Olivier Megaton

Olivier Megaton (born Olivier Fontana; 6 August 1965)[1] is a French director, writer, and editor best known for directing The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Colombiana, and Taken 2, and Taken 3.

Olivier Megaton
Olivier Megaton at Taken 3 Premiere in 2014
Born
Olivier Fontana

(1965-08-06) 6 August 1965
Paris, France
OccupationDirector, screenwriter, editor
Years active1996–present

Early life

Fontana was born in Paris, 20 years to the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and his choice of the artistic name, Megaton, was influenced by this. He grew up in a Paris banlieue, and after qualifying for a diploma in psychology, was active as a graphic artist and also adept in graffiti art. After meeting music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, he started working in films.[1][2][3][4] Fontana first started making shorts and video clips before finally directing feature films.[5]

He is of Italian descent.[6]

Career

Fontana has directed Exit, The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Taken 2, and Taken 3.[7] Transporter 3 and Taken 2 received scores of 36% and 21%, respectively, on the critic-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. He was chosen to direct Mathilda, the sequel to Léon, but expressed the opinion that the film was unlikely to be made.[8] He also served as a second unit director for the film Hitman. His trademark technique in film directing involves intentionally disorienting camerawork and editing.[9]

Aside from film making, Fontana is also a published author after his novel, entitled Le Facteur humain (The Human Factor), was released in 1998.[5]

Filmography

Feature films
Year Title Director Writer Notes
1998 Tout morose Yes No
2000 Exit Yes No
2002 The Red Siren Yes Yes
2008 Transporter 3 Yes No Also second unit director
2011 Colombiana Yes No
2012 Taken 2 Yes No
2014 Taken 3 Yes No
2020 The Last Days of American Crime Yes No

Second unit director

Short films
Year Title Director Writer Notes
1996 Hard Head Yes No
1998 No Happy End Yes Yes
Je ne veux pas être sage Yes Yes Also editor
2002 Chrysalis Yes Yes Documentary short
2007 Angie Yes Yes

Television
Year Title Director Writer
1997 One Dance, One Song Yes No
1999 Histoires d'objets Yes No
Chambre n° 13 Yes No
2001 Les redoutables Yes No
2006 Sable noir Yes Yes

References
  1. "Olivier Megaton". Biographies et Filmographies. CinémaPassion. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010. Olivier Megaton est né le 6 août 1965, soit vingt ans jour pour jour après la première explosion nucléaire à Hiroshima. D'où son pseudonyme ... alors que son vrai nom est Fontana. Son enfance se déroule en banlieue parisienne, marquée par un goût prononcé pour le dessin. / Olivier Megaton was born August 6, 1965, twenty years to the day after the first nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. Hence his nickname ... while his real name is Fontana. He grew up in the Paris suburbs, marked by a pronounced taste for drawing.
  2. "Olivier Megaton – Biographie". Toutlecine.com. Hi-Pi / L’Odyssée Interactive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  3. "Olivier Megaton – Biographie détaillée". AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  4. "Olivier Megaton halts at Eicar". News. EICAR. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  5. Rege, Philippe (2010). Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 696. ISBN 9780810861374.
  6. "Interview of Olivier Megaton : know better the director". www.oliviermegaton.com. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  7. Bebealien (30 September 2009). "Interview Olivier Megaton – La grosse interview". Bebealien's world – Le blog qui aime le cinéma. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  8. Holtreman, Vic (19 August 2010). "Exclusive: Olivier Megaton Says Sequel to 'The Professional' Unlikely". Screen Rant. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  9. "Olivier Megaton". IMDb. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.