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Director

Steven Soderbergh

Bio

STEVEN SODERBERGH won an Academy Award® for Best Director for his 2000 ensemble drama "Traffic." He had earned dual Best Director Oscar® nominations that year, also receiving one for "Erin Brockovich," starring Julia Roberts in her Oscar®-winning performance. Soderbergh had earlier gained an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay for "sex, lies, and videotape," which marked his feature film directorial debut. The film also won the Palme d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

Among Soderbergh's other film directing credits are the two-part biopic "Che," the "Ocean's" trilogy, "The Good German," "Bubble," "Solaris," "Full Frontal," "The Limey," "Out of Sight," "Gray's Anatomy," "Schizopolis," "The Underneath," "King of the Hill" and "Kafka." He most recently directed "The Girlfriend Experience."

He also wrote, directed, photographed and edited "Equilibrium," starring Alan Arkin, Robert Downey Jr. and Ele Keats, which was one of a trio of short eroticism-themed films released as "Eros." Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-wai directed the other two segments. The film had its premiere at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.

In addition, Soderbergh has produced or executive produced a wide range of features. Most recently he produced "Solitary Man," directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and executive produced "I'm Not There," directed by Todd Haynes and starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw; "Michael Clayton," directed by Tony Gilroy and starring George Clooney; and the documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," directed by Marina Zenovich.

His other producer or executive producer credits include Gregory Jacobs' films "Wind Chill" and "Criminal"; George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck." and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"; "A Scanner Darkly," directed by Richard Linklater; "Rumor Has It..." directed by Rob Reiner; "Syriana," directed by Stephen Gaghan; Lodge Kerrigan's "Keane," which played at the Telluride, Toronto and New York Film Festivals; John Maybury's "The Jacket"; "Far From Heaven," directed by Todd Haynes; "Insomnia," directed by Christopher Nolan; Anthony and Joseph Russo's "Welcome to Collinwood"; Gary Ross' "Pleasantville"; and Greg Mottola's "The Daytrippers."

Director- Job Description

The principal creative artist on a movie set. A director is usually (but not always) the driving artistic source behind the filming process, and communicates to actors the way that he/she would like a particular scene played. A director's duties might also include casting, script editing, shot selection, shot composition, and editing. Typically, a director has complete artistic control over all aspects of the movie, but it is not uncommon for the director to be bound by agreements with either a producer or a studio. In some large productions, a director will delegate less important scenes to a second unit director 2UD.