Antoine Fuqua | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fuqua at the 2016Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1965-05-30)May 30, 1965 (age 60) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Taylor Allderdice High School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Harvey Fuqua (uncle) |
Antoine Fuqua (/ˈæntwɒnˈfjuːkwə/ANT-wonFEW-kwə; born May 30, 1965)[1][2] is an American director and producer of film, television, and music videos. Known for his work in the action and thriller genres, he was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 withThe Replacement Killers. His critical breakthrough was the 2001 crime thrillerTraining Day, winning theBlack Reel Award for Outstanding Director.
His subsequent films includeTears of the Sun (2003),King Arthur (2004),Shooter (2007),Brooklyn's Finest (2009),Olympus Has Fallen (2013),Southpaw (2015),The Magnificent Seven (2016) andThe Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), earning with the first one theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture.
He also directed the critically acclaimed documentariesAmerican Dream/American Knightmare (2018),What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019), and the 2022Hulu documentary seriesLegacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, for which he won theSports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Documentary Series.[3]
Fuqua was born inPittsburgh to Carlos and Mary Fuqua. He graduated fromTaylor Allderdice High School in 1983.[4] Before turning to filmmaking and music videos, Fuqua studied electrical engineering, with the hope of going on to fly jets in the military.[5]
Fuqua pays tribute to screenwriterShinobu Hashimoto, a frequent collaborator ofAkira Kurosawa's, saying his writing "affected a boy from Pittsburgh living in the ghetto."
[Shinobu Hashimoto's writing] was so beautiful and poetic and powerful and heartbreaking. It was all about justice, it was all about sacrifice, and it made me want to be one of those guys. I came from a rough area, and I had my own version of watching poor people getting pushed down – whoever the person was who had the power, they would come in and take from other people.[6]
Fuqua later said that his experience of violence shaped his adolescence, and played a role in his eventual choice of career.
My first big break was when I got shot when I was fifteen. It changed my life and it made me not hang out in the streets as much, and go to the movies more. Those sort of things are wake up calls to have a better appreciation for life, and a better appreciation for the people around you. From that moment in my life I put all my energy into what I believed in, and at that time it was playing basketball and sports. That led me to a scholarship ... after that a professor said that I should take an art class ... I fell in love with an artist by the name ofCaravaggio.[7]
Fuqua began his career directing music videos for popular artists such asToni Braxton,Stevie Wonder, andPrince. He directedMichelle Pfeiffer in the videoGangsta's Paradise byCoolio which was used to promoteJerry Bruckheimer's successful filmDangerous Minds.
The movie became a big hit and Jerry Bruckheimer was kind enough to give me a lot of credit for it because they used my music video ... the irony was people thought I was the new French film director. No one had any idea I was this guy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So I used to walk in the room and people would literally ask me to get coffee. And I would say, "No, no, I'm the director", and I loved watching their faces. That was fun.[7]
From 1998 onwards, Fuqua began working primarily as a feature film director. In a tribute article forTime magazine, Fuqua expressed his early respect for Kurosawa as a filmmaker and how Kurosawa influenced his own perspective on filmmaking stating: "[screen writer Hashimoto's] ... working withAkira Kurosawa andHideo Oguni, was so beautiful and poetic and powerful and heartbreaking. It was all about justice, it was all about sacrifice, and it made me want to be one of those guys".[6]
His first feature films were theJohn Woo-produced action filmThe Replacement Killers (1998), starringChow Yun Fat and the action comedyBait (2000) starringJamie Foxx. He then directed the crime thrillerTraining Day (2001), for which starDenzel Washington won anAcademy Award for Best Actor. His next films were the action war dramaTears of the Sun (2003), the Arthurian legend filmKing Arthur (2004), the conspiracy action thrillerShooter (2007), the crime filmBrooklyn's Finest (2009), and the action thrillersOlympus Has Fallen (2013) andThe Equalizer (2014), the latter of which again pairs Fuqua with Denzel Washington. In 2011, he directed CIA proceduralFox pilotExit Strategy starringEthan Hawke.[8][9]
.jpg)
He co-created the comic-book miniseriesAfter Dark withWesley Snipes, which was written byPeter Milligan and illustrated by Jeff Nentrup.[10] He was slated to directTupac Shakur's official biopic[11] but the project was postponed to allow Fuqua to direct rapperEminem's second feature film,Southpaw (2015).[12] Eminem later leftSouthpaw to focus on his music,[13] and was replaced withJake Gyllenhaal.[14]
Fuqua's 2016 film,The Magnificent Seven, was a remake of the classic 1960 Westernof the same name which itself was an American remake of Kurosawa's 1954 film,Seven Samurai. Denzel Washington plays the lead role of Sam Chisolm.[15]
In early 2018, Fuqua worked as one of the executive producers on theFox medical drama seriesThe Resident. In the summer of 2018, his thriller sequelThe Equalizer 2 (2018) was released with Denzel Washington returning in the main role. In June 2021, Fuqua's sci-fi filmInfinite, starringMark Wahlberg andChiwetel Ejiofor was released.
In 2021, Fuqua and actorWill Smith announced that their upcoming film,Emancipation, would not be filmed inGeorgia because of the recent passage of Georgia'snew voting law. Smith and Fuqua released a joint statement: "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access".[16]
On December 3, 2021, he signed a first look deal withNetflix and renamed his production company from Fuqua Films to Hill District Media.[17] He later signed an overall television deal withParamount Television Studios andMTV Entertainment Studios.[18]
In 2023, it was announced that Fuqua would be producing a television miniseries based on the life ofShaka.[19]
In January 2023, Fuqua announced his next film project would beMichael, abiographical film aboutMichael Jackson, starring Jackson's nephewJaafar Jackson and being produced byGraham King.[20][21]
Fuqua and actressLela Rochon became engaged in 1998 and married on April 9, 1999. Daughter Asia Rochon Fuqua was born on July 28, 2002, and son Brando in May 2004. Fuqua has a son, Zachary, from a previous relationship. He also has two granddaughters and a cousin from Pittsburgh PA. by the name of Earl Perry.[22]
When asked by theBBC in September 2014 whether he believes in God, Fuqua said: "Absolutely."[23]
On October 16, 2023, amidst theGaza genocide,[24] Antoine Fuqua, along with other 700 Hollywood figures, signed an open letter in support of Israel.[25][26][27]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers | Yes | No |
| 2000 | Bait | Yes | No |
| 2001 | Training Day | Yes | No |
| 2003 | Tears of the Sun | Yes | No |
| 2004 | King Arthur | Yes | No |
| 2007 | Shooter | Yes | No |
| 2009 | Brooklyn's Finest | Yes | Executive |
| 2013 | Olympus Has Fallen | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | The Equalizer | Yes | No |
| 2015 | Southpaw | Yes | Yes |
| 2016 | The Magnificent Seven | Yes | Executive |
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Infinite | Yes | Executive |
| The Guilty | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Emancipation | Yes | Executive |
| 2023 | The Equalizer 3 | Yes | Yes |
| 2026 | Michael | Yes | No |
| Year | Title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Executive producer | Notes | ||
| 2016–17 | Ice | Yes | Yes | Episode "Hyenas" |
| 2022 | The Terminal List | Yes | Yes | Episode "The Engram" |
| Year | Title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Notes | ||
| 2004 | Lightning in a Bottle | Yes | No | |
| 2018 | American Dream/American Knightmare | Yes | Yes | TV documentary |
| 2019 | What's My Name: Muhammad Ali | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | The Day Sports Stood Still | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers | Yes | Executive | TV docuseries, 10 episodes |
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)
