Renny Harlin is a Finnish-American
film directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and
producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is best known for
Die Hard 2Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
(1990),
CliffhangerCliffhanger is a 1993 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone plays a mountain climber, who becomes embroiled in a failed heist set in a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains...
(1993),
The Long Kiss GoodnightThe Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
(1996) and
Deep Blue SeaDeep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...
(1999). His film
Cutthroat IslandCutthroat Island is a 1995 action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin. The film stars Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, and Frank Langella. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a major box office bomb: listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of...
(1995) is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of all time.
Early life
Renny Harlin was born in
RiihimäkiRiihimäki is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. It is somewhat of a railway junction, since the railway tracks going from different parts of the nation to Helsinki merge there. Sako, Ltd...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to a nurse mother and a
physicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
father. His mother often took him to see films at the cinema as a child, particularly those of
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, and he became enamored with the movies often citing
Sam PeckinpahDavid Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
’s
The Wild BunchThe Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
(
1969The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
) as one of his favourites. Harlin had a video camera from a very early age and made his first short at the age of 12. At the age of 14 he decided to became a film director after he saw
Don SiegelDonald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
and
Charles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
in
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
for the filming of
Telefon (
1977The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
).
In 1980, Harlin was working as a commercial director for companies such as Shell Oil while he wrote and directed the 6-minute short
Huostaanotto (a.k.a.
Custody International) which received its belated premier on Finnish television on 4 November 1979. The following year,
1981-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
, he was assistant cameraman on
Läpimurto (a.k.a.
The Breakthrough), directed by
Janne KuusiJanne Kuusi is a Finnish television and film director, screenwriter, producer and occasional actor.-Career:...
, and made a cameo appearance as a
police officerA police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
. That same year he was also
cinematographerA cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
on two short films;
Posliinikissa directed by Kari Paljakka, and
Jos minä olisin aikuinen directed by Per-Olof Strandberg. He then made the documentary short
Hold On which won the Best Short Subject Award at the
1982-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
national film board awards hosted by YLE.
Harlin started working as a buyer for a Finnish film-distribution company and while on a business trip to L.A. he met up with aspiring film writer/producer
Markus SelinMarkus Selin is a television and film producer.-Career:Selin's first feature was conceived in the mid-80s. While attending a party in L.A. he was introduced to fellow Finn Renny Harlin and so became good friends with the aspiring director who was then working as a buyer for a Finnish distribution...
. The two Finns would become long-term friends and collaborators. They quickly set to work on the script for their first film
Born AmericanBorn American is a 1986 film directed by Renny Harlin. It was a feature length action movie about three Americans vacationing in Finland who cross the border into the Soviet Union...
(a.k.a.
Arctic Heat). This was a feature length action movie about three Americans vacationing in Finland who cross the border into the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It was originally supposed to star
Chuck NorrisCarlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
but he backed out when filming was delayed by funding problems and his son,
Mike NorrisMichael R. "Mike" Norris is an American actor who has acted in over two dozen films. He is the son of the more famous actor and martial arts champion Chuck Norris. He starred in the 1986 drama film Born American and the 1991 action film Delta Force 3: The Killing Game...
, landed the lead instead. A Finnish production, this was at that the time the most expensive film ever to have been made in Finland but it was initially banned in Finland for a very short while as the film encouraged violence and hatred towards Russians. The international success of the film allowed Harlin to get his foot in the door in
HollywoodThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
.
Success in Hollywood
Harlin moved to the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he was initially put to work directing low-budget horror movies, but commercial success was soon to follow. In
1988-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
,
Irwin YablansIrwin Yablans is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry.-Biography:...
of Empire Pictures hired him to direct
Viggo MortensenViggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
, Chelsea Field and
Lane SmithWalter Lane Smith III was an American actor. Some of his well known roles included portraying collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bates in the NBC television series V, Mayor Bates in the film Red Dawn, newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,...
in the low-budget horror film
Prison filmed at a former state prison in
Rawlins, WyomingRawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,538 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County...
. That same year
Robert ShayeRobert Kenneth Shaye , often referred to as Bob Shaye, is an American businessman, film producer, director and actor.-Early life:...
of
New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
, after some initial doubts, hired him to direct another low-budget horror film,
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream MasterA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American slasher film and the fourth film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
, which became the highest grossing independent film at that time by earning $49 million in the US. Harlin cameos in the film as a student while a publicity poster for
Prison can be seen in the background of a scene in a movie theatre.
Following this success
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
approached Harlin with
science fictionScience fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
/
horrorHorror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
sequel
Alien 3. After working on the trouble-prone project for a year, he left in
1990The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
claiming not to be satisfied with any of the multiple scripts that had been drafted and stating that he wanted to do something completely different. The next day the studio offered him rock-and-roll comedy
The Adventures of Ford FairlaneThe Adventures of Ford Fairlane is a 1990 American action/comedy film starring comedian Andrew Dice Clay as Ford Fairlane, a "Rock n' Roll Detective," whose beat is the music industry in Los Angeles. The film was directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
starring stand-up comic
Andrew Dice ClayAndrew Dice Clay is an American comedian and actor who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums...
. Studio executives were so impressed by the
dailiesDailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
on this film that they offered Harlin action sequel
Die Hard 2Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
starring
Bruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, which he set to work on immediately. The two films were edited simultaneously and were released just a week apart after being shipped to the theaters as "wet prints". The former flopped but the latter was another commercial success for the director. He achieved critical acclaim the following year,
1991The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
, when he produced
Rambling RoseRambling Rose is a 1991 American film set in Georgia during the Great Depression starring Laura Dern, Diane Ladd and Robert Duvall, directed by Martha Coolidge....
, through his own recently formed Midnight Sun Pictures, for director
Martha CoolidgeMartha Coolidge is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. -Career:Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ms. Coolidge first made her reputation by directing many award winning documentaries in New York before moving out to Hollywood in 1976. She spent several...
which won him the Best Feature award at the
1992The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
Independent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
and got his star and then partner
Laura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
a
Best Actress OscarPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
nomination at the
1992 Academy AwardsThe 64th Academy Awards were presented March 30, 1992 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The show was the third consecutive to be hosted by Billy Crystal...
.
1993 was a big year for Harlin.
Mario KassarMario F. Kassar is a film producer and industry executive whose projects are frequently in association with Andrew G. Vajna.Kassar was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Working for Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, he was executive producer of several movies starting with Victory in 1981...
of
Carolco PicturesCarolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, who had worked with him on
Rambling Rose, offered him
Gale Force a film about hurricanes with
Sylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
attached to star. Harlin initially turned down the offer due to the script's similarities to
Die Hard 2 but Kassar kept offering a bigger salary, changing the pay scale of Hollywood directors, until Harlin accepted. The film's projected cost spiraled and eventually the plug was pulled, but the project went on to evolve into
Cliffhanger. This film was another commercial success and is credited with reviving Stallone’s flagging career. The actor became good friends with Harlin. This same year Harlin married American actress
Geena DavisVirginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
and also found time to return to his homeland to write and direct the TV series
GladiaattoritGladiaattorit was a Finnish competition television program part of the international Gladiators franchise. The show ran 1993-1994, was directed by Hollywood director Renny Harlin, produced by Markus Selin, and filmed at Planet FunFun...
(the Finnish version of
American GladiatorsAmerican Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
) with old friend and collaborator
Markus SelinMarkus Selin is a television and film producer.-Career:Selin's first feature was conceived in the mid-80s. While attending a party in L.A. he was introduced to fellow Finn Renny Harlin and so became good friends with the aspiring director who was then working as a buyer for a Finnish distribution...
.
Later career in Hollywood
Returning to Hollywood, Harlin and his new wife formed a production company known as The Forge. Through this company Harlin produced comedy film
SpeechlessSpeechless is a 1994 romantic comedy film directed by Ron Underwood. It stars Geena Davis , Michael Keaton, Bonnie Bedelia, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Reeve.-Plot:...
for director
Ron UnderwoodRonald Brian "Ron" Underwood is an American film director.-Early Life:-Early career :-Mainstream breakthrough :-Filmography:...
which got star Davis a
1995-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
Golden Globe nomination.
In 1995, Harlin set to work on a pirate movie called
Cutthroat IslandCutthroat Island is a 1995 action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin. The film stars Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, and Frank Langella. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a major box office bomb: listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of...
with
Michael DouglasMichael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
attached to star. Harlin convinced producer
Mario KassarMario F. Kassar is a film producer and industry executive whose projects are frequently in association with Andrew G. Vajna.Kassar was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Working for Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, he was executive producer of several movies starting with Victory in 1981...
that, despite being known for light-weight comedy roles, Davis was perfect for the female love interest in this action blockbuster. After Kassar agreed Harlin set about beefing up Davis’ role until Douglas left the production giving her the lead. The $92 million production, in which Harlin cameos as a pirate, went on to be a major critical and commercial failure entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest loss of money for a studio ever. That studio,
Carolco PicturesCarolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, went bankrupt as a result. Undeterred Harlin returned to
New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
in
1996Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
for his next production and action/thriller called
The Long Kiss GoodnightThe Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
starring Davis and
Samuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
. This was another commercial failure that effectively ended Davis' movie career. The couple went on to executive produce the HBO TV movie
Mistrial but the marriage was virtually over.
Harlin and Davis were divorced in 1998. That same year, looking for a summer blockbuster for 1999,
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
re-teamed Harlin with Jackson for the shark movie
Deep Blue SeaDeep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...
. The film, in which Harlin cameos, was mistakenly thought to be a comedy by some and was not the box office hit the studio had wanted. It did, however, make a respectable $73 million domestically and $164 million worldwide. Harlin went on to produce the comedy
Blast from the PastBlast from the Past is a 1999 romantic comedy film based on a story and directed by Hugh Wilson and starring Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, and Dave Foley.-Plot:...
through both The Forge and Midnight Sun Pictures for director Hugh Wilson. The following year, 2000, he returned to TV appearing in a couple of episodes of old friend
Markus SelinMarkus Selin is a television and film producer.-Career:Selin's first feature was conceived in the mid-80s. While attending a party in L.A. he was introduced to fellow Finn Renny Harlin and so became good friends with the aspiring director who was then working as a buyer for a Finnish distribution...
's Finnish series
Susi rajalla and directing the pilot episode for Fox Television's
T.R.A.X. which was not picked-up. At this relative low point in his career, in
2001The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
, it was old friend
Sylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, who helped Harlin out by bringing him on board as producer and director of race-car movie
DrivenDriven is a 2001 film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote and produced. It centers on a young racing driver's effort to win the ChampCar World Series...
in which he also cameos, however the final product was a yet another critical and commercial failure.
Harlin's next project was to be a movie adaptation of Ray Bradbury short story
A Sound of ThunderA Sound of Thunder is a 2005 science fiction film directed by Peter Hyams. The film was planned originally for a 2002 release. However, flooding in Prague and other financial difficulties—including the bankruptcy of the original production company during post-production—resulted in a delayed...
but he was fired because he made a creative decision that made
Ray BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
very unhappy (and this film's producers decided to support
Ray BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
).
Harlin picked up the reins on slasher movie
MindhuntersMindhunters is a 2004 thriller film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin...
when original director
Peter HowittPeter Howitt is an English actor and film director. He grew up in Eltham, London and Bromley, Kent, Peter used to be a part of the Priory Players in the Priory behind Christ Church, Eltham. He studied at the Drama Studio London. He has two children, Luke and Amy...
dropped out and spent a long time editing and re-editing this thriller but the release was delayed by studio conflicts. He then went on to re-shoot a more traditional horror version of
Exorcist: The BeginningExorcist: The Beginning is a 2004 prequel to the 1973 film The Exorcist. This is the second version of the third Exorcist sequel. It was adapted by William Wisher Jr., Caleb Carr and Alexi Hawley, and directed by Renny Harlin...
when the studio were unhappy with the psychological drama cut from director
Paul SchraderPaul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
. Due to the delays with
Mindhunters both films ended up being released in
2004The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
and both were moderate successes.
In
2006- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
, Harlin re-teamed with old friend and collaborator Markus Selin to direct a biopic of Finnish President and General of the Cavalry Gustaf Mannerheim, but the budget projection spiraled and the project was put on hold. Instead Harlin made yet another foray into low-budget horror with
The CovenantThe Covenant is a 2006 American action supernatural thriller written by J. S. Cardone, directed by Renny Harlin, and starring Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Chace Crawford, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, and Jessica Lucas...
, which was another moderate commercial success. In 2007 the Mannerheim film project temporarily moved on, and Harlin returned to Finland. Production began in 2008 with Mikko Nousiainen starring as Mannerheim. However, 30% of the funding was cut by one of the financiers with reference to the current global economic recession, and the delay over winter meant that the time window for shooting the winter scenes during the spring of 2009 passed. The project has an uncertain future, but Harlin remains confident.
Harlin directed the WWE Studios action movie
12 Rounds12 Rounds is a 2009 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and produced by WWE Studios. The cast is led by professional wrestler John Cena, alongside Steve Harris, Gonzalo Menendez, Aidan Gillen, Brian J. White, Ashley Scott, and Taylor Cole...
, starring
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
, which was his first film collaboration with
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
since 1990's
Die Hard 2Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
. It was released 27 March 2009.
Despite Harlin's string of failures since the mid-1990s, he is still ranked as one of the top-grossing directors of all time, with his movies having produced a combined U.S. domestic gross of $506,543,064 as of June 2010, which places him 86th on the list of highest grossing directors (based on U.S. domestic gross revenue alone).
He was in
GeorgiaGeorgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
in 2009 shooting
5 Days of War, a film depicting the
2008 warThe 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
between Georgia and
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in the region of
South OssetiaSouth Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
. Filming began in the beginning of October 2009, and ended mid-November. In the film,
President of GeorgiaThe President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
is played by Cuban-American Hollywood actor
Andy GarcíaAndrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
. The film was released in 2011.
Harlin had been involved with the film
MannerheimMannerheim is an upcoming biographical film about the life of Finnish politician and military commander Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. Set to be directed by Finnish director Renny Harlin and produced by Markus Selin, the project has, as of February 2009, stalled shortly before shooting was to begin,...
, based on the life of Marshal
Carl Gustaf Emil MannerheimBaron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...
, since 2000. Despite a decade long problem with financing the movie its pre-production commenced in 2010. However, Ilta-Sanomat has now reported that Harlin has now abandoned the project due to a lack of faith in its success. Solar-Films is currently looking for a new director. Harlin has however expressed interest in filming his own version of Mannerheim in the future.
In 2010, Harlin also served as a judge in screenwriting contest The Script-a-thon and selected "Crawl" by Gregory Scott Houghton as the winner in the action category.
Future projects
In pre-production is an adaption of the comic-book series
Brodie's LawBrodie's Law is a comic book series created by Daley Osiyemi and David Bircham which tells the story of anti-hero, Jack Brodie, East end Gangster, expert thief and professional killer, who in a twist of fate gains the ability to steal his victims' souls and take on their appearance, memories and...
.
Currenly he is planning a sequel to
The Long Kiss GoodnightThe Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
.
Projects outside film industry
Harlin has been involved in few projects outside the film industry. In the 1990s Harlin was involved in establishing the
Planet HollywoodPlanet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
restaurant in Helsinki. At the same time he was one of the new owners of the
Planet FunFunPlanet FunFun was an indoor amusement park located in Kerava, Finland. Originally the park was called Fanfaari but soon after the opening, new owners took over and renamed the park Planet FunFun. Among others the Hollywood director Renny Harlin was one of the new owners...
indoor amusement park in
KeravaKerava is a town and municipality in Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
(previously known as Fanfaari). Both the restaurant and amusement park were short-lived ventures, lasting only a few years before they were closed.
Filmography
- Born American
Born American is a 1986 film directed by Renny Harlin. It was a feature length action movie about three Americans vacationing in Finland who cross the border into the Soviet Union...
(1986-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
)
- Prison (1988
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American slasher film and the fourth film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
(1988-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
)
- The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane is a 1990 American action/comedy film starring comedian Andrew Dice Clay as Ford Fairlane, a "Rock n' Roll Detective," whose beat is the music industry in Los Angeles. The film was directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
(1990)
- Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
(1990The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
)
- Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone plays a mountain climber, who becomes embroiled in a failed heist set in a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains...
(1993The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
)
- Cutthroat Island
Cutthroat Island is a 1995 action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin. The film stars Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, and Frank Langella. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a major box office bomb: listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of...
(1995-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
)
- The Long Kiss Goodnight
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
(1996Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
)
- Deep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...
(1999The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
)
- Driven
Driven is a 2001 film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, who also wrote and produced. It centers on a young racing driver's effort to win the ChampCar World Series...
(2001The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
)
- Mindhunters
Mindhunters is a 2004 thriller film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin...
(2004The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
)
- Exorcist: The Beginning
Exorcist: The Beginning is a 2004 prequel to the 1973 film The Exorcist. This is the second version of the third Exorcist sequel. It was adapted by William Wisher Jr., Caleb Carr and Alexi Hawley, and directed by Renny Harlin...
(2004)
- The Covenant
The Covenant is a 2006 American action supernatural thriller written by J. S. Cardone, directed by Renny Harlin, and starring Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Chace Crawford, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, and Jessica Lucas...
(2006- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
)
- Cleaner
Cleaner is a 2007 thriller film directed by Renny Harlin, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, and Eva Mendes.-Plot:Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he owns and operates a crime scene cleanup company, and performs much of the duties himself...
(2007This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
)
- 12 Rounds
12 Rounds is a 2009 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and produced by WWE Studios. The cast is led by professional wrestler John Cena, alongside Steve Harris, Gonzalo Menendez, Aidan Gillen, Brian J. White, Ashley Scott, and Taylor Cole...
(2009The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
)
- 5 Days of War (2011
The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
)
External links