Roger Christian (filmmaker)

English director

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 active| 1968–present
Spouse| Lina Dhingra
Website| www.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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

## Filmography

[edit]

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

[edit]

Set dresser

* Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969–1970) (8 episodes)
* Jason King (1971–1972) (25 episodes)

Assistant art director

* And Soon the Darkness (1970)
* The 14 (1973)
* The Final Programme (1973)
* Lucky Lady (1975) (Uncredited)

Art director

* Akenfield (1974)
* Alien (1979)
* Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

Set decorator

* Star Wars (1977)
* The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)

2nd unit director

* Return of the Jedi (1983)
* Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
* The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: My First Adventure (2000) (Uncredited)

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (archived)
* Roger Christian at IMDb
* Official Black Angel website (archived)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Roger Christian

* Black Angel (1980)
* The Sender (1982)
* Starship (1985)
* Nostradamus (1994)
* The Final Cut (1995)
* Underworld (1996)
* Masterminds (1997)
* Battlefield Earth (2000)
* American Daylight (2004)
* Bandido (2004)
* Dangerous Intuition (2013)
* Stranded (2013)
* Prisoners of the Sun (2013)
* Joseph & Mary (2016)

Awards for Roger Christian

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Production Design

1927–1939
Interior Decoration|

* 1927/1928: William Cameron Menzies
* 1929/1929: Cedric Gibbons
* 1929/1930: Herman Rosse
* 1930/1931: Max Rée
* 1931/1932: Gordon Wiles
* 1932/1933: William S. Darling
* 1934: Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope
* 1935: Richard Day
* 1936: Richard Day
* 1937: Stephen Goosson
* 1938: Carl Jules Weyl
* 1939: Lyle R. Wheeler

1940–1946
Black & White
/ Color separate|

* 1940 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse / (c): Vincent Korda
* 1941 (bw): Richard Day, Nathan Juran, Thomas Little / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis
* 1942 (bw): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little / (c): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little
* 1943 (bw): James Basevi, William S. Darling, Thomas Little / (c): Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb
* 1944 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Paul Huldschinsky, Edwin B. Willis / (c): Wiard Ihnen, Thomas Little
* 1945 (bw): Wiard Ihnen, A. Roland Fields / (c): Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté, Samuel M. Comer
* 1946 (bw): William S. Darling, Lyle R. Wheeler, Thomas Little, Frank E. Hughes / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis

1947–1956 renamed
Art Direction
\- Set Decoration
Black & White
/ Color separate|

* 1947 (bw): John Bryan, Wilfred Shingleton / (c): Alfred Junge
* 1948 (bw): Roger K. Furse, Carmen Dillon / (c): Hein Heckroth, Arthur Lawson
* 1949 (bw): Harry Horner, John Meehan, Emile Kuri / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore
* 1950 (bw): Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer / (c): Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer
* 1951 (bw): Richard Day, George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason
* 1952 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason /(c): Paul Sheriff, Marcel Vertès
* 1953 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
* 1954 (bw): Richard Day / (c): John Meehan, Emile Kuri
* 1955 (bw): Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, Arthur Krams / (c): William Flannery, Jo Mielziner, Robert Priestley
* 1956 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox

1957–1958|

* 1957: Ted Haworth, Robert Priestley
* 1958: William A. Horning, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, F. Keogh Gleason

1959–1966
Black & White
/ Color separate|

* 1959 (bw): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss / (c): William A. Horning (posthumous award), Edward Carfagno, Hugh Hunt
* 1960 (bw): Alexandre Trauner, Edward G. Boyle /(c): Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom (posthumous award), Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
* 1961 (bw): Harry Horner, Gene Callahan / (c): Boris Leven, Victor A. Gangelin
* 1962 (bw): Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead, Oliver Emert /(c): John Box, John Stoll, Dario Simoni
* 1963 (bw): Gene Callahan / (c): John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Hilyard M. Brown, Herman A. Blumenthal, Elven Webb, Maurice Pelling, Boris Juraga, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox, Ray Moyer
* 1964 (bw): Vassilis Photopoulos /(c): Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, George James Hopkins
* 1965 (bw): Robert Clatworthy, Joseph Kish /(c): John Box, Terence Marsh, Dario Simoni
* 1966 (bw): Richard Sylbert, George James Hopkins / (c): Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss

1967–1980|

* 1967: John Truscott, Edward Carrere, John W. Brown
* 1968: John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, Ken Muggleston
* 1969: John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott, George James Hopkins, Raphaël Bretton
* 1970: Urie McCleary, Gil Parrondo, Antonio Mateos, Pierre-Louis Thévenet
* 1971: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo, Vernon Dixon
* 1972: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach, Herbert Strabel
* 1973: Henry Bumstead, James W. Payne
* 1974: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson
* 1975: Ken Adam, Roy Walker, Vernon Dixon
* 1976: George C. Jenkins, George Gaines
* 1977: John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian
* 1978: Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan, George Gaines
* 1979: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton, Edward Stewart, Gary J. Brink
* 1980: Pierre Guffroy, Jack Stephens

1981–2000|

* 1981: Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley; Michael D. Ford (set)
* 1982: Stuart Craig, Robert W. Laing; Michael Seirton (set)
* 1983: Anna Asp
* 1984: Patrizia von Brandenstein; Karel Černý (set)
* 1985: Stephen B. Grimes; Josie MacAvin (set)
* 1986: Gianni Quaranta, Brian Ackland-Snow; Brian Savegar, Elio Altramura (set)
* 1987: Ferdinando Scarfiotti; Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri (set)
* 1988: Stuart Craig; Gérard James (set)
* 1989: Anton Furst; Peter Young (set)
* 1990: Richard Sylbert (art); Rick Simpson (set)
* 1991: Dennis Gassner (art); Nancy Haigh (set)
* 1992: Luciana Arrighi (art); Ian Whittaker (set)
* 1993: Allan Starski (art); Ewa Braun (set)
* 1994: Ken Adam (art); Carolyn Scott (set)
* 1995: Eugenio Zanetti (art)
* 1996: Stuart Craig (art); Stephenie McMillan (set)
* 1997: Peter Lamont (art); Michael D. Ford (set)
* 1998: Martin Childs (art); Jill Quertier (set)
* 1999: Rick Heinrichs (art); Peter Young (set)
* 2000: Timmy Yip (art)

2001–present|

* 2001: Catherine Martin (art); Brigitte Broch (set)
* 2002: John Myhre (art); Gordon Sim (set)
* 2003: Grant Major (art); Dan Hennah and Alan Lee (set)
* 2004: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
* 2005: John Myhre (art); Gretchen Rau (set)
* 2006: Eugenio Caballero (art); Pilar Revuelta (set)
* 2007: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
* 2008: Donald Graham Burt (art); Victor J. Zolfo (set)
* 2009: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (art); Kim Sinclair (set)
* 2010: Robert Stromberg (art); Karen O'Hara (set)
* 2011: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
* 2012: Rick Carter (art); Jim Erickson (set)
* 2013: Catherine Martin (art); Beverley Dunn (set)
* 2014: Adam Stockhausen (art); Anna Pinnock (set)
* 2015: Colin Gibson (art); Lisa Thompson (set)
* 2016: David Wasco (art); Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (set)
* 2017: Paul Denham Austerberry (art); Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin (set)
* 2018: Hannah Beachler (art); Jay Hart (set)
* 2019: Barbara Ling (art); Nancy Haigh (set)
* 2020: Donald Graham Burt (art); Jan Pascale (set)
* 2021: Patrice Vermette (art) and Zsuzsanna Sipos (set)
* 2022: Christian M. Goldbeck (art) and Ernestine Hipper (set)
* 2023: James Price and Shona Heath (art); Zsuzsa Mihalek (set)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director

1980s|

* Robert Greenwald – Xanadu (1980)
* Michael Cimino – Heaven's Gate (1981)
* Ken Annakin – The Pirate Movie / Terence Young – Inchon (1982)
* Peter Sasdy – The Lonely Lady (1983)
* John Derek – Bolero (1984)
* Sylvester Stallone – Rocky IV (1985)
* Prince – Under the Cherry Moon (1986)
* Norman Mailer – Tough Guys Don't Dance / Elaine May – Ishtar (1987)
* Blake Edwards – Sunset / Stewart Raffill – Mac and Me (1988)
* William Shatner – Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

1990s|

* John Derek – Ghosts Can't Do It (1990)
* Michael Lehmann – Hudson Hawk (1991)
* David Seltzer – Shining Through (1992)
* Jennifer Lynch – Boxing Helena (1993)
* Steven Seagal – On Deadly Ground (1994)
* Paul Verhoeven – Showgirls (1995)
* Andrew Bergman – Striptease (1996)
* Kevin Costner – The Postman (1997)
* Gus Van Sant – Psycho (1998)
* Barry Sonnenfeld – Wild Wild West (1999)

2000s|

* Roger Christian – Battlefield Earth (2000)
* Tom Green – Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
* Guy Ritchie – Swept Away (2002)
* Martin Brest – Gigli (2003)
* Pitof – Catwoman (2004)
* John Asher – Dirty Love (2005)
* M. Night Shyamalan – Lady in the Water (2006)
* Chris Sivertson – I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
* Uwe Boll – In the Name of the King, Postal, and Tunnel Rats (2008)
* Michael Bay – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

2010s|

* M. Night Shyamalan – The Last Airbender (2010)
* Dennis Dugan – Jack and Jill and Just Go with It (2011)
* Bill Condon – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
* Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken – Movie 43 (2013)
* Michael Bay – Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
* Josh Trank – Fantastic Four (2015)
* Dinesh D'Souza and Bruce Schooley – Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (2016)
* Tony Leondis – The Emoji Movie (2017)
* Etan Cohen – Holmes & Watson (2018)
* Tom Hooper – Cats (2019)

2020s|

* Sia – Music (2020/21)
* Christopher Ashley – Diana the Musical (2021)
* Colson Baker and Mod Sun – Good Mourning (2022)
* Rhys Frake-Waterfield – Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

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