What's going on here?
Flixster members are collaborating to create the definitive resource for Sam Raimi information on the Internet. We're adding all the images, info, and ideas that best tell this actor's unique story.
|
|
|
| I look at myself as an entertainer, more than anything else. I wanted to make the movie a little more different than the previous films. ... That was less about me growing as a craftsman. That was more about me trying to provide an element to the audience that I thought they might need something different, that came from a different place.
~ Sam Raimi ~
|
Raimi, the fourth of five children, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, the son of Celia Barbara (née Abrams), who owned lingerie shops, and Leonard Ronald Raimi, who owned home furnishing stores. Raimi was raised in Conservative Judaism; his ancestors emmigrated from Russia and Hungary. Raimi's eldest sibling, Sander, died in a swimming accident in 1970 at age fifteen. His elder brother, Ivan Raimi, is an emergency room doctor and screenwriter who sometimes collaborates with Sam. His brother, Ted Raimi, is an actor and played J. Jonah Jameson's assistant Hoffman in all three Spider-Man movies. His older sister, Andrea Raimi Rubin, is a court reporter and is not involved in the film industry. Raimi attended Wylie E. Groves High School, and Michigan State University and majored in English, leaving after three semesters to film The Evil Dead.
Raimi became fascinated with making films when his father brought a movie camera home one day and he began to make Super 8 movies with childhood friend Bruce Campbell. In college, he teamed up with his brother's roommate Robert Tapert and Campbell to shoot Within the Woods (1978), a 32-minute horror film which raised $350,000, as well as the short comedic film It's Murder!. Through family, friends, and a network of investors Raimi was able to finance production of the highly successful horror film The Evil Dead (1981) which became a major hit and effectively launched Raimi's career to new levels. He began work on his second film Crimewave (1985), intended as a live-action comic book—the film was not successful, due in part to unwanted studio intervention. Raimi returned to the horror genre with the seminal Evil Dead II (which toned down the savageness of the original in favour of slapstick, showcasing his love of the Three Stooges). A long-time comic book buff, he attempted to adapt "The Shadow" into a movie, but was unable to secure the rights. So he created his own super-hero, Darkman (1990). The film was his first major studio picture, and was only moderately successful, but he was still able to secure funding for Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness, which turned away almost totally from horror in favour of fantasy and comedy elements.
In the 1990s Raimi moved into other genres, directing such films as the western The Quick and the Dead, the critically-acclaimed crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998) (starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton), and the romantic drama For Love of the Game (1999) (starring Kevin Costner). Raimi achieved great commercial success with the blockbuster Spider-Man (2002), which was adapted from the comic book series of the same name. The movie has grossed over $800 million worldwide, spawning two sequels: Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. After the completion of the third Spider-Man film, Raimi is slated to direct a film adaptation of The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Prior to directing the Spider-Man films, Raimi lobbied to direct Batman Forever when Tim Burton was ousted from the director's chair, but was rejected in favor of Joel Schumacher, whose reputation at the time outshone Raimi's.
Raimi frequently collaborates with Joel and Ethan Coen, beginning when Joel was one of the editors of Evil Dead. The Coens co-wrote Crimewave and The Hudsucker Proxy with Raimi in the mid-1980s (though Hudsucker was not filmed for almost a decade). Raimi made cameo appearances in both Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy. The Coen brothers gave Raimi advice on shooting in snow for A Simple Plan, based on their experiences with Fargo.
He has also worked in front of the camera with Miller's Crossing as a coldblooded gunman, The Stand as a dimwitted hitman, John Carpenter's Body Bags in an unusual role as a gas station attendant (all three roles saw Raimi dying in distinct ways), and Indian Summer in what is perhaps his biggest role as a bumbling assistant to Alan Arkin. He also produced The Grudge, The Grudge 2 and The Grudge 3.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Raimi had expressed an interest in directing a film version of The Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Guillermo del Toro is now attached.
There are also talks of Raimi directing By Any Means Necessary, the next Jack Ryan film based on the CIA character created by Tom Clancy.
Television
In addition to film, Raimi has worked in television, producing such series as Xena: Warrior Princess, featuring his younger brother Ted Raimi and long-time friend Bruce Campbell, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, American Gothic, Cleopatra 2525 and Jack of All Trades. In 2008, it was announced at Comic-Con in San Diego that Raimi would be executive producing a new syndicated TV series called "Legend of the Seeker," based on Terry Goodkind's best-selling The Sword of Truth fantasy series. The original name for the show was going to be based on the first book of the Goodkind series, "Wizard's First Rule," but was changed to the new title as it more accurately captured the scope of the epic storyline.
|
| Always has his car (a yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88) somewhere visible to the audience in all of his films (including a modified covered wagon, according to Bruce Campbell, in The Quick and the Dead (1995)) It is even visible in the Spider-Man (2002) trailer (the car that Spider-man jumps on).During the mid-80s, Raimi used to live in an apartment with actor Bruce Campbell, writer/director Scott Spiegel, writer/director Joel Coen, writer/producer Ethan Coen and actresses Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand and Kathy Bates.Is a avid fan of Spider-Man comic books.His family name was changed from the German name Reingewertz.He wanted to adapt and direct The Shadow (1994),but was denied the rights to do it. Instead, he created his own superhero with his Film Darkman 1990.
| . | Sam Raimi Information:
|
| | Full Name: Samuel Marshall Raimi Surname is pronounced ray-mee; | | Eye color: | | Height: 5' 11" (1.80 m) | | Nickname(s): Sammy | | Notable feature(s): | | Education: | Family: Raimi has been married since 1993 to Gillian Dania Greene, daughter of actor Lorne Greene. They have five children. Three of the Raimis' children (daughter Emma Rose and sons Lorne and Henry) appeared as extras in Spider-Man 3 during the movie's climactic final battle
On occasion, Raimi collaborates with his elder brother Ivan, a doctor and occasional scriptwriter. Together, they co-wrote the screenplays for Darkman and Army of Darkness and fleshed out most of the plot for Spider-Man 3. Ivan also contributed to story and script development for the three Spider-Man films. | | Resides in: | | Religious affiliations: | | Political affiliation: | | Personal interests/hobbies: | | Charities/Causes: | | Other: | | |
vergaramelchorposted 64 days ago
