Ellory Elkayem
Encyclopedia
Ellory Elkayem is a New Zealand
film director
.
Born in Christchurch
, Ellory Elkayem began making films at a young age. He later attended a film school designed to give students practical experience and preparation for a career in the film business. He learned the ropes firsthand while working in the camera department on many commercials, music videos, and television shows such as The Adventures of the Black Stallion starring Mickey Rooney
.
During this time, Elkayem also made several short films
with support and financial assistance from the New Zealand government. His big break came with Larger than Life, a 13-minute black-and-white, FX
-driven homage to the 1950s Hollywood horror genre, featuring a giant, man-eating spider.
Produced by Academy Award winner Jamie Selkirk
, and financed with the largest grant of its kind from the New Zealand Film Commission
, Larger than Life received critical acclaim at the 1998 Telluride Film Festival
and later caught the eye of the Hollywood producers Dean Devlin
and Roland Emmerich
(Independence Day
, Godzilla
, The Day After Tomorrow
), who then recruited Elkayem to write and direct Eight Legged Freaks
, a $30 million feature film based on Larger than Life, starring David Arquette
, Kari Wührer
, and Scarlett Johansson
, and distributed by Warner Brothers.
He has since worked on a number of low-budget horror films, including Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
and Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave
sequels and has just finished directing Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling
.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Born in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Ellory Elkayem began making films at a young age. He later attended a film school designed to give students practical experience and preparation for a career in the film business. He learned the ropes firsthand while working in the camera department on many commercials, music videos, and television shows such as The Adventures of the Black Stallion starring Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
.
During this time, Elkayem also made several short films
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
with support and financial assistance from the New Zealand government. His big break came with Larger than Life, a 13-minute black-and-white, FX
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
-driven homage to the 1950s Hollywood horror genre, featuring a giant, man-eating spider.
Produced by Academy Award winner Jamie Selkirk
Jamie Selkirk
Jamie Selkirk is a film editor and producer who has worked primarily in New Zealand. He is particularly noted for his work on the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which he co-produced with Peter Jackson...
, and financed with the largest grant of its kind from the New Zealand Film Commission
New Zealand Film Commission
The New Zealand Film Commission is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films...
, Larger than Life received critical acclaim at the 1998 Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
and later caught the eye of the Hollywood producers Dean Devlin
Dean Devlin
Dean Devlin is an American screenwriter, producer, television director and former actor. He is the founder of the production company Electric Entertainment.-Personal life:...
and Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director...
(Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
, Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
, The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
), who then recruited Elkayem to write and direct Eight Legged Freaks
Eight Legged Freaks
Eight Legged Freaks is a 2002 comedy horror directed by Ellory Elkayem and stars David Arquette, Kari Wührer and Scott Terra. The plot concerns a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions and begin killing and harvesting...
, a $30 million feature film based on Larger than Life, starring David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
, Kari Wührer
Kari Wührer
Kari Samantha Wührer is an American actress and singer, mostly credited as Kari Wuhrer, sometimes as Kari Salin.-Early life:...
, and Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
, and distributed by Warner Brothers.
He has since worked on a number of low-budget horror films, including Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis , is a 2005 zombie television horror film directed by Ellory Elkayem, starring Aimee Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, John Keefe, Jana Kramer, and Peter Coyote. The plot revolves around a group of teenagers attempting to rescue their friend from an evil corporation...
and Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave
Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave
Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave is a 2005 zombie horror film directed by Ellory Elkayem, starring Cory Hardrict, John Keefe, Jenny Mollen, and Peter Coyote. It is the fifth installment of the Return of the Living Dead series...
sequels and has just finished directing Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling
Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling
Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling is a 2009 direct-to-video spin-off from the 2004 film Without a Paddle.It was released on DVD in the US on January 13, 2009 and in the UK on March 23, 2009.-Plot:...
.