Biography for
Jan de Bont

photos

board

add

contact

details

Date of Birth

Mini Biography

Jan de Bont was born in the Netherlands to a Roman Catholic Dutch family on the 22 of October 1943. He has always had a creative mind and good mentality for camera techniques and soon got into film as a popular cinematographer. He worked on a huge number of films before finding himself on the production of the film Speed (1994/I), which became his first as a director. The film was a success and took him onto the next set for Twister (1996), which he also directed. But then the total flops started coming his way: firstly, Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), which he wrote and directed but without the company of Keanu Reeves. He also directed the star-packed The Haunting (1999) but that also failed him at the Box Office.

Later, Jan directed Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), and is still active in cinema. His brilliant direction of Speed (1994/I) proves he is a director with a spark of his own.

Spouse

Trade Mark

Frequently includes references to Stanley Kubrick's movies.

His visual style is characterised by a constantly moving camera, and (The Haunting excluded) the use of handheld cameras.

Trivia

Was scalped by a lion on the set of Roar (1981).

George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic frequently handles the special effects for his films.

One of 17 children born into a Roman Catholic Dutch family.

After the huge success of his directorial debut, Speed (1994/I), Tri-Star offered him their American version of Godzilla (1998). He obtained a script and worked out a budget. Tri-Star rejected the submitted budget (reportedly over $160,000,000) and De Bont left the project which was temporarily shelved.

Was originally set to direct Minority Report (2002), but Steven Spielberg sacked him and took over as director, probably due to the failure of The Haunting (1999).

Father of Alexander de Bont.

His full name is pronounced Yawn Duh Bawnt.

Frequently shoots with older Panavision (anamorphic) lenses, note the lens flares in Die Hard (1988) and Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997).

Member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Father of Anneke de Bont.

	You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.
	With our Resume service you can add photos and build a complete resume to help you achieve the best possible presentation on the IMDb. Click here to add your resume and/or your photos to IMDb.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z