Matthias Hoene

Last updated

Matthias Hoene
Matthias Hoene.jpg
Hoene filming his documentary Strongman in 2017
Born
Singapore
Alma mater Central Saint Martins
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2001-present
Notable work
SpouseHannah Stanton
Awards
Website matthiashoene.com

Matthias Hoene is a London and LA based filmmaker. He began with animated music videos, then commercials and short films, before getting into feature films and TV. His film Cockneys vs Zombies won multiple awards, while The Warriors Gate was an international fantasy action epic produced by Europacorp. His latest film Little Bone Lodge was a psychological thriller with a horror twist.

Contents

Early life

Matthias Hoene was born in Singapore. [1] He grew up in Berlin, where his father was a scientist specializing in high-energy transmission tubes for lasers, and his mother was an alternative medicine enthusiast. [2] Hoene's two brothers became scientists, but he went to study graphic design at Central Saint Martins art school in London. [2] [3] At Saint Martins, his interest changed to focus on filmmaking. [2]

Career

Music videos

Hoene's early work after graduation was on creating animated music videos, starting with "Return Trip" for DJ Mr. Rossi. [4] In 2001, he directed the animated video for "Star 69" for Fatboy Slim; the notice he drew from this video got him signed by international video production company Partizan, for whom he started making television commercials. [2]

A 2003 music video Hoene made for Tom McRae's song "A Day Like Today" had objects in a flat symbolize evoking memories by coming to life and fading away. [5] Later music videos Hoene directed include for "Rusty Pipes", by Eels in 2018, [6] "Bismarck" by Sabaton in 2019, [7] and "Me Because of You" and "Nevermind" by HRVY in 2020. [8] [9]

Commercials

Hoene's first television advertisement for Partizan was "Doggy Style", for singles travel company Club 18-30, featuring copulating canines. It won a Golden Lion medal at the 2002 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which gives awards for advertisements. [4] [2] That advertisement and another Hoene directed for the UK Central Office of Information, featuring computer graphics of a highly stylized, apocalyptic universe, were recognized by a 2003 directors award from Boards advertising magazine. [10] [11] Hoene directed other television commercials for Partizan over the next few years including for London Elects in 2004, [12] Dyson in 2005, [13] and Kellogg's in 2006. [14]

Hoene returned to commercials after his success with dramatic works. A 2012 advertisement he directed for AA plc pretends to be a horror film trailer, featuring a house under attack by a demonic Jack Frost, until an AA engineer appears to fix the family boiler. [15] He reprised the zombies theme in the first television advertisement for British mobile telephone network Giffgaff, 3 minutes long, titled "#dontbescared" in 2013, about helpful zombies. [16] [17] Another horror-themed advertisement Hoene directed for Giffgaff, the 4-minute "Monster Family", in 2018, portrayed a girl removed from then returned to her monster family. [18]

Dramatic narrative works

Hoene and Uriah Shelton filming The Warriors Gate in 2015 Matthias Hoene and Uriah Shelton.jpg
Hoene and Uriah Shelton filming The Warriors Gate in 2015
Anna Bader in Dive, 2018 Anna Bader x Adidas-48, brightened.jpg
Anna Bader in Dive, 2018

In 2008 Hoene directed Beyond the Rave , a 20-episode British horror serial on MySpace, which was the first film produced by Hammer Films in 30 years. [19] [20] Three of the supporting roles were played by Cockney (East London) actors whose humorous improvisations inspired Hoene to make a movie centered around Cockney characters. [2]

Hoene and two screenwriters, James Moran and Lucas Roche, spent a year and a half developing the screenplay that became the motion picture Cockneys vs Zombies in 2012. [2] It is a comedy horror film pitting East End bank robbers and retirees against the living dead. Hoene had then been living in East London for three years, and made the film a love letter to the East End of London, showing many of the area's locations. [21] [22] It won best feature film at the 2012 San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, [23] a "Méliès d'argent" at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, [24] and best feature film, best comedy, and best ensemble cast at the 2012 Toronto After Dark Film Festival. [25]

In 2016 Hoene directed Luc Besson's Chinese and French science fiction action-adventure film The Warriors Gate , written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. [26] This was Hoene's biggest work yet, with up to 900 people on set at a time, filmed in China and Canada, though with all the dialogue in English. [2] [27] [28]

In 2018, Hoene was one of five prominent European filmmakers who made short films for the campaign #EUandME, about the benefits of the European Union, that were aired across the continent; his entry, "The Living Hostel", was about an elderly lady's grandchildren trying to realize her dream of travelling across Europe. [29] [30] [31] It was his first German language film. [32] The same year he also directed the three-minute documentary Dive, for the Adidas Parley environmental partnership, about Anna Bader cliff diving from Kahekili's Leap in Hawaii, while reflecting on plastic pollution. [33] [34]

In 2021, Hoene began filming Theodosia , a children's fantasy adventure television series based on the Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos books by R. L. LaFevers. [35] The series premiered on HBO Max in 2022, and was acquired by partners including the BBC. [36] It was approved for a second season. [37]

In 2023, Hoene directed Little Bone Lodge , also known as The Last Exit, a thriller film about two criminals in a home invasion in the Scottish Highlands meeting a family with its own secrets. [38] Hoene said that he wanted to direct a straight character based thriller, unlike the action comedy and horror comedy that he had become known for. [39] [40] The film is rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. [41] The writer, Neil Linpow, also acted in the film, with Joely Richardson and Sadie Soverall. [42]

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References

  1. ↑ "Young Filmmakers -Jury". EU and ME - European Commission. Europa. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sanders, Justin (16 September 2020). "How Matthias Hoene Went from Tinkering in His Parents' Basement to Directing a Chinese Blockbuster". CreativeFuture . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Dolan, Hazel (2 January 2017). "The Art of Reinvention". Homes & Antiques . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 "GALLERY 43: Ones to watch - Matthias Hoene". Campaign . 31 October 2002. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "MUSIC VIDEOS 35: Tom McRae - A Day Like Today". Campaign . 28 February 2003. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Eels 'Rusty Pipes' by Matthias Hoene | Videos | Promonews". Promonewstv. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "SABATON: Making Of 'Bismarck' Video". Blabbermouth.net . 26 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Ulitski, Rob (27 February 2020). "HRVY 'Me Because Of You' by Matthias Hoene | Videos | Promonews". Promonewstv. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "HRVY 'Nevermind' (Director's Cut) by Matthias Hoene". Promonews. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "First Boards Awards 2003 Winner: Matthias Hoene (Directors)". AdsSpot.me. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Diaz, Ann-Christine (1 November 2003). "Matthias Hoene, Partizan". Ad Age . Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Whitehead, Jennifer (25 May 2004). "Londoners urged to take the control of the megaphone". Campaign . Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Whitehead, Jennifer (16 March 2005). "Dyson backs The Ball launch with biggest ad campaign to date through VCCP". Campaign . Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  14. ↑ November 16, Sarah Woods (16 November 2006). "Kellogg follows rush hour for bees in honey Corn Flakes ads". Campaign . Retrieved 12 April 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Brazier, Georgina (6 February 2012). "Appointment to View: How the AA made its own horror film trailer". Campaign . Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (31 May 2013). "#dontbescared shakes up zombie tradition". Digital Spy . Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Interview: A conversation with Matthias Hoene, director of Cockneys vs Zombies and #dontbescared". Flickering Myth . 31 May 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  18. ↑ Oakes, Omar (18 October 2018). "Giffgaff goes big again for Halloween in debut work with Havas". Campaign . Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Mitchell, Wendy (13 December 2007). "Hammer's first new film to air episodes on MySpace". Screen Daily . Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Turek, Ryan (13 December 2007). "Hammer's Beyond the Rave Heads to MySpace". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  21. ↑ Webb, Charles (2 August 2013). "'Cockneys vs. Zombies': Director Matthias Hoene On Bringing Zombie Horror To East London [INTERVIEW]". MTV News . Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  22. ↑ Gray, Scott A. (21 October 2012). "Cockneys vs. Zombies Matthias Hoene". Exclaim! . Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "23rd San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival: Awards". San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  24. ↑ Mack, Andrew (11 October 2013). "Sitges 2013: IN THE NAME OF THE SON Wins Méliès d'Or Award". Screen Anarchy . Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (4 November 2012). "'Cockneys vs. Zombies' and 'American Mary' Big Winners at Toronto After Dark Genre Fest". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  26. ↑ Webster, Christopher (8 May 2017). "Interview: Matthias Hoene Talks ENTER THE WARRIOR'S GATE". Screen Anarchy . Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  27. ↑ Frater, Patrick (13 May 2015). "Cannes: Dave Bautista Stars in Martial Arts Epic 'Warrior's Gate' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  28. ↑ Xu, Fan (17 November 2016). "New Sino-French action film". China Daily . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  29. ↑ Carabott, Sarah (30 May 2018). "Short bridge to Europe". Times of Malta . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  30. ↑ "#EU and Me revija kratkog filma". INmusic festival (in Croatian). 6 June 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  31. ↑ "La Comisión Europea estrena cinco cortos sobre las ventajas de vivir en la UE dirigidos a jóvenes". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  32. ↑ Hoene, Matthias (11 May 2018). "On the short film for the European Commission". Facebook .
  33. ↑ Jardine, Alexandra (3 July 2018). "Adidas highlights plastic pollution in this film featuring a dramatic cliff dive". Ad Age .
  34. ↑ Altman, Randi (3 July 2018). "Dive: Matthias Hoene, Adidas x Parley put focus on ocean pollution". postPerspective. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  35. ↑ Hopewell, John; Keslassy, Elsa (26 February 2021). "Cottonwood, ZDF, ZDFE, HBO Max, Globo Set 'Indiana Jones'-Style Live-Action Kids Series 'Theodosia' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  36. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (4 April 2022). "ZDF Studios, Federation's Kids Series 'Theodosia' Acquired by BBC, Among Other Deals (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  37. ↑ "Cottonwood Media and ZDF return to the ancient Egypt as Theodosia season two greenlit". Prensario (in Spanish). 10 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  38. ↑ Moore, Roger (17 March 2024). "Movie Review: A not-half-bad variation on a time-honored formula — "The Last Exit" (aka "Little Bone Lodge")". Movie Nation. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  39. ↑ Sayce, Rebecca (22 May 2023). "Director Matthias Hoene talks Little Bone Lodge (The FH Interview)". Filmhounds Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  40. ↑ Kermode, Jennie. "Eye For Film: Interview with Matthias Hoene about Little Bone Lodge". www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  41. ↑ "Little Bone Lodge | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  42. ↑ Hughes, Kat (1 June 2023). "Interview: 'Little Bone Lodge' Writer & Star Neil Linpow". The Hollywood News . Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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