Andrew Niccol

Birthday: 10 June 1964, Paraparaumu, New Zealand

New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol began his career in London, successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds." He interested high-powered producer Scott Rudin in his The Truman Show (1998) script, but Rudin was not willing to gamble on a rookie director, particularly when Jim Carrey came aboard, swelling the budget to about $60 million. Peter Weir helmed instead, bringing a complementary vision which lightened the material somewhat, and the clever satire, which followed a cheerful insurance man (Carrey) as he slowly realizes that all the people in his life are just actors in a TV show, opened to critical raves. Since the deal for "Truman" came together slowly, Niccol actually made his screenwriting and directing debut with Gattaca (1997) (1997), a superb, well-acted sci-fi movie that raised issues of genetic engineering in a totalitarian environment. Show less «

America is certainly starting to look outward at last. The impact of its actions and the world's att...Show more »

America is certainly starting to look outward at last. The impact of its actions and the world's attitude towards them is being thrown in its face. My film is only based on what I've torn from the newspaper headlines. It's just that maybe I read more closely or widely than most. Show less «

"My biggest mistake, going back to The Truman Show (1998), was that I wrote my most expensive film, ...Show more »

"My biggest mistake, going back to The Truman Show (1998), was that I wrote my most expensive film, first. And you just shouldn't do that. I remember talking to the studio head at the time and she said, "There's no way for a first film that we'll give you a budget of $80 million. But we would give you $20 million". So I went off and wrote Gattaca (1997) and made sure it was $20 million. So they let me make it". Show less «

Hollywood's only allegiance these days is to money. If they think there's cash to be made by making ...Show more »

Hollywood's only allegiance these days is to money. If they think there's cash to be made by making films with a conscience, then you might see a revival of that kind of film-making. Otherwise, forget it. Show less «