Paul Anderson (full name Paul William Scott Anderson), English screenwriter, director and producer, was born March 4, 1965 in Newcastle, UK.
Since the name Anderson is quite common, there were some incidents. Paul William was often confused with the American director, whose name is Paul Thomas Anderson, he is only five years younger than his English colleague. However, apart from the same name and surname, nothing unites them. To somehow indicate the difference in names, the Englishman Paul Anderson added the letters WS to his initials (William Scott).
Director and computer games
To distinguish Paul Anderson from other actors in the cinema, you can, first of all, according to his manner, implement unique film projects. Anderson became a famous director thanks to films shot on the plots of popular computer games. Thus, the director provided himself with a multi-million army of spectators from among the fans and participants of these games, since each player wants to see the adventures of his favorite characters on the big screen.
"Shopping"
However, the first directorial work of Paul Anderson was a picture called "Shopping", not related to computer games. But the film was distinguished by a deep psychological subtext, when the energy of young and, in general, restless children was spent on insanely expensive and criminally punishable entertainment - hijacking prestigious cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was not even the hijacking itself, but what happened next. The main character of the film Billy (young English actor Jude Law) and his girlfriend Joe (actress Sadie Frost) are big shopping lovers. They came up with an unusual shopping experience that excited their imagination. Billy and Joe visited the shops in a somewhat unusual way: in a stolen expensive car, crashing into the window of a market they loved.
Anderson's first cult film
In 1995, Paul Anderson made the movie "Mortal Kombat", which became a super-cash, raising more than $ 120 million with a relatively small budget of 30 million. The plot focuses on the opposition of the Earth and the dark forces of the Outer World. Occurring events may end in the death of all mankind as a result of the invasion of the forces of Evil from the outside. There was the last match to be won. This will be the tenth mortal battle, after which there is either deliverance or eternal darkness on the defeated Earth.
Criticism of the film was mixed and mostly negative. Many reviewers noted the incompetent play of most actors, although they unanimously praised the special effects and the well-created atmosphere of the film. On the Rotten Tomatoes website, Paul Anderson's work was bombarded with fresh and rotten tomatoes. Russian critic Sergey Kudryavtsev spoke of the "Mortal Kombat" as a "stupid spectacle."
However, the film received a lot of positive reviews from fans of the original Mortal Kombat game, which formed the basis of "Mortal Kombat". Fans of the game noted the authenticity of the atmosphere and the good dynamics of the action. Today, the picture is considered the best option for interpreting a computer game in the movie format.
Paul Anderson’s next film project, Through the Horizon, presented an example of a classic sci-fi thriller with scenes borrowed from a regular horror movie. The picture did not make much impression on the audience and was not put on a par with "Mortal Kombat".
Failure
The 1998 film, titled "The Soldier," shot by Paul Anderson in the genre of sci-fi movie, turned out to be a failure at all. The painting raised just $ 15 million with a budget of $ 75 million, repeating the fate of a similar Blade Runner project with Harrison Ford. It is worth noting that the film "Blade Runner" was nevertheless unanimously recognized by scientists as the best example of science fiction in the history of cinema.
The second cult film
In 2002, the United States premiered a new film directed by Paul Anderson called "Resident Evil." The picture was a movie version of the computer game of the same name, created by the Japanese company Capcom. In the center of the plot, the main character Alice, by chance, got into the labyrinth of the secret laboratory "Anthill", which is part of the research complex of Umbrella Corporation. In the laboratory, the Red Queen central computer, which releases a deadly virus that kills people, runs the central computer. Alice feels bouts of amnesia, and when her memory briefly returns, she does not believe that everything that pops up in her memories could happen to her. In the end, Alice, with the help of her friends, turns off the Red Queen, and the whole group leaves the laboratory.
Milla Jovovich
Paul Anderson once said of Resident Evil that it was a “really scary movie.” When the idea came up to adapt a teenage computer game for a full-length film for adults, I needed an appeal to the company of the creators of Resident Evil with a promise to follow the storyline and consult on any changes. In 1997, the film studio received the exclusive right to stage the film. Immediately the question arose of choosing a female lead. Actress Mila Jovovich and Paul Anderson did not meet at that time, however, the director suggested the main role to her. Mila was really perfect for the role of Alice, she brilliantly reproduced the difficult image of an amnesized, but fighting girl.
Anderson's scripts
Paul Anderson, the director, succeeded George Romero, who did not write the script very well, and it was clear that in his interpretation the film would be doomed to failure in terms of box office. Therefore, Romero received his resignation, and the script was rewritten by Paul Anderson. The calculations of the producers were justified, the film at the box office collected the box office, three times the budget. The musical accompaniment of the picture was at a good level, sound effects also left much to be desired. At the request of the creator of the game, Capcom, the film widely used elements from all options: Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Apocalypse
In 2004, the sequel to the film "Resident Evil" was filmed with Mila Jovovich as Alice. The painting was called "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" and was a continuation of the first series of 2002, with the same characters, the same scene and a completely predictable ending. The script of the sequel was written by Paul Anderson, but this time the director was not he, but Alexander Witt, who simply followed the already worked out production scheme. And, since Resident Evil: Apocalypse also showed high box office revenues with a relatively small budget, it was decided to launch the third film project Resident Evil: Extinction. The script for the third film was written by Paul Anderson, he also acted as a producer. This time Russell Mulkahi got into the director’s chair.
Resident Evil Series
Resident Evil 3 is a film about the disastrous impact of the Virus, which got out of control and destroyed all life on earth. Only those who had access to the antivirus survived, including Alice. The girl acquired supernatural abilities, gained fantastic strength, and only for satellites in space was she vulnerable. Therefore, Alice is constantly on the alert, looking only up.
Paul Anderson, whose photo has already begun to appear on the pages of glossy magazines, wrote the script for the next film, Resident Evil 4: Life After Death. The picture was released in 2010 and again broke the box office success record, raising about $ 300 million. The main character, this time, was played by Milla Jovovich, embodying the image of Alice, surrounded by a large number of her own clones. The survivors had already climbed out of the ground, but huge hordes of zombies filled the whole space, and Umbrella Corporation still ruled the ball.
Filmography
And finally, Resident Evil 5: Retribution, the last film made by Anderson in 2012. In this film project, Paul Anderson is a director and screenwriter. In addition, he is also a co-producer of the picture. The role of the main character was still performed by Mila Jovovich. In the center of the plot is the same Umbrella corporation, which is either trying to destroy Alice or supporting it, depending on the mood of the leadership and on who is currently at the head of Umbrella: Albert Wesker or someone else. Cash collection was still high, about $ 240 million. Paul Anderson, whose filmography already includes about 20 films, is full of creative plans and continues to shoot. He acts as a director when the script is written by him. All the films of Paul Anderson, the list of which can be divided into two parts: computer games in the format of a full-length film, and all the rest - anyway, deserve attention.
Personal life
The personal life of director and screenwriter Paul William Scott Anderson is an example of integrity and constancy. Paul for a long time met with one of the most beautiful and talented movie stars of Hollywood, Mila Jovovich, who starred in many of his films. The relationship between the director and the actress at first was friendly and businesslike, but then moved on to a more intimate plane, and on November 5, 2007 they had a daughter named Eve Gabo. In the summer of 2009, Paul Anderson and Mila Jovovich registered their marriage.