Irvin Kershner
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| Irvin Kershner | |
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 Director Irvin Kershner
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| Born | April 29, 1923 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Irvin Kershner (born April 29, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is an American director and sometimes actor. He attended the University of Southern California and began his career filming documentaries. Although he was the director of several well-received feature films such as The Eyes of Laura Mars, as well as television films and series, Kershner is best known as the director of the hit 1980 film, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the first sequel to the wildly successful Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). "Kersh," as he was called by friends, later directed the unofficial James Bond adventure Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2.
Post-Empire, "Kersh" has also directed several episodes of the television series, seaQuest DSV, and he made his debut as an actor in the controversial 1988 Martin Scorsese film, The Last Temptation of Christ, playing Zebedee, the father of the apostles James and John.
Currently, Irvin Kershner is a faculty member at the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.
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[edit] Quotes
- "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me? I remember he said, 'Well, because you know everything a Hollywood director is supposed to know, but you're not Hollywood.' I liked that." -Explaining why George Lucas chose him to direct The Empire Strikes Back.
- "I like to fill up the frame with the [characters'] faces. There's nothing more interesting than the landscape of the human face."
- "I've been a student of Christianity. I've been interested in the historical basis of the Moslem religion. I studied Buddhism. I don't think of myself as a Jew except by birth, as I don't follow the customs. I'm a Jew because other people consider me so. My pride is in being international."[1]
- "I'm afraid of patriotism. The world has gotten very small and cosmic awareness makes patriotism seem an adolescent notion, which is why immature minds are easily manipulated by it. I really believe that patriotism in its generally accepted sense means accepting social prejudices, and the fewer we have of them the freer we shall be."[2]
[edit] Filmography
- Stakeout on Dope Street (1958)
- The Young Captives (1959)
- Face in the Rain (1963)
- The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964)
- A Fine Madness (1966)
- Loving (1970)
- Up the Sandbox (1972)
- S*P*Y*S (1974)
- The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
- Raid on Entebbe (1977)
- The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Never Say Never Again (1983)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (Actor) 1988)
- RoboCop 2 (1990)
[edit] References
- ^ Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back by Alan Arnold (1980, Sphere Books) p.238.
- ^ Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back by Alan Arnold (1980, Sphere Books) p.238.
[edit] External link
| Irvin Kershner | |
|---|---|
| 1950s | Stakeout on Dope Street | The Young Captives |
| 1960s | Hoodlum Priest | Face in the Rain | The Luck of Ginger Coffey | A Fine Madness | The Flim-Flam Man |
| 1970s | Loving | Up the Sandbox | S*P*Y*S | The Return of a Man Called Horse | Eyes of Laura Mars |
| 1980s | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back | Never Say Never Again |
| 1990s | RoboCop 2 |
| Productions | American Perfekt (1999) |
| Television | "Naked City" (1958 - 1963) | "The Rebel (1959-1961) | "Cain's Hundred" (1961-1962) | "Ben Casey" (1961-1966) | "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1963 - 1965) | Raid on Entebbe (1977) | "Amazing Stories" (1985 - 1987) | SeaQuest DSV (1993) |
