Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
,
director and
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
. He is best known for directing the films ''
Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...
'' (1994) and ''
Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous
blockbusters and
genre films, including ''
Cujo'', ''
Flesh and Blood'', ''
Die Hard'', ''
The Hunt for Red October
''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cut ...
'', and ''
Basic Instinct
''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wea ...
''.
Early life and career
De Bont was born to a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family in
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,[Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...]
, one of 17 children. His earliest works were made while studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy with Dutch avant-garde director
Adriaan Ditvoorst.
He first became known in the Netherlands as the
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
for the infamous
1971 film ''
Blue Movie
''Blue Movie'' (also known as ''Fuck'') is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is r ...
'', followed by the
1973 film
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
''
Turkish Delight
Turkish delight or lokum ( ota, لوقوم) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...
'' (1973), directed by
Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
, starring
Rutger Hauer and
Monique van de Ven
Monica Maria Theresia "Monique" van de Ven (; born 28 July 1952) is a Dutch actress and director.
Life and career
From 1973 until 1988 she was married to Dutch cinematographer and director Jan de Bont, with whom she lived in Los Angeles for a n ...
. Since the early 1980s, he has worked frequently in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
, often collaborating with directors including Verhoeven and
John McTiernan.
While serving as cinematographer for the 1981 film ''
Roar'', de Bont experienced one of many on-set injuries during filming, when a lion lifted his scalp, requiring 220 stitches.
After ''Roar'', de Bont shot the 1983 horror film
''Cujo'', an adaptation of the
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
novel of the same name.
In 1988, he was director of photography on the critically acclaimed action film ''
Die Hard''. The following year, de Bont shot the
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...
-directed action thriller ''
Black Rain''.
Directing
De Bont made his directorial debut with the action thriller ''
Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...
'' in 1994, which was a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
. He followed this up with the even more successful ''
Twister'' in 1996. His output since has had mixed commercial and critical success. In 1997, he returned to direct the sequel''
Speed 2: Cruise Control'', which was a commercial and critical failure. In 1999, he oversaw
the commercially successful but critically derided remake of ''
The Haunting'', which received five
Razzie
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
nominations, including
Worst Picture. His most recent directorial outing was the 2003 action adventure film ''
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life'', based on the
video game series of the same name, and starring
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
as the eponymous
Lara Croft
Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around t ...
.
Unrealized ''Godzilla'' project
De Bont began pre-production on an American ''Godzilla'' film for a summer 1996 release, but quit at the end of 1994 when
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
(
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
and
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
's parent company) refused to approve his budget request. He was eventually replaced by
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...
, who rewrote the script in addition to directing. While critically panned, Emmerich's ''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'' was moderately successful at the box-office.
Personal life
He was married to Dutch actress
Monique van de Ven
Monica Maria Theresia "Monique" van de Ven (; born 28 July 1952) is a Dutch actress and director.
Life and career
From 1973 until 1988 she was married to Dutch cinematographer and director Jan de Bont, with whom she lived in Los Angeles for a n ...
from 1973 to 1988. Monique starred in the 1973 film ''
Turkish Delight
Turkish delight or lokum ( ota, لوقوم) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...
'', for which de Bont did the cinematography. De Bont has two children from his second marriage with Trish Reeves.
De Bont is an avid collector of photography, owning hundreds of photographic prints by famous and influential photographers.
Filmography
As cinematographer
See also
*
1997 Golden Raspberry Awards
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bont, Jan De
1943 births
Dutch Roman Catholics
Dutch cinematographers
Dutch film directors
Dutch emigrants to the United States
People from Eindhoven
Living people
English-language film directors