Paul W.S. Anderson

Birthday: 4 March 1965, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, UK

Birth Name: Paul William Scott Anderson

Height: 191 cm

Paul W.S. Anderson gained a fair bit of notoriety in his native England when he directed the ultra-violent Shopping (1994) (which he also wrote), starring Jude Law and Sean Pertwee in a story about thieves who steal by ramming a car into storefronts. The film was banned in some cinemas in England, and became a direct-to-video slightly edited release in the United States.Shopping (1994) allowed Anderson to get the chance to direct Mortal Kombat (1995), an adaptation of the hit video game, which showcased his directorial trademarks - visually stunning scenery and quick-cut editing. The film did well enough for him to choose his next project, which was Soldier (1998) with Warner Bros., with Kurt Russell in the lead. Unfortunately, Russell decided at the time to go on hiatus, pushing the release date of that film into 1998. In the meantime, Anderson directed Event Horizon (1997) from a script by Philip Eisner, which featured Anderson regulars Sean Pertwee and Jason Isaacs. The science fiction/horror film, a Gothic horror version of Solaris (1972), was stylish and scary, but was critically panned and did not do well in the box office, which Anderson blamed on studio-enforced cuts to the story. (Anderson has promised a Director's Cut, though none has been announced as of yet).Soldier (1998) didn't fare well with critics and box office either, and Anderson's planned 2000 remake of Death Race 2000 (1975) was canceled. This forced him to think smaller, which led to The Sight (2000), a supernatural mystery movie that was a minor hit. He then resurfaced to direct another video game adaption, Resident Evil (2002). Long rumored among fans to be a choice comeback vehicle for zombie grandfather George A. Romero, the writing and directing credits eventually transferred to Anderson. He next was given the helm for the long-awaited film adaption of the popular Dark Horse comic book, AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004). Hide

I don't think it would be possible for me to respect people like Ridley Scott or James Cameron more Show more I don't think it would be possible for me to respect people like Ridley Scott or James Cameron more than I already do. They're gods of filmmaking. Hide

[on casting Kit Harrington in Pompeii] I was a huge fan of Kit from Game Of Thrones. He was the one Show more [on casting Kit Harrington in Pompeii] I was a huge fan of Kit from Game Of Thrones. He was the one person that I felt really popped in the show, he really stood out from the rest of ensemble. Kit certainly looks like a movie star. I met him and was very impressed. But at that time, he wasn't quite the gladiator that we needed for the movie. But he assured me that he would get there and he became very disciplined and focused on getting that perfect physique - the gladiatorial physique, which is what you see in the movie. He looks awesome. Hide

"AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) is not trying to be Alien (1979) or Aliens (1986), and it's not tryi Show more "AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) is not trying to be Alien (1979) or Aliens (1986), and it's not trying to be Predator (1987). Those are genius movies. The impact that these creatures had on audiences was immense. But 26 years on, and dozens of comic books later, everyone knows what the Alien looks like. You've got to do something different with it, and make a slightly different movie. So, in a way, we were definitely making an Alien and a Predator movie, but a different one from the one the other directors had made". Hide

If you work with a subject matter beloved by a hardcore fan base, then there's going to be a huge am Show more If you work with a subject matter beloved by a hardcore fan base, then there's going to be a huge amount of discussion of what you've got wrong or right. In some ways you can never please overly obsessive fans, it's just impossible. Hide

Paul W.S. Anderson's FILMOGRAPHY

All as Actor (12) as Director (11) as Creator (11)

Monster Hunter

Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy

Resident Evil

Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Death Race 3: Inferno

Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Death Race

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Death Race 2