Alex Proyas
Alexander "Alex" Proyas (born 23 September 1963) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer. Proyas is best known for directing the films The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), I, Robot (2004), and Knowing (2009) and for employing stylish photographic techniques in his films (reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott), with dark overtones usually in a post-apocalyptic setting.
Early life
Proyas was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Egyptiotes (Greeks from Egypt) parents, and moved to Sydney when he was 3. At 17 he attended the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School, and began directing music videos shortly after. He moved to Los Angeles in the United States to further his career, working on MTV music videos and TV commercials.
Career
Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds, which was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design and which won a Special Prize at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. Next, Proyas directed the 1994 superhero fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee. 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.
