Martin Campbell

'Martin Campbell' (qv) knows how to entertain an audience when he steps behind the camera. When he directed _The Mask of Zorro (1998)_ (qv), the movie earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of 'Antonio Banderas' (qv) and 'Catherine Zeta-Jones' (qv). Next, when he helmed _Vertical Limit (2000)_ (qv), the film was well received by the critics and earned over $200 million in worldwide box-office sales. In addition, Campbell is credited with rejuvenating the James Bond franchise when he directed _GoldenEye (1995)_ (qv), 'Pierce Brosnan' (qv)'s first outing as the famed British spy, which went on to gross more than $350 million. He also directed 'Daniel Craig' (qv)'s debut Bond feature as well, _Casino Royale (2006)_ (qv).Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to London where he began his career as a cameraman. He went on to produce the controversial British feature _Scum (1979)_ (qv), as well as _Black Joy (1977)_ (qv), which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Campbell made his directorial debut on the British police action series _The Professionals (1977)_ (qv) and continued with the popular BBC series _Shoestring (1979)_ (qv) and Thames TV's _Minder (1979)_ (qv)Considered one of the U.K.'s top directors by the mid-'80s, he directed the highly praised British telefilm, _Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)_ (qv). For his work on _Edge of Darkness (1985)_ (qv), a five-hour BBC miniseries about nuclear contamination in England that depicted murder and high-ranking corruption, he won six BAFTA awards.Campbell's first Hollywood movie was _Criminal Law (1998)_ (qv) and he went on to direct _Defenseless (1991)_ (qv) and _No Escape (1994)_ (qv). Some of his American credits include directing HBO's _Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)_ (qv) and two episodes of NBC's _Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)_ (qv), among others. He also directed the epic romance _Beyond Borders (2003)_ (qv) starring 'Angelina Jolie' (qv) and 'Clive Owen' (qv).::A. Nonymous