Roger Christian (born 25 February 1944) is an English

set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the " set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

and feature film director. He won an

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 ...

for his work on the original ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' and was Oscar-nominated for his work on ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

''. Christian directed the second unit on both '' Return of the Jedi'' and ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

'' as well as feature films including '' The Sender'' and ''

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...

''. He also directed the 2000 film '' Battlefield Earth'' which is regarded as one of the worst films ever made.

Career

He began his career as an assistant art director on several UK productions including the

Hammer Studios Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...

film '' And Soon the Darkness'' (1970). He won an

for

set decoration Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

on the science fiction classic ''

'' (1977). (Christian claims to be the third crew member hired for the project.) Two years later, Christian received his second Oscar nomination for his work as the production designer on

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 ...

's ''

'' (1979). Christian's use of aircraft scrap and other machinery to dress the set interiors of these films and creation of weapons using old working guns adapted by adding junk revolutionized the look of science fiction films. Christian maintained his working relationship with

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...

over the years, having worked on '' Return of the Jedi'' (1983) and being the second unit director on ''

'' (1999). He later briefly met with the '' Episode VII'' art department and '' Star Wars Rebels'' crew, although not in an official capacity. Christian began his directing career with the shorts ''Black Angel'' (1980) and the Oscar-winning '' The Dollar Bottom'' (1981). ''Black Angel'', filmed at locations in Scotland, was mentored by George Lucas who tied the film as a programme with ''The Empire Strikes Back'' in UK, Australia, and Scandinavia. The 25-minute film is a retelling of the hero's journey in classical mythology, and it influenced several major directors. He made his feature film debut with the horror film '' The Sender'' (1982). Chosen as the opening film at the Avoriaz Film Festival, the film has become a cult classic.

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

has described ''The Sender'' as his favorite horror film of 1982. Christian directed the music video "

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

" by the band Arcadia in Paris, France in 1985. His 1994 feature film ''

'', about the life of the famous French prophet, has received worldwide recognition. His biggest project to date was the big budget

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

science fiction adaptation '' Battlefield Earth'' (2000) starring

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

and

Barry Pepper Barry Robert Pepper (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He played Private Daniel Jackson in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), Roger Maris in '' 61*'' (2001), Joseph L. Gallowa ...

, which ''The Guardian'' considered a commercial and critical disaster, and as one of the " worst films ever made". In 2009,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

declared the film "the worst science fiction film of the decade". Christian doesn't consider ''Battlefield Earth'' to be a "

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

movie" as he intended it as a throwback to regular science fiction. He also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director. In 2006, he directed an action/adventure/mystery movie, '' Prisoners of the Sun'', starring

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

, David Charvet,

Carmen Chaplin Carmen Chaplin is a British/Irish actress and film director.Carmen Chaplin on the webs ...

, and

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. Early ...

. It was unreleased until 2014 when it had geographically limited release in Nordic countries.

Personal life

Christian is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. He is an admirer of filmmakers

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

and

Filmography

Directorial credits

Producing credits

Technical credits

Awards

References

External links

* (archived) *
Official Black Angel website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Roger 1944 births Living people Best Art Direction Academy Award winners British production designers English set decorators English Buddhists Film directors from London