Roger Avary Movies
Best known for his collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary has won a loyal fan following of his own for his darkly comedic style as both a screenwriter and director. Born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada, on August 23, 1965, Roger Avary's father was a mining engineer, which caused his family to move a great deal when he was a child. By the 1980s, Avary had settled in Manhattan Beach, CA, and had developed a passionate interest in movies. In 1984, Avary wrote and directed a short film, The Worm Turns, which was named Best Film in the 16-19 age group at the LAFTA Teen Film Expo. A few years later, as Avary was struggling to get a career as a writer and director off the ground, he took a job at a video rental shop, where one of his co-workers was a like-minded film enthusiast named Quentin Tarantino. It wasn't long before Avary and Tarantino began comparing notes on the sort of films they hoped to make; Avary gave Tarantino a copy of a short screenplay he'd written called "The Open Road," and Tarantino returned it with extensive revisions. Avary began working with Tarantino on a further draft of the script, and in time the project became the film True Romance, though Avary did not receive credit for the final product. Avary also contributed material which was used in the screenplays for Reservoir Dogs and Natural Born Killers, and in 1992 Tarantino was finally able to bring Reservoir Dogs to the screen. After Reservoir Dogs became an independent success story, Avary helped Tarantino write his follow-up, Pulp Fiction; credited with the film's story, Pulp Fiction earned Avary an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay of 1994. In 1994, Avary was able to use his new success as a screenwriter to launch his career as a director; he helmed the offbeat crime thriller Killing Zoe, which Tarantino helped to produce. In 1995, Avary turned his attentions to television, writing, and directing a quirky made-for-TV sci-fi film called Mr. Stitch, which was created as a pilot for a series. The Mr. Stitch series didn't sell, and neither did Odd Jobs, a noir-influenced television project Avary wrote and directed in 1997. While preparing new projects, Avary dabbled in film production, working behind the scenes on Boogie Boy in 1997 and The Last Man in 1999. In 2002, Avary made his long-awaited return as a director with a screen adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel The Rules of Attraction; once again, Avary also wrote the screenplay. In his personal life, Avary is married, and is an outspoken vegetarian. ~ All Movie Guide- 2010
Charles Burns' critically acclaimed graphic novel Black Hole is adapted for the big screen with this Paramount Pictures production, to be helmed by director David Fincher from a script by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. The tale surrounds a group of teenagers afflicted with an STD that mutates each one in various frightening pubescent ways. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2010
The ID Software game series that served as the precursor to both Doom and countless other first-person shooters comes to the big screen in this film that reunites Silent Hill partners Roger Avary and Samuel Hadida. Set during World War II, the film follows U.S. Army Ranger B.J. Blazkowicz and a team of special operatives as they storm Castle Wolfenstein in hopes of uncovering the truth about the Nazi's notorious SS Paranormal Division. The terrifying truth that they find within defies explanation. Samuel Hadida produces a film written and directed by Roger Avery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Inspired by the epic Old English poem of the same name, director Robert Zemeckis's digitally rendered film follows the Scandinavian hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone) as he fights to protect the Danes from a ferocious beast named Grendel (Crispin Glover). Though at first Grendel seems invincible, Beowulf eventually manages to defeat him in a desperate battle to the death. Devastated by her son's violent demise at the hands of Beowulf, Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie) sets out in search of revenge. Later, Beowulf faces the biggest challenge of his life when he attempts to slay a powerful dragon. Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, John Malkovich, and Brendan Gleeson co-star in an epic fantasy adventure penned by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
A mother and daughter flee to a strange abandoned town to seek out answers to the daughter's nightly psychological turmoil in Brotherhood of the Wolf director Christophe Gans' adaptation of the popular survival horror video game. Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) is a very sick child, yet rather than seeing her child suffer the cruel indignities of the medical profession, Rose (Radha Mitchell) ignores her husband's (Sean Bean) pleas and absconds with her ailing daughter to the fog-enshrouded town of Silent Hill. A town drenched in darkness and inhabited by a strange collection of menacing specters, Silent Hill seemingly swallows young Sharon whole upon arrival. Determined to get her daughter back at any cost, Rose sets out to explore the mysterious Silent Hill, only to discover an evil so powerful that it possesses the ability to transform anything it wishes. With the deeply disturbing history of the town slowly coming into focus through the dense fog, Rose soon realizes that both she and her daughter may be little more than simple pawns in a much larger, and seemingly supernatural, game. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, (more)
When a diverse group of lifelong friends comes together to celebrate the marriage of devoted couple Elise (Amy Adams) and Michael (Adam Garcia), the mixed-up relationships of the past pave the road to a weekend no one is likely to soon forget in the feature debut from filmmaker Matthew Cole Weiss. The setting is Los Angeles, CA, and the event is the wedding between a man and a woman who always seemed destined to be together. Unfortunately, all relationships can't be as healthy as Elise and Michael's is, and though best man and maid of honor Rich (Aaron Stanford) and Samantha (Melissa Sagemiller) seem to be preparing to take the plunge, the same certainly cannot be said for neurotic actress Lana (Mena Suvari). A free-spirited soul who has experienced flings with a variety of wedding attendees including the hapless Pockets (Jon Abrahams), alcoholic actor Simon (James Van Der Beek), and manic children's television program host Donovan (Ethan Embry), Lana attempts to sort out her past flings as lovelorn agent Quentin (Colin Hanks) pines for the bride's sister and the estranged father of the groom attempts to reconnect with his long-lost son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Adams, Adam Garcia, (more)
Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel about the sexual, emotional, and chemical interactions of a group of wealthy and amoral college students is brought to the screen in this adaptation from writer and director Roger Avery. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is a student at Camden College, a well-respected private school on the East Coast. Sean is attracted to Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), a high minded and seemingly unapproachable coed, while Lauren is infatuated with Victor (Kip Pardue), a handsome but self-centered ladies' man. Lauren's empty-headed roommate, Lara (Jessica Biel), is also attracted to Victor, while he has no qualms about being involved with both. Lauren used to date affected snob Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder), but Paul, a bisexual, currently lusts after Sean. Meanwhile, friendly campus drug dealer Rupert (Clifton Collins Jr.) finds a ready market for cocaine among his classmates; Sean, a steady customer, finds himself financially embarrassed and begins dealing drugs to help pay off his debts, while leading Paul on for his ready supply of marijuana. The Rules of Attraction also features Eric Stoltz as Mr.
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, (more)
Somehow the entire population of the Earth has been obliterated, leaving the buildings standing and the preserved food intact. The environment seems to be OK, too. From the emptiness of the planet emerges Alan (David Arnott), a nebbishy anthropology graduate student who is coming to terms with his fate as the last man on Earth -- until he discovers Sarah (Jeri Ryan), a beautiful, intelligent woman who can't stand the idea that neurotic, portly Alan is the last man she'll ever be near. They make an encampment in a desert and begin their lives together -- him, delirious; her reluctant -- until they encounter Raphael (Dan Montgomery) hitchhiking along the road. Raphael, although a bit dim, is tall, handsome and fun-loving, and Alan finds that he has to change in order to compete for Sarah's affection, or spend his life without a woman. But nature is full of surprises. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arnott, Jeri Ryan, (more)
- 1995
This sci-fi thriller takes the Frankenstein story a few steps further and sets it in the near future. Using a variety of human body parts, a scientist (Rutger Hauer) creates Lazarus, a young man (Will Wheaton) with superior mental and physical capabilities. Poor Lazarus would be perfect but for the terrible nightmares that plague him. He does not know of his gruesome origins and so goes to a psychiatrist for answers. But for Lazarus, learning the whole truth may be a dangerous endeavor, not only for him, but for the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Nia Peeples, (more)
An American ex-con gets caught up in a Parisian bank heist that goes wrong in this ultra-violent thriller. Zed (Eric Stoltz), a safe-cracking expert fresh out of prison, travels to France to participate in a robbery planned by his friend Eric (Jean-Hughes Anglade). But first, Zed decides to indulge in some relaxation with a gorgeous, kind-hearted prostitute by the name of Zoe (Julie Delpy). This idyll, however, is interrupted by Eric, who leads Zed and the other criminals on a long night of drinking, drugging, and debauchery. The next day, the thieves find themselves hung over and exhausted, and the plan soon goes disastrously wrong, turning into a hostage situation. Even worse for Zed, he discovers that the lovely Zoe also works as a teller at the bank, forcing him into a tricky moral dilemma. Writer and director Roger Avary, best known as the co-screenwriter of Pulp Fiction, creates a similar combination of black comedy, extreme violence, and hip attitude. Critics of Quentin Tarantino's films raised similar objections to Avary's reliance on bloody violence and a detached sensibility, while the film's fans acclaimed its fast-paced action. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, (more)
Outrageously violent, time-twisting, and in love with language, Pulp Fiction was widely considered the most influential American movie of the 1990s. Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino synthesized such seemingly disparate traditions as the syncopated language of David Mamet; the serious violence of American gangster movies, crime movies, and films noirs mixed up with the wacky violence of cartoons, video games, and Japanese animation; and the fragmented story-telling structures of such experimental classics as Citizen Kane, Rashomon, and La jetée. The Oscar-winning script by Tarantino and Roger Avary intertwines three stories, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, in the role that single-handedly reignited his career, as hit men who have philosophical interchanges on such topics as the French names for American fast food products; Bruce Willis as a boxer out of a 1940s B-movie; and such other stalwarts as Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, whose dance sequence with Travolta proved an instant classic. ~ Leo Charney, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
