Andrew Niccol

New Zealand-born screenwriter-director 'Andrew Niccol' (qv) began his career in London, successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds." He interested high-powered producer 'Scott Rudin' (qv) in his _The Truman Show (1998)_ (qv) script, but Rudin was not willing to gamble on a rookie director, particularly when 'Jim Carrey' (qv) came aboard, swelling the budget to about $60 million. 'Peter Weir' (qv) helmed instead, bringing a complementary vision which lightened the material somewhat, and the clever satire, which followed a cheerful insurance man (Carrey) as he slowly realizes that all the people in his life are just actors in a TV show, opened to critical raves. Since the deal for "Truman" came together slowly, Niccol actually made his screenwriting and directing debut with _Gattaca (1997)_ (qv) (1997), a superb, well-acted sci-fi movie that raised issues of genetic engineering in a totalitarian environment.::goodtanin@yahoo.com