Casino Royale director coming down under!

News release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 20 June 2007

Casino Royale director coming down under!

New Zealand born director of Casino Royale, Martin Campbell has confirmed he will be taking part in the 2007 Air New Zealand Screen Awards being held at SkyCity Auckland on 1st August.

Campbell will be presenting an Award at NZ’s most prestigious film and television industry awards ceremony as well as appearing as guest speaker at the Screen Directors Guild NZ Q&A Symposium on 31 July.

Most recently Campbell directed the action packed James Bond film, Casino Royale and only last week was signed to direct the movie 36, a remake of the 2004 French-language thriller 36 quai des orfevres. Campbell is considered one of the Hollywood’s top directors and is currently prepping 20th Century Fox's thriller Unstoppable.

The Air New Zealand Screen Awards which are in their third year celebrates and recognises the craft and creativity of New Zealand film and television. This year’s awards have attracted a record number of entries, with close to 300 entries received across 30 categories.
Finalists for the nation’s best short film, digital feature and television productions will be announced at a special event in Auckland on July 3, 2007 and the Air New Zealand Screen Awards 2007 ceremony will take place at Auckland’s SkyCity Theatre on Wednesday August 1st.

As well as the Finalist Announcement and Awards Ceremony, Rialto Channel will also host two free short film screenings of New Zealand Short Films as part of build up to The Air New Zealand Screen Awards 2007. These will be held at SkyCity’s Bar3 on Tuesday 17th and 24th July from 7pm – 9pm.

For all the latest news and information on The Air New Zealand Screen Awards 2007, visit www.sdgnz.co.nz (click on the Awards tab from the home page).

ENDS

http://mediacom.nzpa.co.nz/attachments/8851_md10703a.JPG
Caption: Daniel Craig and Martin Campbell – Casino Royale

BACKGROUND MARTIN CAMPBELL (Director)
Martin Campbell most recently directed his second James Bond film, Casino Royale. In addition, Campbell is credited with rejuvenating the James Bond franchise in 1995 when he directed GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as the famed British spy, which went on to gross more than $350 million.

Following GoldenEye, he directed the international blockbuster The Mask Of Zorro. The movie earned Academy Award® and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Next, when he helmed Vertical Limit, the film was well received by the critics and earned over $200 million in worldwide box office sales.

Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to London where he began his career as a cameraman. He went on to produce the controversial British feature Scum, as well as Black Joy, which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Campbell made his directorial debut on the British police action series “The Professionals,” and continued with two more popular BBC series “Shoestring” and “Minder.”

Considered one of the U.K.’s top directors by the mid 1980s, he directed the highly praised British telefilm, “Reilly: Ace Of Spies.” For his work on “Edge Of Darkness,” a five-hour BBC miniseries about nuclear contamination in England that depicted murder and high-ranking corruption, he won six BAFTA awards.

Campbell’s first Hollywood movie was Criminal Law and he went on to direct Defenseless and No Escape. Some of his American credits include directing HBO’s “Cast A Deadly Spell” and two episodes of NBC’s “Homicide: Life On The Street,” among others. He also directed the epic romance Beyond Borders starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.

© Scoop Media