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Constantine
Background:
An admired music video director-turned-movie director, Francis Lawrence has
established a strong career since making his debut in the mid-1990s. He has
worked for numerous stars such as Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez,
Destiny’s Child, Sarah McLachlan, Ricky Martin, Janet Jackson, Shakira, Will
Smith, Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani. He also has been handed several MTV
Video Music Awards and earned the 2002 MVPA Director of the Year award as well
as a 2002 Latin Grammy Award.
Following in the footsteps of A-List directors like David Fincher and McG, the
young flourishing director then made the leap into features. He had his first
taste of helming film with the Keanu Reeves vehicle Constantine, a 2005
supernatural thriller which earned commercial success. Lawrence is now signed to
DNA Inc. and Academy Productions Ltd. He is directing two 2007 films, Eddie
Dickens And The Awful End and I Am Legend.
Austrian Import
Childhood and Family:
Born in Vienna, Austria, Francis Lawrence moved to Los Angeles when he was three
years old. Growing up in L.A in the 1980s, he was naturally drawn to filmmaking.
He wrote screenplays, made Super 8 movies and took high school film classes.
After high school, he furthered his filmmaking studies to Loyola Marymount
University. In the mid-1990s, Francis started his professional music video
directing career by joining a friend who had an independent record label.
I Am Legend
Career:
Born in Austria, raised in Los Angeles, Francis Lawrence made his debut as music
video director in the mid-1990s with a friend who owned a small record label.
His early directions included A Western Front’s “Go” and “The Problem,” AlldaRon
West’s “We’ve Got That Kind Of Love” (all 1994), Boyz Of Paradize’s “Shining
Star” (1995) and Color Me Badd’s “Sexual Capacity” (1996). Lawrence went to work
with artists like Eric Benet, Deborah Cox, Vanessa Williams, Natalie Cole,
Aerosmith, Sarah McLachlan, Seal, Jay-Z and Brian McKnight, but the creative
genius did not receive huge breakthrough until 1999, when actress Jennifer
Lopez, who at the time, was beginning into her very public metamorphosis into
the media icon known as J-Lo, became interested in his work and recruited him to
helm the music video of song “Waiting For Tonight”/ “Una Noche Mas.”
After the high-profile gig, Lawrence found himself working with the boggets
superstars in music such as Lauryn Hill in “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” Ricky
Martin in “Private Emotion” (2000), Destiny’s Child in “Independent Woman Part.
I” (2000) and “Emotion” (2001), Backstreet Boys in “The Call” (2001), Janet
Jackson in “Someone To Call My Lover” (2001), Britney Spears in “I’m A Slave 4
U” (2001), Alanis Morissette in “Precious Illusions” (2002) and Will Smith in
“Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head).” His bright direction in Shakira’s in
“Whenever, Wherever / Suerte” (2001) even won the music video director a Latin
Grammy in 2002. The same year, Lawrence also took home a MVPA for Director of
the Year.
Along the way, Lawrence has helmed television commercials as well, for clients
such as Coca Cola, CoverGirl, McDonald’s, Oldsmobile, Pepsi Cola, Foot Locker,
Bacardi, Bud Light and Disneyland. His popularity as music video director
continued to rise when he teamed up with singers like Avril Lavigne, Justin
Timberlake and Gwen Stefani. By 2004, the multi-award winning director had
acquired a reputable track record and a well-merited status as one of the most
visually gifted video directors around.
With such impressive accomplishment, Lawrence finally could segue into film
industry. In 2005, he made his debut as movie director with Constantine, a
supernatural thriller with religious nuances and a dash of film noir based on
the DC Comics/Vertigo Graphic Novels Hellblazer. Starring Keanu Reeves as the
eponymous paranormal investigator, John Constantine, the film suffered from
debatable casting and an incoherent plotline. On a more positive note,
Constantine was a commercially successful for the rookie director, grossing over
$75 million nationally. In the meantime, Lawrence continued helming music
videos, like Jennifer Lopez’s “Get Right” and Audioslave’s “Be Yourself.”
Lawrence is now directing two films scheduled for the late of 2007 release. The
first is I Am Legend, an action/ sci-fi based on a book by Richard Matheson and
starring Will Smith, and the next is the animated family drama Eddie Dickens and
the Awful End.
Awards:
