Andrew Dominik
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Andrew Dominik (born 7 October 1967) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed the crime film '' Chopper'' (2000), the Western drama film '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (2007), the neo-noir crime film '' Killing Them Softly'' (2012), and the biographical psychological drama '' Blonde'' (2022). He has also directed the documentary film '' One More Time with Feeling'' (2016) and two episodes of the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Mindhunter'' in 2019.


Early life and career

Born in
Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, New Zealand, Andrew Dominik has lived in Australia since he was two years old. He graduated from
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
's Swinburne Film School in 1988. In the early 1990s, Dominik began collaborating with Australian film producer Michele Bennett on music videos and commercials in Sydney.


Career


2000–2012: Early career and acclaim

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. ''Chopper'' received generally positive reviews, and Bana in particular was widely praised for his intense portrayal of Chopper. The Australian Film Institute awarded the film with Best Director (Dominik), Best Actor (Bana), and Best Supporting Actor (Lyndon). His next film was '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, 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 robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...
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 (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
''. 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, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominations: Best Cinematography ( Deakins) and Best Supporting Actor (Affleck). Dominik reteamed with Brad Pitt in their second collaboration (after ''The Assassination of Jesse James'') in a thriller/dark comedy based on George V. Higgins' Boston-set crime novel '' Cogan's Trade''. The film was renamed '' Killing Them Softly''. Shooting began in January 2011 and wrapped in May 2011. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. and was released through the
Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and film distribution, distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob Weinstein, Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10 ...
.


2016–present

In 2016, Dominik completed '' One More Time with Feeling'', a documentary about his friend Nick Cave 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". Dominik joined David Fincher for season 2 of
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Mindhunter'', which debuted in late 2019. Dominik directed two episodes. In 2022, Dominik completed '' Blonde'', 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 nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...
's fictional
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
memoir of the same name, which was scheduled to start shooting in January 2011 but the project was put on hold when he announced '' Killing Them Softly''. In 2014 Jessica Chastain 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
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. It is rated NC-17 for its graphic sexual content and is the first NC-17 film released through a streaming service. In 2025, Dominik finished production on a documentary for Apple Original Films called '' Bono: Stories of Surrender'', about the making of the U2 singer and songwriter Bono. The film will premiere globally on May 30 on Apple TV+.


Unrealised projects

In 2003,
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
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 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 eventually directed the 2010
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
. In 2007, Cormac McCarthy's '' Cities of the Plain'' was in development with James Franco starring. In a 2008 interview, Dominik stated that he has interest in adapting Jim Thompson's '' Pop. 1280''. 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 Americans, Taiwanese-American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. His films have grossed over $3 billion USD worldwide . He is best known for his directorial work on ...
set to direct. In 2017,
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
picked up ''War Party'', a Navy SEAL adventure film written by Dominik and Harrison Query with Tom Hardy attached to star and Ridley Scott set to produce under Dominik's direction. Around the time of '' Blonde'', Dominik's name was also linked as screenwriter/director of a project called ''Sturlungar'', which was to be a television series for Truenorth about the Sturlungs, a powerful, wealthy family clan during the time of the
Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing () in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. W ...
in 13th century
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
. Leifur B. Dagfinnsson, Grant Hill, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and Kristinn Thordarson were attached as executive producers.


Influences

In the 2012 '' Sight & Sound'' poll of the greatest films of all time, Dominik chose: * '' Apocalypse Now'' (1979) * '' Badlands'' (1973) * '' Barry Lyndon'' (1975) * '' Blue Velvet'' (1986) * '' Marnie'' (1964) * '' Mulholland Drive'' (2001) * '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955) * '' Raging Bull'' (1980) * '' Sunset Boulevard'' (1950) * '' The Tenant'' (1976)


Personal life

Dominik has one son. He was engaged to actress Bella Heathcote in 2017.


Filmography


Film

Documentaries * '' One More Time with Feeling'' (2016) * '' This Much I Know to Be True'' (2022) * ''I Don't Work for Peanuts, I Work for God'' (2024) * '' Bono: Stories of Surrender'' (2025)


Television


Music video

* "Down in Splendour" (1990) – Straightjacket Fits * " Fall at Your Feet" (1991) – Crowded House * "Cat Inna Can" (1993) – Straightjacket Fits


Awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dominik, Andrew 1967 births Living people 20th-century Australian screenwriters 21st-century Australian screenwriters Australian film directors Australian male screenwriters Australian television directors Film directors from Melbourne Mass media people from Wellington City New Zealand emigrants to Australia Writers from Melbourne Swinburne University of Technology alumni Australian music video directors