously directed a short film series for Marvel entitled Team Thor, which followed the lives of Thor and his roommate.
In 2019, Waititi wrote and directed Jojo Rabbit based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens. In 2021, he won the Grammy Award for the soundtrack of the film.
In October 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Waititi would be one of the directors for the Star Wars Mandalorian. The series premiered on 12 November 2019, and Waititi also voices one of the droid bounty hunters in the series. He directed the series' first-season finale.
Since 2020, Waititi has starred in movies and shows such as The Suicide Squad, Free Guy and Our Flag Means Death.
Waititi's Filmography
Short Films:
Feature Film:
Television:
Taika Waititi is yet another big inspiration of mine. He has directed and produced so many movies and shows and starred in a lot of them too. In each of his movies and shows there is always a hint or a reference to him, whether it be related to comedy or whether it is him starring in a scene.
Waititi is such a great filmmaker and I look up to him a lot.
References
David Leitch
Leitch was a stunt double for Brad Pitt five times, and two times for Jean-Claude Van Damme. Leitch and his crew won two awards for The Bourne Ultimatum at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Leitch and Chad Stahelski opened an action design production company called 87Eleven in 1997. In 2009, Stahelski and Leitch were second unit directors and stunt coordinators on Ninja Assassin. The two co-directed the film John Wick although Leitch himself was not credited. Leitch was also an executive producer on the two sequels of the movie.
He moved on to direct films such as Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Fast and Furious, Hobbs & Shaw with his wife and creative partner Kelly McCormick serving as producer. In 2022, he also directed Brad Pitt in the action-thriller film Bullet Train.
In 2019, Leitch signed on to direct Undying love, based on the limited comic book series by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman, for studio 8. In September 2020, Leitch also signed on to direct and produce the drama The Fall Guy for Universal Pictures. It is based on the 1980s television series of the same name and is set to release in 2024.
Leitch was also set to direct the action thriller Fast and Loose for Netflix, but by March 2022, he had departed the project to focus on The Fall Guy.
Leitch's Filmography
Film:
I want to go into the media industry because of my inspirations. Each of them started out similarly, but also very different. Whilst they all started out by filming and directing their own short independent movies, where they went and what they did afterward was quite different. I look up to these directors and producers as they have each worked on so many movies and TV shows, and this is something that I want to do.
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