The works of Robert Zemeckis are well known. He has been honored with many different awards throughout his directing career. He has won several of the most prestigious awards such as: Oscars’, Golden Globe, The Director Guild of America award, and The Critics award just to mention a few (Awards for Robert Zemeckis). His technique of combining art and science to achieve state-of-the-art special effects in film making has made him one of the most acclaimed directors in the film industry.
Born on May 14th, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois, Robert was raised in a working class Catholic family (Robert Zemeckis Bio). His father was Lithuanian American and his mother was an Italian American. He attended Fenger High School on the south side of Chicago. His love of watching movies on TV inspired him to be a film director. His parents disapproved of the idea of him enrolling in film school, but Robert was determined. He obtained his Masters of Arts degree from Northern Illinois, and then applied to University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. The school first rejected him, but after pleading with them, he was able to get them to reconsider and accept him. He graduated from USC in 1973. Robert married Mary Ellen Trainer on July 26, 1980 but the marriage ended in divorce. In 2001, he married his second wife, Leslie, who he is still married to today. They have two children.
While Robert was a student at USC, he won a Student Academy Award for his film, A Field of Honor, which caught the attention of director and producer Steven Spielberg. Steven became Robert’s mentor and produced Robert’s first two films, however, the films did not do well. Robert was having trouble finding work in the early 1980s, until in 1984 Michael Douglas hired him to film Romancing the Stone which was a success. This seemed to be the starting point of Robert’s successful career. The next film he directed was a time-traveling screenplay titled Back to the Future. This film was a huge hit and was followed by two sequels. Robert also had success with another film called Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The film was both a financial and critical success and won four Academy Awards. In 1994, Robert directed Forrest Gump which became his most successful movie to date. Tom Hanks starred in the lead role as Forrest Gump. The movie grossed over $677 million worldwide and won 6 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best actor (Key Facts) .
Robert’s later works have become known for a technique called the Performance Capture process. It is a technique that combines digital motion capture with computer graphics to achieve lifelike characters and landscapes. Some of his later works that displayed this technique were The Polar Express in 2007 and Beowulf in 2009.
Robert’s career as one of the most successful film directors can be credited to his creativity and combining art and science to produce some of the best known special effects and graphics in some of the most beloved movies in the film industry.
Born on May 14th, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois, Robert was raised in a working class Catholic family (Robert Zemeckis Bio). His father was Lithuanian American and his mother was an Italian American. He attended Fenger High School on the south side of Chicago. His love of watching movies on TV inspired him to be a film director. His parents disapproved of the idea of him enrolling in film school, but Robert was determined. He obtained his Masters of Arts degree from Northern Illinois, and then applied to University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. The school first rejected him, but after pleading with them, he was able to get them to reconsider and accept him. He graduated from USC in 1973. Robert married Mary Ellen Trainer on July 26, 1980 but the marriage ended in divorce. In 2001, he married his second wife, Leslie, who he is still married to today. They have two children.
While Robert was a student at USC, he won a Student Academy Award for his film, A Field of Honor, which caught the attention of director and producer Steven Spielberg. Steven became Robert’s mentor and produced Robert’s first two films, however, the films did not do well. Robert was having trouble finding work in the early 1980s, until in 1984 Michael Douglas hired him to film Romancing the Stone which was a success. This seemed to be the starting point of Robert’s successful career. The next film he directed was a time-traveling screenplay titled Back to the Future. This film was a huge hit and was followed by two sequels. Robert also had success with another film called Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The film was both a financial and critical success and won four Academy Awards. In 1994, Robert directed Forrest Gump which became his most successful movie to date. Tom Hanks starred in the lead role as Forrest Gump. The movie grossed over $677 million worldwide and won 6 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best actor (Key Facts) .
Robert’s later works have become known for a technique called the Performance Capture process. It is a technique that combines digital motion capture with computer graphics to achieve lifelike characters and landscapes. Some of his later works that displayed this technique were The Polar Express in 2007 and Beowulf in 2009.
Robert’s career as one of the most successful film directors can be credited to his creativity and combining art and science to produce some of the best known special effects and graphics in some of the most beloved movies in the film industry.