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Roger Christian (filmmaker)

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Roger Christian
Roger Christian (April 2011)
Born (1944-02-25) 25 February 1944 (age 80)[1]
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Film director, production designer, set decorator
Years active1968–present
SpouseLina Dhingra
Websitewww.rogerjchristian.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 July 2011)

Roger John Christian (born 25 February 1944)[1] is an English set decorator, production designer and feature film director. He won an Academy Award for his work on the original Star Wars and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Alien. Christian directed the second unit on both Return of the Jedi[2] and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as well as feature films including The Sender and Nostradamus. He also directed the 2000 film Battlefield Earth.

Career

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He began his career as an assistant art director on several UK productions including the Hammer Studios film And Soon the Darkness (1970). He won an Academy Award for set decoration on the science fiction classic Star Wars (1977).[3] (Christian claims to be the third crew member hired for the project.)[4] Two years later, Christian received his second Oscar nomination for his work as the production designer on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979).[5] Christian's use of aircraft scrap and other machinery to dress the set interiors of these films and creation of weapons using old working guns adapted by adding junk revolutionized the look of science fiction films.[4][6] Christian maintained his working relationship with George Lucas over the years, having worked on Return of the Jedi (1983) and being the second unit director on Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). He later briefly met with the Episode VII art department and Star Wars Rebels crew, although not in an official capacity.[7]

Christian began his directing career with the shorts Black Angel (1980) and the Oscar-winning The Dollar Bottom (1981).[8][9] Black Angel, filmed at locations in Scotland, was mentored by George Lucas who tied the film as a programme with The Empire Strikes Back in UK, Australia, and Scandinavia.[10] The 25-minute film is a retelling of the hero's journey in classical mythology, and it influenced several major directors.[10] He made his feature film debut with the horror film The Sender (1982). Chosen as the opening film at the Avoriaz Film Festival, the film has become a cult classic. Quentin Tarantino has described The Sender as his favorite horror film of 1982.[11] Christian directed the music video "Election Day" by the band Arcadia in Paris, France in 1985.[12] His 1994 feature film Nostradamus, about the life of the famous French prophet, has received worldwide recognition.[10]

His biggest project to date was the big budget L. Ron Hubbard science fiction adaptation Battlefield Earth (2000)[13] starring John Travolta and Barry Pepper, which The Guardian considered a commercial and critical disaster, and as one of the "worst films ever made".[14][15][16] In 2009, NPR declared the film "the worst science fiction film of the decade".[17] Christian does not consider Battlefield Earth to be a "Scientology movie" as he intended it as a throwback to regular science fiction.[18] He also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.

In 2006, he directed an action/adventure/mystery movie, Prisoners of the Sun, starring John Rhys-Davies, David Charvet, Carmen Chaplin, and Gulshan Grover. It was unreleased until 2014 when it had geographically limited release in Nordic countries.

Personal life

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Christian is a Buddhist. He is an admirer of filmmakers Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino.[18][19]

Filmography

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Short film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1980 Black Angel Yes Yes Yes
1981 The Dollar Bottom Yes No No
2012 Riddle of the Black Cat No No Yes

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer Notes
1982 The Sender Yes No
1984 Starship Yes Yes
1994 Nostradamus Yes Story
1995 The Final Cut Yes No
1996 Underworld Yes No Also wrote lyrics for the song My Pop
1997 Masterminds Yes No
2000 Battlefield Earth Yes No
2004 American Daylight Yes No
Bandido Yes No Also producer and production designer
2013 Stranded Yes No
Prisoners of the Sun Yes No
2016 Joseph & Mary Yes No
Bear Clan Station Yes No
2022 Galaxy Built On Hope Yes Yes Documentary film[20]

Music video

Year Title Artist
1985 "Election Day" Arcadia
1986 "Fire on the Water" Chris de Burgh

Television

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2013 Dangerous Intuition Yes No TV movie
TBA Replicants on Atlantia Yes Yes

Other credits

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Set dresser

Assistant art director

Art director

Set decorator

2nd unit director

Other

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Oliver! Art department assistant Uncredited
1974 Mahler Associate art director
2013 13 Eerie Executive producer
2017 The Black Prince Consulting producer

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result Ref.
1978 Academy Awards Best Production Design Star Wars Won [21]
1980 Alien Nominated [22]
1981 BAFTA Awards Best Short Film The Dollar Bottom Nominated
1982 Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival Grand Prize The Sender Nominated
1987 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film Starship Nominated
2001 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director Battlefield Earth Won

References

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  1. ^ a b "Roger Christian". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ^ Revenge of the Jedi call sheet
  3. ^ 1978|Oscars.org
  4. ^ a b Singer, Jeremy (4 May 2014). "The Man Who Literally Built 'Star Wars'". Esquire. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  5. ^ 1980|Oscars.org
  6. ^ Martin Anderson (2 September 2009). "In praise of the sci-fi corridor". Den of Geek.
  7. ^ Szostak, Phil (2015). The Art of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. Abrams Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-4197-1780-2.
  8. ^ Short Film Winners: 1981 Oscars
  9. ^ 1981|Oscars.org
  10. ^ a b c Anderson, Martin (9 March 2010). "Exclusive interview: The worlds of Roger Christian". Shadowlocked. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  11. ^ Cole, Andrew (14 January 2008). "Every film mentioned by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino in their Hot Fuzz commentary track". Tysto. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  12. ^ Arcadia – Making of....Election Day Video on YouTube
  13. ^ 25 MOVIES SO BAD THEY'RE UNMISSABLE < < Rotten Tomatoes
  14. ^ Campbell, Duncan (31 May 2000). "Cult classic". Guardian Unlimited. Guardian Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 29 July 2006. [...] Battlefield Earth has opened to spectacularly bad notices, many of which have suggested that the film is the worst of the year, the decade, the millennium or whatever exotic time-frame the alien Psychlos recognise.
  15. ^ Farache, Emily (18 October 2000). "Travolta Sets Sights on "Battlefield Earth 2"". E! Online. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  16. ^ Christian, Roger (4 June 2000). "How dare they call my film a turkey; The director of the new John Travolta epic defends himself against his many critics". The Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  17. ^ Raz, Guy (27 December 2009). "Movies That Should Die with the Decade". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  18. ^ a b Anderson, Martin (21 March 2012). "Roger Christian Talks Zombies, Prometheus & Battlefield Earth". Shadowlocked. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  19. ^ 11. Academy award-winner Roger Christian on the making of Battlefield Earth, retrieved 6 May 2022
  20. ^ "Galaxy Built On Hope". Galaxy Built On Hope. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  21. ^ Star Wars Wins Art Direction: 1978 Oscars
  22. ^ "All That Jazz" winning the Oscar® for Art Direction-Oscars on YouTube
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