Charles de Lauzirika (born August 17, 1967 in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
) is an American DVD and Blu-ray producer and filmmaker.
Early years
Lauzirika spent his early years in
La Crescenta
La Crescenta-Montrose () is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The community is bordered by Glendale to the south and west, La Cañada Flintridge to the east, and Angeles National Forest to the north. Accor ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and attended
Glendale College where he served as entertainment editor of ''In Focus'', the college's weekly
Public-access television
Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...
show. He also contributed to the school's weekly, ''El Vaquero'', receiving several JACC student journalism awards for his work as editorial cartoonist, entertainment editor and editor-in-chief. Lauzirika later attended the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
, where he wrote and directed a fully funded
16mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ed ...
sync sound film in the program's CNTV 480 Advanced Production Workshop; Lauzirika graduated in 1994.
Film and DVD career
While attending USC film school, Lauzirika concurrently worked for numerous film companies, including
Lucasfilm Ltd.,
Lightstorm Entertainment
Lightstorm Entertainment is an American independent production company founded in 1990 by filmmaker James Cameron and producer Lawrence Kasanoff. The majority of its films have been distributed and owned by 20th Century Studios. Its productions i ...
,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
,
Silver Pictures
Silver Pictures is an American film production company founded by Hollywood producer Joel Silver in 1980. The Silver Pictures logo, also called The Chip, is modeled on a block pattern that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the exteriors of the St ...
and Scott Free Productions. While working as a story analyst for directors
Ridley Scott and
Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...
, Lauzirika was chosen by Ridley Scott to supervise and produce elaborate DVD special editions of Scott's classic films. Lauzirika's works have been nominated for Video and DVD Premiere Awards, and in 2003 his comprehensive nine-disc
Alien Quadrilogy garnered the DVDX Award for Best Overall DVD, Classic Movie. In 2008, Lauzirika won two Saturn Awards for his work on ''
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
'' (Best DVD Special Edition) and ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...
'' (Best Retro Television Release). In 2011, he won his third Saturn Award for the ''Alien Anthology'' (Best DVD Movie Collection.) And in 2015, Lauzirika won his fourth Saturn Award for producing ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...
'' The Entire Mystery (Best Blu-ray Television Release.)
Lauzirika has been in charge of the restorations and new cuts of such as films as ''
Alien³'', ''
Legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
'' and ''
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
: The Final Cut'', each project requiring new visual effects and additional scenes which had to seamlessly blend in with existing footage. He has also directed several commercials and short films, as well as the music video for
Montell Jordan
Montell Du'Sean Barnett Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Best known for his 1995 single "This Is How We Do It", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul imprint until le ...
's ''When You Get Home'' (1998) which featured
Billy Dee Williams
William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...
. Lauzirika himself occasionally serves as
camera operator in his documentary interviews, thereby fostering a more intimate environment, allowing the interviewee to be more sharing on camera. Although his work has long been associated with the films of Ridley Scott, Lauzirika has also produced DVD content for the works of numerous other directors, including
David Lynch,
Sam Raimi,
James Cameron, the
Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
,
Michael Bay,
David Fincher,
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
,
Marc Webb,
John Badham
John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
,
Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and '' The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film '' Doomsday'' (2 ...
,
Jean-Pierre Jeunet,
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...
and Tony Scott.
In 2010,
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
reported that Lauzirika was working on a comprehensive Blu-ray release of the four
''Alien'' films, now known as the ''Alien Anthology''. In addition to creating new content, he also oversaw a new sound mix of the ''
Alien³'' Special Edition which necessitated the return of actors
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...
,
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...
and
Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenn ...
to re-record their dialogue due to the poor production sound heard in the film's original rough assembly. In 2011 it was reported that Lauzirika was working on DVD/Blu-ray special editions for such films as ''
Transformers: Dark of the Moon'', ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...
'' and ''
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
''.
Lauzirika made his feature directorial debut with the psychological thriller ''
Crave'' which began shooting on October 23, 2009, in Detroit, Michigan, and stars
Josh Lawson
Joshua Lawson (born 22 July 1981) is an Australian actor and filmmaker best known for his role as Doug Gugghenheim in '' House of Lies'', Tate in '' Superstore'' and as Kano in the 2021 film ''Mortal Kombat''.
Early life
Lawson was born and ra ...
,
Emma Lung
Emma Lung (born 14 January 1982) is an Australian actress.
Early life and education
Born in Sydney, Lung's father is half-Chinese; his father (Emma's paternal grandfather) was born near Beijing. Lung's mother is Scottish and French.
Growing up ...
,
Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seque ...
and
Ron Perlman. Lauzirika is also one of the film's producers and co-wrote the screenplay with Robert A. Lawton. ''Crave'' had its sold out world premiere at the
Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
on July 24, 2012 and went on to win the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature Film. The film then had its sold out United States premiere at
Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Giant'' and ''Secondhand ...
in Austin, Texas on September 22, 2012, with Lauzirika going on to win Best Director in the festival's Next Wave competition. He was also attached to direct and co-write a feature adaptation of the
Philip K. Dick science fiction short story, "
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
"I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" is a short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The short story was first published in ''Playboy'' in December 1980, under the title "Frozen Journey".
Plot summary
In the story, a man (Victor Kemmings) regains ...
". In 2013, Lauzirika was named Jury President in the First Feature category at the
Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
, the same category that ''Crave'' won the previous year.
In 2019, Lauzirika produced a 71 minute documentary on the making of the ''
Hellboy
Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossover ...
'' reboot directed by
Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and '' The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film '' Doomsday'' (2 ...
. He also directed a short horror satire titled ''Love Bite'', starring Carlee Baker and Cuyle Carvin, and written by Baker and Lauzirika.'' ''The film had its world premiere at the
Sitges Film Festival on October 6, 2019.
In 2023, Lauzirika wrote and directed the short horror film ''Honk'' starring
Zach Galligan
Zachary Wolfe Galligan (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Billy Peltzer in the comedy-horror films ''Gremlins'' (1984) and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990).
Early life and education
Galligan was ...
and
Tyler Mane
Daryl Karolat (born December 8, 1966) is a Canadian character actor and retired professional wrestler, better known by the name Tyler Mane. He is known for playing Sabretooth in ''X-Men'', Ajax in ''Troy'', and Michael Myers in the remake of '' ...
. The film began its festival run with its world premiere in competition at the Sitges Film Festival on October 12, 2023. It later had its U.S. Premiere at FilmQuest in Provo, Utah on November 2, 2023, where it won the award for Best Sound (Short.) Shortly thereafter, the film won the prestigious Little Golden Skull (Global) award for Best Short Film at the Morbido Film Fest, based in Mexico City, Mexico, marking its Latin American Premiere.
It was also announced in 2023 that Lauzirika is attached to direct a documentary about
David Lean's troubled production of ''Ryan's Daughter'' entitled ''Reap the Whirlwind: David Lean and the Madness of Ryan's Daughter''.
[https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/indie-filmmaker-movie-rights-busby-berkeley-biopic-1234820381/]
Films and Documentaries
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauzirika, Charles De
1967 births
Living people
Film producers from California
American documentary filmmakers
People from La Crescenta-Montrose, California
Film directors from California