Robert Zemeckis

Robert Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American movie director, producer and writer. Born in Chicago, Illinois to a Lithuanian Catholic family, Zemeckis graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. Propelled forward after winning a Student Academy Award for his film, A Field of Honor, he went on to write and direct many films which have won numerous awards.

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May 14 - 1952 - American - Movie director - Chicago, Illinois - Lithuanian - Catholic - University of Southern California - School of Cinema-Television - Student Academy Award

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After his first films proved to be box-office flops, Zemeckis directed Romancing the Stone starring Michael Douglas. The film was a big success, and Zemeckis went on to direct the Back to the Future trilogy of films. These films established him as a leading director in Hollywood.

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Romancing the Stone - Michael Douglas - Back to the Future - Hollywood

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He is known for his innovative use of special effects, especially in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which combined live action seamlessly with traditional animation, and Forrest Gump, in which he placed Tom Hanks in scenes with well-known historical figures such as John F. Kennedy. His most recent project, 2004's The Polar Express, based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, utilized a revolutionary computer animation technique known as performance capture, whereby the movements of the actors are captured digitally and used as the basis for the animated characters.

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Special effects - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Animation - Forrest Gump - Tom Hanks - John F. Kennedy - 2004 - The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg - Computer animation - Performance capture

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Since becoming a well-known Hollywood director, he has been nominated for and won several awards, including an Academy Award for directing Forrest Gump in 1994. In 1999, Zemeckis donated $5 million towards the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts at USC, which today hosts many film school classes and much of the Interactive Media Division.

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Hollywood - Academy Award - 1994 - Interactive Media Division

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He often works with composer Alan Silvestri and writer Bob Gale.

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Alan Silvestri - Bob Gale

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