Film director, special effects artist, makeup artist, sculptor, illustrator, storyboard artist
Years active
1984–present
1994-2003 (film directing)
Stephen Norrington (born 1964) is an English special effects artist and retired film director known for his work in the horror and action genres. Beginning his career as a sculptor and makeup artist, he worked under Dick Smith, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston on a number of well-known, effects-driven films of the 1980s and 90s. His directorial credits include the cult sci-fi horror film Death Machine and the comic book adaptations Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He portrayed Michael Morbius in the alternate ending to Blade.[1]
Career
Norrington first worked in film as a special effects artist, doing so for several years, which included work on the films Aliens and Split Second. His debut as a director was in the 1994 movie Death Machine but it was directing Blade in 1998 that gained him international status as the film became a box office hit. Despite the film's success, he turned down directing the sequel.[citation needed] He directed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) during which he had such a hard time with Sean Connery, the film's star, that he announced he would never direct another film.[citation needed] He later changed his mind, though as of 2022 he has yet to do so.
In 2008 it was announced that Norrington would direct a reboot of The Crow franchise.[4] In 2010 it was reported he would direct and write the supernatural action thriller The Lost Patrol, to be distributed by Legendary Pictures.[5]
In December 2011, Norrington revealed in an interview that, for the past year, he'd been working on Untitled Norrington Genre Project #1, based on a feature film script he wrote in April 2008 for that year's Script Frenzy challenge. Centering on car chases, it was said to feature both live-action footage and scale models for greenscreen shots. Norrington revealed he was doing most of the work himself, as he did in his 2001 film The Last Minute.[6]
In 2018, Blade co-star Stephen Dorff said Norrington was making a film with miniatures at his own house. Dorff thought it would take him another decade to complete it.[7]
Unrealised projects
Norrington has had several unrealised projects throughout his career, listed here in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 20 years, he has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Many of them were produced after he left production.
In 2001, Norrington announced he had agreed to direct a film based on The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, a film adaptation based on the Marvel character Shang-Chi. He described it as "a real honest-to-goodness martial arts film, rather than a film that simply has martial arts in it". In 2004, it was announced that Ang Lee had been brought on as producer. In 2005, it was announced that Stan Lee had agreed to executive produce the film for DreamWorks, with Yuen Woo-ping directing from a Bruce McKenna screenplay.[13] In 2005, Avi Arad stated that he thought that a PG-13 adaptation was possible.[14] In 2006, Ang Lee confirmed his and Yuen's continued involvement with the project.[13] In December 2018, a different film adaptation of Shang-Chi was announced, with a script by David Callaham, without Norrington.[15]
Shortly after Warner Bros. acquired the rights in 2002, Norrington was slated to direct a remake to the 1988 film Akira, with James Robinson writing the screenplay and Dan Lin producing.[16][17] Norrington planned to make it more appealing to Western audiences by making Kaneda and Tetsuo brothers. Following The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen underperformed at the box office in 2003, which both Norrington and Robinson were also on, the project was put on hold.[16]
In 2003, Norrington's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was intended to spawn a film franchise based on further titles in the original comic book series, but there was little enthusiasm for a sequel due to underperformance at the box office.[18] In 2013, after the sequel was scrapped, it was reported that Fox was ordering a pilot for the television version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Michael Green as writer and executive producer. If the project went to series, Norrington and showrunner Erwin Stoff would have executive produced. Neither Moore nor O'Neill would be producers on the series.[19] It had also been reported that the pilot episode would still be broadcast, even if Fox opted not to green-light the series.[20] Only a couple years after news of the television series ceased, The Tracking Board reported, on 26 May 2015 that 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment had agreed to develop a reboot film with hopes of launching a new franchise. The report stated that a search was underway for a director who could help "continue to develop the reboot".[21]John Davis told Collider in an interview that the reboot would be a female-centric film.[22] Since then, there have been no further announcements.
In 2007, Norrington was set to direct the remake of the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans. However, he was unsure about his direction for the project because he did not grow up with the original. Louis Leterrier, who did, contacted him through their shared agent about replacing him. Leterrier's film was released in 2010.[3][23]
In 2008, it was announced that Norrington would direct a reboot of The Crow franchise.[4] He left the film by 2013 and was replaced by F. Javier Gutiérrez.[24] By July 2015, Gutiérrez had left the project and was replaced by Corin Hardy.[25] Hardy also left the project on 31 May 2018, leaving the film in limbo.[26]
In 2010, Norrington was going to direct and write the supernatural action thriller The Lost Patrol to be distributed by Legendary Pictures.[5]
