Jonathan Liebesman

Jonathan Liebesman

Birth : 1976-09-15, Johannesburg, South Africa

History

Jonathan Liebesman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 15, 1976. He would remain in his home country, studying filmmaking at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, until 1996; that year, he traveled to New York City to visit his cousin who was attending New York University. Soon after the visit, Jonathan enrolled at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. For his student first film, Jonathan turned Roald Dahl's short story Genesis and Catastrophe (2000) into a 8-minute, award-winning short that help him land Hollywood representation; accolades included the 2000 Hollywood Film Festival's Young Filmmaker Award and the Austin Film Festival's Student Short Film Award. Jonathan would make his feature-film debut in 2002 with Darkness Falls (2003), a dark twist on the Tooth Fairy tale that opened at #1 at the box office despite being critically panned. It also served as the big-screen debut for Emma Caulfield Ford, long a fan-favorite as Anya Jenkins on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Rings (2005), his short film that connected The Ring (2002) and its sequel, was first released as a bonus disc with the re-release of The Ring on DVD. The short caught the attention of Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes, and soon Jonathan was installed as the director of the company's project The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), a prequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), the widely successful remake of the original. Initially announced as the director of the Friday the 13th reboot, Jonathan's next feature would instead be The Killing Room (2009) with Peter Stormare, Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Timothy Hutton, Nick Cannon and Shea Whigham. The psychological thriller played the festival circuit before being released on DVD in the United States. A few months before The Killing Room's Sundance world premiere in January 2009, Jonathan was announced as the director of Battle Los Angeles (2011), an alien-invasion film starring Aaron Eckhart and released by Columbia Pictures. The sci-fi/action film was a worldwide hit and put Jonathan in the running for a handful of big-studio pictures. Before Battle LA's release, he had handed the job of directing Odysseus as Warner Bros., though that project remains in development at this time. Instead, Jonathan took the reins for Wrath of the Titans (2012), the sequel to successful but maligned Clash of the Titans (2010).

Profile

Jonathan Liebesman
Jonathan Liebesman

Movies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Director
When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.
Wrath of the Titans
Wrath of the Titans
Director
Perseus tries to live a quieter life as a village fisherman while - dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion - the gods are losing control of the long-imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos.
Battle: Los Angeles
Battle: Los Angeles
Director
When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat attacking Earth, a Marine staff sergeant and his team take it upon themselves to face the enemy and protect what remains of the planet.
The Killing Room
The Killing Room
Executive Producer
Four volunteers sign up for what initially appears to be a typical paid research study, only to discover that they've unwittingly become involved with a classified government program that was said to have been terminated nearly two decades ago.
The Killing Room
The Killing Room
Director
Four volunteers sign up for what initially appears to be a typical paid research study, only to discover that they've unwittingly become involved with a classified government program that was said to have been terminated nearly two decades ago.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Director
Chrissie and her friends set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface is learning the tools of terror.
Rings
Rings
Writer
Some time after the events of The Ring, a subculture of people voluntarily watch Samara Morgan's video and wait to see how close to the seven-day deadline they can get before showing it to the next person. They record everything they see and share their experiences on a secret website dedicated to the videotape. No one has ever recorded a day seven.
Rings
Rings
Director
Some time after the events of The Ring, a subculture of people voluntarily watch Samara Morgan's video and wait to see how close to the seven-day deadline they can get before showing it to the next person. They record everything they see and share their experiences on a secret website dedicated to the videotape. No one has ever recorded a day seven.
Darkness Falls
Darkness Falls
Director
A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.
Genesis and Catastrophe
Genesis and Catastrophe
Director
From IMDB- " In a squalid German hospital, an overworked doctor tends to the difficult childbirth of Karla. We learn that Karla has lost three previous babies, and her husband is pessimistic about the survival of this one. But both Karla and the doctor believe this one will survive unfortunately, it turns out."