Robert Zemeckis
American writer, director
Born
14 May 1952
in ChicagoIllinoisUnited States
American film director, producer and screenwriter. His films are characterized by an interest in state-of-the-art special effects, including the early use of match moving in Back to the Future Part II (1989) and the pioneering performance capture techniques seen in Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2009). His later films have become more serious, with the hugely successful Tom Hanks vehicle Forrest Gump (1994) and the Jodie Foster film Contact (1997), both critically acclaimed movies. His father was of Lithuanian descent and his mother was of Italian ancestry. Is a good friend of director Peter Jackson. In 2007 he is anked #18 on EW’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood. Has directed 3 actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Tom Hanks (twice), Gary Sinise, and Denzel Washington. Hanks won for his first nominated performance in a Zemeckis feature, Forrest Gump (1994). Five of his films were nominated for AFI’s 100 Years...100 Laughs: Uzywane samochody (1980), Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Forrest Gump (1994). None of them made the list.
