Alexandre Aja

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexandre Aja

Born Alexandre Jouan-Arcady
August 7, 1978 (1978-08-07) (age 29)
Paris, France
Occupation Film Director
Spouse(s) Laïla Marrakchi

Alexandre Aja (born August 7, 1978 in Paris, France) is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2005 horror film Haute Tension (known as High Tension in the US.)

His real name is Alexandre Jouan-Arcady and his pseudonymous surname is formed of the 3 first letters of his full name.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Aja, who is Jewish,[1] is the son of French pied-noir director Alexandre Arcady and French cinema critic Marie-Jo Jouan. His wife is Moroccan filmmaker Laïla Marrakchi. He made his directorial debut at the age of eighteen with the short film Over The Rainbow, which received a Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award nomination for best short film. In 1999 he directed Furia, a movie based on Julio Cortazar's short story Graffiti.

Haute Tension placed Aja on the map for the horror movie genre. The French slasher, though sticking to horror convention, pushed the gore and tension envelope. Favouring make-up effects to computer generated imagery, the film quickly found respect amongst horror fans. It was released in the U.S. as High Tension after some editing. The film was nominated for grand prize at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival and earned Aja awards for best direction and best fantasy film at the Catalonian International Film Festival.

American director Wes Craven asked Aja to come up with a concept for the remake of his 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes after seeing High Tension. Craven subsequently asked Aja to direct the movie, which was also released under an 'R' rating in the U.S. after minor editing.

His next project is a horror film entitled Mirrors, about a mysterious mirror that brings out the worst aspects of people whenever they look at themselves in it. The film is a remake of the K-Horror film Into the Mirror. He will also be directing the film The Waiting, a modern ghost story, and a remake of the parody of Jaws, Piranha.

Because Alexandre Aja is working on Into The Mirror, he did not direct the sequel to The Hills Have Eyes 2, which was released March 10, 2006.

In 2004, Aja was named to the Variety – Ten Directors To Watch list. He is a member of the so-called Splat Pack.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Writer

[edit] Director

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Cast and Crew of The Hills Have Eyes Speak!

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Aja, Alexandre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Film Director
DATE OF BIRTH 1978-8-7
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris, France
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH