Quick Facts
Biography
Andrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM (born 1 December 1966) is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for the 2005 production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Shooting took place in New Zealand, primarily in and around Auckland, but also in South Island where much of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed. He also worked on the movies Batman Forever and Batman & Robin as a visual effects supervisor.
He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Personal life
Adamson's parents were a homemaker and a computer engineer. Born in New Zealand, Adamson moved to Papua New Guinea with his parents aged eleven, and he returned to Auckland aged eighteen. When twenty-four, he moved to San Francisco, and divided time between there and Los Angeles. Since making the Narnia films, he has settled back in New Zealand. Adamson has two daughters, Isabelle and Sylvie.
Career
Adamson wanted to be an architect, but missed a university enrollment deadline because of a car accident. Andrew Adamson was recruited by Pacific Data Images to go to work in the USA. The company opened an office in the California city of Los Angeles. There he served as a technical director in the following movies: Toys (1992), starring Robin Williams, and Angels in the Outfield (1994), starring Danny Glover. Previously Andrew specialised in ads but preferred the idea of telling a story in longer format. Andrew served as visual effects supervisor in the 1995 film Batman Forever, A Time to Kill (1996), and Batman & Robin (1997).
Shrek
Adamson directed Shrek (the first in the series) with a moderate budget of US$60 million in 2001. However the film became a worldwide success taking in nearly $500 million in the box office. The film grossed $42,347,760 in the opening week-end. It grossed $267,665,011 in the US and Canada, and foreign totals of $216,744,207 for a worldwide total of $484,409,218. The film featured famous Hollywood actors such as Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz.
The next film in the series Shrek 2 (2004) had a big Hollywood budget of around $150 million and was even a bigger success than the first film taking in more than $900 million worldwide. The film opened at $108,037,878, one of the highest openings ever. In the US and Canada the film went on to gross $441,226,247 and a foreign total of $478,612,511 for a worldwide total of $919,838,758. The film is currently the ninth top grossing worldwide film ever according to website box office tracker Box Office Mojo.
Adamson not only directed this film but also wrote the story. However, he did not direct the next film in the series, Shrek The Third, because he had been contracted by Walden Media to work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Instead the film was co-directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui while Adamson served as executive producer. The script of the film was written by J. David Stem and Joe Stillman. The third film was still very successful taking in more than $795 million worldwide with a budget of no more than $160 million.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Adamson achieved commercial success and gained worldwide attention when he co-produced, co-wrote and directed The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The film is based on the book by C.S. Lewis of the same name and won various awards, gained critical praise and was a box office success becoming the third highest-grossing film worldwide of 2005 according to Box Office Mojo. The film opened in the US and Canada with totals of higher than $65million and the film ended up with a worldwide gross of $744,783,957 with a budget of $180 million according to Box Office Mojo.
He returned as director to the next Narnia film: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian which had a worldwide release in May 2008 and grossed over $419 million at the box office. Adamson returned as producer of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader released in Australia on 9 December 2010, and in the United States and UK on 10 December the same year. At the moment though, 20th Century Fox and Walden Media still hold the rights to the series, and they currently retain the option to make The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair in the future. However, 20th Century Fox and Walden Media decided to produce The Magician's Nephew as the next Narnia film instead of The Silver Chair. But in October 2011, Douglas Gresham confirmed that Walden Media's contract with the C. S. Lewis estate had expired, and any production of a future film was on hold indefinitely.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Writer | Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Toys | No | No | No | Yes | Technical director |
| 1993 | Heart and Souls | No | No | No | Yes | Animation supervisor |
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | No | No | No | Yes | Visual effects supervisor |
| 1995 | Batman Forever | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | No | No | No | Yes | Digital effects supervisor |
| A Time to Kill | No | No | No | Yes | Visual effects supervisor | |
| 1997 | Batman & Robin | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2000 | Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes | No | No | No | Yes | Grip |
| 2001 | Shrek | Yes | No | No | Yes | Voice of Duloc Mascot, Songwriter: Merry Men |
| Pâté | No | No | No | Yes | Grip; short film | |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | Yes | No | Story | Yes | Voice of Capitan of the Guards, Songwriter: Fairy Godmother's Song |
| 2005 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Yes | Executive | Yes | No | |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | No | Executive | Story | Yes | Additional screenplay material |
| 2008 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Ballast | No | Executive | No | No | ||
| 2010 | Shrek Forever After | No | Executive | No | No | |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2011 | Puss in Boots | No | Executive | No | No | |
| 2012 | Mr. Pip | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Mirror Mirror | No | No | No | Yes | Very special thanks | |
| 2014 | The Dark Horse | No | No | No | Yes | Special thanks |
| TBA | Shrek 5 | No | Executive | No | No | |
| Curious George | Yes | Executive | Yes | No | ||
| Beasts of Burden | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| Inherit the Earth | Yes | TBA | TBA | No | ||
| Truckers | No | Yes | No | No |
Worldwide Gross
| Year | Title | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Shrek | $484,409,218 |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | $919,838,758 |
| 2005 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | $744,783,957 |
| 2007 | Shrek The Third | $797,641,069 |
| 2008 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | $419,651,413 |
| Ballast | $8,572 | |
| 2010 | Shrek Forever After | $729,717,930 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | $414,686,950 | |
| 2011 | Puss in Boots | $554,709,226 |
| 2012 | Mr. Pip | $1,714 |
| Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away | $32,658,778 |
Awards
Adamson has directed films which have won the following Major Film Awards (film order by date of release); Reference from IMDb
Shrek (2001)
- Academy Awards = Shrek won 'Best Animated Feature
- British Academy Awards = Shrek won 'Best Adapted Screenplay
- L.A. Film Critics Association = Shrek won Best Animation
- National Board of Review = Shrek won Best Animated Feature
Shrek 2 (2004)
- BAFTA Awards = Shrek 2 won Kids Choice
- Holiday Film Award = Shrek 2 won Animation of the Year
- People's Choice Awards, USA = Shrek 2 won Favorite Animated Movie, Favorite Animated Movie Star, Favorite Movie Comedy, Favorite Movie Villain and Favorite Sequel
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
- Oscar = The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Achievement in Makeup
- Saturn Award = The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Costume, Best Makeup and Best DVD Special Edition Release
- BAFTA Film Award = The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Makeup/Hair
- CRITICS Choice Award = The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Family Film(Live Action)