Chris Columbus (filmmaker)

Chris Joseph Columbus[1][2] (/kəˈlʌmbəs/; born September 10, 1958) is an American filmmaker. Columbus is known for directing films such as Home Alone (1990); its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992); Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Nine Months (1995); Stepmom (1998); Bicentennial Man (1999); Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001); its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010); and Pixels (2015). He is also known for writing films such as Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985).
Home Alone won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Film. Columbus received an Academy Award nomination for producing The Help (2011).
== Early life ==
Columbus was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania and raised in Champion, Ohio, the son of Mary Irene (née Puskar), a factory worker, and Alex Michael Columbus, an aluminum plant worker and coal miner.[3][4][5]
Columbus is of Italian and Czech descent.[6] He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio and went on to study at New York University's film school at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he was a schoolmate of writer/director Charlie Kaufman[7] and Alec Baldwin.[8]
Although he received a scholarship, he forgot to renew it and was forced to take a factory job to pay for schooling.[9] While on shifts he secretly worked on a 20-page screenplay, which one of his teachers would later use to help him get an agent.[9] Columbus would later state the experience "saved my life" noting that he was able to experience "the terrifying reality I faced of having to live and work in that factory for the rest of my life in that town if I didn't make it".[9]
== Career ==
Columbus worked as a screenwriter with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, working on Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). He wrote the first episodes of the animated series Galaxy High (1986) and later made his directorial debut with the teen comedy Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Heartbreak Hotel (1988).
His directorial work includes Home Alone (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Nine Months (1995), Stepmom (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rent (2005), I Love You Beth Cooper (2009), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) and most recently Pixels (2015)
He was the producer of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), the third film in the Harry Potter film series, and received an Academy Awardnomination for producing The Help (2011).
Columbus founded his production company named 1492 Pictures in 1995.
The character types preferred by Columbus are the everyday American men, women, and children who struggle to uphold family traditions against a changing, sometimes intimidating society.[3] In 1993, he said: "I can understand the validity of showing people the ugliness of the world, but I also think there is a place for movies to leave people with a sense of hope. If your film isn't going to do that, I just don't think it's worth making."[3]
Columbus created the House of Secrets book series with Ned Vizzini[10] and co-founded a new animation studio called ZAG Animation Studios with Saban Capital Group and ZAG Entertainment.[11] He is also a partner at production company, Ocean Blue Entertainment with 1492 Pictures cofounder Michael Barnathan and 1492 Pictures principal, Mark Radcliffe.[12][13][14]
In 2014, he formed another production company, Maiden Voyage Pictures with his daughter, Eleanor.[15][16]
== Personal life ==
In 1982, Columbus married Monica Devereux, with whom he has four children: Eleanor (born 1989), Brendan (born 1992), Violet (born 1994), and Isabella (born 1996). Columbus lives in San Francisco's Pacific Heights. His children attend or previously attended Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. He donated money to the school for a new building, and the school's "piazza" is named after him.
Many of Columbus' family members —including his children, his wife, his late mother, his father-in-law, and his cousin Robert Ayres— have appeared in cameo roles in his films. Particularly, his own daughter, Eleanor, portrayed the Hogwarts student Susan Bones in the first two Harry Potter films.[citation needed]
== Filmography ==
Year	Title 	Director	Producer 	Writer	Notes
1984	Reckless 	 	 	Yes 	
1984	Gremlins 	 	 	Yes 	
1985	The Goonies 	 	 	Yes 	
1985	Young Sherlock Holmes 	 	 	Yes 	
1987	Adventures in Babysitting 	Yes 	 	 	Directorial Debut
1988	Heartbreak Hotel 	Yes 	 	Yes 	
1989	Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland 	 	 	Yes 	
1990	Home Alone 	Yes 	 	 	
1991	Only the Lonely 	Yes 	 	Yes 	
1992	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 	Yes 	 	 	Role: Man in toy store (uncredited)
1993	Mrs. Doubtfire 	Yes 	 	 	
1995	Nine Months 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
1998	Stepmom 	Yes 	Yes 	 	
1999	Bicentennial Man 	Yes 	Yes 	 	
2001	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Yes 	executive	 	
2001	Tom & Jerry 	Yes 	 	 	
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Yes 	executive	 	
2004	Christmas with the Kranks 	 	Yes 	Yes 	
2005	Rent 	Yes 	Yes 	 	Role: Angry man in car (uncredited)
2009	I Love You, Beth Cooper 	Yes 	Yes 	 	
2010	Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief	Yes 	Yes 	 	
2015	Pixels 	Yes 	Yes 	 	
TBA 	Hello Ghost[17] 	Yes 	Yes 	 	
TBA 	Melody[18] 	Yes 	 	 	
TBA 	Miraculous 	Yes 	 	 	
TBA 	Five Nights at Freddy's[19] 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	
=== Producer only ===
Year	Title 	Notes
1996	Jingle All the Way 	
2001	Monkeybone 	Executive producer
2004	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 	
2005	Fantastic Four 	Executive producer
2006	Night at the Museum 	
2007	Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 	Executive producer
2009	Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	
2011	The Help 	
2013	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 	Executive producer
2014	Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 	
2015	The Witch 	Executive producer
2015	It Had to Be You 	Executive producer
2016	The Young Messiah 	
2016	Tallulah 	
2017	Patti Cake$ 	
2017	I Kill Giants 	
2018	The Christmas Chronicles 	
== Critical reception ==
 
Year	Film 	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1987	Adventures in Babysitting 	76%[20] 	N/A
1988	Heartbreak Hotel 	38%[21] 	N/A
1990	Home Alone 	62%[22] 	63%[23]
1992	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 	27%[24] 	N/A
1993	Mrs. Doubtfire 	71%[25] 	53%[26]
1995	Nine Months 	28%[27] 	N/A
1998	Stepmom 	44%[28] 	58%[29]
1999	Bicentennial Man 	37%[30] 	42%[31]
2001	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	80%[32] 	64%[33]
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	82%[34] 	63%[35]
2005	Rent 	46%[36] 	53%[37]
2009	I Love You, Beth Cooper 	14%[38] 	32%[39]
2010	Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief	49%[40] 	47%[41]
2015	Pixels 	17%[42] 	27%[43]
== Awards and nominations ==
Year	Award 	Category 	Film 	Result
1985	Saturn Award 	Best Writing 	Gremlins 	Nominated
1986	Saturn Award 	Best Writing 	Young Sherlock Holmes 	Nominated
2002	Amanda Award 	Best Foreign Feature Film 	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Nominated
2002	Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film	Best Film Shared with David Heyman 	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Nominated
2002	BAFTA Children's Award 	Best Feature Film Shared with David Heyman and Steve Kloves 	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Nominated
2002	Hugo Award 	Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Michael Barnathan, Duncan Henderson, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, and Mark Radcliffe 	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Nominated
2002	Saturn Award 	Best Director 	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 	Nominated
2003	Amanda Award 	Best Foreign Feature Film 	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Nominated
2003	BAFTA Children's Award 	Best Feature Film Shared with David Heyman and Steve Kloves 	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Nominated
2003	Hugo Award 	Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling 	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Nominated
2003	Mainichi Film Award 	Best Foreign Language Film 	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Won
2003	Saturn Award 	Best Director 	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 	Nominated
2004	BAFTA Children's Award 	Best Feature Film Shared with Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, and Mark Radcliffe 	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Won
2005	Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film	Best Film Shared with Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, and Mark Radcliffe 	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Nominated
2005	Satellite Award 	Outstanding Director 	Rent 	Nominated
2012	Academy Award 	Best Picture Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green 	The Help 	Nominated
2012	AFI Award 	Movie of the Year Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green 	The Help 	Won
2012	Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film	Best Film Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green 	The Help 	Nominated
2012	Black Reel Award 	Best Film Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green 	The Help 	Won
2012	Christopher Award 	Best Feature Films Shared with Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, Michael Barnathan, Jennifer Blum, Brunson Green, Sonya Lunsford, John Norris, Mark Radcliffe, Jeff Skoll, and Tate Taylor	The Help 	Won
2012	Producers Guild of America Award 	Best Theatrical Motion Pictures Shared with Michael Barnathan and Brunson Green 	The Help 	Nominated
2016	Golden Raspberry Award 	Worst Picture Shared with Adam Sandler, Mark Radcliffe, and Allen Covert 	Pixels 	Nominated
Category:American flimmakers