Robert zemeckis

Robert Lee Zemeckis was born on May 14, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Of modest condition, his father was of Lithuanian origin and his mother had Italian roots, which led to an upbringing in Catholicism, and perhaps a certain affinity with the optimistic Capriano cinema. Unlike other filmmakers who drink in their home the love for art in its different manifestations, little Robert did not find that favorable environment that would allow him to cultivate aesthetic taste, although he did immerse himself fully in popular culture thanks to a device called television. A home super 8 camera did the rest, capturing cinematic images became a hobby that he would later call a profession.

Watching a movie with his father, Bonnie and Clyde , decided him to pursue film studies at a school, the University of Southern California (USC), although his parents did not see that path clearly. In fact, his application was initially rejected for academic reasons, but Zemeckis pleaded convincingly, vowing to study hard. He convinced the academic authorities a music video based on the Beatles, presented as an example of his work; Curiously, his feature debut was Crazy About Them (1978), where the group was part of the plot, currently working with the idea of ​​a film inspired by “Yellow Submarine”.

He would share a classroom with someone who would be very important in his life: Bob Gale , screenwriter with whom he co-wrote the script for his first film, Broken Brakes, Crazy Cars (1980), plus those for the Back to the Future trilogy . Faced with the taste of other students for auteur cinema, Zemeckis and Gale were more into commercial cinema; Unfortunately, Gale’s career would not prove as fruitful as that of his early friend and colleague. In 1980 he married Mary Ellen Trainor , a little-known supporting actress who collaborated on several of his films and with whom he had a son, which did not prevent the marriage from breaking up after 20 years together.

If Zemeckis has had an exceptional godfather in his career, it is Steven Spielberg . The director of Loca evasion caught the attention of A Field of Honor , his graduation work at USC, so he made his debut as a producer with Locos por ellos and Frenos rotodos, coches locos , unbeatable business cards to enter the division of big-budget cinema and sophisticated special effects, Back to the Future (1985) and its two sequels from 1989 and 1990, with paradoxes in time travel, homages to Frank Capra ‘s cinema , and even a look at the quintessential American genre, the western. Doc ( Christopher Lloyd )) and McFly (the perennial “kid” Michael J. Fox ) became instant icons of teen popular culture first, then general, and the phrase “Is anyone home, McFly?”, with the well-known pats on the head They were repeated everywhere. In addition Spielberg came to his hand for the script of the failed 1941 (1979), directed by him. His task is to write scripts that he abandoned for a few years to focus on directing, although Walter Hill would take The Time of Intruders to the movies in 1992 .

Together with Joe Dante and Tobe Hooper , Zemeckis became the prototype of a popcorn movie director that Spielberg liked to watch as a spectator, and that he did not have time to direct, although he did have time to produce. So he also collaborated with Spielberg on an episode of Amazing Stories , and on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), a groundbreaking film that combined real actors and animated characters in a film noir plot. It was also further proof that Zemeckis used special effects with enormous talent and originality, taking advantage of all technological advances, if not simply forcing them. And although the Midas of Hollywood was not involved in it, the adventurer After the green heart(1984) was clearly related to Indiana Jones, and led him to start a long relationship with music composer Alan Silvestri ; yes, Zemeckis no longer intervened in the deteriorated sequel The jewel of the Nile .

The zany black comedy Death Suits You So Good (1992), with Meryl Streep , Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis , doesn’t do much in its genre, but its visual effects are a tour de force, with bodies gouged and twisted. among other boasts. Although in this section -in addition to his kind and Caprian look at recent United States history-, Forrest Gump (1994) stood out, with the retarded but great protagonist immersed in great events between famous people, in the style of Woody Allen ‘s Zelig, his friend Lieutenant Dan without legs, or the feather flying through the air in a very long initial shot, surprised the public. “Life is like a box of chocolates…” was another of Zemeckis’s film phrases that made history, while Forrest Gump’s kindness, even with those who mistreated him, captivated an audience that also enjoyed a wonderful soundtrack, crossed with songs for nostalgia. The film received 7 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, this one for Zemeckis.

Some people talk about the curse of the Oscars, which paralyzes when undertaking new work. The truth is that Contact (1997) was a serious attempt to talk about extraterrestrial existence, and the relationship between faith and science, based on a Carl Sagan novel , but the result, despite Jodie Foster , was not memorable. While What Lies Beneath (2000) was a Hitchcock-like supernatural thriller that delivered less than promised by the attractive lead couple, Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford . On the other hand, he was right with Castaway , also from 2000, and repeating with Forrest Gump, that is, Tom Hanks , inCastaway , where he had the merit of being passionate about a guy alone on an island, having conversations with a balloon that paints a face, Wilson, which gave rise to debates about whether that was a way to combat loneliness, or a way of talking with God, the only one who can listen to him in the forced situation where he has no other close.

The first decade of the third millennium was not only launched by Zemeckis with his second marriage –he married Leslie Harter, who has given him another two offspring, and who has also appeared as a secondary presence in several of his films– but with a strong commitment to the digital cinema. Specifically, he will shoot three films with the system of capturing the movements of real actors with sensors that pass the data to the computer, and that later allow sophisticated animation tapes to be presented. In this way, he delivered, also returning to the field of screenwriting, two Christmas stories – Polar Express (2004), the third collaboration with Hanks, and A Christmas Carol (2009), based on the classic by Charles Dickens – plus the Nordic saga more dark beowulf(2007). The result is very spectacular, but also somewhat artificial in the technical aspect; in fact, few have imitated Zemeckis on this path, the most notable case would be that of Spielberg’s former mentor with The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn . The truth is that the system seems more effective for the creation of a character inserted in a realistic environment, as Peter Jackson has done with Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy .

Interestingly, it must be said that Zemeckis produced Jackson’s Hollywood debut, Grab Me Those Ghosts (1996), which also experiments with visual effects. In his role as producer, the filmmaker’s highlights are The Public Eye (1992), The Impostors (2003), The Winner (2007) and Pure Steel (2011), but he is also behind gothika-caliber fiascos ( 2003) . , The Harvest (2007) and Mars Needs Mothers (2011).

After twelve years without seeing flesh and blood actors in his films, but rather their digitally processed image, we have once again been able to see a classic story –although, of course, there is no lack of visual effects, especially in the scene of the accident. – in The Flight , a dramatic story about a pilot whose heroics in landing his plane in an extreme situation could be jeopardized for operating the aircraft under conditions of alcohol. With Denzel Washington playing the leading anti-hero, Zemeckis has delivered a story of redemption that, although not complete, knows how to raise very interesting questions about faith and the meaning of life.

In any case, Zemeckis’s commitment to digital cinema was sealed in 1999 with the creation of the Robert Zemeckis Center for the Digital Arts at his alma mater, USC, to which he contributed money out of pocket, and which he introduced to society at hype and cymbal in the company of Spielberg and George Lucas . Regarding the ashes who said that the disappearance of celluloid would be catastrophic, he pointed out that “they are the same ones who said that LPs sounded better than CDs. You can debate the subject endlessly, but I don’t know anyone who still buys vinyl.” The filmmaker recalled that the support can change, but that “the desire to tell stories around the campfire” prevails, “only the fire changes.”