Chris Weitz
Birthdate: Nov 30, 1969
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Chris Weitz (birthname: Christopher John Weitz) is a screenwriter, director, and producer with credits in the Star Wars and Twilight Saga franchises, horror movies, and Disney projects ranging from Cinderella to Pinocchio. Weitz’s first feature credit was as co-writer (with brother Paul and co-writer Todd Alcott) of DreamWorks Animation’s original animated feature, Antz (1998), directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, with the voices of Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Jane Curtin, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Mazursky, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, and Christopher Walken, and grossing $172 million.
Weitz was a producer on the smash hit comedy, American Pie (1999), as well as co-directing with brother Paul (albeit without credit), starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, and Eugene Levy, earning an astounding $235.5 million global gross (on $11 million costs), and then Weitz gained his second screenwriting credit for the sequel, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), starring Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson, Larry Miller, and John Ales, and under-performing at the box office with a $166 million return for Universal Pictures.
Weitz had his first directing credit (with co-director and brother Paul) on the Chris Rock comedy vehicle, Down to Earth (2001), a remake of the 1938 play and 1978 film version of Heaven Can Wait, with Regina King, Mark Addy, Eugene Levy, Frankie Faison, Jennifer Coolidge, and Chazz Palminteri, grossing $71 million (against $30 million costs) for Paramount Pictures.
Chris Weitz enjoyed his greatest success as co-director/writer with the acclaimed comedy-drama version of the 1998 Nick Hornby novel About a Boy (2002), which he co-directed and co-wrote with brother Paul (and with co-writer Peter Hedges). The film starred Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, and Nicholas Hoult, earned Weitz an Oscar nomination for best-adapted screenplay, and grossed a strong $130.5 million globally.
Weitz landed his first solo feature credit as director-writer with the disappointing The Golden Compass (2007), based on Philip Pullman’s novel, Northern Lights, and starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Ian McKellan, Ian McShane, Kathy Bates, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Daniel Craig, and grossing an unprofitable $372 million for New Line Cinema.
Weitz took over the direction of Summit Entertainment’s highly lucrative second entry in the Twilight Saga, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), starring Kristin Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick, Michael Sheen, and Dakota Fanning, and delivering major returns to the score of $711 million globally. Weitz followed as director-producer with one of his most prestigious successes for Summit Entertainment with the East L.A. drama, A Better Life (2011), starring Oscar-nomination Demian Bichir, Dolores Heredia, and Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo.
Chris Weitz next turned to classical fantasy as the screenwriter of Disney’s live-action version of Charles Perrault’s 1697 tale, Cinderella (2015), starring Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter, and which earned a robust $540.5 million after premiering at the Berlin Film Festival. Weitz followed as screenwriter (sharing credit with Tony Gilroy) of Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), an immediate prequel to Star Wars (1977), starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker under Gareth Edwards’ direction, and grossing Star Wars-worthy box office with $1.06 billion (against a stratospheric $265 million costs).
Weitz co-wrote (with credited writer J. Mills Goodloe) 20th Century Fox’s survival movie based on Charles Martin’s 2011 novel, The Mountain Between Us (2017), starring Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Dermot Mulroney, and Beau Bridges, and grossing a disappointing $63 million. Weitz returned to the director’s chair for the Nazi-themed thriller, Operation Finale (2018), starring Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley, Melanie Laurent, Lior Raz, Nick Kroll, and Haley Lu Richardson, delivering good reviews and over $17 million in returns for MGM, Annapurna Pictures, and Netflix.
Chris Weitz collaborated as screenwriter and producer on the Robert Zemeckis-directed live-action remake of Pinocchio (2022), based on Carlo Collodi’s 1883 tale and co-starring Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco, Cynthia Erivo, and Luke Evans. Weitz co-wrote the sci-fi adventure, The Creator (2023), with director/producer Gareth Edwards, starring John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, and Allison Janney, and which returned disappointing box office ($104.3 million against $80 million costs) for 20th Century Studios.
Weitz made his first feature as director/writer/producer with Columbia Pictures/Blumhouse Productions/Sony Pictures Released a sci-fi horror movie about an insidious AI smart home device, Afraid (2024), starring John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, and Keith Carradine.
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Personal Details
Chris Weitz was born and raised in New York City by Susan Kohner (actor) and John Weitz (novelist, and menswear designer). Weitz has an older brother, filmmaker Paul Weitz. Weitz’s maternal grandparents are legendary talent agent Paul Kohner and actor Lupita Tovar. Weitz’s paternal grandparents escaped Germany as the Nazis took over the country. Weitz attended the London boarding school, St. Paul’s School. Weitz attended and graduated from Trinity College in Cambridge. Weitz has been married to Mercedes Martinez. Weitz’s height is 6’½ ”.
Known For
About a Boy
(2002)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
(2005)
The Golden Compass
(2007)
Filmography
director
actor
Upcoming (1)
- 2021 |
Previous (4)
- 2020 |
- 2018 | Operation FinaleasYes
Operation Finale
A team of secret agents set out to track down the Nazi officer who masterminded the Holocaust.
- 2017 | The Mountain Between UsasNo
The Mountain Between Us
Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilde...
- 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryasWriter
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction.
