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 Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making movies with an 8mm camera. He was a devoted fan of The Three Stooges, so much of Raimi's film work in his teens, with good friends Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, was slapstick comedy based around what they had observed from "Stooges" movies.Among the three of them, they wrote, directed, produced and edited a short horror movie titled Within the Woods (1978), which was then shown to prospective investors to raise the money necessary to film The Evil Dead (1981). It met with lukewarm interest in the U.S. with local distributors, so Raimi took the film to Europe, where it was much more warmly received. After it started gaining positive reviews and, more importantly, ticket sales upon its release in Europe, U.S. distributors showed renewed interest, and "Evil Dead" was eventually released stateside to strong box office returns. His next directorial effort was Crimewave (1985), a quirky, cartoon-like effort that failed to catch fire with audiences. However, he bounced back with Evil Dead II (1987), a racier and more humorous remake/sequel to the original "Dead" that did even better at the box office. Raimi was then given his biggest budget to date to shoot Darkman (1990), a comic book-style fantasy about a scarred avenger. The film did moderate business, but Raimi's strong visual style was evident throughout the film via inventive and startling camera work that caught the attention of numerous critics.The third chapter in the Evil Dead story beckoned, and Raimi once again directed buddy Campbell as the gritty hero "Ash", in the Gothic horror Army of Darkness (1992). Raimi surprised fans when he took a turn away from the fantasy genre and directed Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone in the sexy western, The Quick and the Dead (1995); four years later, he took the directorial reins on A Simple Plan (1998), a crime thriller about stolen money, starring Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda. In early 1999, he directed the baseball film, For Love of the Game (1999), and, in 2000, returned to the fantasy genre with a top-flight cast in The Gift (2000). In 2002, Raimi was given a real opportunity to demonstrate his dynamic visual style with the big-budget film adaptation of the Stan Lee comic book superhero, Spider-Man (2002), and fans were not disappointed. The movie was strong in both script and effects, and was a runaway success at the box office. Of course, Raimi returned for the sequel, Spider-Man 2 (2004), which surpassed the original in box-office takings.
Bio:
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making movies with an 8mm camera. He was a devoted fan of The Three Stooges, so much of Raimi's film work in his teens, with good friends Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, was slapstick comedy based around what they had observed from "Stooges" movies.Among the three of them, they wrote, directed, produced and edited a short horror movie titled Within the Woods (1978), which was then shown to prospective investors to raise the money necessary to film The Evil Dead (1981). It met with lukewarm interest in the U.S. with local distributors, so Raimi took the film to Europe, where it was much more warmly received. After it started gaining positive reviews and, more importantly, ticket sales upon its release in Europe, U.S. distributors showed renewed interest, and "Evil Dead" was eventually released stateside to strong box office returns. His next directorial effort was Crimewave (1985), a quirky, cartoon-like effort that failed to catch fire with audiences. However, he bounced back with Evil Dead II (1987), a racier and more humorous remake/sequel to the original "Dead" that did even better at the box office. Raimi was then given his biggest budget to date to shoot Darkman (1990), a comic book-style fantasy about a scarred avenger. The film did moderate business, but Raimi's strong visual style was evident throughout the film via inventive and startling camera work that caught the attention of numerous critics.The third chapter in the Evil Dead story beckoned, and Raimi once again directed buddy Campbell as the gritty hero "Ash", in the Gothic horror Army of Darkness (1992). Raimi surprised fans when he took a turn away from the fantasy genre and directed Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone in the sexy western, The Quick and the Dead (1995); four years later, he took the directorial reins on A Simple Plan (1998), a crime thriller about stolen money, starring Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda. In early 1999, he directed the baseball film, For Love of the Game (1999), and, in 2000, returned to the fantasy genre with a top-flight cast in The Gift (2000). In 2002, Raimi was given a real opportunity to demonstrate his dynamic visual style with the big-budget film adaptation of the Stan Lee comic book superhero, Spider-Man (2002), and fans were not disappointed. The movie was strong in both script and effects, and was a runaway success at the box office. Of course, Raimi returned for the sequel, Spider-Man 2 (2004), which surpassed the original in box-office takings.
Tivia:
During the mid-1980s, 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.His oldest brother, Sander, died in a swimming pool accident at the age of 15 while on a scholarship trip to Israel. Sander used to perform magic tricks for Sam and his friends; when he died, Sam learned to perform the tricks himself.The first director ever to do three live-action adaptations of a comic book character.Over his years as a director, Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (originally bought by Raimi's father for the family when Sam was 14) has "played" Ash's car in the Evil Dead movies, Uncle Ben and Aunt May's car in the Spider-Man movies, Annie's car in The Gift (2000), and Mrs. Ganoush's car in Drag Me to Hell (2009), and has made cameos in nearly all of his other movies.Joel Coen and Ethan Coen use many of Raimi's trademark camera movements in their films.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).His breakthrough project, the low-budget horror cult film The Evil Dead (1981), had an estimated budget of $350,000. Twenty-five years later he helmed a production with an estimated budget at 1,000 times the cost of that film, Spider-Man 3 (2007), with an estimated production cost of $350,000,000, making it the most expensive motion picture produced up to that time.At college he ran a film society, but instead of renting films to exhibit he and his friends created their own feature-length movies on Super 8 and showed them to the campus audiences instead.Attended high school and remains close friends with producer John Cameron and actor Bruce Campbell.His family name was changed from the German name Reingewertz.Many years before landing the role of director on the Spider-Man movies, Raimi planned to create a film based on Marvel's comic interpretation of "The Mighty Thor" with Stan Lee. While the movie never materialized, Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man and many other Marvel characters, became good friends with Raimi and later appeared in cameos on the Spidey flicks.Friends with director John Landis. Had cameos in Landis' Spies Like Us (1985) and Innocent Blood (1992), while Landis did cameos in Raimi's Darkman (1990) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Both also appeared in Stephen King's ABC mini-series The Stand (1994).Directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Billy Bob Thornton in A Simple Plan (1998).His wife, Gillian Greene, is the daughter of Lorne Greene and Nancy Deale.Is an avid fan of "Spider-Man" comic books.He is an avid comic book fan.Was considered to direct Scream (1996).Graduate of Birmingham Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan in 1977.Attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, as an English major, but dropped out after three semesters to film The Evil Dead (1981).Middle brother of Ted Raimi and Ivan Raimi.Was considered to direct Batman (1989) but was considered too inexperienced at the time.Was considered to direct Batman Forever (1995).He is good friends with Joel and Ethan Coen.In 2004, both he and the Coen brothers cast J.K. Simmons and Bruce Campbell in one of their movies; Spider-Man 2 (2004) and The Ladykillers (2004).Was offered the chance to direct End of Days (1999) but turned it down.Was considered to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).Had expressed interest in and was actually set to direct Warcraft (2016) but dropped out.He was considered to direct The Truman Show (1998).Featured on Premiere's Power 50 list from 2003 to 2006 with the following rankings: #37 in 2003, #48 in 2004, #33 in 2005, and #23 in 2006.Had expressed interest in directing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).He is of Hungarian Jewish and Russian Jewish descent.Frequently employs Bob Murawski as his editor.Born on the same day as 'Weird Al' Yankovic.His favourite movie is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).Children: Lorne Raimi, Henry Raimi, Emma Raimi, Dashiell Raimi, and Oliver Raimi.He was considered to direct Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).He was once attached to direct Jack Frost (1998), and even wrote a draft of the script with his brother Ivan.Was considered to direct Planet of the Apes (2001).He was originally going to direct The Guardian (1990), but he left the project early to direct Darkman (1990).He attempted to buy the rights to Batman and the Shadow before making Darkman (1990).Was considered to direct Robin Hood (2010). |
| Name: |
Sam Raimi |
Type: |
Producer,Writer,Actor (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
|
Business scope: |
Producer,Writer,Actor |
| Products for sale: |
Producer,Writer,Actor |
| Model rank: |
180 |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 02:57:37 |
| Height: |
5' 9' (1.75 m) |
| Biography: |
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, be |
| Trivia: |
During the mid-1980s, 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.His oldest brother, Sander, died in a swimming pool accident at the age of 15 while on a scholarship trip to Israel. Sander used to perform magic tricks for Sam and his friends; when he died, Sam learned to perform the tricks himself.The first director ever to do three live-action adaptations of a comic book character.Over his years as a director, Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (originally bought by Raimi's father for the family when Sam was 14) has "played" Ash's car in the Evil Dead movies, Uncle Ben and Aunt May's car in the Spider-Man movies, Annie's car in The Gift (2000), and Mrs. Ganoush's car in Drag Me to Hell (2009), and has made cameos in nearly all of his other movies.Joel Coen and Ethan Coen use many of Raimi's trademark camera movements in their films.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).His breakthrough project, the low-budget horror cult film The Evil Dead (1981), had an estimated budget of $350,000. Twenty-five years later he helmed a production with an estimated budget at 1,000 times the cost of that film, Spider-Man 3 (2007), with an estimated production cost of $350,000,000, making it the most expensive motion picture produced up to that time.At college he ran a film society, but instead of renting films to exhibit he and his friends created their own feature-length movies on Super 8 and showed them to the campus audiences instead.Attended high school and remains close friends with producer John Cameron and actor Bruce Campbell.His family name was changed from the German name Reingewertz.Many years before landing the role of director on the Spider-Man movies, Raimi planned to create a film based on Marvel's comic interpretation of "The Mighty Thor" with Stan Lee. While the movie never materialized, Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man and many other Marvel characters, became good friends with Raimi and later appeared in cameos on the Spidey flicks.Friends with director John Landis. Had cameos in Landis' Spies Like Us (1985) and Innocent Blood (1992), while Landis did cameos in Raimi's Darkman (1990) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Both also appeared in Stephen King's ABC mini-series The Stand (1994).Directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Billy Bob Thornton in A Simple Plan (1998).His wife, Gillian Greene, is the daughter of Lorne Greene and Nancy Deale.Is an avid fan of "Spider-Man" comic books.He is an avid comic book fan.Was considered to direct Scream (1996).Graduate of Birmingham Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan in 1977.Attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, as an English major, but dropped out after three semesters to film The Evil Dead (1981).Middle brother of Ted Raimi and Ivan Raimi.Was considered to direct Batman (1989) but was considered too inexperienced at the time.Was considered to direct Batman Forever (1995).He is good friends with Joel and Ethan Coen.In 2004, both he and the Coen brothers cast J.K. Simmons and Bruce Campbell in one of their movies; Spider-Man 2 (2004) and The Ladykillers (2004).Was offered the chance to direct End of Days (1999) but turned it down.Was considered to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).Had expressed interest in and was actually set to direct Warcraft (2016) but dropped out.He was considered to direct The Truman Show (1998).Featured on Premiere's Power 50 list from 2003 to 2006 with the following rankings: #37 in 2003, #48 in 2004, #33 in 2005, and #23 in 2006.Had expressed interest in directing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).He is of Hungarian Jewish and Russian Jewish descent.Frequently employs Bob Murawski as his editor.Born on the same day as 'Weird Al' Yankovic.His favourite movie is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).Children: Lorne Raimi, Henry Raimi, Emma Raimi, Dashiell Raimi, and Oliver Raimi.He was considered to direct Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).He was once attached to direct Jack Frost (1998), and even wrote a draft of the script with his brother Ivan.Was considered to direct Planet of the Apes (2001).He was originally going to direct The Guardian (1990), but he left the project early to direct Darkman (1990).He attempted to buy the rights to Batman and the Shadow before making Darkman (1990).Was considered to direct Robin Hood (2010). |
| Trademarks: |
[The Three Stooges] He uses Stooge-like sequences in many of his movies (especially in the Evil Dead films). Raimi is a huge fan of The Three Stooges. He made many super-8 films that resembled classic Stooge shorts.
[Shemp] Often credits a character called a "Shemp", another homage to The Three Stooges. Most frequently, it is a "Fake Shemp", a reference to the Three Stooges shorts where a stuntman was used in place of Shemp Howard.
Often has a voice-over from a principal character at the end of his films (Army of Darkness (1992), all the Spider-Man films).
On-going in-joke feud with Wes Craven
Frequently casts Bruce Campbell, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, and his brother Ted Raimi. |
| Quotes: |
I love the Spider-Man character. And that's what's at the heart of it. That's why I really love it. But there's another fun thing that I never had before where you make your movie and a lot of people see it and they seem to like it. So it's like oh my god, I've always been the nerd, lame ass guy on the side, but I made something that a lot of people like. I know that won't last for long, and I'm obviously riding the Spider-Man thing. He's a popular character for 40 years. So anyone who makes a Spider-Man movie gets to make a popular movie. But it's fun to be popular, even if it's a brief, lame thing, and even though I know it's not important. I can't help it. It's really fun and I know how quickly things turn in Hollywood.
<br />
<hr>
Audiences really don't go see a lot of movies - except in L.A. and New York I think, and maybe one or two other cities, maybe Chicago - where there are foreign-born, foreign-speaking actors. That's just the culture we are.
<br />
<hr>
And it was great making movies in college because if you made the right movie you'd get this cigar box full of $5 and $1 bills, you'd have like 500 bucks after a weekend. And it was like oh my god, we're rich! We've got to make another picture. But if the movie bombed, you spent a lot of money on the movie, on the ads at the State news, renting the theater, lugging these heavy speakers, the projector bulbs, [and] it was a washout, you realize this movie is not making money. I'm broke. I've got to make the movie that they want to see. So it was a great learning experience.
<br />
<hr>
And I do think there's a new crop of American filmmakers coming. And they're in high school right now. They're in Mrs. Dawson's English class! They've got new tools, they've got computers and the video cameras, which are the equivalent of our super-8mm training ground. It's even better because they can shoot for free. We had to gather up like four bucks, five bucks to buy a roll of film, another three bucks to process it, and that was a very limiting [thing], in high school you've gotta rake leaves for three hours to shoot a roll of film! So these new filmmakers have these advanced editing tools with the incredible manipulation of imagery available on a standard computer."
<br />
<hr>
I think if people love the source material, and that's really whey they're making the movie, then that's a natural outcome. That the things we all love, and work with the creators of the movie to save the things that were so effective. I think it's situations where people don't love the material, they just say, oh that was a big hit, it could be a big hit here. It's just generalizing. Things got lost if you don't understand why people like a thing. When you love something, it's easy to say, 'That's my son, cut out his heart? No, he needs the heart.' It's harder when you don't love the thing yourself. |
| Job title: |
Producer,Writer,Actor |
| Others works: |
Contributing interviewee to Bruce Campbell's autobiography 'If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor'.
Commentary Track: Army of Darkness (1992) DVD.
Commentary Track: Ju-on: The Grudge (2002) DVD
Commentary Track: Spider-Man |
| Spouse: |
Gillian Greene (1993 - present) (5 children) |
| Children: |
Lorne RaimiHenry RaimiEmma RaimiDashiell Raimi |
| Parents: |
Leonard Ronald Raimi
Celia Barbara Abrams |
| Relatives: |
Ted Raimi (Sibling)
Ivan Raimi (Sibling)
Andrea Raimi Rubin (Sibling) |
|
