Alexander Proyas (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' I, Robot'' (2004), '' Knowing'' (2009), and '' Gods of Egypt'' (2016).

Early life

Proyas was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

, present-day

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, to ethnic Greek parents. His father's family had lived in Egypt for many generations, and his mother's family were from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. He moved to Sydney when he was three. At 17, he attended the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School, and began directing

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s shortly after. He moved to Los Angeles in the United States to further his career, working on MTV music videos and

TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

Career

Proyas' first feature film was the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds ''Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds'' is a 1989 Australian independent post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure film directed, produced and written by Alex Proyas, which was marking its first feature debut. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in wh ...

'', which was nominated for two

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 ...

awards in 1988, for

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

and

production design In film industry, 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 an ...

and which won a Special Prize at the 1990

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fi ...

. Next, Proyas directed the 1994 superhero

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

thriller ''

'' starring

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film ''Th ...

. Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film on 31 March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script and using a stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes. ''The Crow'' was released in May 1994 and was a box office and critical success. Proyas then wrote, directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller '' Dark City'', which received positive critical reception and won several awards but was a commercial disappointment. In 2004, he directed '' I, Robot'' starring

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, a science fiction film suggested by the

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

short story compilation ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' bet ...

'' and was a box office success despite mixed reviews. Proyas' next film, the thriller '' Knowing'' starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various ac ...

, began production in

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 me ...

in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009. His next project was meant to be an action-oriented adaptation of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and polit ...

's 17th-century Christian epic poem ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674 ...

'', starring

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, s ...

. Both Proyas and Cooper were on hand to debut concept art at ComicCon 2011, but the project was ultimately cancelled over budgetary concerns related to the effects. Proyas also worked with

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

on the creation of ''Parallel Lives'', a joint project. In late 2012, it was revealed that Proyas was slated as director of the

film adaptation of the

Daniel H. Wilson Daniel H. Wilson (born March 6, 1978) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author, television host and robotics engineer. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His books include the award-winning humor titles ''How to Survive a Robot Upri ...

novel '' Amped''. Proyas directed '' Gods of Egypt'', starring

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor and producer. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film '' Nightwatch'' (1 ...

, and co-written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film was critically panned upon its release in 2016 and bombed at the box office.

Other ventures

In 2019 Alex Proyas founded a new production studio in Sydney, Australia, under the name of Heretic Foundation. In August 2021 Proyas has announced that he is developing a new video platform titled "VidiVerse" for independent filmmakers, as an alternative to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Personal life

Proyas has long been married to artist Catherine Linsley, who worked in the Art Department for Proyas's first feature film, ''

''. She has also worked in various capacities on short subjects and animations produced by or written by Proyas. Linsley was also listed in the final credits of his film '' Knowing'' under the section "The producers wish to thank...".Cathy Linsley: Thanks (1 credit) 2009 Knowing (the producers wish to thank
from IMDB Accessed 30 April 2019

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Music videos

Ricky's Hand "Ricky's Hand" is a song by Fad Gadget, released as a single in 1980. It was the second Fad Gadget single, following "Back to Nature" the previous year. The track was not included on any studio album, predating a debut LP by several months, but d ...

" –

Fad Gadget Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured ...

(1980) w/Salik Silverstein *"Flicker" – Fetus Productions (1983) *"In Your Eyes" –

Dropbears Dropbears were an Australian rock band active in the early 1980s. They had a few national chart hits and received national airplay. They had a minor charting hit with "Shall We Go" in 1985. History The band started life as The Socket Set in ...

(1985) *" Kiss the Dirt" –

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farris ...

(1986) *"

Don't Dream It's Over "Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by rock band Crowded House, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album. The song was composed and written by New Zealand frontman Neil Finn, and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from ...

" –

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). Later ...

(1986) *"Holiday" –

The Other Ones The Other Ones was an American rock band formed in 1998 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, along with part-time Grateful Dead collaborator Bruce Hornsby. In 2000, Bill Kreutzmann, another Grateful Dead alumnus, ...

(1987) *" Rhythm of Love" –

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

(1987) *" Better Be Home Soon" – Crowded House (1988) *" Magic Touch" –

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

(1988) *"

Bring Down the Moon "Bring Down the Moon" is a song written and performed by American duo Boy Meets Girl (band), Boy Meets Girl and released as a single from the album ''Reel Life (Boy Meets Girl album), Reel Life''. It reached #49 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboa ...

" – Boy Meets Girl (1989) *"

Nineteen Forever "Nineteen Forever" is a song by British singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, which was released in 1989 as the lead single from his eighth studio album '' Blaze of Glory''. It was written and produced by Jackson. "Nineteen Forever" reached ...

" – Joe Jackson (1989) *" Mysteries of Love" – Alphaville (1989) *" When We Dance" – Sting (1994)

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2" ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, Alex Proyas for "Don't Dream It's Over" (Crowded House) , rowspan="2" , Best Video , , rowspan="2" , ARIA Award previous winners. , - , Alex Proyas for "Kiss the Dirt" (INXS) , , -

References

External links

* *
Alex Proyas Discusses ''Dark City'' Sequel at AMCtv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proyas, Alex 1963 births ARIA Award winners Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian music video directors Australian screenwriters Australian people of Greek Cypriot descent Australian people of Greek descent Living people Science fiction film directors Television commercial directors People from Alexandria Writers from Sydney Egyptian emigrants to Australia Egyptian people of Greek descent