Steven Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film director of Swedish descent. A film buff at an early age, Soderbergh decided to head to Los Angeles to break into the film industry which became a hard endeavor. He relocated back home when he concocted the idea for Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) which he both wrote and directed, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and became a worldwide commercial success. He was at the time the youngest ever filmmaker to receive that award.
In 2001 he received an Academy Award for Best Director for Traffic, while another of his films Erin Brockovich featuring Julia Roberts, was also nominated in the same category. His subsequent two films Ocean's Eleven and Full Frontal, also had a role for Roberts. Other regular actors to work with Soderbergh are Luis Guzmán, Don Cheadle, Catherine Keener, Matt Damon and George Clooney, with whom he co-owns the production company Section Eight Productions that produced films including Far From Heaven, Insomnia and Clooney's directing debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck.
Soderbergh often works as his own director of photography under the alias of Peter Andrews.
In March 2002, Soderbergh was elected First Vice President of the Directors Guild of America.
Steven Soderbergh is a fan of the rock band, Guided by Voices, and its frontman, Robert Pollard. Soderbergh wrote the foreword to the book, Guided By Voices: A Brief History, Twenty-one Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll, written by James Greer.
Married to Jules Asner.
Filmography
- Bubble (2005)
- Ocean's Twelve (2004)
- Eros (2004) - the segment Equilibrium
- Full Frontal (2002)
- Solaris (2002)
- Ocean's Eleven (2001)
- Traffic (2000)
- Erin Brockovich (2000)
- The Limey (1999)
- Out of Sight (1998)
- Schizopolis (1996)
- Gray's Anatomy (1996)
- Underneath (1995)
- King of the Hill (1993)
- Kafka (1991)
- Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
External links
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
- Steven Soderbergh unofficial fansite
- Steven Soderbergh at IMDb
- In your dreams - The Guardian, February 22, 2003. In-depth interview and profile.