Olivier Megaton

{{short description|French director, writer, and editor (born 1965)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Olivier Megaton

| image = Olivier Megaton at Taken 3 Premiere.png

| caption = Olivier Megaton at the Taken 3 Premiere in 2014

| birth_name = Olivier Fontana

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1965|8|6}}

| birth_place = Paris, France

| yearsactive = 1996–present

| occupation = Director, screenwriter, editor

| spouse =

}}

Olivier Megaton (born Olivier Fontana; 6 August 1965) is a French director, writer, and editor who directed the films The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Colombiana, Taken 2 and Taken 3.

Early life

Fontana was born in Paris, 20 years to the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and his choice of the artistic name Megaton was influenced by this. He grew up in a Paris banlieue, and after qualifying for a diploma in psychology, was active as a graphic artist and also adept in graffiti art. After meeting music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, he started working in films.{{Cite web | title =Olivier Megaton | work =Biographies et Filmographies | publisher =CinémaPassion | url =http://www.cinemapassion.com/filmographie-acteur-Olivier%20MEGATON-947.html | access-date =9 September 2010 | archive-date= 8 July 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708154928/http://www.cinemapassion.com/filmographie-acteur-Olivier%20MEGATON-947.html| quote = Olivier Megaton est né le 6 août 1965, soit vingt ans jour pour jour après la première explosion nucléaire à Hiroshima. D'où son pseudonyme ... alors que son vrai nom est Fontana. Son enfance se déroule en banlieue parisienne, marquée par un goût prononcé pour le dessin. / Olivier Megaton was born August 6, 1965, twenty years to the day after the first nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. Hence his nickname ... while his real name is Fontana. He grew up in the Paris suburbs, marked by a pronounced taste for drawing. }}{{Cite web | title =Olivier Megaton – Biographie | work =Toutlecine.com | publisher =Hi-Pi / L’Odyssée Interactive | url =http://www.toutlecine.com/star/biographie/0003/00030306-olivier-megaton.html | access-date =9 September 2010 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110717081612/http://www.toutlecine.com/star/biographie/0003/00030306-olivier-megaton.html | archive-date =17 July 2011 | url-status =dead }}{{Cite web | title =Olivier Megaton – Biographie détaillée | publisher =AlloCiné | url =http://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-27351/biographie/ | access-date =9 September 2010 }}{{Cite web | title =Olivier Megaton halts at Eicar | work =News | publisher =EICAR | date =2 April 2009 | url =http://www.eicar-international.com/news/20090402-121-olivier-megaton-halts-at-eicar.html | access-date =9 September 2010 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100808061743/http://www.eicar-international.com/news/20090402-121-olivier-megaton-halts-at-eicar.html | archive-date =8 August 2010 | url-status =dead }} Fontana first started making shorts and video clips before finally directing feature films.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1|last=Rege|first=Philippe|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc.|year=2010|isbn=9780810861374|location=Lanham, MD|pages=696}}

He is of Italian descent.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oliviermegaton.com/interview-olivier-megaton-know-better-director/|title=Interview of Olivier Megaton : know better the director|website=www.oliviermegaton.com|language=EN|access-date=3 May 2018}}

Career

Fontana has directed Exit, The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Taken 2 and Taken 3.{{Cite web | last =Bebealien | title =Interview Olivier Megaton – La grosse interview | publisher =Bebealien's world – Le blog qui aime le cinéma | date =30 September 2009 | url =http://lordoftraffic.com/blog/?title=interview-olivier-megaton-la-grosse-interview&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 | access-date =9 September 2010 }} He was chosen to direct Mathilda, the sequel to Léon, but expressed the opinion that the film was unlikely to be made.{{Cite web | last =Holtreman | first =Vic | title =Exclusive: Olivier Megaton Says Sequel to ‘The Professional’ Unlikely | publisher =Screen Rant | date =19 August 2010 | url =http://screenrant.com/the-professional-sequel-mathilda-vic-74470/ | access-date =9 September 2010 }} He also served as a second unit director for the film Hitman. His trademark technique in film directing involves intentionally disorienting camerawork and editing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0576298/bio|title=Olivier Megaton|website=IMDb|access-date=7 August 2018}}

Aside from filmmaking, Fontana is also a published author after his novel, entitled Le Facteur humain ("The Human Factor"), was released in 1998. In 2021, Fontana returned to film production to release a Netflix documentary entitled "Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan", the documentary received criticism shortly after release for its stigmatism regarding dissociative identity disorder.

Filmography

=Feature films=

Director

Exit (2000)
The Red Siren (2002) (Also writer)
Transporter 3 (2008)
Colombiana (2011)
Taken 2 (2012)
Taken 3 (2014)
The Last Days of American Crime (2020)

Second unit director

Hitman (2007)
Transporter 3 (2008)

= Short films =

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! width=65 |Director

! width=65 |Writer

! Notes

1996

| Hard Head

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1997

| Tout morose

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan="2"| 1998

| No Happy End

| {{yes}}

Je ne veux pas être sage

| {{yes}}

| Also editor

2002

| Chrysalis

| {{yes}}

| Documentary short

2007

| Angie

| {{yes}}

=Television=

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! width=65 |Director

! width=65 |Writer

1997

| One Dance, One Song

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan="2"| 1999

| Histoires d'objets

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Chambre n° 13

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2001

| Les redoutables

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2006

| Sable noir

| {{yes}}

2021

| Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

References

External links

Olivier Megaton [http://www.oliviermegaton.com Official Website]
{{IMDb name|0576298}}

Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:Film directors from Paris

Category:French people of Corsican descent

Category:French people of Italian descent