Marcus Nispel

Marcus Nispel
Marcus Nispel
Born	26 May 1963 (age 61); Frankfurt, West Germany
Occupation(s)	Film director, producer
Years active	1990–2021

Marcus Nispel (born 26 May 1963)^[1] is a German film director and producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos.

Early life and career

Nispel was born on 26 May 1963^[1] in Frankfurt.^[2] He grew up near McNair Barracks and was able to learn English from hanging out with children of soldiers.^[3] At the age of 15, he got a job at a boutique called Hessler and Kehrer. When he had his first interview at an American ad agency, he was asked what do Oreos mean, and he realized the importance of understanding American culture, and how working in advertising helped him understand that.^[4] He received a Fulbright Scholarship at the age of 20 and attended Brooklyn College and New York Institute of Technology. He was also an art director for Young & Rubicam. He started a production company, Portfolio Artists Network which later merged with RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) Black Dog Films to form Portfolio/Black Dog. He worked at RSA as a commercial director for several years, resigning in 2000.

Feature career

Nispel was set to make his feature directorial debut with End of Days, but stepped down before shooting due to issues with the budget.^[5] In 2002, Nispel signed on to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.^[6] He was initially opposed to remaking the film, but Daniel Pearl, the cinematographer for the original film and regular collaborator with Nispel, convinced him to direct. The film was released on October 17, 2003 to negative reviews but was financially successful, grossing $107 million worldwide.

After directing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nispel signed on to direct a psychological thriller called Need, starring Diane Lane.^[7] He picked the film as he wanted something 'diametrically opposed to TCM', but it was never released. Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s, Nispel would direct several more remakes of prominent genre films, such as Friday the 13th (reuniting him with Platinum Dunes, who made Texas Chainsaw) and Conan the Barbarian. In 2015, Nispel directed the ghost exorcism film Exeter, formerly titled Backmask.^[8]

Personal life

He is married to singer/songwriter/commercial editor Dyan Humes-Nispel, who has written songs for various artists including Whitney Houston. They have two children.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
2003	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre	Yes	No
2004	Frankenstein	Yes	Yes	TV movie
2007	Pathfinder	Yes	Yes
2009	Friday the 13th	Yes	No
2009	His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th	No	No	Himself
2011	Conan the Barbarian	Yes	No
2015	Exeter	Yes	Yes	Also story writer

Trailers

"Regenerate", a teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004).^[9]

Videography

^[10] ^[11]

1990

Al B. Sure! – "Had Enuf"
Curtis Mayfield featuring Ice-T – "Superfly 1990"
Olé Olé – "Love crusaders"
Olé Olé – "How Can I Believe You"

1994

1995

Jimmy Somerville – "Heartbeat"
Bette Midler – "To Deserve You"
Janet Jackson – "Runaway"
Mylène Farmer – "XXL"
Mylène Farmer – "L'Instant X"
Elton John – "Believe"
No Doubt – "Spiderwebs"

1996

Scorpions – "You and I"
Fugees – "Ready or Not"
Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy – "No Time"
Mylène Farmer – "Comme j'ai mal"
Luis Miguel – "Dame"
Herbert Grönemeyer – "Bochum (Live)"

1997

1998

Puff Daddy & The Family featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes – "Victory"
Sunz of Man featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Earth, Wind & Fire – "Shining Star"
Bryan Adams featuring Melanie C – "When You're Gone"

1999

Terror Squad – "Whatcha Gon' Do"
Mylène Farmer – "Souviens-toi du jour"
Bryan Adams – "Cloud Number Nine"
Nobody's Angel – "If You Wanna Dance"
Paradise Lost - "So Much is Lost"

2000

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – "So Sad to Say"
Ronan Keating – "Life Is a Rollercoaster"

2001

The Charlatans – "Love Is the Key"

2006

Kyosuke Himuro – "Sweet Revolution"

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Marcus Nispel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^ Nispel, Marcus (10 April 2013). "Marcus Nispel: "Directing Is a Mixture of Symphony and Jazz"". My First Shoot (Interview). Interviewed by Paul Stone. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ Patrizio, Andy (25 March 2004). "An Interview with Marcus Nispel". IGN. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ "Marcus Nispel". Adweek. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ Cox, Dan; Carver, Benedict (10 August 1998). "World according to Nispel". Variety. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ Harris, Dana (7 May 2002). "Nispel to direct remake of 'Chainsaw Massacre'". Variety. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ McNary, Dave (3 November 2003). "'Chainsaw' helmer feeds his 'Need'". Variety. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ "Awful Trailer for 'F13' and 'Chainsaw' Director's 'Exeter' - Bloody Disgusting". Bloody-disgusting.com. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
^ LaPorte, Nicole (2 May 2004). "Nispel takes an 'Evil' turn". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017.
^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Marcus Nispel technician videography". Music Video DataBase. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
^ Nispel, Marcus. "complex.com - 15 most accomplished music video directors - Marcus Nispel". Music Video. Retrieved 25 August 2011.