Graham Baker (director)

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Graham Baker
Born
Occupation Film director
Notable work Alien Nation

Graham Baker is an English [1] film director. [2] [3] [4] He directed a number of Hollywood feature films from 1981 to 1999, including the 1988 science fiction film Alien Nation . [5]

Contents

Baker studied painting, graphic design, and architecture at Leicester College. [6] His first film was the short film Leaving Lily (1975), which was nominated for a BAFTA Award. [7] He has also directed television commercials, such as Isuzu Motors' series of "Joe Isuzu" advertisements in the 1980s. [6] In 2008 Baker wrote the musical play Ipso Facto or The Rake's Return, with songs by Neil Innes. [8] [9]

Filmography

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<i>Alien Nation</i> (film) 1988 film by Graham Bake

Alien Nation is a 1988 American science fiction action film written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and directed by Graham Baker. The ensemble cast features James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp. Its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the Alien Nation media franchise. The film depicts the assimilation of the "Newcomers", an alien race settling in Los Angeles, much to the initial dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the neo-noir and buddy cop film genres with a science fiction theme, centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (Caan) and an extraterrestrial (Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective. The duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide.

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Joe Isuzu was a fictional spokesman who starred in a series of 1980s television advertisements for Isuzu cars and trucks. Created by the ad agency Della Femina, Travisano, and Partners, and directed by Hollywood director Graham Baker, the segments aired on American television in 1986–90, reaching their zenith in 1987 after the character was featured during Super Bowl XXI. Played by actor David Leisure, Joe Isuzu was a pathological liar who made outrageous and overinflated claims about Isuzu's cars, with one commercial even casting him as the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Joe Isuzu's satire of the advertising and automotive sales business met with some resistance within those industries among those who felt the character reflected poorly on them.

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References

  1. AV Club Interview with James Caan Archived 24 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  2. "Graham Baker - Creative Consultant". Straightwire Films. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  3. "Graham Baker - Director". United Agents. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  4. "Graham Baker". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013.
  5. Kehr, Dave (7 October 1988). "Alien Nation". Chicago Tribune .
  6. 1 2 D'Angelo, Carr (December 1988). "Pride & Prejudice (Director Graham Baker)". Starlog . No. 137. New York. pp. 65–72. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  7. "John Grierson Award (Short Film) in 1976". BAFTA. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  8. "Ipso Facto, or The Rake's Return". Matthew Townshend Productions. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  9. Clarke, Andrew (25 November 2011). "Neil Innes offers audiences something completely different". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.