Harald Zwart (born 1 July 1965) is a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Life and career

Although born in the Netherlands, Zwart was raised in

Fredrikstad, Norway Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

. By age eight, he had started making short films. He attended the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam where he received great acclaim for his student film ''Gabriel's Surprise''. The film was later televised. In addition to several award-winning

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s and commercials, he directed the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s ''

Agent Cody Banks ''Agent Cody Banks'' is a 2003 American spy action comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. The film follows the adventures of the 15-year-old title character, played by Frankie Muniz, who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and sa ...

'', '' One Night at McCool's'', ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'' and ''

Lange Flate Ballær 2 ''Lange Flate Ballær II'' is a 2008 Norwegian comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the sequel to the 2006 film '' Lange Flate Ballær''. The main actors from the first film reprised their roles, starring along with Don Johnson as the US Na ...

''. He is also the co-director and producer of the first ''Long Flat Balls'', a Norwegian film about soccer fans from the city of Fredrikstad, Norway. This movie, often described as "The Full Monty" with more laughs, became a huge hit in Norway. His highest-grossing film to date is ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

''. He also directed music videos for the

band a-ha, for the songs "

Velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

" and " Forever Not Yours". He also directed the music video for a-ha vocalist

Morten Harket Morten Harket () (born September 14, 1959) is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter, who is the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha. A-ha has released 10 studio albums to date, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough ...

's solo release song "Brother". He is attached to direct

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...

's live-action/CG feature film based on the

video game series This is a list of video game franchises, organized alphabetically. All entries include multiple video games, not counting ports or altered re-releases. 0–9 *''1080° Snowboarding'' *''1942'' *''3D Ultra Minigolf'' *'' 3-D Ultra Pinball'' *''7 ...

'' RollerCoaster Tycoon'', and as a director to Universal Pictures' '' Bakugan'', a feature film based on the strategic game and anime series ''

Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a Japanese anime adventure television series produced by TMS Entertainment, Dentsu Inc., and Nelvana Limited under the direction of Mitsuo Hashimoto. The story centers on the lives of creatures called Bakugan and the "battle brawlers" ...

''.

Filmography

*''

'' (1998) *'' One Night at McCool's'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *''Lange flate ballær'' (2006) *''

Lange flate ballær 2 ''Lange Flate Ballær II'' is a 2008 Norwegian comedy film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the sequel to the 2006 film '' Lange Flate Ballær''. The main actors from the first film reprised their roles, starring along with Don Johnson as the US Na ...

'' (2008) *''

The Pink Panther 2 ''The Pink Panther 2'' is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in '' The Pink Panther'' film series and the sequel to the 2006 film '' The Pink Panther'', a reboot of the popular comedy seri ...

'' (2009) *''

Dead Snow ''Dead Snow'' ( no, Død snø) is a 2009 Norwegian comedy horror film directed by Tommy Wirkola, starring Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Jeppe Laursen, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jenny Skavlan, and Lasse Valdal. The film cente ...

'' (2009, producer) *''

'' (2010) *'' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'' (2013) *'' The 12th Man'' (2017) *''Oljefondet'' (''The Oil Fund'') (2018, 9-episode TV series) *''

Lange flate ballær 3 Lange may refer to: People *Lange (surname), a German surname *Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ *Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer Companies * Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (downhi ...

'' (2022)

Music videos

* A-ha: ''

Velvet (Savoy song) "Velvet" is a song by Savoy, a band fronted by A-ha's guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, from their debut studio album, ''Mary Is Coming'' (1996). Savoy's version was released as a single in the United States, but received minimal airplay. A-ha ver ...

'' (2000) * A-ha: '' Forever Not Yours'' (2002) *

Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

'' (2014)

References

External links

* 1965 births Living people Dutch film directors Norwegian film directors People from Fredrikstad Dutch people of Norwegian descent {{Norway-film-director-stub