Best Known As: Director of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man
Filmmaker Sam Raimi is most famous for his early movies in The Evil Dead series and for the blockbuster Spider-Man movies. Raimi is known as a movie enthusiast who began making his own movies before he was a teenager. In 1978 he and some friends, including actor Bruce Campbell, made Within the Woods, a short horror film they used to raise money to make a feature. For a few hundred thousand dollars, they made The Evil Dead, an over-the-top horror movie that got raves at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and has since become a cult favorite. Raimi's distinctive visual style and the success of The Evil Dead 2 (1987) led to his first big studio movie, the 1990 thriller Darkman (1990, starring Liam Neeson). Since then he has become one of Hollywood's most successful directors, thanks to the box office success of Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004, both with Tobey Maguire). He has also directed Army of Darkness (1993) and The Quick and the Dead (1995, starring Sharon Stone), as well as more "serious" films, including A Simple Plan (1998, starring Billy Bob Thornton) and The Gift (2000, starring Cate Blanchett). As a producer, Raimi had big hits on television with Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-99, with Kevin Sorbo) and Xena: The Warrior Princess (1995-2001, starring Lucy Lawless).
Raimi has made many appearances on screen over the years, including Miller's Crossing (1990) and The Flintstones (1994)... He frequently casts his brother, Ted Raimi, and his childhood friend, Bruce Campbell in his movies... Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta Royale makes an appearance in almost all of his movies.
Career Highlights: Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness
First Major Screen Credit: The Evil Dead (1983)
Biography
Like most children of the 1960s, Sam Raimi grew up acting out his fantasies with the benefit of an 8 mm movie camera. The film gauge "grew to 35" when Raimi, with the aid of friends and relatives, raised 500,000 dollars to film a horror feature, The Evil Dead (1983). Not your average sliced-up-teenager epic, Evil Dead was a marvelously wicked assault on the senses, belying its tiny budget with several extremely clever (if nausea-inducing) set pieces. Raimi switched to slapstick comedy with Crimewave (1985), a wild Detroit-based crime caper co-scripted by Raimi's friends and fellow devotees of the bizarre, Joel and Ethan Coen. Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987) giddily expanded the scope and splat-stick humor of the initial installment, and quickly became a cult classic with it s over-the-top gore and imaginative direction. Evil Dead 2 was the mark of a director truly at the top of his creative game, and with that film a foundation was cemented between Raimi and Bruce Campbell that would reach almost mythical status among the hardcore fans of the series. Raimi next came out guns-blazing for Darkman (1990), a comic-book inspired fantasy/adventure representing the director's biggest production budget to date. Though it performed only moderately at the box office, fans clamored to see Raimi's first major release and got an extra kick out of longtime friend and Evil Dead cohort Bruce Campbell in an all-too-brief closing-scene cameo. Also expensively mounted was Army of Darkness (1992), a time-travel swashbuckler that gave evidence of extensive post-production tinkering (notably its skimpy 80-minute running time). A sequel to the first two Evil Dead flicks, the film was released under the more ambiguous title lest it be associated with the outrageously gory previous installments. In the following years the now-established director would hone his talents as a producer with such big-budget action releases as Hard Target (1993) and Timecop (1994). The mid-'90s also found Raimi producing two tele-films that would become the genesis of television's massively popular Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Raimi would continue as executive producer during the series' four-year run) as well as executive producing Hercules arguably more successful companion series, Xena: Warrior Princess.
In 1995, Raimi once again stepped back behind the camera to helm The Quick and the Dead, a revisionist Western starring Sharon Stone. It earned only a lukewarm reception, and it was three years before Raimi directed another feature. 1998's A Simple Plan was a far greater success than The Quick and the Dead: Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton as brothers driven to mistrust and paranoia after discovering four million dollars in the woods, it was Raimi's most lauded film to date, earning a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for Scott B. Smith and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Thornton. The following year, Raimi submerged himself fully in the mainstream, directing the Kevin Costner baseball vehicle For Love of the Game. Unfortunately, the film met with a very mixed reaction from critics and audiences alike, many of whom longed for the days when Bruce Campbell, demonic mutilation, and possessed appendages reigned supreme. The Southern gothic trappings of Raimi's next film, The Gift (2000), found the director's longtime fan base hesitantly re-embracing the one-time cult figure with its tale of the supernatural and quietly creepy atmosphere. A frightening performance by the usually non-threatening Keanu Reeves caught jaded filmgoers off guard and the decidedly low-key film contained enough scares to prove that while it may have been temporarily dulled, Raimi had certainly not lost his edge.
Although Raimi's next effort may not have been the long-anticipated fourth chapter in the Evil Dead saga (a fanboy fantasy that Raimi and Campbell had cheerfully dismissed on numerous occasions), the long-anticipated release of Spider-Man found the director back on familiar ground with its wild visuals and comic-book origins. Though numerous A-list directors (including James Cameron and David Fincher) had been attached to helm the film during its extended incubation, Raimi's childhood love for the well-loved web-slinger eventually won him the opportunity (and formidable challenge) of bringing the story of Spider-Man to the big screen. With Tobey Maguire in the lead, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, and Willem Dafoe suiting up as the Green Goblin, Spider-Man shattered all expectations with overwhelmingly positive word of mouth and a historical opening weekend box-office take of 114 million dollars. With its respect to the source material remaining unusually faithful and a talented cast lending the film as much solid story as thrilling action, fans immediately hungered for more, to which Raimi responded with the wildly popular and equally frenetic Spider Man II.
Though Raimi would remain true to the hit series he had so skillyfully crafted by promising Spider Man III as his next directorial outing, it was around this time that the tireless filmmaker began turning his attentions as a producer away from television to focus on the big screen with his production company Ghost House Pictures. The wildly successful horror remake The Grudge being the first outing by the comapny, Raimi subsequently removed any doubt that he was still interested in terrifying audiences when he announced that Ghost House would be producing such eagerly-anticipated horror outings as 30 Days of Night, The Messengers, The Grudge 2, and, of course, the long-rumored remake of his classic shocker The Evil Dead.
Spider-Man III arrived, amid much hoopla and fanfare, in early May 2007 - seemingly the perfect cap-off to the summer movie season of that year. With Raimi helming, megamogul Laura Ziskin producing, and Alvin Sargent on board, once again, to co-script, many regarded the picture as an ace in the hole even before it hit cinemas. To be certain, the box office mojo soared. Some critical responses waxed decidedless enthusiastic than they had for the first two installments, however; one high-profile reviewer complained openly about the strain placed on Raimi and his co-scripters (Sargent and brother Ivan Raimi) to concoct yet another variation on a formula that perhaps didn't demand reiteration except to gross dollar one. The story in question finds Spidey coming into contact with a space particle that blackens his suit and turns him into a raging egomaniac (didn't the scenarists hear scary echoes of Superman 3?). He must then take on not one but three baddies: the son of the Green Goblin from the second Spiderman (James Franco); escaped criminal Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), who morphs into The Sandman; and reporter Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who transforms into the fanged villain Venom.
While eagerly awaiting his opportunity to bask in the success of this FX-extravaganza, Raimi continued to produce pictures for his Buckaroo Entertainment shingle. In keeping with Raimi's predilection for the horror and sci-fi fantasy genres, these included the slasher outing Boogeyman 2, and the superhero outing The Shadow. Many perceived the latter as the potential launch for another superhero franchise - this one based on the same comic book material as the 1994 Alec Baldwin stinker of the same name, about a 1930s crime fighter with a bit of a dark side, to say the least. This purportedly constituted a longtime pet project of Raimi's. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Raimi, the fourth of five children, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. He is the son of Celia Barbara (née Abrams), who owned lingerie shops, and Leonard Ronald Raimi, who owned home furnishing stores.[1][2] Raimi was raised in Conservative Judaism; his ancestors immigrated from Russia and Hungary.[3] Raimi's eldest sibling, Sander, died in a swimming accident in 1968 at age fifteen. His elder brother, Ivan Raimi, is an emergency room doctor and screenwriter who sometimes collaborates with Sam. His brother, Ted Raimi, is an actor and played J. Jonah Jameson's assistant Hoffman in all three Spider-Man movies. His older sister, Andrea Raimi Rubin, is a stenographer and is not involved in the film industry. Raimi attended Wylie E. Groves High School, and Michigan State University and majored in English, leaving after three semesters to film The Evil Dead.
Film
Raimi became fascinated with making films when his father brought a movie camera home one day and he began to make Super 8 movies with childhood friend Bruce Campbell. In college, he teamed up with his brother's roommate Robert Tapert and Campbell to shoot Within the Woods (1978), a 32-minute horror film which raised $350,000, as well as the short comedic film It's Murder!. Through family, friends, and a network of investors Raimi was able to finance production of the highly successful horror filmThe Evil Dead (1981) which became a cult hit and effectively launched Raimi's career. He began work on his second film Crimewave (1985), intended as a live-action comic book—the film was not successful, due in part to unwanted studio intervention. Raimi returned to the horror genre with the seminal Evil Dead II (which toned down the savageness of the original in favour of slapstick, showcasing his love of the Three Stooges). A long-time comic book buff, he attempted to adapt "The Shadow" into a movie, but was unable to secure the rights, so he created his own super-hero, Darkman (1990). The film was his first major studio picture, and was only moderately successful, but he was still able to secure funding for Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness, which turned away almost totally from horror in favor of fantasy and comedy elements.
In the 1990s Raimi moved into other genres, directing such films as the western The Quick and the Dead, the critically-acclaimed crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998) (starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton), and the romantic drama For Love of the Game (1999) (starring Kevin Costner). Raimi achieved great critical and commercial success with the blockbusterSpider-Man (2002), which was adapted from the comic book series of the same name. The movie has grossed over $800 million worldwide, spawning two sequels: Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, both directed by Raimi and both grossing roughly $800 million each. After the completion of the third Spider-Man film, Raimi is slated to direct a film adaptation of The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Prior to directing the Spider-Man films, Raimi lobbied to direct Batman Forever when Tim Burton was ousted from the director's chair, but was rejected in favor of Joel Schumacher, whose reputation at the time outshone Raimi's.
Raimi frequently collaborates with Joel and Ethan Coen, beginning when Joel was one of the editors of Evil Dead. The Coens co-wrote Crimewave and The Hudsucker Proxy with Raimi in the mid-1980s (though Hudsucker was not filmed for almost a decade). Raimi made cameo appearances in Miller's Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy, as well as with Joel Coen in Spies Like Us. The Coen brothers gave Raimi advice on shooting in snow for A Simple Plan, based on their experiences with Fargo. He has also worked in front of the camera with Miller's Crossing as a coldblooded gunman, The Stand as a dimwitted hitman, John Carpenter's Body Bags in an unusual role as a gas station attendant (all three roles saw Raimi dying in distinct ways), and Indian Summer in what is perhaps his biggest role as a bumbling assistant to Alan Arkin. The film was written by his childhood friend writer-director Mike Binder and shot at the camp that they both attended when they were younger. He also produced The Grudge, The Grudge 2 and The Grudge 3. According to Entertainment Weekly, Raimi had expressed an interest in directing a film version of The Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.[4] In 2008, Guillermo del Toro was selected as the director, with Peter Jackson as the executive producer. Raimi may direct By Any Means Necessary, the next film based on the "Jack Ryan" CIA character created by Tom Clancy. Disney also approched him to direct W.I.T.C.H.: The Movie, based on the popular same-name comic.
Blizzard Entertainment announced on July 22, 2009 that Sam Raimi will be directing a film based on the Warcraft universe.[5]
On 23 September 2009 he became the producer for the Britishsupernaturalthriller "Refuge" which is directed by Corin Hardy and published by Mandate Pictures[6]. He will produce the Remake of the Danish thriller The Substitute which will be directed by Scott Dickerson under his new Label Spooky Pictures[7].
In his film and television projects, Raimi's brother Ted Raimi and his friend Bruce Campbell often appear in on-screen roles, though these appearances are often just short cameos. The trio have been working together since their college days. Both Ted and Bruce have appeared in all three Evil Dead and Spider-Man movies, as well as Hercules: the Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, which Sam produced. In the Dead films, Campbell plays the recurring star role of Ash, while Ted played various small parts every time. In the Spider Man films, however, Ted plays Daily Bugle advertising manager Ted Hoffman, while Campbell has played different roles every time. In Hercules and Xena, Ted and Bruce played the recurring roles of Joxer and Autolycus. Raimi occasionally appears on-screen in his own movies, usually in similar fashion to the cameos made by his idol Alfred Hitchcock: A silhouette behind a projection screen (Spider-Man, in the wrestling scene), a passer-by with some kind of physical interaction with the film's protagonist (Spider-Man 2, as the student whose bookbag hits Peter Parker in the back of the head), a hitchhiker in The Evil Dead. Raimi also wears a suit with white shirt and tie on-set in another homage to Hitchcock. An adept fan will also notice Raimi's recurring usage of soda crackers as a back prop.
Raimi often works with film editor Bob Murawski, a fellow Michigan State University alumnus; among Raimi's films edited by Murawski include the Spider-Man movies, The Gift, and Army of Darkness. He also frequently collaborates with composer Joseph LoDuca, another acquaintance from Michigan who has provided to scores to most of his films. Raimi has included a 1973 yellow OldsmobileDelta 88 automobile (nicknamed "The Classic") in every film including The Quick and the Dead ("Somewhere...somewhere hidden. Only I know. I'll never tell"). Bruce Campbell, at Comic-con 2005, advised that a special covered wagon frame had covered the vehicle to maintain the motif of the film. The yellow Oldsmobile also appeared in Drag Me to Hell, driven by the elderly gypsy woman. A bottle of Maker's Mark also appears regularly in his movies.
Other Raimi screen-framing trademarks include:
A distinctive camera shot where the camera follows a moving object (such as an arrow or a projectile weapon) at high speeds creating a first-person point of view from the object itself;
A rapid dolly zoom to bring a far-off object suddenly into the center of the shot or to pull back from the main focal object to show what is happening around the perimeter (sometimes called "push-pull");
Montage sequences with overlapping close-up shots to establish a set of similar actions over elapsing time.
In the Making The Amazing documentary on the Spider-Man 2 DVD, both Tobey Maguire and Bruce Campbell jokingly describe Raimi's penchant for "abusing" actors: In order to get realistic closeups of a character getting hit by debris, Raimi usually stands just off-camera throwing items, swinging tree branches, etc., at the actor who is at the center of the shot. Scenes from the documentary show that Raimi is the one throwing popcorn at Peter Parker during the walk to the wrestling ring in Spider-Man and tossing gold coins around during the bank robbery scene in Spider-Man 2. This technique was parodied by Spider-Man actor James Franco in his Funny or Die series, Acting with James Franco, Episode 2: "Green Screen".
Raimi also often has a voiceover from a principal character at the end of his films such as Darkman, Army of Darkness, and all the Spiderman films.
Personal life
Raimi has been married since 1993 to Gillian Dania Greene, daughter of actor Lorne Greene. They have five children. Three of the Raimis' children (daughter Emma Rose and sons Lorne and Henry) appeared as extras in Drag Me to Hell and Spider-Man 3 during the movie's climactic final battle. On occasion, Raimi collaborates with his elder brother Ivan, a doctor and occasional scriptwriter. Together, they co-wrote the screenplays for Drag Me to Hell, Darkman and Army of Darkness and fleshed out most of the plot for Spider-Man 3. Ivan also contributed to story and script development for the three Spider-Man films. He has claimed his three favourite films to be The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Big Lebowski and Psycho.[8]
