 michel gondry (born may 8, 1963) is a french film director, screenwriter, and producer. he is noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scÃ¨ne. he won an academy award for best original screenplay in 2004 as one of the writers of eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. ==early life== gondry was born in versailles. he is the grandson of inventor constant martin. ==career== gondry's vision and career began with his emphasis on emotion. much of his inspiration, he says, came from the film le voyage en ballon. he stated: "when i watch this movie, i dream i'm flying and then i do stories where people are flying. i think it's directly influencing."gondry, michel. interview by robert k. elder. the film that changed my life. by robert k. elder. chicago: chicago review press, 2011. n. p151. print. his career as a filmmaker began with creating music videos for the french rock band oui oui, in which he also served as a drummer. the style of his videos for oui oui caught the attention of music artist bjÃ¶rk, who asked him to direct the video for her song "human behaviour". the collaboration proved long-lasting, with gondry directing a total of eight music videos for bjÃ¶rk. other artists who have collaborated with gondry on more than one occasion include daft punk, the white stripes, the chemical brothers, the vines, steriogram, radiohead, and beck. gondry has also created numerous television commercials. he pioneered the "bullet time" technique later adapted in the matrix (he met joel silver, the producer of the film, and said he had no choice but to accept the deal for a small amount) in a 1998 commercial for smirnoff vodka, as well as directing a trio of inventive holiday-themed advertisements for clothing retailer gap. gondry, along with directors spike jonze and david fincher, is representative of the influx of music video directors into feature 
1963_births Advertising_directors Best_Original_Screenplay_Academy_Award_winners French_emigrants_to_the_United_States French_film_directors French_music_video_directors French_screenwriters Living_people People_from_Versailles Writers_Guild_of_America_Award_winners