Juan Antonio Bayona
Encyclopedia
Juan Antonio Bayona is a Spanish
film director
. In addition to directing television commercials and music videos, Bayona is best known for directing his acclaimed horror film
The Orphanage
. Bayona is currently signed to create two films: Hater and The Impossible.
in Spain, Bayona met director Guillermo Del Toro
, who was presenting his film Cronos
. After their initial conversations, Del Toro promised to aid Bayona in the future, were he ever in the position to do so. Following his graduation from ESCAC,
Bayona started his career directing commercials and pop
videos for famous Spanish musical groups, including OBK
, Hevia
, Ella Baila Sola
and Camela. Bayona directed two short films My Holidays in 1999 and The Spongeman in 2002.
In 2004, Bayona met Sergio G. Sánchez
who was working on his short film 7337 and offered Bayona his script for The Orphanage
. In order to create the film as he wanted, Bayona had to double both the film's budget and the amount of filming time. To accomplish this, Bayona received help from fellow film director
Guillermo del Toro
who offered to co-produce the film as soon as he learned about it. The Orphanage(El orfanato) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
on May 20, 2007 and received with a ten minute ovation from the audience. The Orphanage had a wide release in Spain on October 11, 2007 and was immensely successful in Spain after an $8.3 million four-day launch from 350 screens. The film was the second highest-grossing debut ever for a Spanish film and was the biggest opening of the year, making it even larger than the worldwide success of the Spanish film Pan's Labyrinth
. The Orphanage earned Bayona the award for Best New Director at the 2008 Goya Awards
in Spain. Bayona was one of the many candidates to direct The Twilight Saga: Eclipse but was not chosen and not interested in making the film.
announced that Universal Studios
has signed Bayona to direct Hater, an adaptation of British
author David Moody
's thriller novel about an epidemic of violence caused by regular people. The film will be written by Glen Mazzara
and produced by Guillermo Del Toro
and Mark Johnson
.
In May 2009, Variety
reported that Bayona would again work with screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez
on The Impossible. A film by Madrid-based Apaches Entertainment, Telecinco Cinema and Spongeman, Bayona's own Barcelona
-based label. Summit Entertainment
acquired the rights to The Impossible which will star Naomi Watts
and Ewan McGregor
. The Impossible is based on a true story that took place during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
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:...
. In addition to directing television commercials and music videos, Bayona is best known for directing his acclaimed horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Orphanage
The Orphanage (2007 film)
The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish-Mexican horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an...
. Bayona is currently signed to create two films: Hater and The Impossible.
Career
Bayona grew up with a passion for films. This fervor first lead him to become a journalist; later, it motivated him to study directing at the Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC). During the 1993 Sitges Film FestivalFestival de Cine de Sitges
The Sitges Film Festival is a Spanish film festival that is one of the most recognizable ones held in Europe, considered the world's foremost international festival specializing in fantasy and horror movies...
in Spain, Bayona met director Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
, who was presenting his film Cronos
Cronos (film)
Cronos is a 1993 Mexican horror film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring veteran Argentine actor Federico Luppi and American actor Ron Perlman, the first of several films on which del Toro, Luppi and Perlman have collaborated...
. After their initial conversations, Del Toro promised to aid Bayona in the future, were he ever in the position to do so. Following his graduation from ESCAC,
Bayona started his career directing commercials and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
videos for famous Spanish musical groups, including OBK
OBK
OBK is a Spanish techno pop and electro Pop music group from Barcelona composed of Jordi Sánchez and Miguel Arjona. The group was famous for introducing the electronic music in Spain.- The OBK boom :...
, Hevia
Hevia
José Ángel Hevia Velasco, known professionally as Hevia , is a Spaniard bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita player. He commonly performs with his sister, Maria José, on drums...
, Ella Baila Sola
Ella baila sola
Ella baila sola was a Spanish musical duet formed by Marta Botía Alonso and Marilia Andrés Casares...
and Camela. Bayona directed two short films My Holidays in 1999 and The Spongeman in 2002.
In 2004, Bayona met Sergio G. Sánchez
Sergio G. Sánchez
Sergio G. Sánchez is a Spanish director and screenwriter.Sánchez has written and directed his own screenplays for short films such as Temporada baja and 7337 ....
who was working on his short film 7337 and offered Bayona his script for The Orphanage
The Orphanage (2007 film)
The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish-Mexican horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an...
. In order to create the film as he wanted, Bayona had to double both the film's budget and the amount of filming time. To accomplish this, Bayona received help from fellow 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:...
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
who offered to co-produce the film as soon as he learned about it. The Orphanage(El orfanato) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
on May 20, 2007 and received with a ten minute ovation from the audience. The Orphanage had a wide release in Spain on October 11, 2007 and was immensely successful in Spain after an $8.3 million four-day launch from 350 screens. The film was the second highest-grossing debut ever for a Spanish film and was the biggest opening of the year, making it even larger than the worldwide success of the Spanish film Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
. The Orphanage earned Bayona the award for Best New Director at the 2008 Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
in Spain. Bayona was one of the many candidates to direct The Twilight Saga: Eclipse but was not chosen and not interested in making the film.
Future projects
In October 2008, VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
announced that Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
has signed Bayona to direct Hater, an adaptation of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
author David Moody
David Moody
David Moody is an English horror writer. He first came to public attention with his book Autumn, published freely on-line in 2001...
's thriller novel about an epidemic of violence caused by regular people. The film will be written by Glen Mazzara
Glen Mazzara
Glen Mazzara is an American television producer and writer.-Biography:Mazzara was born in Manhattan and grew up in Queens, New York. He attended NYU and earned a masters in English...
and produced by Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
and Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson (producer)
Mark Johnson is an American film producer. Johnson won the Best Picture Academy Award for producing the 1988 drama movie Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise...
.
In May 2009, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that Bayona would again work with screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez
Sergio G. Sánchez
Sergio G. Sánchez is a Spanish director and screenwriter.Sánchez has written and directed his own screenplays for short films such as Temporada baja and 7337 ....
on The Impossible. A film by Madrid-based Apaches Entertainment, Telecinco Cinema and Spongeman, Bayona's own Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
-based label. Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
acquired the rights to The Impossible which will star Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
and Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
. The Impossible is based on a true story that took place during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.
Filmography
- My Holidays (1999)
- The Spongeman (2002)
- Sonorama (2004) long form music video/concert film
- The OrphanageThe Orphanage (2007 film)The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish-Mexican horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an...
(2007) - The Impossible (2011)
- Hater
External links
- Juan Antonio Bayona at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...