Rupert Miles Sanders (born 16 March 1971) is an English film director. Sanders directed the films ''

Snow White and the Huntsman ''Snow White & the Huntsman'' is a 2012 American fantasy film, fantasy action film, action-adventure film, adventure film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. Produced by Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, Roth Films ...

'' (2012), ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized between 1989 and 1991, is set in mid-21st century Japan and tel ...

'' (2017), and ''

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 fianc� ...

'' (2024). He also directed the pilot episode of the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

science fiction series '' Foundation''.

Early life

Sanders was born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London, the eldest son of Thalia (née Garlick) and hospital ophthalmologist Michael Sanders. After a foundation year at Kingston School of Art he graduated with a degree in graphic design from Central St Martins.

Career

Sanders began his commercial production career under Tony Kaye. He had primarily done art direction before Kaye suggested he try out directing. Sanders has directed numerous television advertisements, including '' The Life'' for '' Halo 3: ODST'', which won him two Golden Lions at the

Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

. Sanders' first feature film was ''

'', which was released in the US in early June 2012. The film's budget was $170 million, including an eight-figure marketing expenditure, and it earned $20.3 million on its opening day in the US. To date, the film has grossed $396,592,829 at the box office. After passing the offer to direct the fifth instalment of the ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

'' film series, Sanders directed a film adaptation of science fiction

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

franchise ''

'', with

Avi Arad Avi Arad (; ; born August 1, 1948) is an Israeli-American studio executive and producer of film, television and animation. He became the CEO of Toy Biz in the 1990s, was the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment and is the founder, ...

and Steven Paul producing and

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

starring in the main role. It was released in late March 2017. In March 2017, Sanders expressed interest in a sequel to ''Ghost in the Shell''. Due to the film's box office failure, talks for a sequel were abandoned. In June 2018, Sanders was announced to be directing Johansson again in ''Rub & Tug'', a planned

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about Dante "Tex" Gill and his girlfriend Cynthia Bruno, with Johansson starring as Gill. However, the film has been left in

development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...

after Johansson stepped down from starring in the film when the

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

community criticised having a female actress play a

trans man A trans man or transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identi ...

. Sanders directed the 2024 reboot film ''

'', with

Bill Skarsgård Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor. He is known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films '' It'' (2017) and ''It Chapter Two'' (2019). Other horror appearances were in the series '' Hemlock Grove'' (2 ...

starring as Eric / The Crow.

Personal life

Sanders married model Liberty Ross, sister of musician

Atticus Ross Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and audio engineer. He is best known for his work with American musician Trent Reznor, with whom he first worked on the musical project Tapewo ...

, in 2002. They moved to Los Angeles to further Sanders' career. Together they have two children, daughter Skyla and son Tennyson. In July 2012, ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...

'' published photos of Sanders in an intimate embrace and kissing with actress

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe ...

, prompting Sanders and Stewart to issue separate public apologies. Ross subsequently filed for divorce from Sanders in January 2013, seeking joint custody, spousal support, and legal fees. The divorce was finalised on 30 May 2014.

Filmography

Film Television Music video

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Rupert 1971 births Film directors from London Living people English expatriates in the United States Television commercial directors People from Westminster English music video directors English television directors