Post by Kaz ~:~ on Dec 10, 2016 13:24:42 GMT -6
Sam Raimi Biography
Date of Birth 23 October 1959, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA
Birth Name Samuel Marshall Raimi
Nickname Sammy
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Bio:
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making movies with an 8mm camera. He was a devoted fan of The Three Stooges, so much of Raimi's film work in his teens, with good friends Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, was slapstick comedy based around what they had observed from "Stooges" movies.
Among the three of them, they wrote, directed, produced and edited a short horror movie titled Within the Woods (1978), which was then shown to prospective investors to raise the money necessary to film The Evil Dead (1981). It met with lukewarm interest in the U.S. with local distributors, so Raimi took the film to Europe, where it was much more warmly received. After it started gaining positive reviews and, more importantly, ticket sales upon its release in Europe, U.S. distributors showed renewed interest, and "Evil Dead" was eventually released stateside to strong box office returns. His next directorial effort was Crimewave (1985), a quirky, cartoon-like effort that failed to catch fire with audiences. However, he bounced back with Evil Dead II (1987), a racier and more humorous remake/sequel to the original "Dead" that did even better at the box office. Raimi was then given his biggest budget to date to shoot Darkman (1990), a comic book-style fantasy about a scarred avenger. The film did moderate business, but Raimi's strong visual style was evident throughout the film via inventive and startling camera work that caught the attention of numerous critics.
The third chapter in the Evil Dead story beckoned, and Raimi once again directed buddy Campbell as the gritty hero "Ash", in the Gothic horror Army of Darkness (1992). Raimi surprised fans when he took a turn away from the fantasy genre and directed Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone in the sexy western, The Quick and the Dead (1995); four years later, he took the directorial reins on A Simple Plan (1998), a crime thriller about stolen money, starring Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda. In early 1999, he directed the baseball film, For Love of the Game (1999), and, in 2000, returned to the fantasy genre with a top-flight cast in The Gift (2000). In 2002, Raimi was given a real opportunity to demonstrate his dynamic visual style with the big-budget film adaptation of the Stan Lee comic book superhero, Spider-Man (2002), and fans were not disappointed. The movie was strong in both script and effects, and was a runaway success at the box office. Of course, Raimi returned for the sequel, Spider-Man 2 (2004), which surpassed the original in box-office takings.
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Spouse
Gillian Greene (1993 - present) (5 children)
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[The Three Stooges] He uses Stooge-like sequences in many of his movies (especially in the Evil Dead films). Raimi is a huge fan of The Three Stooges. He made many super-8 films that resembled classic Stooge shorts.
[Shemp] Often credits a character called a "Shemp", another homage to The Three Stooges.
Most frequently, it is a "Fake Shemp", a reference to the Three Stooges shorts where a stuntman was used in place of Shemp Howard.
Often has a voice-over from a principal character at the end of his films (Army of Darkness (1992), all the Spider-Man films).
On-going in-joke feud with Wes Craven
Frequently casts Bruce Campbell, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, and his brother Ted Raimi.
Kinetic, wild camera movement (Includes the Evil Dead and Spider-Man films)
Likes the "whip pan", possibly inspired by Martin Scorsese
Frequently figures out difficult shots by "reverse motion acting" (filming the actor acting backwards and playing in reverse).
Usually wears a jacket and tie on the set of his films, a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock.
Often includes scenes in his movies in which large clocks/clock towers play important parts (The Quick and the Dead (1995), Spider-Man 2 (2004)).
Always has his car (a yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 dubbed "the classic") somewhere visible to the audience in all of his films (including a modified covered wagon, according to Bruce Campbell, in The Quick and the Dead (1995)). It is even visible in the Spider-Man (2002) trailer (the car that Spider-Man jumps on).
[POV] Often features a shot from the point-of-view of the villain/monster (The Dark Spirit in the Evil Dead films, the camera view of Dr. Octopus' mechanical tentacles in Spider-Man 2 (2004), the black blob from outer space in Spider-Man 3 (2007)).
Often collaborates with the Coen Brothers
Supernatural and fantasy themes
Bloody but comical set pieces
Known for inflicting physical violence on main characters either with large violent scenes or smaller ones throughout.
Known for humorously "abusing" actors, i.e, hitting them with tree branches to simulate getting hit with debris, throwing popcorn at them.
Frequently films scenes in which a main character is on the receiving end of an extremely brutal attack
References to classic comedy films, horror films and the works of Alfred Hitchcock
Unflinchingly graphic and brutal depiction of violence
His characters are often ordinary individuals caught up in extraordinary circumstances
Often has a character who has a bad temper: Peyton Westlake in Darkman (1990), Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3 (2007), Theodora in Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).
Close up or zoom into a character's eyes or mouth before said character is attacked or inflicted/inflicting pain.
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Films Directed:
The Black Ghiandola (Short) (pre-production)
World War 3 (announced)
2015 Ash vs Evil Dead (TV Series) (1 episode)
- El Jefe (2015)
2014 Rake (TV Series) (2 episodes)
- Cannibal (2014)
- Serial Killer (2014)
2013 Oz the Great and Powerful
2009 Drag Me to Hell
2007 Spider-Man 3
2004 Spider-Man 2
2002 Spider-Man
2000 The Gift
1999 For Love of the Game
1998 A Simple Plan
1995 The Quick and the Dead
1992 Army of Darkness
1990 Darkman
1988 Iggy Pop: Cold Metal (Video short)
1987 Evil Dead II
1985 Crimewave
1981 The Evil Dead
1978 Clockwork (Short)
1978 Within the Woods (Short)
1978 Sam Raimi Early Shorts (Video)
1977 It's Murder!
1972 Out West (Short)