Andrew Dominik (born 7 October 1967) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed the crime film '' Chopper'' (2000), the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

drama film ''

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' is a 2007 American epic revisionist Western film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James. Adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same ti ...

'' (2007), the

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime film ''

Killing Them Softly ''Killing Them Softly'' (stylized in marketing as ''killing them softly'') is a 2012 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and stars Brad Pitt. Based on George V. Higgins' 1974 novel '' Cogan's Trade'', the stor ...

'' (2012), and the pseudo-biographical psychological drama ''

Blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

'' (2022). He has also directed the documentary film ''

One More Time with Feeling ''One More Time with Feeling'' is a 2016 British documentary film directed by Andrew Dominik. It documents the recording of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' sixteenth studio album, ''Skeleton Tree'', in the aftermath of the death of Nick Cave's 15-y ...

'' (2016) and two episodes of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series '' Mindhunter'' in 2019.

Early life and career

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, New Zealand, Andrew Dominik has lived in Australia since he was two years old. He graduated from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

's Swinburne Film School in 1988.

''Chopper''

His career in films began in 2000 when he directed '' Chopper'' based on notorious Australian criminal Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, starring Eric Bana and

Simon Lyndon Simon Lyndon (born 18 February 1971 in London) is an English-born Australian actor and director who grew up in Fremantle, Western Australia. He is a WAAPA graduate. Career Film roles Lyndon played Jimmy Loughlin in '' Chopper'' with Eric B ...

. ''Chopper'' received generally positive reviews, and Bana in particular was widely praised for his intense portrayal of Chopper. The

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

awarded the film with Best Director (Dominik), Best Actor (Bana), and Best Supporting Actor (Lyndon).

''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford''

His next film was ''

'', starring

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

and

Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He ...

, based on the novel of the same name which he came across in a second-hand bookstore. The film explores the peculiar relationship between

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...

and his eventual assassin Robert Ford. Pitt was a big fan of Dominik's first feature ''Chopper'', and had hoped to collaborate with the filmmaker in the future, especially when Pitt had the chance to work with ''Chopper'' star Eric Bana in ''

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

''. Pitt contacted the director, and with a big star interested to lead his new film, Dominik was therefore able to get Warner Bros. to finance the production. Principal shooting in Canada was completed in 2005, though ''The Assassinations 2006 release was delayed to a fall 2007 release, largely due to studio interference with the film's editing process. Dominik and Pitt were pulling for a less quick-paced and more contemplative cut of the film while the studio wanted "less contemplation and more action". There were reportedly more than a dozen edited versions of the film at one time fighting to be the final cut, the longest version being over four hours. The disputes during post-production lasted for over a year before a final version was settled upon. Over an hour of scenes were deleted for the theatrical version, but Dominik remarked he was still very proud of the theatrical version of the film. The film garnered two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations: Best Cinematography ( Deakins) and Best Supporting Actor (Affleck).

''Killing Them Softly''

Dominik reteamed with

in their second collaboration (after ''The Assassination of Jesse James'') in a thriller/dark comedy based on

George V. Higgins George V. Higgins (November 13, 1939 – November 6, 1999) was an American author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, raconteur and college professor. He authored more than thirty books, including ''Bomber's Law,'' ''Trust,'' and ''Kennedy for the De ...

' Boston-set crime novel '' Cogan's Trade''. The film was renamed ''

''. Shooting began in January 2011 and wrapped in May 2011. The film competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

. and was released through the

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

''One More Time with Feeling''

In 2016, Dominik completed ''

'', a documentary about his friend

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

and the emotional consequences of the tragic death of Cave's son. The film premiered at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. The critical aggregator website Metacritic awarded the film a score of 91, indicating "universal acclaim".

''Mindhunter''

Dominik joined

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. F ...

for season 2 of

series '' Mindhunter'', which debuted in late 2019. Dominik directed two episodes.

''Blonde''

In 2022, Dominik completed ''

'', based on

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

's fictional

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

memoir of the same name, which was scheduled to start shooting in January 2011 but the project was put on hold when he announced ''

''. In 2014

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...

was in talks to play Monroe. In late 2019, Cuban actress Ana de Armas was cast in the lead role. ''Blonde'' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice Film Festival on 8 September 2022, and was released in the United States on 16 September 2022, before its streaming release on 28 September 2022, by

. It is rated

NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

for its graphic sexual content and is the first NC-17 film released through a streaming service.

Unrealized and upcoming projects

In 2003,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

approached Dominik and offered him to direct an adaptation of Alfred Bester's 1953 novel '' The Demolished Man'', but as time passed, the project eventually became stuck in

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are Media industry, media and Software industry, software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between d ...

when there were disagreements about the screenplay. By 2003, Dominik had also written an adapted screenplay for '' The Killer Inside Me'', an acclaimed noir novel by Jim Thompson, and was at one point considered to direct it, but dropped out.

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland'' and ''24 Hour Party People''—h ...

eventually directed the 2010

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

. In 2007,

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his g ...

's '' Cities of the Plain'' was in development with

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...

starring. In a 2008 interview, Dominik stated that he has interest in adapting Jim Thompson's ''

Pop. 1280 ''Pop. 1280'' is a crime novel by Jim Thompson, published in 1964. Set in the fictional town of Pottsville, Texas during the early 1900s, the novel follows Nick Corey, a seemingly dim-witted sheriff whose pleasant exterior hides a scheming, psy ...

''. In 2010, Dominik was writing a script for an American remake of the 2006 French thriller '' Tell No One''. It was unclear if he intended to direct the film. In 2014, it was announced that Dominik would write a 3D remake of '' Shaolin Temple'' with

Justin Lin Justin Lin (, born October 11, 1971) is a Taiwanese-American film director. His films have grossed US$2.3 billion worldwide as of March 2017. He is best known for his directorial work on '' Better Luck Tomorrow'' (2002), the '' Fast & Furious'' ...

set to direct. In 2017,

picked up ''War Party'', a Navy SEAL adventure film written by Dominik and Harrison Query with Tom Hardy attached to star and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

set to produce under Dominik's direction.

Influences

In the 2012 ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' poll of the greatest films of all time, Dominik chose ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

'', ''

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...

'', ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Le ...

'', '' Blue Velvet'', ''

Marnie ''Marnie'' is an English crime novel, written by Winston Graham and first published in 1961. It has been adapted as a film, a stage play and an opera. Plot ''Marnie'' is about a young woman who makes a living by embezzling her employers' funds, ...

'', ''

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

'', '' The Night of the Hunter'', ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: M ...

'', ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

'', and ''

The Tenant ''The Tenant'' (French: ''Le locataire'') is a 1976 psychological horror film set in France but filmed in English and directed by Roman Polanski, starring Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, and Shelley Winters. It is based upon the 196 ...

'' as his top ten.

Personal life

Dominik has one son. He was engaged to actress

Bella Heathcote Isabella Heathcote (born 27 May 1987) is an Australian actress and model. She began her acting career in 2008. The following year, she had a recurring role as Amanda Fowler on the television soap opera ''Neighbours''. Heathcote has since portr ...

in 2017.

Filmography

Film

Documentary films * ''

'' (2016) * '' This Much I Know to Be True'' (2022)

Television

Music videos

* "Down in Splendour" (1990) – Straightjacket Fits * " Fall at Your Feet" (1991) –

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Late ...

* "Cat Inna Can" (1993) – Straightjacket Fits

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dominik, Andrew 1967 births Australian film directors Living people New Zealand emigrants to Australia People from Wellington City