Xavier Gens

{{Infobox person

| name = Xavier Gens

| image = Xavier Gens.png

| caption = Gens at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in 2011

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1975|4|27}}

| birth_place = Dunkirk, France

| occupation = Film director, screenwriter, producer

| yearsactive = 1996–present

}}

Xavier Gens ({{IPA|fr|ɡzavje ʒɑ̃s|lang}}; born on {{Birth date|df=yes|1975|4|27}}) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.{{cite web|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/person/502228/Xavier-Gens|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203195534/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/502228/Xavier-Gens|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 December 2007|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2007|title=Xavier Gens}}

Career

Gens directed three short films in his native language, BTK – Born to Kast (2000), Au petit matin (2005) and Sable noir (2006), before being hired by 20th Century Fox to direct his debut English-language film, Hitman (2007). The same year, he directed his first French-language feature, Frontier(s).{{cite web|url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2007-10-24-xavier-gens-interview-about-frontieresfrontiers-feature-story-by-darren-amner|title=Eye For Film: Xavier Gens interview about Frontiere(s)/Frontier(s)|last=Amner|first=Darren|date=24 October 2007|website=Eye for Film}}{{cite web|url=https://rue-morgue.com/a-face-full-of-glass-examining-frontiers-fifteen-years-later/|title=A Face Full of Glass: Examining "FRONTIER(S)" Fifteen Years Later|last=Thomas|first=Gabriel|date=17 December 2022|work=Rue Morgue}}

In October 2007, a few weeks before the film's release, reports came in that Fox had turned down the version that Gens submitted to them. Nicolas de Toth was brought in to edit the film for commercial purposes and the studio ordered reshoots.{{cite news|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/520956-hitman_will_be_rated_r_and_de_toth_is_just_a_consultant|title='Hitman' Will Be Rated R and De Toth is Just a Consultant|last=Brevet|first=Brad|date=11 October 2007|work=ComingSoon}} While the studio denied claims that Gens had been fired due to the extreme violence in his cut, and insisted that he was still on the project, some reports stated that Gens was not even in the country as these reshoots were being made.{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hitman/news/1686832/timothy_olyphant_addresses_hitman_rumors/|title=Timothy Olyphant Addresses Hitman Rumors|first=Jeff|last=Giles|date=6 November 2007|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915050600/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hitman/news/1686832/timothy_olyphant_addresses_hitman_rumors/|archive-date=15 September 2013}} Despite being critically panned,{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/hitman-vizio-watchfree-plus-streaming/|title=Timothy Olyphant’s 16% Rotten Tomatoes Video Game Adaptation Just Landed on a Free Streaming Service|first=Adam|last=Blevins|date=12 December 2024|website=Collider}} Hitman was a success with a gross of $92 million, Gens' most successful film.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18978|title=Xavier Gens' Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Drops Title|last=Miska|first=Brad|date=5 February 2010|publisher=BloodyDisgusting}}

He narrated and produced the French zombie film La Horde,{{Cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35279/the-horde-new-international-one-sheet|title=The Horde – New International One-Sheet|date=11 July 2012 |publisher=DreadCentral}} directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18646|title=New International One Sheet for 'The Horde'|date=9 January 2010|publisher=BloodyDisgusting}} The film was released in 2009 and distributed by IFC Films.{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35328/the-horde-the-dead-bring-violence-latest-clip|title=The Horde – The Dead Bring the Violence in Latest Clip|date=12 July 2012 |publisher=DreadCentral}} Gens directed The Divide (initially titled The Fallout), his second English-language film,{{Cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20245|title=First Look at a Badass Michael Biehn in 'The Divide'|date=17 May 2010 |publisher=BloodyDisgusting}} which features Michael Biehn in the lead role.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20317|title=OMFG of the Day: Early Teaser for 'The Divide' Promises Everlasting Battle of Man vs Man!|date=22 May 2010|publisher=BloodyDisgusting}}

On television, he has directed episodes of Crossing Lines (2014), Gangs of London (2020),{{Cite web|url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/xavier-gens-gangs-london/|title=Xavier Gens | GANGS OF LONDON|website=STARBURST Magazine}} Mortel (2021) and Lupin (2023).{{Cite web|url=https://www.joblo.com/under-paris-trailer/|title=Under Paris trailer: Xavier Gens shark thriller reaches Netflix in June|first=Cody|last=Hamman|date=9 April 2024|work=JoBlo}}

In 2024, his Netflix shark-themed film, Under Paris,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/05/under-paris-best-shark-movie-netflix|title=Under Paris: Netflix has delivered one of the best shark movies ever made|first=Stuart|last=Heritage|date=6 June 2024|work=The Guardian}} became what was described as "the popcorn film of the summer".{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240607-under-paris-why-a-film-about-a-killer-shark-in-the-seine-is-the-popcorn-movie-of-the-summer-so-far|title=Under Paris: Why a French film about a killer shark in the Seine is the popcorn movie of the summer so far|last=Barber|first=Nicholas|date=7 June 2024|website=www.bbc.com}} The same year, alongside Vincent Roget and Eric Lavaine's banner Sameplayer, Gens launched a new production company called Good Players.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/mayhem-director-xavier-gens-good-players-french-producers-develops-netflix-series-malin-fors-1236011855/|title=Mayhem! Director Xavier Gens Launches Banner Good Players With French Producers; Develops Netflix Series Malin Fors (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Elsa|last=Keslassy|date=21 May 2024|work=Variety}}

Filmography

Short films

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Notes

2000

| BTK – Born to Kast

| {{yes}}

| {{Cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17924|title=AFM 09: Promo Art for Xavier Gens' 'The Fallout'|date=2 November 2009 |publisher=BloodyDisgusting}}

2005

| Au petit matin

| {{yes}}

2006

| Sable noir

| {{yes}}

2012

| X Is for XXL

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Segment of The ABCs of Death

Feature films