To date, STEVEN SODERBERGH (Director) is the only director to have two films nominated for Best Picture and Best Director in the same year. His Academy Award for Best Director of Traffic marks the first time since the 1928-29 Awards that a director has successfully competed against himself (Frank Lloyd for Divine Lady. Michael Curtiz, a double nominee for Best Director in 1938 for Angels With Dirty Faces and Four Daughters lost to Frank Capra for You Can't Take It With You).
Traffic, a contemporary thriller set against the backdrop of the United States' on-going drug wars, also received Oscars for Editing (Stephen Mirrione), Supporting Actor (Benicio del Toro) and Adapted Screenplay (Stephen Gaghan). The film's fifth nomination was for Best Picture (Laura Bickford, Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick). Traffic has grossed over $124,000,000 domestically, bringing its worldwide total to over $200 million.
In addition to Soderbergh's Best Director nomination for Erin Brockovich, Julia Roberts received the Best Actress Academy Award for the title role in the true story of a California single mother who takes on a power company in a direct-action suit and brings it to its knees. The film's other nominations were for Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney), Best Original Screenplay (Susannah Grant) and Best Picture (Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher).
Ocean's Eleven is Soderbergh's eleventh film, following Traffic, Erin Brockovich, The Limey, Out of Sight, Gray's Anatomy, Schizopolis, The Underneath, King of the Hill, Kafka and sex, lies, and videotape.
Born in Georgia and raised primarily in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Soderbergh began making films at age 13. After graduating from high school, he traveled to Los Angeles, where he worked as a freelance editor before returning to Baton Rouge to continue making short films and writing screenplays. 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 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).
1999 saw the release of The Limey, an action-drama starring Terrence Stamp, Peter Fonda and Lesley Ann Warren. The film earned five Independent Spirit Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Stamp), Best Supporting Actor (Luis Guzman), Best Director and Best Screenplay (Lem Dobbs).
In addition to his credits as director, Soderbergh functioned 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 McGehee's Suture (1994) and on Godfrey Reggio's upcoming Naqoyqatsi, the final installment of the non-narrative films that make up the Qatsi Trilogy, beginning with Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi.
In 2000, Soderbergh and George Clooney formed Section Eight, a film production company based at Warner Bros. They are currently in post-production on Welcome to Collinwood, written and directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo. The film's ensemble cast includes William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington, Luis Guzman, Jennifer Esposito, Sam Rockwell and Clooney.
They are in pre-production on two films: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, to be directed by George Clooney, who will star along with Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts, and an untitled film to be written and directed by Lodge Kerrigan.
Soderbergh and Clooney are also executive producing Insomnia, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank and Far From Heaven, written and directed by Todd Haynes.
Currently, Soderbergh is directing the contemporary comedy Full Frontal, starring David Duchovny, Nicky Katt, Catherine Keener, Mary McCormack, David Hyde-Pierce, Julia Roberts and Blair Underwood. The film will be released by Miramax in March, 2002.
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