Simon West
Encyclopedia
Simon West is an English-born film director. West started as a film editor with the BBC, then directed documentaries and commercials including many for Budweiser
. His film directing career started when he directed Con Air
in 1997.
, Hertfordshire, West began his career in 1981 when he became a film editor with the BBC
in London. During a four year tenure at the BBC, West was involved with a number of award-winning productions including the documentary series Strangeways Prison and the drama series Bleak House
both of which won awards from the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts
.
West's career took off in 1985 when he began freelancing as a director and he was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain
to write and direct the film entitled Dolly Mixtures. He was subsequently signed to Limelight
London to direct music videos and commercials. In 1987 he won Best Video at the Montreux
Music Festival for Mel and Kim
's Respectable
. He also directed the video for Rick Astley
's "Never Gonna Give You Up
" in the same year.
With a flourishing commercial career, West relocated to Los Angeles offices of Limelight in 1991. Moving to Pilot pictures in 1992, he received a Clio Award
for Little Caesar's
Airplane and a Golden Lion Award
for Little Caesar's "Italian Feast."
West joined Propaganda Films
in 1993 with a roster of credits including McDonalds, Sprite
, AT&T
, Ford, Miller Beer
and Budweiser. His most famous commercial was a spot for Pepsi
where a little boy sucks himself into a Pepsi bottle. The ad ran during the Super Bowl
and was USA Today
's highest rated commercial for that year.
for Jerry Bruckheimer
starring Nicolas Cage
and John Malkovich
and followed that up in 1999 with The General's Daughter
starring John Travolta
.
In 2001, he directed Lara Croft : Tomb Raider
starring Angelina Jolie
2001. West originated the project "Black Hawk Down" after reading Mark Bowden's newspaper articles on the failed US mission in Somalia. West pitched the idea to his old collaborator Jerry Bruckheimer and spent 2 years developing the script with the writer Ken Nolan. Due to scheduling conflicts with West's other film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and a threatened SAG strike he was not able to direct the movie but served as an executive producer on the Oscar nominated Black Hawk Down.
In 2003, he was credited as an executive producer for the critically acclaimed Fox
show, Keen Eddie
, also serving as director for the pilot and second episode.
In 2005, he directed the pilot for the Jerry Bruckheimer produced CBS
show Close to Home.
In 2006, he directed the Screen Gems
thriller, When a Stranger Calls
.
In 2009, Mark Valley
has been tapped as the lead in Fox
's drama pilot "Human Target
" from director Simon West. "Target," from WBTV
, DC Comics
and McG
's Wonderland Sound and Vision
, is based on the DC Comics title and centers on Christopher Chance (Valley), a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in danger, becoming the "human target" for his clients.
In 2011, he directed the action-thriller The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham
and Ben Foster, a remake of the 1972 film of the same name.
He also directed Delaina Mitchell in an ADT commercial around the same time.
West is developing the movie titled Protection staring Dwayne Johnson. It is slated for a 2012 release. It’s scheduled to shoot this fall in New Mexico
. The screenplay is by Brandon Noonan. Produced by Stuart Ford and Robert Lawrence, along with Gordon Gray and Marc Ciardi of Mayhem Pictures. Brian Kavanaugh Jones will executive produce and Jib Polhemus will act as co-producer.
West will also direct Nicolas Cage
in the upcoming film Medallion
.
On June 15, 2011, Deadline
confirmed that West officially became the director for The Expendables sequel to replace Sylvester Stallone of directing duties for Stallone to focus on the acting and writing. Filming is expected to begin in summer 2011.
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
. His film directing career started when he directed Con Air
Con Air
Con Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
in 1997.
Early life and career
Born in LetchworthLetchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
, Hertfordshire, West began his career in 1981 when he became a film editor with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in London. During a four year tenure at the BBC, West was involved with a number of award-winning productions including the documentary series Strangeways Prison and the drama series Bleak House
Bleak House
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon...
both of which won awards from the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
.
West's career took off in 1985 when he began freelancing as a director and he was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
to write and direct the film entitled Dolly Mixtures. He was subsequently signed to Limelight
Limelight Records
Limelight Records was a subsidiary label of Mercury Records. Originally headed by Quincy Jones, its activities were directed by the producer Jack Tracy...
London to direct music videos and commercials. In 1987 he won Best Video at the Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
Music Festival for Mel and Kim
Mel and Kim
Mel and Kim were a British pop duo, comprising sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. They achieved success between 1986 and 1988 before Melanie succumbed to cancer.-Biography:...
's Respectable
Respectable (Mel and Kim song)
"Respectable" was a UK number one single for one week in March 1987 for Mel and Kim. Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, it was the team's second number one...
. He also directed the video for Rick Astley
Rick Astley
Richard Paul "Rick" Astley is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries...
's "Never Gonna Give You Up
Never Gonna Give You Up
A group of London dance producers, called The Rickrollerz made a house music cover version of "Never Gonna Give You Up" on that day, and in honor of that event....
" in the same year.
With a flourishing commercial career, West relocated to Los Angeles offices of Limelight in 1991. Moving to Pilot pictures in 1992, he received a Clio Award
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
for Little Caesar's
Little Caesars
Little Caesars is a pizza chain, estimated to be the 4th largest in the United States. The Little Caesars headquarters is located in the Fox Theatre building in Downtown Detroit, Michigan.-History:...
Airplane and a Golden Lion Award
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
for Little Caesar's "Italian Feast."
West joined Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films was a prolific and successful music video and film production company founded in 1983 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Greg Gold and Dominic Sena...
in 1993 with a roster of credits including McDonalds, Sprite
Sprite (soft drink)
Sprite is a transparent, lemon-lime flavored , caffeine free soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in 1961. This was Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up, which had begun as "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" in 1929...
, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Ford, Miller Beer
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
and Budweiser. His most famous commercial was a spot for Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
where a little boy sucks himself into a Pepsi bottle. The ad ran during the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
and was USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
's highest rated commercial for that year.
1990s to today
In 1997, he directed the international blockbuster Con AirCon Air
Con Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
for Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
starring Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
and John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
and followed that up in 1999 with The General's Daughter
The General's Daughter
The General's Daughter is a 1999 murder mystery film starring John Travolta. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent general. The movie is based on the novel by the same name written in 1992 by Nelson DeMille, and was directed by Simon West...
starring John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
.
In 2001, he directed Lara Croft : Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
starring Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
2001. West originated the project "Black Hawk Down" after reading Mark Bowden's newspaper articles on the failed US mission in Somalia. West pitched the idea to his old collaborator Jerry Bruckheimer and spent 2 years developing the script with the writer Ken Nolan. Due to scheduling conflicts with West's other film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and a threatened SAG strike he was not able to direct the movie but served as an executive producer on the Oscar nominated Black Hawk Down.
In 2003, he was credited as an executive producer for the critically acclaimed Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
show, Keen Eddie
Keen Eddie
Keen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard...
, also serving as director for the pilot and second episode.
In 2005, he directed the pilot for the Jerry Bruckheimer produced CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
show Close to Home.
In 2006, he directed the Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
thriller, When a Stranger Calls
When a Stranger Calls (2006 film)
When a Stranger Calls is a 2006 American horror film and a remake of the 1979 horror film of the same name based on the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs"...
.
In 2009, Mark Valley
Mark Valley
Mark Thomas Valley is an American film and television actor, known for his role as Brad Chase on the TV drama Boston Legal and Christopher Chance in Fox's action/drama Human Target.-Personal life:...
has been tapped as the lead in Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's drama pilot "Human Target
Human Target (TV series)
Human Target is an American action drama television series that was broadcast by Fox in the United States. Based loosely on the Human Target comic book character created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino for DC Comics, it is the second series based on this title developed for television, the first...
" from director Simon West. "Target," from WBTV
WBTV
WBTV, channel 3 , is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of two flagship stations of Raycom Media. WBTV's studios are located off Morehead Street just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County, North Carolina...
, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and McG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
's Wonderland Sound and Vision
Wonderland Sound and Vision
Wonderland Sound and Vision is the production company of producers McG and Stephanie Savage. They are responsible for producing The O.C. and Supernatural as well as Chuck. Wonderland also co-produced all of McG's films since Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.-History:McG and Stephanie Savage formed...
, is based on the DC Comics title and centers on Christopher Chance (Valley), a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in danger, becoming the "human target" for his clients.
In 2011, he directed the action-thriller The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
and Ben Foster, a remake of the 1972 film of the same name.
He also directed Delaina Mitchell in an ADT commercial around the same time.
West is developing the movie titled Protection staring Dwayne Johnson. It is slated for a 2012 release. It’s scheduled to shoot this fall in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The screenplay is by Brandon Noonan. Produced by Stuart Ford and Robert Lawrence, along with Gordon Gray and Marc Ciardi of Mayhem Pictures. Brian Kavanaugh Jones will executive produce and Jib Polhemus will act as co-producer.
West will also direct Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
in the upcoming film Medallion
Medallion (film)
Medallion is an upcoming film starring Nicolas Cage, Malin Åkerman, Josh Lucas, and Danny Huston. "A former thief frantically searches for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi." Filming began March 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Cast:*Nicolas Cage as Will...
.
On June 15, 2011, Deadline
Deadline.com
Deadline.com, part of Jay Penske's PMC, is an online magazine, founded and edited by Nikki Finke.-Publication:The site is updated several times a day, with the infotainment industry as its focus.-History:...
confirmed that West officially became the director for The Expendables sequel to replace Sylvester Stallone of directing duties for Stallone to focus on the acting and writing. Filming is expected to begin in summer 2011.
Filmography
- The Expendables 2The Expendables 2The Expendables 2 is an upcoming ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by David Agosto and Ken Kaufman based on a story by Sylvester Stallone...
(2012) - Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box (2012)
- MedallionMedallion (film)Medallion is an upcoming film starring Nicolas Cage, Malin Åkerman, Josh Lucas, and Danny Huston. "A former thief frantically searches for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi." Filming began March 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Cast:*Nicolas Cage as Will...
(2011) - The Mechanic (2011)
- When a Stranger CallsWhen a Stranger Calls (2006 film)When a Stranger Calls is a 2006 American horror film and a remake of the 1979 horror film of the same name based on the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs"...
(2006) - Keen EddieKeen EddieKeen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard...
(executive producer) (2003) - Black Hawk Down (executive producer) (2001)
- Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderLara Croft: Tomb RaiderLara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
(2001) - The General's Daughter (1999)
- Con AirCon AirCon Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
(1997)