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Michel Gondry | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gondry in 2013 | |
| Born | Versailles, France |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
Michel Gondry (French:[miʃɛlɡɔ̃dʁi]) is a French filmmaker and producer. He is known for directing the 2004 filmEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which he co-wrote withCharlie Kaufman, winning anAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His other films include the music documentaryDave Chappelle's Block Party (2005), the surrealistic science fantasy comedyThe Science of Sleep (2006), the comedyBe Kind Rewind (2008), the superhero comedyThe Green Hornet (2011), the dramaThe We and the I (2012), and the romantic science fantasy tragedyMood Indigo (2013).
Gondry has directed numerousmusic videos, includingBjörk's "Human Behaviour" in 1993 and "Bachelorette" in 1997, both of which earned him nominations for theGrammy Award for Best Music Video. He also directed several videos forThe White Stripes. He is also a record producer, most notably producing several tracks for American rapper and illustratorMC Paul Barman on his 2009 albumThought Balloon Mushroom Cloud.
Michel Gondry is fromVersailles. He is the grandson of inventorConstant Martin.[1]
He attendedart school inParis. While studying there, he formed the band Oui Oui, for which he was the drummer.[1]
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Gondry's vision and career began with his emphasis on emotion. Much of his inspiration, he says, came from the 1960 French family filmLe voyage en ballon.[2] He became known for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation ofmise en scène.[3]
Gondry's career as a filmmaker began with creatingmusic videos for the French rock bandOui Oui, in which he also served as a drummer. The style of his videos for Oui Oui caught the attention of music artistBjörk, who asked him to direct the video for her song "Human Behaviour". The collaboration proved long-lasting, with Gondry directing a total of eight music videos for Björk.[4] In 1994 his "Human Behaviour" video earned him a nomination for theGrammy Award for Best Music Video;[5][6] "Bachelorette" earned another nomination in 1997.[citation needed]
Other artists who have collaborated with Gondry on more than one occasion includeDaft Punk,the White Stripes,the Chemical Brothers,the Vines,Steriogram,Radiohead, andBeck.[citation needed] Gondry's video forLucas Secon's "Lucas with the Lid Off" was nominated in theBest Music Video (short form) category at the37th Grammy Awards,[7]
Gondry directed the music video for thePaul McCartney song "Dance Tonight",[citation needed] in which he makes acameo appearance.[8]
In 2014, Gondry produced the video forMetronomy's single "Love Letters", taken fromthe album of the same name.[citation needed]
Gondry has also created numeroustelevision commercials. He pioneered the "bullet time" technique later adapted inThe Matrix in the 1996 "Smarienberg" commercial forSmirnoff vodka, as well as directing a trio of inventive holiday-themed advertisements for clothing retailerGap.[9][10]
According to the 2004Guinness World Records, Gondry'sLevi's 501 Jeans "Drugstore" spot held the record for "Most awards won by a TV commercial".[11]
Gondry made hisfeature film debut in 2001 withHuman Nature, garnering mixed reviews. His second film,Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (also his second collaboration with screenwriterCharlie Kaufman), was released in 2004 and received very favourable reviews, becoming one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year.[citation needed]Eternal Sunshine utilises many of the image manipulation techniques that Gondry had experimented with in his music videos. Gondry won anAcademy Award alongside Kaufman andPierre Bismuth for the screenplay ofEternal Sunshine. The style of Gondry's music videos often relies on videography and camera tricks which play withframes of reference.[citation needed]
Gondry directed the musical documentaryDave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) which followed comedianDave Chappelle as he attempted to hold a large, free concert in theBedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood ofBrooklyn, New York. His following film,The Science of Sleep, was released in 2006. This film stars Mexican actorGael García Bernal, and marked a return to the fantastical, surreal techniques he employed inEternal Sunshine.[citation needed]
He was asked by French comic duet Éric and Ramzy to directSeuls Two, but declined; by his suggestion, Éric and Ramzy subsequently askedMr Oizo to direct another movie,Steak.[12]
Interior Design, one third of the 2008anthology filmTokyo!, was next for Gondry. Interior Design was based on the comic book "Cecil and Jordan in New York" byGabrielle Bell but was adapted from New York City to Tokyo for the film.[citation needed]
In 2009,The Thorn in the Heart, another feature documentary, was released, it is about Michel's aunt Suzette and her son Jean-Yves. In 2011, Gondry directedThe Green Hornet, a superhero film bySony starringSeth Rogen,Jay Chou andChristoph Waltz; Rogen co-wrote the script. In 2011, he was the head of the jury for the short film competition at the2011 Cannes Film Festival.[13][14]
His filmThe We and the I was selected to be screened in theDirectors' Fortnight section at the2012 Cannes Film Festival.[15][16]
On 3 January 2013, Gondry released an animated shortHaircut Mouse on his officialVimeo channel.[17] In February 2013, he released a hand-drawn animated documentary on famed linguistNoam Chomsky,Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?.[citation needed]
In April 2013, he directedMood Indigo, based upon Boris Vian's 1947 novelFroth on the Daydream.[citation needed]
In 2015 his feature filmMicrobe & Gasoline was released, a smaller scale endeavour after the troubled production ofMood Indigo.[citation needed] The latter also served as inspiration for 2023'sThe Book of Solutions.[citation needed]
In 2024, his first animated feature-length film,Maya, Give Me a Title was released. His daughter, Maya Gondry, voiced herself in the film, andPierre Niney voiced a character in the film. It also has a short live-action sequence.[18]
In 2009 Gondry directed "Unnatural Love", the fifth episode in season two of HBO'sFlight of the Conchords.[19]
In September 2006, Gondry made his debut as aninstallation artist atDeitch Projects in New York City'sSoHo gallery district. The show, called "The Science of Sleep: An Exhibition of Sculpture and Pathological Creepy Little Gifts" featured props from his film,The Science of Sleep, as well as film clips and a selection of gifts that the artist had given to women he was interested in, many of them former or current collaborators, Karen Baird, Kishu Chand, Dorothy Barrick and Lauri Faggioni.[20] Aleitmotif of the film is a 'Disastrology' calendar; Gondry commissioned the painter Baptiste Ibar to draw harrowing images of natural and human disasters.[21]
Gondry was anartist in residence at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005 and 2006.[citation needed]
In 2014, Gondry was selected as a member of the jury for the64th Berlin International Film Festival.[22]
His brother Olivier "Twist" Gondry is also a television commercial and music video director creating videos for bands such asThe Stills,Hot Hot Heat,Daft Punk andThe Vines.[23]
He has a son named Paul and a daughter named Maya.[24][25]
| Title | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Notes | ||
| Human Nature | 2001 | Yes | No | |
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | Yes | Story | Story co-written withCharlie Kaufman andPierre Bismuth |
| The Science of Sleep | 2006 | Yes | Yes | Also producer |
| Be Kind Rewind | 2008 | Yes | Yes | |
| The Green Hornet | 2011 | Yes | No | |
| The We and the I | 2012 | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Paul Proch and Jeff Grimsha |
| Mood Indigo | 2013 | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Luc Bossi |
| Microbe & Gasoline | 2015 | Yes | Yes | |
| The Book of Solutions | 2023 | Yes | Yes | |
| Maya, Give Me a Title | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Also animator |
| Golden | Unreleased | Yes | No | The film was canceled during post-production[26] |
| Title | Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | ||
| Dave Chappelle's Block Party | 2005 | Yes | No | Yes | |
| The Thorn in the Heart | 2009 | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? | 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also animator and appears as himself |
| Title | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Notes | ||
| L'expedition fatale | 1986 | Yes | Yes | |
| Jazzmosphère | 1987 | Yes | No | |
| My Brother's 24th Birthday | 1988 | Yes | No | |
| Vingt p'tites tours | 1989 | Yes | No | |
| La lettre | 1998 | Yes | Yes | |
| One Day... | 2001 | Yes | Yes | Appears as "The Man" |
| Pecan Pie | 2003 | Yes | Yes | |
| I've Been Twelve Forever | 2004 | Yes | No | Appears as himself |
| Ossamuch! – Kishu & Co | Yes | No | ||
| Tiny | Yes | Yes | ||
| Three Dead People | Yes | Yes | ||
| Drumb and Drumber | Yes | No | ||
| Michel Gondry Solves a Rubik's Cube with His Nose | 2007 | Yes | Yes | |
| Interior Design | 2008 | Yes | Yes | Segment fromTokyo! |
| Haircut Mouse | 2013 | Yes | Yes | |
| Détour | 2017 | Yes | Yes | |
| A Dozen Eggs | 2021 | Yes | Yes |
| Title | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Executive Producer | Notes | ||
| Flight of the Conchords | 2009 | Yes | No | Episode: "Unnatural Love" |
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! | 2011 | Yes | No | Guest director |
| Kidding | 2018–2020 | Yes | Yes | Directed 8 episodes |
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