Charles de Lauzirika
{{short description|American film director}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charles de Lauzirika
| image = Charles_de_Lauzirika_Nov_2023.jpg
| caption = Charles de Lauzirika at FilmQuest 2023.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|08|17}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Filmmaker
DVD/Blu-ray Producer
| spouse = Carlee Baker (married 2018-present)
| children = 1
| website =
}}
Charles de Lauzirika (born August 17, 1967 in Los Angeles, California) is an American DVD and Blu-ray producer and filmmaker.
Early years
Lauzirika, of Basque ancestry, spent his early years in La Crescenta, California and attended Glendale College where he served as entertainment editor of In Focus, the college's weekly Public-access television show. He also contributed to the school's weekly, El Vaquero, receiving several JACC student journalism awards for his work as editorial cartoonist, entertainment editor and editor-in-chief. Lauzirika later attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he wrote and directed a fully funded 16mm sync sound film in the program's CNTV 480 Advanced Production Workshop; Lauzirika graduated in 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1361273/bio|title=Charles de Lauzirika|website=IMDb}}
Film and DVD career
While attending USC film school, Lauzirika concurrently worked for numerous film companies, including Lucasfilm Ltd., Lightstorm Entertainment, Warner Bros., Silver Pictures and Scott Free Productions. While working as a story analyst for directors Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, Lauzirika was chosen by Ridley Scott to supervise and produce elaborate DVD special editions of Scott's classic films. Lauzirika's works have been nominated for Video and DVD Premiere Awards, and in 2003 his comprehensive nine-disc Alien Quadrilogy garnered the DVDX Award for Best Overall DVD, Classic Movie. In 2008, Lauzirika won two Saturn Awards for his work on Blade Runner (Best DVD Special Edition) and Twin Peaks (Best Retro Television Release).{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1361273/bio|title=Charles de Lauzirika|website=IMDb}} In 2011, he won his third Saturn Award for the Alien Anthology (Best DVD Movie Collection.){{Cite web |url=http://www.chud.com/58377/the-saturn-awards-happened/ |title=The Saturn Awards Happened | CHUD.com |access-date=June 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627051754/http://www.chud.com/58377/the-saturn-awards-happened/ |archive-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }} And in 2015, Lauzirika won his fourth Saturn Award for producing Twin Peaks The Entire Mystery (Best Blu-ray Television Release.) {{Cite web|url=http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/twin-peaks-blu-ray-saturn-award/|title = Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery Wins Saturn Award for Best Blu-Ray Television Release|date = June 26, 2015}}
Lauzirika has been in charge of the restorations and new cuts of such as films as Alien³, Legend and Blade Runner: The Final Cut, each project requiring new visual effects and additional scenes which had to seamlessly blend in with existing footage. He has also directed several commercials and short films, as well as the music video for Montell Jordan's When You Get Home (1998) which featured Billy Dee Williams. Lauzirika himself occasionally serves as camera operator in his documentary interviews, thereby fostering a more intimate environment, allowing the interviewee to be more sharing on camera. Although his work has long been associated with the films of Ridley Scott, Lauzirika has also produced DVD content for the works of numerous other directors, including David Lynch, Sam Raimi, James Cameron, the Coen brothers, Michael Bay, David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez, Marc Webb, John Badham, Neil Marshall, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Mark Romanek and Tony Scott.{{cite web |url=http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/list/121 |title=Charles de Lauzirika – Home Theater Forum Community |publisher=Hometheaterforum.com |date=2001-02-06 |accessdate=2010-02-17}}
In 2010, Empire reported that Lauzirika was working on a comprehensive Blu-ray release of the four Alien films, now known as the Alien Anthology. In addition to creating new content, he also oversaw a new sound mix of the Alien³ Special Edition which necessitated the return of actors Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance and Lance Henriksen to re-record their dialogue due to the poor production sound heard in the film's original rough assembly.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4339|title=More Details of Alien Anthology Blu-ray Surface}} In 2011 it was reported that Lauzirika was working on DVD/Blu-ray special editions for such films as Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Amazing Spider-Man and Prometheus.{{cite web |url=http://comic-con.org/cci/cci11_prog_thu.php |title=Comic-Con 2011 :: Programming Schedule |accessdate=2011-07-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710164116/http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci11_prog_thu.php |archivedate=July 10, 2011 |df=mdy }}
Lauzirika made his feature directorial debut with the psychological thriller Crave which began shooting on October 23, 2009, in Detroit, Michigan, and stars Josh Lawson, Emma Lung, Edward Furlong and Ron Perlman. Lauzirika is also one of the film's producers and co-wrote the screenplay with Robert A. Lawton.{{cite web |author=Floydian Trip |url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34225/ron-perlman-gives-us-something-crave |title=Ron Perlman Gives Us Something to Crave |publisher=DreadCentral.com |date=2009-10-27 |accessdate=2010-02-17}} Crave had its sold out world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 24, 2012 and went on to win the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature Film.{{Cite web|url=http://fantasiafestival.com/blog/fantasia-festival/fantasia-2012-jury-awards-and-the-winners-are|title=News}} The film then had its sold out United States premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 22, 2012, with Lauzirika going on to win Best Director in the festival's Next Wave competition.{{Cite web|url=http://fantasticfest.com/news/entry/the_fantastic_fest_2012_awards|title=The Fantastic Fest 2012 Awards!|access-date=September 29, 2012|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215234952/http://fantasticfest.com/news/entry/the_fantastic_fest_2012_awards|url-status=dead}} He was also attached to direct and co-write a feature adaptation of the Philip K. Dick science fiction short story, "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon".{{Cite web|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2012-09-21/fantastic-fest-is-here-to-bash-your-brains-in/all/|title = Discussed: Why 'The Shining' still scares the pants off us 33 years on}} In 2013, Lauzirika was named Jury President in the First Feature category at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the same category that Crave won the previous year.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2013/en/jury-and-guests |title=Jury and Guests - Sympatico & Ubisoft Present Fantasia 2013 |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008174322/http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2013/en/jury-and-guests |url-status=dead }}
In 2019, Lauzirika produced a 71 minute documentary on the making of the Hellboy reboot directed by Neil Marshall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10447328/?ref_=nm_flmg_prd_2|title=Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn (2019) - IMDb|website=IMDb}} He also directed a short horror satire titled Love Bite, starring Carlee Baker and Cuyle Carvin, and written by Baker and Lauzirika.{{Cite web|url=https://escapevelocity2019.sched.com/speaker/lauzirika?iframe=no|title = Charles de Lauzirika's schedule for Escape Velocity 2019}} The film had its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival on October 6, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/311736/exclusive-first-look-trailer-for-sitges-selection-love-bite/|title = Exclusive: First Look & Trailer for Sitges Selection LOVE BITE|date = October 4, 2019}}
In 2023, Lauzirika wrote and directed the short horror film Honk starring Zach Galligan and Tyler Mane. The film began its festival run with its world premiere in competition at the Sitges Film Festival on October 12, 2023.{{cite web | url=https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/noticies/best-fantastic-genre-short-films-around-world-will-be-sitges2023 | title=The Best Fantastic Genre Short Films from Around the World will be at SITGES2023 | Sitges Film Festival }} It later had its U.S. Premiere at FilmQuest in Provo, Utah on November 2, 2023, where it won the award for Best Sound (Short.){{Cite web |title=2023 Award Winners & Nominees – FilmQuest |url=http://www.filmquestfest.com/2023-award-winners-nominees/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |language=en-US}} Shortly thereafter, the film won the prestigious Little Golden Skull (Global) award for Best Short Film at Mórbido Fest, based in Mexico City, Mexico, marking its Latin American Premiere.{{Cite web |title=Morbido Film Fest Official Website |url=https://morbidofilmfest.com/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Morbido Film Fest |language=en}}
It was also announced in 2023 that Lauzirika is attached to direct a documentary about David Lean's troubled production of Ryan's Daughter entitled Reap the Whirlwind: David Lean and the Madness of Ryan's Daughter.{{cite web | url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/indie-filmmaker-movie-rights-busby-berkeley-biopic-1234820381/ | title=How a Busby Berkeley-Obsessed Indie Filmmaker Landed the Stage and Movie Rights to His Unpublished Memoir | date=March 17, 2023 }}
In May of 2024, Lauzirika confirmed that he had produced the six-part documentary Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland's Civil War for the home entertainment release of Alex Garland's Civil War (film). https://x.com/Lauzirika/status/1788299458817470889 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}
Selected Films and Documentaries
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%" |
| Year
! Title ! Original Source ! Credit(s) |
|---|
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2024
| Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland's Civil War | producer |
| 2023
|Honk |Short Film (Narrative) |director, writer, producer, editor |
| 2019
|Love Bite |Short Film (Narrative) |director, co-writer, producer |
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2019
| Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn | Hellboy (2019 film) (2017, Marshall) | producer |
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2017
| A Very Lovely Dream: One Week in Twin Peaks | Twin Peaks (2017 TV series) (2017, Lynch) | director, producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2016
| The Long Way Home: Making The Martian | The Martian (2015, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="3" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2015
| Star Wars Launch Bay - Meet the Makers | director, producer |
| Keepers of the Covenant: Making Exodus: Gods and Kings
| Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| The Lawgiver's Legacy
| Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="3" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2014
| Between Two Worlds | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992, Lynch) | director, producer |
| The Wages of Heroism: Making The Amazing Spider-Man 2
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014, Webb) | director, producer, camera operator |
| The A Game: Michael Bay's Pain & Gain
| Pain & Gain (2013, Bay) | producer |
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2013
| Lensing One Hour Photo | One Hour Photo (2002, Romanek) | producer |
| 2013
|Crave |Feature Film (Narrative) |director, co-writer, producer |
| rowspan="3" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2012
| The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus | Prometheus (2012, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| Rite of Passage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn
| The Amazing Spider-Man (2012, Webb) | director, producer, camera operator |
| Above and Beyond: Exploring Dark of the Moon
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011, Bay) | producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="1" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2011
| Alicia Florrick: Real Deal | The Good Wife (2011, R. King, M. King) | director, producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="3" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2010
| Rise and Rise Again: Making Ridley Scott's Robin Hood | Robin Hood (2010, R. Scott) | producer, camera operator |
| Alien3: Assembly Cut
|Alien3 (1992 / 2003 / 2010, Fincher) |restoration producer |
| Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien³ (Uncut)
| director, producer, writer |
| rowspan="2" width="50" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2009
| The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009, Bay) | producer, camera operator |
| Not A Love Story: Making (500) Days of Summer
| (500) Days of Summer (2009, Webb) | producer |
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2008
| Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster | American Gangster (2007, R. Scott) | producer, written by, camera operator,†director |
| Flights of Fancy: The Politics and Paranoia of Capricorn One
| Capricorn One (1978, Hyams) | producer |
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2007
| Blade Runner: The Final Cut | Blade Runner (1982, R. Scott) | restoration producer |
| Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner
| Blade Runner (1982, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| Secrets from Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks
| Twin Peaks (1990, Lynch) | director, producer, writer |
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2006
| The Path to Redemption | Kingdom of Heaven (2005, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| Ride with the Angels: Making Blue Thunder
| Blue Thunder (1983, Badham) | director, producer |
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2005
| Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator | director, producer |
| Vengeance Is Mine: Reinventing Man on Fire
| Man on Fire (2004, T. Scott) | producer, writer |
| Kingdom of Heaven: Interactive Production Grid
| Kingdom of Heaven (2005, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2004
| Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun | producer |
| Making the Amazing
| Spider-Man 2 (2004, Raimi) | director, producer, writer |
| Tricks of the Trade: Making Matchstick Men
| Matchstick Men (2003, R. Scott) | director, producer, cinematographer |
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2003
| Alien Quadrilogy: | | |
| Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey
| Thelma & Louise (1991, R. Scott) | director, producer, writer |
| Inside Die Another Day
| Die Another Day (2002, Tamahori) | producer |
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;" | 2002
| Duelling Directors: Ridley Scott & Kevin Reynolds | The Duellists (1977, R. Scott) | director, producer, camera operator |
| The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down
| Black Hawk Down (2001, R. Scott) | producer |
| Inside Speed
| director, producer, written by |
| Legend: The Director's Cut
| restoration producer |
| 2001
| Breaking the Silence: The Making of Hannibal | director, producer |
| 2000
| Style as Substance: Reflections on Tarsem | producer |
| colspan="3" |
| |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Charles de Lauzirika}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1361273|name=Charles de Lauzirika}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauzirika, Charles De}}
Category:Film producers from California
Category:American documentary filmmakers