Stephen Sommers

Stephen Sommers
Born (1962-03-20) March 20, 1962
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Nationality American
Education St. Cloud Apollo High School
Alma mater Saint John's University
University of Seville
Occupation Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active 1989-present
Notable work Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Spouse(s) Jana Sommers (1993-present)
Website http://www.stephensommers.com

Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy (1999) and its sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001). He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994), the action/horror film Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009).

Early life

Stephen Sommers was born in Indianapolis, Indiana,[1] and grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he attended St. Cloud Apollo High School. He is a 1980 graduate of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and the University of Seville in Spain. After graduating, he spent four years performing as an actor in theater groups and managing rock bands throughout Europe. He eventually returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles, where he attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts for three years, earning a master's degree and writing and directing the award-winning short film Perfect Alibi.

Career

Perfect Alibi helped Sommers acquire independent funding to write and direct his first feature film, the teen racing film Catch Me If You Can, filmed for $800,000 on location in his hometown of St. Cloud.[2] The film was sold at the Cannes Film Festival for $7 million and later debuted on video in the United States.

Almost four years later, broke and in danger of having his house repossessed,[3] he wrote and directed an adaptation of Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huck Finn for Walt Disney Pictures, as well as Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. He later wrote the screenplays for Gunmen and Tom and Huck, which he also executive produced for Disney (along with a TV version of Oliver Twist in 1997 starring Richard Dreyfuss and Elijah Wood), and worked as a staff writer at Hollywood Pictures. While there, he worked on a script called Tentacle, which he later directed under the title Deep Rising in 1998.

In 1999, he wrote and directed Universal Studios' big-budget remake of The Mummy. The film was a smash hit, and Sommers received two Saturn Award nominations for Best Director and Best Writer in 2000 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. A successful sequel, The Mummy Returns, followed two years later, and he also co-wrote and produced 2002's The Scorpion King, a prequel/spin-off of The Mummy Returns.

In 2004, Sommers founded his own company (along with editor/producing partner Bob Ducsay), The Sommers Company, and returned to theater screens with Van Helsing, a film pitting legendary vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing against the triumvirate of Universal movie monsters: Count Dracula, The Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's monster. Before Van Helsing even premiered, Sommers and Ducsay began developing a spin-off TV series for NBC called Transylvania. Though featuring none of the characters from the film, the series (which was to have made use of the film's Prague set) was about a young cowboy from Texas who becomes a sheriff in Transylvania, has many strange adventures, and encounters many strange creatures. Sommers and Ducsay were to have been executive producers, and Sommers wrote scripts for the pilot and first several episodes, but NBC decided not to go through with the show.

Since Van Helsing, Sommers has been attached to a number of projects. He was originally set to direct Night at the Museum, but dropped out due to creative differences. He was also attached to a remake of When Worlds Collide (to be executive produced by Steven Spielberg),[4] a new big-screen adaptation of Flash Gordon, a swashbuckling adventure film called Airborn based on the novel Airborn, a romantic/adventure story called Big Love, and a remake of the French film Les Victimes. Sommers opted out of directing the third Mummy film, titled The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, instead becoming one of its producers.

Sommers directed Paramount Pictures' summer 2009 live-action adaptation of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and also served as a producer.[5] Around that time, he was developing a Tarzan adaptation for Warner Bros. but left the project.[6] His most recent film, Odd Thomas, had been delayed from release indefinitely due to lawsuits against the production company, but it is now available to watch on Netflix's streaming service.

Filmography

Year Film Director Writer Producer Other Notes
1989 Catch Me If You Can Yes Yes
1993 The Adventures of Huck Finn Yes Yes
1994 Gunmen Yes
The Jungle Book Yes Yes
1995 Tom and Huck Yes Yes
1997 Oliver Twist Yes
1998 Deep Rising Yes Yes
1999 The Mummy Yes Yes
2000 Running Away Yes Industry mentor
2001 The Mummy Returns Yes Yes
2002 The Scorpion King Yes Yes
2004 Van Helsing Yes Yes Yes
Van Helsing: The London Assignment Yes
2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Yes Yes
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Yes Yes
2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Yes Yes Yes
2012 The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption Yes Executive producer
2013 Odd Thomas Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power Yes Executive producer

Collaborations

Actor The Adventures of Huck Finn The Jungle Book (1994) Deep Rising The Mummy The Mummy Returns Van Helsing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Odd Thomas
Alun Armstrong Yes Yes
Robbie Coltrane Yes Yes
Oded Fehr Yes Yes
Jason Flemyng Yes Yes
Brendan Fraser Yes Yes Yes
John Hannah Yes Yes
Shuler Hensley Yes Yes
Aharon Ipalé Yes Yes
Kevin J. O'Connor Yes Yes Yes Yes
Patricia Velásquez Yes Yes
Arnold Vosloo Yes Yes Yes Yes
Rachel Weisz Yes Yes

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Film Result
1999 Eyegore Award Won
2000 Saturn Award Best Director The Mummy Nominated
Best Writing Nominated
2010 Golden Raspberry Award Worst Director G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Nominated

References

  1. ↑ AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout, June 27, 2004
  2. ↑ Stephen Sommers Interview, Part 2
  3. ↑ The Adventures of Huck Finn Audio Commentary
  4. ↑ "When Worlds Collide".
  5. ↑ Fleming, Michael (August 23, 2007). "Stephen Sommers to direct 'G.I. Joe'". Variety.
  6. ↑ Douglas, Edward. "Exclusive: Director Stephen Sommers Says "Yo Joe!"". Superhero Hype.

External links

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