Name: Alfonso Cuarón
Date of Birth: 28/1/1961
Place of Birth: Mexico City,
Mexico
FILMOGRAPHY
Director:
Soló con tu pareja (Love in the Time of Hysteria) (1991)
A Little Princess (1995)
Great Expectations (1997)
Y tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too) (2001)
The Children of Men (2003)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Announced:
Mexico '68
BIOGRAPHY
Born in
Mexico City in the early 60s, there was no reason to think Alfonso Cuaron would make any impact on the world of
Hollywood. Cuarón started work in Mexican TV and the 1991 Mexican film
Soló con tu pareja about
AIDS announced his arrival on the big screen.
Sydney Pollack brought Cuarón over to the US to
direct an episode of
Fallen Angels (on which
Sydney Pollack was
executive producer), for which Cuarón won some kind of
cable TV award.
Cuarón then went on to direct his first English language movie -
A Little Princess, an
adaptation of a
Frances Hodgson Burnett story about a young girl forced into servitude at a
boarding school while looking for her lost father. The film was critically acclaimed but flopped rather miserably on its release.
Next came an adaptation of the
Charles Dickens classic,
Great Expectations. This was Cuarón's first 'big' film, starring
Ethan Hawke,
Gwyneth Paltrow and the legendary
Robert De Niro. It is a reworking of the original, plunging the characters (whose names are also changed) and story into modern day
New York and the
Florida coast. While good, the film lacks a certain something (chemistry between the leads?), but the
cinematography is superb and some of the images are extremely memorable.
Cuarón returned to his native
Mexico for his next project,
Y tu Mamá También. A movie about
class struggles,
friendship and
sex, this is the one which should really give Cuarón his
reputation. The acting is truly excellent (the two male leads are best friends in real life), the script (co-written with brother
Carlos Cuarón) exceptional and the
gritty shots of modern day
Mexico thought-provoking.
Next was
The Children of Men, based on the book by
P. D. James, about a near-future where all men have become
sterile and is the story of the first woman to become
pregnant in 27 years. I (and
imdb by the looks of things) know absolutely nothing about this project, so any information would be appreciated.
Chris Columbus chose Alfonso to follow his lead in directing the
Harry Potter movies after watching
A Little Princess. Presumably impressed, and wanting some time to spend with his family, the director of
Philosopher's Stone and
Chamber of Secrets happily handed over the reigns to the relatively unknown Mexican. It was a brave decision, and one that appears to have worked. The third
Harry Potter film is suitably dark and very assuredly directed.
Daniel Radcliffe is a noticably better actor (although still not great) and there's even an appearance by ex-
Stone Rose,
Ian Brown.
Sources:
the stupendous imdb.com
upcomingmovies.com
hollywood.com