Robert Zemeckis is a very talented director, as well as a writer and producer. I chose Zemeckis because of the Back to the Future Trilogy. I love all the Back to the Future movies, and picked Zemeckis solely based on the Back to the Future movies, not having a clue of the impact Zemeckis has made as a director. Zemeckis’ movies break genre barriers. Most of his movies fit in multiple genres, if not actually in a genre of their own. Zemeckis made technological film history in multiple movies: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Death Becomes Her, Forest Gump and Contact. Zemeckis uses technology as a storytelling technique. Zemeckis’ success stems from his incredible story telling ability. Zemeckis has been influenced by many directors. Some directors influenced Zemeckis for a certain movie, while other directors have influenced Zemeckis on a larger scale. Zemeckis has incorporated many aspects of his influences and added his own touch to produce excellent films.
The first film Zemeckis ever saw was The Blob and this film had great influence on him. Zemeckis thought the idea of being able to vandalize your school to save your town was a great concept. In the late fifties William Castle was at his peak and Zemeckis loved all of the Castle films. Zemeckis, regarding Castle’s films, said, “they’re not just about a bunch of stupid teen kids having a petting party in a cabin with a psychotic ax murderer on the loss. The people that are in these movies are really pathologically disturbed” (Kagan, 1). Starting with Macabre, Castle films had a huge influence on Zemeckis as a child and show in his movies. The central themes of Zemeckis movies come from his obsession with technique and technology, Hollywood storytelling, dark comedy and broad humor (Kagan, 11). Zemeckis especially loved illusion, and the use of technique and technology to produce the illusion. These themes stem out of some of his largest influences Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, William Castle, Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock. These themes are evident in all of his films.
Zemeckis’ fascination with film started at a young age, experimenting with 8mm camera in high school. Zemeckis’ interest in film lead to attending the USC Film School; where in 1973 he graduated with writing buddy Bob Gale. Zemeckis won the Student Academy Award in 1973 for his student film Field of Honor; which attracted alums of the USC Film School Steven Spielberg and John Milus. In 1975 John Milius asked Zemeckis and Gale to write a script for him. Milius, Zemeckis and Gale came up with the story 1941 and Zemeckis and Gale finished the screenplay by 1976. Spielberg decided to direct the movie and when they pitched 1941 to Spielberg. While pitching 1941 to Spielberg in 1977, they also had come up with I Wanna Hold Your Hand. After reading I Wanna Hold Your Hand, written by Zemeckis and Gale, Spielberg hired Zemeckis to direct the film.
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