Olivier Megaton

Olivier Megaton (born Olivier Fontana; 6 August 1965)[1] is a French director, writer, and editor best known for directing The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Colombiana, and Taken 2, and Taken 3.

Olivier Megaton
Olivier Megaton at Taken 3 Premiere in 2014
Born	Olivier Fontana (1965-08-06) 6 August 1965 Paris, France
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, editor
Years active	1996–present

Early life

Fontana was born in Paris, 20 years to the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and his choice of the artistic name, Megaton, was influenced by this. He grew up in a Paris banlieue, and after qualifying for a diploma in psychology, was active as a graphic artist and also adept in graffiti art. After meeting music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, he started working in films.[1][2][3][4] Fontana first started making shorts and video clips before finally directing feature films.[5]

He is of Italian descent.[6]

Career

Fontana has directed Exit, The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Taken 2, and Taken 3.[7] Transporter 3 and Taken 2 received scores of 36% and 21%, respectively, on the critic-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. He was chosen to direct Mathilda, the sequel to Léon, but expressed the opinion that the film was unlikely to be made.[8] He also served as a second unit director for the film Hitman. His trademark technique in film directing involves intentionally disorienting camerawork and editing.[9]

Aside from film making, Fontana is also a published author after his novel, entitled Le Facteur humain (The Human Factor), was released in 1998.[5]

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as
		Director	Writer	Editor	Second unit director
1996	Hard Head (short film)	Yes	No	No	No
1997	One Dance, One Song (TV series)	Yes	No	No	No
1998	No Happy End (short film)	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Tout morose	Yes	No	No	No
	Je ne veux pas être sage (short film)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
1999	Histoires d'objets (TV series)	Yes	No	No	No
	Chambre n° 13 (TV series)	Yes	No	No	No
2000	Exit	Yes	No	No	No
2001	Les redoutables (TV series)	Yes	No	No	No
2002	The Red Siren	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Chrysalis (short film documentary)	Yes	Yes	No	No
2006	Sable noir (TV series)	Yes	Yes	No	No
2007	Angie (short film)	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Hitman	No	No	No	Yes
2008	Transporter 3	Yes	No	No	Yes
2011	Colombiana	Yes	No	No	No
2012	Taken 2	Yes	No	No	No
2015	Taken 3	Yes	No	No	No
2020	The Last Days of American Crime	Yes	No	No	No

References

1. "Olivier Megaton". Biographies et Filmographies. CinémaPassion. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010. Olivier Megaton est né le 6 août 1965, soit vingt ans jour pour jour après la première explosion nucléaire à Hiroshima. D'où son pseudonyme ... alors que son vrai nom est Fontana. Son enfance se déroule en banlieue parisienne, marquée par un goût prononcé pour le dessin. / Olivier Megaton was born August 6, 1965, twenty years to the day after the first nuclear explosion in Hiroshima. Hence his nickname ... while his real name is Fontana. He grew up in the Paris suburbs, marked by a pronounced taste for drawing.
2. "Olivier Megaton – Biographie". Toutlecine.com. Hi-Pi / L’Odyssée Interactive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
3. "Olivier Megaton – Biographie détaillée". AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
4. "Olivier Megaton halts at Eicar". News. EICAR. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
5. Rege, Philippe (2010). Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Volume 1. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 696. ISBN 9780810861374.
6. "Interview of Olivier Megaton : know better the director". www.oliviermegaton.com. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
7. Bebealien (30 September 2009). "Interview Olivier Megaton – La grosse interview". Bebealien's world – Le blog qui aime le cinéma. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
8. Holtreman, Vic (19 August 2010). "Exclusive: Olivier Megaton Says Sequel to 'The Professional' Unlikely". Screen Rant. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
9. "Olivier Megaton". IMDb. Retrieved 7 August 2018.

External links

• Olivier Megaton Official Website
• Olivier Megaton on IMDb