Christopher John Weitz (/waɪts/; born November 30, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy; the latter earned the Weitz brothers a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Among his other main works, Weitz was one of the lead actors in the Mike White-directed film Chuck & Buck, directed the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass and the film adaptation of New Moon from the series of Twilight books, wrote the screenplay for Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation of Cinderella, and co-wrote Rogue One with Tony Gilroy and Antz with Todd Alcott and Paul.
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👉 Chris Weitz in the context of Antz
Antz is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, and written by Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI, the film features an ensemble voice cast, including Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. The film involves an anxious worker ant, Z, who falls in love with Princess Bala. When the arrogant General Mandible attempts to seize control of the ant colony, Z must combine his desire for purpose with his inner strength to save everyone.
Development began in 1988 when Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched a film called Army Ants, about a pacifist worker ant teaching lessons of independent thinking to his militaristic colony. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg had left the company in a feud with CEO Michael Eisner over the vacant president position after the death of Frank Wells. Katzenberg would later go on to help co-found DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and the three planned to rival Disney with the company's new animation division. Production began in May 1996. DreamWorks had contracted Pacific Data Images (PDI) to begin working on computer-animated films to rival Pixar's features. During its production, a controversial public feud erupted between Katzenberg of DreamWorks and Steve Jobs and John Lasseter of Pixar, due to the production of their similar film A Bug's Life, which was released a month later. The feud worsened when Disney refused to avoid competition with DreamWorks' intended first animated release, The Prince of Egypt. Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell composed the music for the film.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Chris Weitz
- 👉 Chris Weitz in the context of Antz
- Chris Weitz in the context of The Golden Compass (film)
- Chris Weitz in the context of Rogue One
Chris Weitz in the context of The Golden Compass (film)
The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film written and directed by Chris Weitz, based on the 1995 novel Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. It stars Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Dakota Blue Richards and Daniel Craig. In the film, Lyra joins a race of water-workers and seafarers on a trip to the far North in search of children kidnapped by the Gobblers, a group supported by the world's rulers, the Magisterium.
Development on the film was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the screenplay and the selection of a director (including Weitz departing and returning) caused significant delays. Richards was cast as Lyra in June 2006, with Kidman and Craig joining soon thereafter. Principal photography began that September at Shepperton Studios and lasted for several months. Location filming also took place in England, Switzerland, and Norway.
View the full Wikipedia page for The Golden Compass (film)Chris Weitz in the context of Rogue One
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. Produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the first Star Wars anthology film and a prequel to Star Wars (1977). It stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker. Set a week before the events of Star Wars, Rogue One follows rebels who steal the schematics for the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. It details the Rebel Alliance's first effective victory against the Empire, as referenced in the Star Wars opening crawl.
John Knoll, who served as the visual effects supervisor of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, pitched Rogue One's story as an episode of the unproduced television series Star Wars: Underworld in 2003. He pitched it again as a film following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012; Edwards was hired to direct in 2014. Edwards sought to differentiate Rogue One from previous Star Wars films and approach it as a war film, omitting the opening crawl and transitional screen wipes used in the main "Skywalker Saga" installments. Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, in early August 2015 and wrapped in February 2016. The film went through extensive reshoots in mid-2016. The score was composed by Michael Giacchino, rather than the Skywalker Saga composer John Williams. With an estimated production budget of $200–280.2 million, Rogue One is one of the most expensive films ever made.
View the full Wikipedia page for Rogue One