Celebrity Biographies
Jaume Collet-Serra
He is not a prophet in his land. Possibly due to the classic envy of a compatriot’s triumph, he is systematically ignored in Spain, and he is not nearly as well known as Alejandro Amenábar and other directors. But Jaume Collet-Serra has put a pike in Hollywood, by fully integrating himself into American cinema, and has twice achieved a feat until then impossible for a Spaniard, becoming the leader of the American box office. His career has gone up, ‘non-stop’.
Born in Sant Iscle de Vallalta, in the interior of Barcelona’s Maresme, on March 23, 1974, Jaume Collet-Serra was fond of classic cinema from a very young age. “I was sucked into movies like John Ford ‘s ,” the filmmaker told me during an interview. “Y With the death on the heels is so well filmed that it makes envy”. He always knew that he wanted to dedicate himself to the Seventh Art, but he was clear that he liked the big Hollywood shows and genre cinema, and he did not see himself integrated into Spanish cinema. “He lacks commercial vision,” he told me.
Thus, despite the limited family resources, he did not think twice, at the age of 18 he moved to Los Angeles, where despite his basic knowledge of English, he enrolled in Film at Columbia College. He soon got a commission as an editor.
For his graduation from the center he had to submit a short, but he decided to embark on the adventure of shooting a music video for an unknown local band. Thanks to him, he got a good grade, and also caught the attention of the recording industry, for which they recruited him to film more similar pieces, and finally for an advertising spot for a communications company. It drew so much attention that it was screened in the new directors section of the Cannes Advertising Festival.
In this way, Jaume Collet-Serra began his career in advertisements with a bang. For a few years he was fully dedicated to enthusiastically promoting cars, game consoles, soft drinks and credit cards. He frequently resorted to dark settings typical of horror movies. This fact caught the attention of astute producer Joel Silver (creator of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard ), who was looking for a young director for House of Wax , a horror film.
The film – from 2005 – very freely adapted the story by Charles Belden that had given rise to The Wax Museum Murders , but moving the action to a small American town today. Despite the relatively low budget, and the conventional elements of the script, Collet-Serra managed to achieve a certain freshness, some surprise, and a fast enough pace. The film was a box office success, boosted by the media pull of Paris Hilton , one of the queens of the gossip, which despite her brief participation (she is the first victim to die), turned out to be an excellent claim. advertising.
“The horror genre is the first one any director should face,” Collet-Serra explained. “If you’re not rich and can’t afford your own movies, you have to start with this genre, because you learn a lot. Even Steven Spielberg started with The Devil on Wheels .”
Due to his passion for soccer, he then opted for Goal 2! Living the dream , second installment of a trilogy about football that did not quite succeed at the box office. It has been the only film that has been shot in Spain, since the protagonist signed for Real Madrid, and even had real players from the club at that time, despite the fact that the filmmaker has confessed in my ear that he follows Barça.
Silver has never forgotten his solvency at the box office, so as soon as he could, he signed him up again, for The Orphan , a horror film, about a couple who adopt a 9-year-old girl, without knowing that it is a be devilish Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard starred in the film along with Isabelle Fuhrman , who, despite her young age, managed to terrify. Nor did I achieve bad collection figures.
But the ultimate achievement would also come from Silver’s backing with a thriller heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock , No Identity , with Liam Neeson forgetful and hunted by assassins. With this title, Collet-Serra became the first Spaniard to win first place in the American box office.
The second Spaniard to have achieved such a feat was once again Collet-Serra himself, with Non-Stop (Without stopovers) , which even prevailed over Son of God , a cinematographic montage of the passages about Jesus Christ from the series The Bible . In the tape, also ‘Hitchcocknian’, she once again has Neeson under her command, like a marshall who receives threatening messages on his cell phone during a transoceanic flight. He is accompanied by the always effective Julianne Moore .
The fact that you are outside your country does not mean that you have forgotten it. Collet-Serra created the production company Ombra Films with his friend Juan Sola, with the idea of shooting a couple of films a year, sponsoring young Spanish directors in thrillers or low-budget horror films. Always in English, “so that it is not necessary to do a remake.” The company began its journey with Mindscape , Jorge Dorado ‘s debut feature .
The future looks very bright for a filmmaker who improves by leaps and bounds with every movie he shoots. “Obviously, one is maturing and you are advancing, you are making fewer mistakes,” he explained to me. “Or less noticeable,” she added modestly. He is currently filming One Night to Survive , again with Neeson.