Marcus Nispel
Birth date26 May 1963 (age 63)[1]
Birth placeFrankfurt, West Germany
OccupationFilm director, producer
Years active1990–2021

Marcus Nispel (born 26 May 1963)[1] is a retired German film director and producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). He has also directed various television commercials and music videos, including C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" and "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...", Janet Jackson's "Runaway", Fugees' "Ready or Not", and Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life".

Early life and career

Nispel was born on 26 May 1963[1] in Frankfurt.[2] He grew up near McNair Barracks and was able to learn English from hanging out with children of soldiers.[3] At the age of 15, he got a job at a boutique called Hessler and Kehrer. When he had his first interview at an American ad agency, he was asked what do Oreos mean, and he realized the importance of understanding American culture, and how working in advertising helped him understand that.[4][5] He received a Fulbright Scholarship at the age of 20 and attended Brooklyn College and New York Institute of Technology. He was also an art director for Young & Rubicam. He started a production company, Portfolio Artists Network which later merged with RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) Black Dog Films to form Portfolio/Black Dog. He worked at RSA as a commercial director for several years, resigning in 2000.

Feature career

Nispel was set to make his feature directorial debut with End of Days, but stepped down before shooting due to issues with the budget.[6] In 2002, Nispel signed on to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.[7] He was initially opposed to remaking the film, but Daniel Pearl, the cinematographer for the original film and regular collaborator with Nispel, convinced him to direct. The film was released on October 17, 2003 to negative reviews but was financially successful, grossing $107 million worldwide.

Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s, Nispel would direct several more remakes of prominent genre films, such as Friday the 13th (reuniting him with Platinum Dunes, who made Texas Chainsaw) and Conan the Barbarian. In 2015, Nispel directed the ghost exorcism film Exeter, formerly titled Backmask.[8]

Unrealized projects

Personal life

He is married to singer/songwriter/commercial and music video editor Dyan Humes-Nispel who has written songs for various artists including Whitney Houston. They have two children.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorProducerNotes
2003The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2004FrankensteinTV movie
2007Pathfinder
2009Friday the 13th
2011Conan the Barbarian
2015ExeterAlso story writer

Trailer

Documentary appearances

Videography

[21] [22]

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995

Big Chair”

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2006

References

  1. ^ "Marcus Nispel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. ^ Nispel, Marcus (10 April 2013). "Marcus Nispel: "Directing Is a Mixture of Symphony and Jazz"". My First Shoot. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  3. ^ Patrizio, Andy (March 25, 2004). "An Interview with Marcus Nispel". IGN. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "Marcus Nispel". Adweek. October 10, 2003. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "Horror Movies". Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  6. ^ Cox, Dan & Carver, Benedict (August 10, 1998). "World according to Nispel". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Harris, Dana (May 7, 2002). "Nispel to direct remake of 'Chainsaw Massacre'". Variety. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Awful Trailer for 'F13' and 'Chainsaw' Director's 'Exeter' - Bloody Disgusting". Bloody-disgusting.com. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. ^ Petrikin, Chris (April 22, 1997). "Cruise talks Spector pic". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  10. ^ Cox, Dan (June 25, 1997). "'S.W.A.T.' regroups". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  11. ^ "Americanized remake of Full Contact by a German director!!!". Ain't It Cool News. October 29, 1997. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  12. ^ Carver, Benedict (July 6, 1998). "Great 'Days' for Nispel". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  13. ^ Harris, Dana (October 15, 2003). "'Expendables' Nispel's next plunge". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (November 3, 2003). "'Chainsaw' helmer feeds his 'Need'". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Ball, Ryan (June 21, 2005). "McGee's Alice Gets Director, Star". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  16. ^ McNary, Dave (April 30, 2009). "Marcus Nispel takes a 'Voyage'". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  17. ^ Kit, Borys (January 13, 2012). "'Conan' Director Marcus Nispel Takes On Horror-Action Movie 'Hack/Slash' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  18. ^ McNary, Dave (April 30, 2015). "CANNES: Marcus Nispel Boards Horror-Thriller 'Stowaway'". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  19. ^ LaPorte, Nicole (2 May 2004). "Nispel takes an 'Evil' turn". Variety. Archived 4 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ^ "Marcus Nispel". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  21. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Marcus Nispel technician videography". Music Video DataBase. Archived September 21, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  22. ^ Nispel, Marcus. "complex.com - 15 most accomplished music video directors - Marcus Nispel". Music Video. Retrieved 25 August 2011.