Alexander Proyas ( ; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker. He is known for directing the films The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), I, Robot (2004) and Knowing (2009).
Early life Alexander Proyas was born in Alexandria (then in the United Arab Republic and now in Egypt) on 23 September 1963, the son of a Greek Cypriot mother and a father from Egypt whose Greek ancestors had moved to Egypt many generations ago.
When he was three years old, the family moved to Australia, where he grew up in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo. He grew up on a housing estate where the main tenants were fellow immigrants and Indigenous Australians, with whom he felt a kinship because they were all often subjected to racism by white Australians.
At age 17, he joined the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and began directing music videos shortly after.
He later moved to Los Angeles to further his career, working on MTV music videos and TV commercials.
Career Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds, which was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design and which won a Special Prize at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.
Next, Proyas directed the 1994 superhero fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee. Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film on 31 March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script and using a stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes. The Crow was released in May 1994 and was a box office and critical success.
Proyas then wrote, directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller Dark City, which received positive critical reception and won several awards, but was a commercial disappointment. In 2004, he directed I, Robot starring Will Smith, a science fiction film suggested by the Isaac Asimov short story compilation I, Robot and was a box office success despite mixed reviews.
Proyas' next film, the thriller Knowing starring Nicolas Cage, began production in Melbourne in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009.
Proyas directed Gods of Egypt, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and co-written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film was critically panned upon its release in 2016 and bombed at the box office.
In 2019, Proyas founded a production company in Sydney called The Heretic Foundation.
In 2021, Proyas announced that he was developing a new video platform named VidiVerse for independent filmmakers as an alternative to YouTube.
In 2024, Proyas began filming R.U.R., a musical adaptation of the play of the same name by Karel Čapek.
Unrealized projects
Personal life Proyas has long been married to artist Catherine "Cathy" Linsley, who worked in the art department for his first feature film Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds. She has also worked in various capacities on short films and animations produced or written by Proyas. She was thanked in the credits of his film Knowing.Cathy Linsley: Thanks (1 credit) 2009 Knowing (the producers wish to thank from IMDb Accessed 30 April 2019
Filmography Feature film Year Title Director Producer Writer 1989 Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds 1994 The Crow 1998 Dark City 2002 Garage Days 2004 I, Robot 2009 Knowing 2016 Gods of Egypt TBA R.U.R.
Short film Year Title Director Writer Notes 1980 Neon Co-directed with Salik Silverstein Groping Co-directed with Salik Silverstein; also cinematographer 1981 Strange Residues Also editor 1987 Spineless Also actor 1994 Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland Also cinematographer 1995 Book of Dreams: Dream 7 – Ruben's Dream 2019 Phobos 2021 Mask of the Evil Apparition Set in the Dark City cinematic universe
Music video Year Title Artist 1980 "Ricky's Hand" Fad Gadget 1983 "Flicker" Fetus Productions 1985 "In Your Eyes" Dropbears1986 "Kiss the Dirt" INXS "Don't Dream It's Over" Crowded House1987 "Holiday" The Other Ones "Rhythm of Love" Yes1988 "Better Be Home Soon" Crowded House "Magic Touch" Mike Oldfield1989 "Bring Down the Moon" Boy Meets Girl "Nineteen Forever" Joe Jackson "Mysteries of Love" Alphaville 1994 "When We Dance" Sting
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result Ref.1987ARIA Music AwardsBest Video "Don't Dream It's Over" ARIA Award previous winners. "Kiss the Dirt" 1994 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Palme d'Or Book of Dreams: Welcome to Crateland Saturn Awards Best Director The Crow 1998 Imagine Film Festival Silver Scream AwardDark City Bram Stoker Award Best Screenplay Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Pegasus Audience Award Saturn Awards Best Science Fiction Film Best Director Best Writing 2016Golden Raspberry Awards Worst PictureGods of Egypt Worst Director
References
External links
Alex Proyas at Letterboxd https://boxd.it/130d Alex Proyas Discusses Dark City Sequel at AMCtv.com