Editing Jean-Pierre Jeunet

{{Short description|French filmmaker}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Jean-Pierre Jeunet München 2014 (cropped).JPG
| caption = Jeunet in 2014
| name = Jean-Pierre Jeunet
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1953|9|3}}
| birth_place = [[Roanne]], [[Loire (department)|Loire]], France
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| occupation = Film director, screenwriter, film producer, television director
|spouse = Liza Sullivan
| years_active = 1978–present
}}

'''Jean-Pierre Jeunet''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃ pjɛʁ ʒœnɛ|lang}}; born 3 September 1953) is a French film director and screenwriter. His films combine fantasy, realism, and science fiction to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations.

Jeunet debuted as a director with the acclaimed 1991 black comedy ''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]],'' collaborating with [[Marc Caro]].  Jeunet then co-wrote and -directed with Caro again on ''[[The City of Lost Children]]'' (1995). His work with science fiction and horror led him to direct ''[[Alien Resurrection]]'' (1997), the fourth film in the [[Alien (franchise)|''Alien'' film series]] and his first and thus far only experience with an American film. In 2001, Jeunet achieved his biggest success with the release of ''[[Amélie]]'', which won him international acclaim; the film reached [[BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/388cuJ-dR4I Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180927064934/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=388cuJ-dR4I Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite video|publisher=[[YouTube]]|title=Jean-Pierre Jeunet: A Life In Pictures|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=388cuJ-dR4I}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Jeunet is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important directors in modern French cinema, and his critical and commercial success has earned him two [[Academy Award]] nominations.

==Life and career==
Jean-Pierre Jeunet was born in [[Roanne]], France.<ref>{{cite book|title=501 Movie Directors|editor-first=Steven Jay|editor-last=Schneider|publisher=Cassell Illustrated|location=London|year=2007|page=549|isbn=9781844035731|oclc=1347156402}}</ref> He bought his first camera at the age of 17 and made short films while studying animation at Cinémation Studios. He befriended [[Marc Caro]], a designer and comic book artist who became his longtime collaborator and co-director. They met at an animation festival in Annecy in the 1970s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Jean-Pierre Jeunet|last=Ezra|first=Elizabeth|publisher=Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data|year=2008|location=Chicago}}</ref>

Together, Jeunet and Caro directed award-winning animations. Their first live-action film was ''The Bunker of the Last Gunshots'' (1981), a short film about soldiers in a bleak futuristic world. Jeunet also directed numerous advertisements and music videos, such as [[Jean-Michel Jarre]]'s ''[[Zoolook]]'' (together with Caro).{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

Jeunet's films often resonate with the late twentieth-century French film movement ''[[cinéma du look]]'' and allude to themes and aesthetics involving [[German expressionist cinema|German expressionism]], French poetic realism, and the [[French New Wave]].<ref name=":0" />

Jeunet and Caro's first feature film was ''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]]'' (1991), a melancholy [[black comedy|comedy]] set in a [[famine]]-plagued post-apocalyptic world, in which an apartment building above a delicatessen is ruled by a butcher who kills people in order to feed his tenants.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CEEDF1538F936A35753C1A967958260|title=Review/Film Festival; Please, How Many Lentils for Your Musical Saw?|author-link=Janet Maslin|author=Maslin, Janet|date=5 October 1991}}</ref>

They next made ''[[The City of Lost Children]]'' (1995), a dark, multi-layered [[fantasy film]] about a mad scientist who steals children's dreams so that he can live indefinitely.<ref>{{cite web|title=FILM REVIEW;Out of the Fever Dreams of a Child|author-link=Stephen Holden|author=Holden, Stephen|date=15 December 1995|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B02E0DD1739F936A25751C1A963958260|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The success of ''The City of Lost Children'' led to an invitation to direct the fourth film in the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' series, ''[[Alien Resurrection]]'' (1997).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9400EED6163AF935A15752C1A961958260|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=FILM REVIEW; Ripley, Believe It or Not, Has a Secret, and It's Not Pretty|author=Maslin, Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|date=26 November 1997}}</ref> This is where Jeunet and Caro ended up going their separate ways, as Jeunet believed this to be an amazing opportunity whereas Caro was not interested in working on a big-budget Hollywood movie on which he would lack creative control. Caro ended up assisting for a few weeks with costumes and set design, but then he decided to start a solo career in illustration and computer graphics.<ref name=":0" />

Jeunet directed ''[[Amélie]]'' (2001), the story of a woman who takes pleasure in doing good deeds but has trouble finding love herself, which starred [[Audrey Tautou]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Film; Going Sweet and Sentimental Has Its Rewards|first=Daniel|last=Zalewski|date=28 October 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/28/movies/film-going-sweet-and-sentimental-has-its-rewards.html|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> ''Amélie'' was a huge critical and commercial success worldwide and was nominated for several [[Academy Awards]]. For his work on the film, Jeunet won a [[European Film Awards|European Film Award]] for Best Director.<ref>{{cite web |title=European Film Awards, 2001, The Winners |url=https://members.europeanfilmacademy.org/European-Film-Awards-Winners-2001.72.0.html |website=European Film Academy |access-date=23 January 2023}}</ref>

In 2004, Jeunet released ''[[A Very Long Engagement]]'', an adaptation of the novel by [[Sébastien Japrisot]].  The film, starring Audrey Tautou and [[Jodie Foster]], chronicled a woman's search for her missing lover after [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/26/movies/26enga.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=A Love That Won't Surrender to War, Death and Oblivion|author-link=Manohla Dargis|author=Dargis, Manohla|date=26 November 2004}}</ref>

In 2005 Jean-Pierre Jeunet was involved in the creation of a detailed history project about the life of French aviator [[Louis Blériot]]. After a year Jeunet felt the movie was too close in historic timeline to ''A Very Long Engagement'' and the project was abandoned.<ref>{{citation |url=https://archive.org/details/ASG-Bleriot-2025|title=Lit 18: "Blériot!" (2025)|publisher=Internet Archive|date=11 February 2025|access-date=12 February 2025}}</ref>

In 2009, he released ''[[Micmacs (film)|Micmacs]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=An Eye for Detail, an Imagination at Play|first=Mekado|last=Murphy|date=21 May 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/movies/23micmacs.html|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> which is about a man and his friends who come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.<ref>{{Citation|last=Jeunet|first=Jean-Pierre|title=Micmacs|date=2010-06-11|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149361/|access-date=2016-07-01}}</ref>

Jeunet has also directed numerous commercials, including a 2'25" film for [[Chanel N° 5]] featuring his frequent collaborator Audrey Tautou.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

In 2013, Jeunet released ''[[The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet]]'', an adaptation of [[Reif Larsen]]'s book ''[[The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet]]'' that starred Kyle Catlett.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-the-young-and-prodigious-t-s-spivet-1200677021/|title=Film Review: 'The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet'|last=Weissberg|first=Jay|date=2013-09-28|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-04-21}}</ref>

In 2016, Jeunet and Romain Segaud co-directed the three-minute stop-motion animation film ''Deux escargots s'en vont'', based on a poem by [[Jacques Prévert]].

Since his last release, Jeunet has tried to get other projects funded but has found it impossible to find investors willing to take a risk on his quirky films. He stated in 2019 that he may go to Netflix "as a last resort",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aguilar |first1=Carlos |title=Jean-Pierre Jeunet Is Making an 'Amelie' Mockumentary and a Sci-Fi Animated Feature — Exclusive |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/05/jean-pierre-jeunet-amelie-mockumentary-1202131545/#! |access-date=14 December 2019 |work=IndieWire |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC. |date=6 May 2019}}</ref> and indeed his next film, ''[[Bigbug]]'', was released by the streaming video company in 2022.

==Filmography==
'''Short film'''
{| class="wikitable"
|- 
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Producer
! Notes
|-
| 1983
| ''No Rest for Billy Brakko (Pas de repos pour Billy Brakko)''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}
| Also editor
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Things I Like, Things I Don't Like]] (Foutaises)''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}
| Also editor
|-
| 2016
| ''Deux escargots s'en vont''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| Co-directed with Romain Segaud
|-
|}

'''Feature film'''
{| class="wikitable"
|- 
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Producer
! Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]]''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}
|rowspan=2|Co-directed with [[Marc Caro]]
|-
| 1995
| ''[[The City of Lost Children]] (La Cité des enfants perdus)''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Alien Resurrection]]''
| {{Yes}}
| {{No}}
| {{No}}
| 
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Amélie]]''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Partial|Story}}
| {{No}}
| 
|-
| 2004
| ''[[A Very Long Engagement]] (Un long dimanche de fiançailles)''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| 
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Micmacs (film)|Micmacs]] (MicMacs à tire-larigot)''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| 
|-
| 2013
| ''[[The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet]]''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{Partial|Executive}}
| 
|-
| 2022
| ''[[Bigbug]]''
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| {{Yes}}
| 
|-
|}

'''Music video'''
* 1984 : ''La Fille aux bas nylon'' by [[Julien Clerc]]
* 1985 : ''Zoolook'' by [[Jean-Michel Jarre]], with [[Marc Caro]]
* 1987 : ''{{Interlanguage link|Tombé pour la France|fr|Tombé pour la France (chanson)}}''
* 1987 : ''Hélène'' by Julien Clerc
* 1988 : ''Souvenez-vous de nous'' by {{Interlanguage link|Claudia Phillips|fr}}
* 1989 : ''Cache ta joie'' by Claudia Phillips
* 1991 : ''L'Autre Joue'' by [[Lio (singer)|Lio]]
* 2017: ''Pourvu'' by [[Gauvain Sers]]

'''Appearances'''
* 1981 : ''Le Bunker de la dernière rafale''
* 1983 : ''Pas de repos pour Billy Brakko''
* 2015 : [[Institut Lumière]] remake, by [[Martin Scorsese]] (short film)

==Awards and nominations==
'''Academy Awards'''
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Category
! Title
! Result
|-
|rowspan=2| 2001
| [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
|rowspan=2| ''Amélie''
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| {{nom}}
|}

'''César Awards'''
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Category
! Title
! Result
|-
| 1981
|rowspan=2| [[César Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short]]
| ''Le Manège''
| {{won}}
|-
| 1991
| ''Foutaises''
| {{won}}
|-
|rowspan=2| 1992
| [[César Award for Best Debut|Best Debut]]
|rowspan=2| ''Delicatessen''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[César Award for Best Writing|Best Writing]]
| {{won}}
|-
|rowspan=3| 2001
| [[César Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
|rowspan=3| ''Amélie''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[César Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Writing
| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=3| 2004
| Best Film
|rowspan=3| ''A Very Long Engagement''
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Director
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Writing
| {{nom}}
|}

'''European Film Awards'''
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Category
! Title
! Result
|-
| 1991
|rowspan=2| [[European Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''Delicatessen''
| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=3| 2001
|rowspan=3| ''Amélie''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[European Film Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[European Film Academy People's Choice Award for Best European Film|Best European Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| 2005
| Best Director
| ''A Very Long Engagement''
| {{nom}}
|}

'''Edgar Awards'''
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Category
! Title
! Result
|-
| 2005
| Best Scenery
| ''Amélie''
| {{won}}
|}


'''Awards and nominations received by Jeunet's films'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="2"|Academy Awards
!colspan="2"|BAFTA Awards
!colspan="2"|Golden Globe Awards
!colspan="2"|César Awards
|-
!Nominations
!Wins
!Nominations
!Wins
!Nominations
!Wins
!Nominations
!Wins
|-
|1991
|''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]]''
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|
|
|align=center|10
|align=center|4
|-
|1995
|''[[The City of Lost Children]]''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|align=center|4
|align=center|1
|-
|2001
|''[[Amélie]]''
|align=center|5
|
|align=center|9
|align=center|2
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|13
|align=center|4
|-
|2004
|''[[A Very Long Engagement]]''
|align=center|2
|
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|12
|align=center|5
|-
|2009
|''[[Micmacs (film)|Micmacs]]''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|align=center|3
|
|-
|2013
|''[[The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet]]''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!7
!
!11
!2
!2
!
!45
!15
|-
|}

== Decorations ==
* [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters]] (2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Ministere/Services-rattaches-a-la-ministre/Section-des-distinctions-honorifiques/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2016|website=culturecommunication.gouv.fr|title=Nomination dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres janvier 2016|date=31 March 2016|access-date=3 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605065819/http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Ministere/Services-rattaches-a-la-ministre/Section-des-distinctions-honorifiques/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2016|archive-date=5 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|France|Film}}
{{commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0000466}}
* [http://www.jpjeunet.com/ Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Official Site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607080825/http://www.greencine.com/article?action=view&articleID=351 GreenCine's interview with Jeunet]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100316230221/http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/jean-pierre-jeunet-a-life-in-pictures,1040,BA.html Jean-Pierre Jeunet – A Life in Pictures], filmed [[BAFTA]] event
* [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/3979/jean-pierre-jeunet Jean-Pierre Jeunet] at Virtual History

{{Jean-Pierre Jeunet}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Jean-Pierre Jeunet
| list =
{{BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay 2000-2019}}
{{César Award for Best Director}}
{{European Film Award for Best Director}}
{{Lumière Award for Best Director}}
{{Lumière Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeunet, Jean-Pierre}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Roanne]]
[[Category:French male screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century French screenwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century French screenwriters]]
[[Category:French film producers]]
[[Category:Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:European Film Award for Best Director winners]]
[[Category:César Award winners]]
[[Category:Edgar Award winners]]
[[Category:French film directors]]
[[Category:French comedy film directors]]
[[Category:Best Director César Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Director Lumières Award winners]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:French science fiction film directors]]
[[Category:French fantasy film directors]]
[[Category:French horror film directors]]
[[Category:French-language film directors]]
[[Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:People of Montmartre]]