Michel Gondry is a French film-maker who has directed a number of movies that might be familiar to English speakers, with examples ranging from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to The Green Hornet. Recently, it has been announced that Gondry will be doing a TV show called Kidding for Showtime, which will see him reunite with Jim Carrey, who played Joel in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Michel Gondry:
Born in Versailles
Gondry was born in Versailles. However, this is not the chateau but rather the modern successor of the settlement that had existed at the site before King Louis XIV of France had gotten started with his building project. Versailles might not be as prominent now as it was when it served as the de-facto capital of France, but it remains one of the more prosperous suburbs of Paris. In particular, it is interesting to note that Versailles is famous for its arts and culture.
Grandson of an Inventor
Gondry’s grandfather was Constant Martin, who was associated with arts and culture as well but not in the same way as his grandson. To be exact, the grandfather was an inventor who is best-known for the invention of the clavioline, which was a predecessor to the synthesizer. As a result, he had a fair amount of influence on the pop music of the 1960s before newer electronic instruments displaced his own creations. In turn, it is interesting to note that the grandson was influenced a great deal by pop music, as shown by the fact that he started up a pop rock band.
Inspired By Le Voyage en Ballon
As an artist, Gondry has been inspired a great deal by a French family film called Le Voyage en Ballon, which might be more familiar with English speakers as Stowaway in the Sky. Like its name suggests, the movie was about a grandfather and a grandson traveling in a hot air balloon that the grandfather claims to be fully controllable, which turned out to be not the case. Regardless, Gondry has made particular mention of the flying in the movie, which has inspired him to do similar imagery in his own works.
Has Collaborated Six Times with Bjork
When he was still part of the pop rock band, Gondry was the one who directed their music videos. One of these music videos managed to make it way to MTV, where it managed to catch the attention of the famous Icelandic singer Bjork. As a result, Bjork asked Gondry to direct her music video for “Human Behavior,” which was followed by five more collaborations on five more music videos.
Has Won an Academy Award
Gondry has won an Academy Award for the screenplay of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Curiously, said movie was the second time that he had the chance to collaborate with Charlie Kaufman, which turned out to be much more successful than their initial effort. Still, that first movie seems to have paid off in the long run, seeing as how Gondry would not have been chosen to direct their second collaboration without that having happened.
Follow Us
