| Bryan Singer | |
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Singer at WonderCon 2006 |
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| Born | Bryan Jay Singer September 17, 1965 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film director and producer |
Bryan Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.
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Singer was born in New York City, and was adopted by Grace Singer (née Sinden), an environmental activist, and Norbert Dave Singer, a corporate executive.[1] He grew up in a Jewish household in West Windsor Township, New Jersey. He attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (formerly just West Windsor-Plainsboro High School), graduating in 1984.[2] For college, Singer studied filmmaking for two years at New York's School of Visual Arts and later transferred to the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.[3] Actors Lori and Marc Singer are his cousins. He is openly gay and has said that his life experiences of growing up as a minority influenced his movies.[4] He was diagnosed with dyslexia.[5]
After graduating, Singer directed a short film called Lion's Den involving a number of friends, including actor Ethan Hawke whom he knew from his childhood in New Jersey[6] and editor John Ottman who he had met while working on a friend's short film.[7]
In mid-2004, Singer was in negotiations to direct X-Men: The Last Stand for Fox. Fox and Singer could not meet an agreement and, after an extended détente, Singer was offered the chance to direct the new Superman film, which was ready to go. On July 19, 2004, Variety reported that Singer had signed on to direct Superman Returns for Warner Bros. In retaliation, Fox terminated their production deal with Bad Hat Harry Productions, Singer's production company.[8] Superman Returns was filmed in Australia in 2005, and was released on June 28, 2006. Singer claims that though he had not read the comics, he had always admired and identified with the character, citing the fact that he and Superman are both orphans. He instead based Returns on his love of the 1978 film made by Richard Donner.[9]
Before embarking on the Superman sequel, Singer openly discussed helming a smaller project going back to the days of thrillers The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. In late 2006, screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie presented to Singer a story that took place in World War II, Valkyrie. In the following months, the two collaborated on the project, an original thriller that would be a multi-character ensemble piece. In March 2007, the duo brought the project directly to United Artists partners Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise, who immediately agreed to finance the film. The script is based on the actual events of German generals plotting to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II. Singer invited Tom Cruise to take the lead role, which Cruise accepted. Filming began on July 19, 2007 in Berlin, and the movie was released on December 25, 2008.
Upon finishing Valkyrie at the end of 2007, Singer was scheduled to jump directly into the upcoming Superman sequel, which was to begin filming around March 2008. Attending the 2007 Saturn Awards along with Superman Returns writers Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and producer Gil Adler, Singer stated that the story had been locked down, and the first draft would be completed near the end of 2007. Plans for the sequel included more action sequences, an alien villain, and Singer's promise to "go all Wrath of Khan on it". Production has not begun and plans for the movie are unclear.[10] In February 2009, Production Weekly listed it as "in development".[11]
In August 2009, Universal Pictures announced that Singer would direct and produce a big screen reimagining of the Battlestar Galactica television series of the late-1970s, which would not draw any material from the Syfy Channel reimagined series.[12]
On September 10, 2009, it was announced NBC has partnered with Bryan Singer and Bryan Fuller to adapt Augusten Burroughs's Sellevision into a series. The one-hour dramatic comedy, to be written by Fuller and directed by Singer, will focus on the inner workings of a fictional home shopping network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.[13]
At the premiere of James Cameron's Avatar on December 16, 2009, Singer confirmed that he will be directing a film called Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros., and that he signed on to do X-Men: First Class,[14][15] but conflicts between the two projects led to Singer being only a producer and co-screenwriter on First Class,[16] with Matthew Vaughn taking over directorial duties.[17]
Bryan produced the commercials for the ice cream Magnum Gold, which star Benicio del Toro.[18]
| Feature films | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
| Director | Producer | Writer | |||
| 1988 | Lion's Den | Yes | Short film | ||
| 1993 | Public Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1995 | The Usual Suspects | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1998 | Apt Pupil | Yes | Yes | ||
| Burn | Yes | ||||
| 2000 | X-Men | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2003 | X2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2006 | Superman Returns | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman | Yes | Documentary | |||
| 2007 | Color Me Olsen | Yes | Short film | ||
| 2008 | Valkyrie | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2009 | Trick 'r Treat | Yes | |||
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Yes | Yes | [16][19] | |
| 2012 | Jack the Giant Killer | Yes | Yes | post production[20] | |
| Television | |||||
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
| Director | Producer | Writer | |||
| 2004– present |
House | Yes (2004) | Yes | Directed 2 episodes. | |
| 2005 | The Triangle | Yes | Yes | Miniseries | |
| 2006 | The Science of Superman | Yes | TV documentary | ||
| 2007 | Football Wives | Yes | Yes | Pilot | |
| 2007–09 | Dirty Sexy Money | Yes | |||
| 2008 | Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler | Yes | TV documentary | ||
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