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Andrew M. Niccol (born 10 June 1964) is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed Gattaca, S1m0ne, In Time, and Lord of War. He also wrote and co-produced The Truman Show, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1999 and won a BAFTA award for Best Screenplay. Many of his films, such as Gattaca, S1m0ne, and The Truman Show, view societal or political issues through a fantasy-science fiction lens. Lord of War, however, is a contemporary, matter-of-fact exploration of gunrunning.

Niccol was born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand, and grew up in Auckland, where he attended Auckland Grammar School. He left New Zealand at age 21 and began directing TV ads in London. During production of S1m0ne, he met model Rachel Roberts, with whom he has two children, Jack (born 2003) and Ava (born 2008).

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

Wins[link]

• 1997 Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival:
  • Best Film for Gattaca
• 1998 Gérardmer Film Festival:
  • Fun Trophy for Gattaca
  • Special Jury Prize for Gattaca
• 1999 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films:
  • Saturn Award for Best Writer The Truman Show
• 1999 BAFTA Awards:
  • BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Screenplay The Truman Show
• 1999 London Critics Circle Film Awards:
  • ALFS Award for Screenwriter of the Year The Truman Show and Gattaca
• 1999 Online Film Critics Society Awards:
  • OFCS Award for Best Original Screenplay The Truman Show

Nominations[link]

• 1998 Paris Film Festival:
  • Grand Prix Award for Gattaca
• 1999 Academy Awards:
  • Oscar Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen The Truman Show
• 1999 BAFTA Awards:
  • BAFTA Film Award for Best Film The Truman Show (*Shared with Scott Rudin, Edward S. Feldman & Adam Schroeder)
• 1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards:
  • CFCA Award for Best Screenplay The Truman Show
• 1999 Chlotrudis Awards:
  • Chlotrudis Award for Best Screenplay The Truman Show
• 1999 Golden Globes:
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay The Truman Show
• 1999 Writers Guild of America:
  • WGA Screen Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen The Truman Show

References[link]

External links[link]

• Andrew Niccol at the Internet Movie Database
• Yahoo Movies Profile
• Andrew Niccol Fansite
• Screenplays by Andrew Niccol

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Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer in April 2009
Born	Stephenie Morgan (1973-12-24) December 24, 1973 (age 38) Hartford, Connecticut
Occupation	Novelist, producer
Nationality	American
Genres	Vampire romance, young-adult fiction, science fiction
Notable work(s)	The Twilight series
Influences Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Maeve Binchy, Brontë sisters, Daphne du Maurier, L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Eva Ibbotson, William Goldman, Janet Evanovich
Influenced Aprilynne Pike
Signature
www.stepheniemeyer.com

Stephenie Meyer (née Morgan;  /ˈmaɪ.ər/ MY-ər; born December 24, 1973) is an American children's author and producer, best known for her vampire romance series Twilight.^[1][2][3] The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally,^[1][4] with translations into 37 different languages.^[2][3] Meyer was the bestselling author of 2008 and 2009 in America, having sold over 29 million books in 2008,^[5][6] and 26.5 million books in 2009.^[7] Twilight was the best-selling book of the year.^[8]

Meyer was ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008",^[9] and was included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26. Her annual earnings exceeded $50 million.^[10] In 2010, Forbes ranked her as the #59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million.^[11]

Early life[link]

Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. She then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997.^[12] Meyer met her husband Christiaan when she was 4 years old in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they were both 21. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Christiaan Meyer, formerly an auditor, has now retired to take care of the children.^[13]

Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she has stated that she is strait-laced about her beliefs and does not drink alcohol or smoke.^[14] Meyer had never written even a short story before Twilight and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer; she later noted that the birth of her oldest son Gabe changed her mind, saying, "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom."^[14] Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist in a property company.^[13] Meyer lives in Cave Creek, Arizona,^[15] and also owns a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington.^[16]

[edit] The Twilight series

[edit] Twilight

Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003.^[17] The dream was about a human girl and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood.^[17] Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the draft of what is now Chapter 13 of the book.^[18] In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel,^[1] though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment.^[19] Her sister's response to the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies.^[13]

Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House.^[20] Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction.^[20] By November, Meyer had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company.^[21] Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies.^[20] It reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books within a month of its release,^[22] and later rose to #1.^[23] Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries.^[24] The novel was named the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice.^[25]

Subsequent novels[link]

Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, New Moon reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next 11 weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list.^[26] After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.^[1] The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies.^[27] Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day.^[28] The novel won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.^[29] The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide^[4] in 37 languages.^[30] In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat as well as being the bestselling author of the year.^[5] The Twilight novels held the top four spots on USA Today's year-end list again in 2009.^[31]

Meyer, November 2008

In August 2009, USA Today revealed that Meyer broke J.K. Rowling's record on their bestseller list; the four Twilight books had spent 52 straight weeks in the top 10.^[32] The books have spent more than 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective.^[33] Midnight Sun was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of Edward Cullen (as opposed to Bella Swan).^[34] Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely.^[34][35] Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak, she made the rough chapters of "Midnight Sun" available on her website.^[34]

Inspiration[link]

Meyer cites many novels as inspiration for the Twilight series, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.^[36] Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice^[37] and A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[38] Meyer said, "I've been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better."^[39] She also said she is a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and "can't go through a year without re-reading" Jane Austen's books.^[39]

She also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts playlists on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books. Bands included most often in her playlists are Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay and Linkin Park.^{[40][41][42][43]} As a Mormon, Meyer acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical."^[44] Meyer also steers her work from subjects such as sex, despite the romantic nature of the novels. Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying,

"I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories."^[45]

Film adaptations[link]

Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg.^[46] It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black.^[47] The movie was released on November 21, 2008.^[48] Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene.^[49] Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in November 2008.^[50] Chris Weitz directed the film,^[51] which was released on November 20, 2009.^[52] Summit confirmed an adaptation of the third book in the series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, in February 2009.^[53] David Slade directed the film, which was released on June 30, 2010. Summit also obtained the rights to Breaking Dawn in November 2008,^[54] and approved a two-part adaptation in June 2010 that was scheduled to start production in late 2010.^[55] The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part is scheduled for November 16, 2012.^[56]