STEVEN SODERBERGH's (Director) ninth film, following Out of Sight, Gray's Anatomy, Schizopolis, The Underneath, King of the Hill, Kafka, sex, lies, and videotape and the crime drama The Limey, starring Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman and Barry Newman.
Born in Georgia and raised primarily in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he began making films at age 13. After graduating from high school, Soderbergh traveled to Los Angeles, where he worked as a freelance editor before returning to Baton Rouge to continue making short films and writing screen plays. After shooting a documentary profiling the rock group Yes, Soderbergh was asked to direct a full-length concert film for the band. The result was 9012LIVE, which received a Grammy nomination in 1986 for Long Form Music Video.
After two years of writing more screenplays, both on spec and for hire, Soderbergh completed the script for sex, lies, and videotape. Shooting commenced in Baton Rouge in the summer of 1988 with James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo playing the four leads. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1989 and four months later won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Soderbergh's second film, Kafka, was a black-and-white mystery-suspense film set in post-WWI Prague. Combining elements of Franz Kafka's life, letters and fiction, the film starred Jeremy Irons in the title role and was released in 1991.
The memoirs of author A.E. Hotchner provided the basis for Soderbergh's third film, King of the Hill, which detailed the attempts of an imaginative twelve-year old boy to keep his family from splitting apart during the Great Depression. The film was released in 1993 and, according to the annual Premiere Magazine Critic's Chart, was the fifth best- reviewed film of the year.
In 1995, Soderbergh reunited with Peter Gallagher for The Underneath, a dark tale of obsession and betrayal set in present-day Austin, Texas. The film also starred Alison Elliot, Elisabeth Shue and Joe Don Baker.
In the spring of 1997, Soderbergh had two films in release: Schizopolis, an experimental, low-budget comedy in the spirit of Richard Lester and Bunuel, and Gray's Anatomy, the filmed version of Spalding Gray's acclaimed monologue, in which Gray describes his experiences in the world of medicine (both the alternative and established variety) after being diagnosed with a rare eye disease.
In 1998, Soderbergh's sexy crime caper, Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez was released. According to the annual Premiere Magazine Critic's Chart, Out of Sight, produced by Jersey Films and Universal Pictures, was the third best-reviewed film of 1998. The National Society of Film Critics awarded Out of Sight its top three awards—Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay (Scott Frank) while the Boston Society of Film Critics gave the film it's Best Picture and Best Screenplay Awards. In addition, the film received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay (Frank) and Best Film Editing (Anne V. Coates).
In addition to his credits as director, Soderbergh func tioned as producer on Greg Mottola's The Daytrippers (1997) and on Gary Ross' Pleasantville (1998). As well, he served as the executive producer on David Siegel and Scott
MeGehee's Suture (1994) and co-wrote the thriller Nightwatch, starring Ewan McGregor and Patricia Arquette and directed by Ole Bornedal.
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