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Chuck Russell | |
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| Nationality | American |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
Chuck Russell is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for his genre films. His best-known works include the fantasy slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, the 1988 remake [1] of the 1958 monster horror film The Blob, the Jim Carrey superhero comedy film The Mask, the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Eraser, and the Dwayne Johnson action-adventure The Scorpion King.
Russell entered the film industry as a production manager and assistant director on independent films, while writing screenplays. During the production of the film Hell Night, he met writer Frank Darabont, with whom he would become a close collaborator. His first produced script was the 1984 film Dreamscape, directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Dennis Quaid.
Russell made his directorial debut in 1987 with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. At that time, New Line Cinema was uncertain about the future of the Elm Street franchise. Russell convinced them that the series could take a step further into Freddy's nightmare world through advanced visual effects and dramatize the bond among Freddy's youthful victims with the concept of Dream Warriors. The success of the film redefined the franchise for New Line, earning more at the box office than the first two films put together.
Russell went on to write and direct the cult horror film, The Blob in 1988, [1] once again stretching the boundaries of visual effects on a limited budget. He then found international acclaim with the blockbuster The Mask about a bank clerk who discovers an ancient mask that transforms him into a malicious prankster who uses practical jokes to fight crime. Russell created groundbreaking digital technologies for The Mask with George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic, combining live action performance with radically new concepts in visual effects. Russell's work earned the film an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. The Mask also created international stardom for both Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz. With a production budget of $18 million, The Mask earned more than $350 million in worldwide box office.
Russell then went on to direct the action films Eraser with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which grossed over $240 million internationally, and The Scorpion King, which was the first leading role for WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Both films were #1 box office hits upon their release.
Russell was originally attached to direct the 2004 film Collateral, though ultimately the production was passed onto Michael Mann. Russell retained an executive producer credit, while Darabont was an uncredited script doctor. [2]
After a fourteen year hiatus from directing (save for a 2010 episode of the television series Fringe), Russell's next film was 2016's I Am Wrath starring John Travolta. In 2019, he directed Junglee, an Indian action-adventure film that released on March 29, 2019. For Junglee, the 60-year-old director worked with elephants and the song-and-dance tradition unique to Indian cinema for the first time. Both were inspiring, he told Scroll.in during a recent visit to Mumbai. [3]
In 2022, Russell directed Paradise City, starring Bruce Willis and Travolta.
In 2017, Russell became attached to write and direct a remake of the 1986 film Witchboard. [4] The film would enter production in April 2023. [5] [6] It is set for a 2024 release date.
Russell is the co-founder of A-Nation, a film production company utilizing blockchain technology. [7]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Dreamscape | No | Yes | Associate | |
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | Yes | Yes | No | Directorial debut Co-writer with Frank Darabont, Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner |
| 1988 | The Blob | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer with Frank Darabont |
| 1994 | The Mask | Yes | No | Executive | |
| 1996 | Eraser | Yes | No | Executive | |
| 2000 | Bless the Child | Yes | No | No | |
| 2002 | The Scorpion King | Yes | No | No | |
| 2016 | I Am Wrath | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | Junglee | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer with Raaghav Dar and Adam Prince |
| 2022 | Paradise City | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer with Corey Large and Edward John Drake |
| 2024 | Witchboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Hearse | George Bowers | Line producer |
| 1981 | Hell Night | Tom DeSimone | Executive producer |
| 1982 | The Seduction | David Schmoeller | |
| 1984 | Body Rock | Marcelo Epstein | |
| 1985 | Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Alan Metter | |
| 1986 | Back to School | ||
| 2004 | Collateral | Michael Mann | Executive producer |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fringe | Episode: "The Abducted" (S3E7) [8] |
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American supernatural slasher media franchise consisting of nine films, a television series, novels, comic books, and various other media. The franchise began with the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), written and directed by Wes Craven. The overall plot of the franchise centers around the fictional character Fred "Freddy" Krueger, the apparition of a former child killer who was burned alive by the vengeful parents of his victims, who returns from the grave to terrorize and kill the teenage residents of the fictional Springwood, Ohio in their dreams. Craven returned to the franchise to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write/direct Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). The films collectively grossed $472 million at the box office worldwide.
Freddy Krueger is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Created by Wes Craven, he made his debut in Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a child killer who had been burned to death by his victims' parents after evading prison. Krueger goes on to murder his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and seemingly invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled back into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, dirty red-and-green-striped sweater and brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed, brown leather, right hand glove. This glove was the product of Krueger's own imagination, having welded the blades himself before using it to murder many of his victims, both in the real and dream worlds. Over the course of the film series, Freddy has battled several reoccurring survivors including Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson. The character was consistently portrayed by Robert Englund in the original film series as well as in the television spin-off Freddy's Nightmares.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 American meta supernatural horror film written and directed by Wes Craven, creator of 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. A standalone film and the seventh installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, it is not part of the same continuity as previous films, instead portraying Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain who invades the real world and haunts the cast and crew involved in the making of the films about him. In the film, Freddy is depicted as closer to what Craven originally intended, being much more menacing and less comical, with an updated attire and appearance.
Eraser is a 1996 American action film directed by Chuck Russell and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn, and Robert Pastorelli. The film tells the story of a U.S. Marshal of WITSEC who protects a senior operative testifying about an illegal arms deal and is forced to fight his former allies when one of the players is revealed to be a mole inside WITSEC.
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.
Frank Árpád Darabont is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In his early career, he was primarily a screenwriter for such horror films as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Blob (1988) and The Fly II (1989). As a director, he is known for his film adaptations of Stephen King novellas and novels, such as The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).
Kevin Yagher is an American special effects technician, known for Freddy Krueger's makeup and The Crypt Keeper creature.
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell and produced by Bob Engelman from a screenplay by Mike Werb and a story by Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden. It is the first installment in the Mask franchise, based on the comic book series of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics. It stars Jim Carrey in the title role along with Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, an ordinary man who finds a magical wooden mask that transforms him into the titular green-faced troublemaker that has the ability to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.
The Blob is a 1988 American science fiction horror film co-written and directed by Chuck Russell. A remake of the 1958 film of the same name, it stars Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Paul McCrane, Art LaFleur, Robert Axelrod, Joe Seneca, Del Close and Candy Clark. The plot follows an acidic, amoeba-like organism that crashes down to Earth in a military satellite, which devours and dissolves anything in its path as it grows. Filmed in Abbeville, Louisiana, The Blob was theatrically released in August 1988 by Tri-Star Pictures and was a box office failure, grossing $8.2 million against its budget of approximately $10 million.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his film debut. The film's plot concerns a group of teenagers who are targeted by Krueger, an undead child killer who can murder people through their dreams, as retribution against their parents who burned him alive.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 American fantasy slasher film directed by Chuck Russell in his feature directorial debut. The story was developed by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner and is the third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Larry Fishburne, Priscilla Pointer, Craig Wasson, and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Nancy Thompson, now a psychiatrist, and Kristen, a patient who can bring others into her own dreams, team up with other kids to launch a daring rescue into the dreamland and save a child from Freddy Krueger.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American fantasy slasher film directed by Renny Harlin, and is the fourth installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Serving as a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), the film follows Freddy Krueger who, following the death of Nancy Thompson and completing his revenge against the families who killed him, reappears in the dreams of Kristen Parker, Joey Crusel, and Roland Kincaid, where he uses Kristen's best friend, Alice Johnson, to gain access to new victims in order to satiate his murderous needs. The Dream Master is often popularly referred to as "the MTV Nightmare" of the franchise.
Nancy Thompson is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. She first appears in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as a teenager hunted in her dreams by enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she was portrayed by Heather Langenkamp—who reprises the role in the sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Langenkamp later portrayed a fictional version of herself who embodies the role of Nancy in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). A reimagined version of the character, Nancy Holbrook, is portrayed by Rooney Mara in the 2010 remake.
Kristen Parker is a character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. She is a co-protagonist and final girl of the third film of the series A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and the false protagonist in the following film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and has appeared in various merchandise as well. She is played by actress Patricia Arquette in Dream Warriors and Tuesday Knight in The Dream Master. She is the central member of the titular Dream Warriors, seven teens who have to learn to fight as a group in order to survive their spectral tormentor, enigmatic murderer Freddy Krueger, and has the ability to bring others into her dreams as well as being an Olympic-level acrobat in her dreams.
The popularity of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series has led to several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Innovation Publishing, Trident Comics, Avatar Press and WildStorm Productions. After the success of Freddy vs. Jason and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake film in 2003, New Line Cinema created their House of Horror licensing division which licensed the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to Avatar Press for use in new comic book stories, the first of which was published in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to DC Comics imprint, WildStorm Productions which then published several new stories based on the franchise before their license expired as well.
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors is a six-issue limited series comic book written by Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric, with drawings by Jason Craig. The series was published by Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics, with imprint by Wildstorm, beginning in August 2009 and concluding in December 2009. The Nightmare Warriors is a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, which was published in 2007 and was itself a sequel to the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason. The series is a crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Evil Dead horror film franchises.
Joji Tani, known as Screaming Mad George, is a Japanese special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory special effects. He has collaborated with director and producer Brian Yuzna on many films.
William Forsche is an American special effects artist whose career has spanned more than thirty years. His work has appeared in many films, most of which are horror and science fiction projects, though he has occasionally created effects for other films, such as Beetlejuice (1988) and The Nutty Professor (1996).
Junglee (transl. Wild) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell in his directorial debut in Hindi cinema and produced by Junglee Pictures. It stars Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhat and Atul Kulkarni. In the film, a veterinary doctor returns to his father's elephant reserve, where he encounters and clashes against an international poacher's racket. The film features martial arts and action choreography performed by Jammwal.
Witchboard is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Chuck Russell, and co-written by Russell and Greg McKay. It is a remake of the 1986 film and stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Madison Iseman, Aaron Dominguez, Antonia Desplat and Charlie Tahan.
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