Renny Harlin
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in 15 March 1959 as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most
successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s
when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like
Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met
Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They
became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat".
The project started fast and soon they had
Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the
film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris
left the project, but Selin and Harlin got
Mike Norris for the leading role.
They wrote new script,
Born American (1986), and got
financial help from USA. In the year 1986
Born American (1986) was finished
and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000
theaters and reached no 9.
The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin
moved to Los Angeles and got a job from Halloween (1978) producer
Irwin Yablans who offered him script of
"Prison" to film. Film was made with low budget and distributed with
only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema
to direct
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
after meeting producer Robert Shaye
numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film.
It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget
was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
film.
20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the
Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988).
Harlin made the both, but only
Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially
successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he
directed Cliffhanger (1993) with
Sylvester Stallone which made $255
million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before
Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired
to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative
differences.
His next film
Cutthroat Island (1995) was a
pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out
without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in
USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But
for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30
million domestically with a $65 million budget.
In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year
1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to
direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came
to theaters after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160
million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still
grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.
Harlin was hired to direct
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
after John Frankenheimer left the job
and died shortly after it, and
Paul Schrader was fired. Producers
knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script,
and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and
grossed $80 million worldwide.
Probably most liked Harlin's film
Mindhunters (2004) was released in
2004 after years post-production. It was released in USA in 2005 in
over 1,000 theaters but it only reached 10th place. In 9 weeks it
grossed only $4 million dollars.
The Covenant (2006) was released in
2006. With non-famous (but attractive) actors, the film hit the top in
its opening weekend and became a successful film. With a $20 million
budget, it grossed $37 million worldwide and DVD sale brought $20
million more.
successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s
when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like
Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met
Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They
became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat".
The project started fast and soon they had
Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the
film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris
left the project, but Selin and Harlin got
Mike Norris for the leading role.
They wrote new script,
Born American (1986), and got
financial help from USA. In the year 1986
Born American (1986) was finished
and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000
theaters and reached no 9.
The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin
moved to Los Angeles and got a job from Halloween (1978) producer
Irwin Yablans who offered him script of
"Prison" to film. Film was made with low budget and distributed with
only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema
to direct
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
after meeting producer Robert Shaye
numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film.
It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget
was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
film.
20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the
Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988).
Harlin made the both, but only
Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially
successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he
directed Cliffhanger (1993) with
Sylvester Stallone which made $255
million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before
Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired
to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative
differences.
His next film
Cutthroat Island (1995) was a
pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out
without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in
USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But
for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30
million domestically with a $65 million budget.
In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year
1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to
direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came
to theaters after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160
million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still
grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.
Harlin was hired to direct
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
after John Frankenheimer left the job
and died shortly after it, and
Paul Schrader was fired. Producers
knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script,
and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and
grossed $80 million worldwide.
Probably most liked Harlin's film
Mindhunters (2004) was released in
2004 after years post-production. It was released in USA in 2005 in
over 1,000 theaters but it only reached 10th place. In 9 weeks it
grossed only $4 million dollars.
The Covenant (2006) was released in
2006. With non-famous (but attractive) actors, the film hit the top in
its opening weekend and became a successful film. With a $20 million
budget, it grossed $37 million worldwide and DVD sale brought $20
million more.