Steven Soderbergh
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American filmmaker well known for his breakthrough film sex, lies, and videotape which greatly contributed to the 1990s independent film revolution in the United States.
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Breakthrough: sex, lies, and videotape
It wasn't until Soderbergh came back to Baton Rouge that he conceived the idea for sex, lies, and videotape (1989), which he wrote in eight days. The independent film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, became a worldwide commercial success and — along with Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction — greatly contributed to the 1990s independent film revolution. Movie critic Roger Ebert dubbed Soderbergh the "poster boy of the Sundance generation."
Aesthetics
It is difficult to find a common thread between Soderbergh's movies. He has made big-budget Hollywood films as well as art-house independent films; worked with above-the-title movie stars as well as unknowns; and directed adaptations as well original material, both of which were written by himself as well as other screenwriters. His versatility is also apparent with the genres which he chooses to film and his trades as a filmmaker behind the scenes. Traffic screenwriter and Syriana director Stephen Gaghan named Soderbergh "the Michael Jordan of filmmaking" for his ability to assume so many distinct roles in film production.
His films are, in almost every instance, distinct with atmosphere and tone. And while he seems to be enamoured of dialogue, frequently sharp and hip, Soderbergh's incorporation of score and montage are equally as prevalent in his story-telling. Even his light-hearted affairs, such as "Out of Sight" and "Ocean's 11," contain scenes where images and score are the dominant story-telling mechanisms, while films such as "Solaris" and "Traffic" are heavily layered in scenes absent of dialogue altogether. Cliff Martinez, a frequent collaborator with Soderbergh, composes many of the scores that provide Soderbergh with the thematic and sonic landscapes in which he inserts his characters.
But while Soderbergh's subject matter is highly varied, many of his films feature as a central theme the exploration of the act or moral consequences of lying. For example, the protagonists in two early films, King of the Hill and sex, lies, and videotape, are both pathological liars (one in training, one in recovery), while most of the characters in both Oceans films are con artists. Directing Spalding Gray in Gray's Anatomy after King of the Hill was a striking, related transition to a monologue by Gray, an actor who often commented that he was unable to "make anything up". Full Frontal is another film in this thread, where seemingly the fundamental dishonesty of the entire filmmaking process is exposed. More distantly, Soderbergh's interest in Cockney rhyming slang, as seen in The Limey and the Oceans films, may be seen as part of this theme, based on the conjectured origin of Cockney rhyming slang as a language game.
Contrary to Soderbergh being dubbed a stylistic chameleon by Anne Thompson of Premiere Magazine, Drew Morton has extensively researched Soderbergh's consistent aesthetic ties to the French New Wave.
Filmography
Filmography
Director
- Yes: 9012 Live (1985, documentary short)
- Access All Areas (1985, documentary short)
- Winston (1987, short)
- Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
- Kafka (1991)
- King of the Hill (1993)
- The Underneath (1995)
- Gray's Anatomy (1996, dramatized monologue)
- Schizopolis (1996)
- Out of Sight (1998)
- The Limey (1999)
- Erin Brockovich (2000)
- Traffic (2000)
- Ocean's Eleven (2001)
- Solaris (2002)
- Full Frontal (2002)
- K Street (2003, TV series)
- Equilibrium (2004, short segment of Eros)
- Ocean's Twelve (2004)
- Bubble (2005)
- Building No. 7 (2006, short)
- The Good German (2006)
- Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
- Che: Parts One and Two (2008)
- The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
- The Informant! (2009)
- And Everything Is Going Fine (2010, documentary)
- The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg (2011, unreleased)
- Contagion (2011)
- Haywire (2011)
- Magic Mike (2012)
- Side Effects (2013)
- Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Screenwriter
- 1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape
- 1993: King of the Hill
- 1995: The Underneath as Sam Lowry
- 1996: Schizopolis
- 1997: Nightwatch
- 2002: Solaris
- 2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"
Cinematographer
- 1996: Schizopolis
- 2000: Traffic – as Peter Andrews
- 2001: Ocean's Eleven – as Peter Andrews
- 2002: Full Frontal – as Peter Andrews
- 2002: Solaris – as Peter Andrews
- 2004: Ocean's Twelve – as Peter Andrews
- 2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"
- 2006: Bubble – as Peter Andrews
- 2006: The Good German – as Peter Andrews
- 2007: Ocean's Thirteen – as Peter Andrews
- 2008: Che – as Peter Andrews
- 2009: The Girlfriend Experience – as Peter Andrews
- 2009: The Informant! – as Peter Andrews
- 2011: Contagion – as Peter Andrews
- 2012: Haywire – as Peter Andrews
- 2012: Magic Mike - as Peter Andrews
Editor
- 1989: Sex, Lies, and Videotape
- 1991: Kafka
- 1993: King of the Hill
- 2002: Solaris – as Mary Ann Bernard
- 2004: Eros – the segment "Equilibrium"
- 2006: Bubble – as Mary Ann Bernard
- 2006: The Good German – as Mary Ann Bernard
- 2009: The Girlfriend Experience – as Mary Ann Bernard
- 2012: Haywire – as Mary Ann Bernard
- 2012: Magic Mike - as Mary Ann Bernard
Second unit director
- 2012: The Hunger Games
Producer
- 1994: Suture
- 1996: The Daytrippers
- 1998: Pleasantville
- 2002: Far from Heaven
- 2002: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
- 2002: Insomnia
- 2002: Welcome to Collinwood
- 2002: Naqoyqatsi
- 2004: Keane
- 2004: Criminal
- 2005: Syriana
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 2005: The Jacket
- 2005: Rumor Has It...
- 2006: Pu-239
- 2006: A Scanner Darkly
- 2007: I'm Not There
- 2007: Michael Clayton
- 2007: Wind Chill
- 2008: Tishomingo Blues [in limbo]
- 2009: Solitary Man
- 2011: We Need to Talk About Kevin
Screenwriter
- 1989: sex, lies, and videotape
- 1993: King of the Hill
- 1995: Underneath
- 1996: Schizopolis
- 1997: Nightwatch
- 2002: Solaris
- 2004: Eros - the segment Equilibrium
- 2006: Bubble
Cinematographer
- 1996: Schizopolis
- 2000: Traffic - as Peter Andrews"
- 2001: Ocean's Eleven - as Peter Andrews"
- 2002: Full Frontal - as Peter Andrews"
- 2002: Solaris - as Peter Andrews"
- 2004: Ocean's Twelve - as Peter Andrews"
- 2004: Eros - the segment Equilibrium
- 2006: Bubble - as Peter Andrews"
- 2006: The Good German - as Peter Andrews"
- 2007: Ocean's Thirteen - as Peter Andrews'
Editor
- 1989: sex, lies, and videotape
- 1991: Kafka
- 1993: King of the Hill
- 2002: Solaris - as Mary Ann Bernard"
- 2004: Eros - the segment Equilibrium
- 2006: Bubble - as Mary Ann Bernard"
- 2006: The Good German - as Mary Ann Bernard"
Producer
- 1994: Suture
- 1996: The Daytrippers
- 1998: Pleasantville
- 2002: Far from Heaven
- 2002: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
- 2002: Welcome to Collinwood
- 2002: Naqoyqatsi
- 2004: Keane
- 2004: Criminal
- 2005: Syriana
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 2005: The Jacket