Alejandro Jodorowsky
The son of Russian immigrants, born in 1929 in northern Chile, where he studied philosophy and psychology, Alejandro Jodorowsky in turn emigrated to France at the age of 24 years to studying mime with Etienne Decroux. Friend of Mime Marcel Marceau (for whom he wrote his most famous shows, including La Cage & Le fabriquant de masques) and Maurice Chevalier. Around the same time he met many artists with a passion for spirituality, surrealism and art, among those where Fernando Arrabal andRoland Topor, with whom he founded the notorious art movement "Panic".
In 1960, during a tour with Marceau, he visited Mexico where he decided to settle in 1962. Began an intense period of theatrical activity, during which he will stage the works of Arrabal, Beckett, Ghelderode, Gogol, Ionesco, Nietzsche, Strindberg, Tardieu .
From 1967-73, he published a surreal weekly comic strip ‘Fábulas Pánicas’ in ‘El Heraldo de México’ national newspaper. These ‘fables’ had a thinly veiled autobiographical tone while covering all kinds of esoteric subjects, where he submitted to the most arcane Oriental wisdom with humorous non-attachment.
In 1967, seeking to turn to the cinema, he created his own production company, ‘Producciones Panicas,’ to create ‘Fando and Lis’, based on a play by Fernando Arrabal. Followed in 1970 by the cult Midnight Movie ‘El Topo,’ a metaphysical western, and in 1973 The Holy Mountain, with about the alchemical search for immortality and the truth (funded by The Beatles Manager Allen Klein, John Lennon and Yoko Ono).
Back in France in 1975, he went on a mammoth project: to adapt to film the masterpiece ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert, for which he surrounds himself of the greatest artists of science fiction: Moebius, H.R. Giger, Chris Foss and Dan O'Bannon, even enrolling Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger & Pink Floyd, but the majors, U.S. refusing to distribute the project fails to run. Other films followed; Tusk in 1980, Santa Sangre in 1988 and The Rainbow Thief in 1991.
He has also created major success with his worldwide distributed comics. In collaboration with artist Moebius, created a major work: The Incal, (which has sold over a million copies). Others include; The White Lama, MetaBarons,, The Bouncer (with François Boucq), Borgia (with Milo Manara).
He also continues his work as a novelist / writer of novels and essays, (which have been translated into several languages) including: Survey on a Dirt Road (Acropolis, 1988), The Hanging Tree God (Metalli, 1992), The Child of Black Thursday (Metalli, 2000), The Dance of Reality (Albin Michel 2003), The Way of the Tarot (Albin Michel, 2004).
His most recent plays; ‘Opéra panique’ (in 2000, which was performed in France), ‘The Dream Without End (created and toured through Italy, Turin and Mexico in 2007), ‘L’école des Ventriloques’ (performed in Feb 2008 at The Théâtre de la Basamine de Bruxelles, directed by Jean-Michel d'Hoop, and on tour in France, Russia and Chile throughout 2009), and The Gorilla (directed by the author, performed in May 2008 at Fenice Festival de Poggibonsi in Italy and Festival MaelstrÖm in Brussels in April 2009, and touring to London, Buenos-Aires and Santiago in autumn 2009).
He has just started work on his long awaited new film King Shot, "a metaphysical gangster movie." with David Lynch as executive producer, the cast includes Nick Nolte,Asia Argento, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Udo Kier, and Santiago Segura. Release date 2010.
For a more detailed bio please visit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Jodorowsky
In 1960, during a tour with Marceau, he visited Mexico where he decided to settle in 1962. Began an intense period of theatrical activity, during which he will stage the works of Arrabal, Beckett, Ghelderode, Gogol, Ionesco, Nietzsche, Strindberg, Tardieu .
From 1967-73, he published a surreal weekly comic strip ‘Fábulas Pánicas’ in ‘El Heraldo de México’ national newspaper. These ‘fables’ had a thinly veiled autobiographical tone while covering all kinds of esoteric subjects, where he submitted to the most arcane Oriental wisdom with humorous non-attachment.
In 1967, seeking to turn to the cinema, he created his own production company, ‘Producciones Panicas,’ to create ‘Fando and Lis’, based on a play by Fernando Arrabal. Followed in 1970 by the cult Midnight Movie ‘El Topo,’ a metaphysical western, and in 1973 The Holy Mountain, with about the alchemical search for immortality and the truth (funded by The Beatles Manager Allen Klein, John Lennon and Yoko Ono).
Back in France in 1975, he went on a mammoth project: to adapt to film the masterpiece ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert, for which he surrounds himself of the greatest artists of science fiction: Moebius, H.R. Giger, Chris Foss and Dan O'Bannon, even enrolling Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger & Pink Floyd, but the majors, U.S. refusing to distribute the project fails to run. Other films followed; Tusk in 1980, Santa Sangre in 1988 and The Rainbow Thief in 1991.
He has also created major success with his worldwide distributed comics. In collaboration with artist Moebius, created a major work: The Incal, (which has sold over a million copies). Others include; The White Lama, MetaBarons,, The Bouncer (with François Boucq), Borgia (with Milo Manara).
He also continues his work as a novelist / writer of novels and essays, (which have been translated into several languages) including: Survey on a Dirt Road (Acropolis, 1988), The Hanging Tree God (Metalli, 1992), The Child of Black Thursday (Metalli, 2000), The Dance of Reality (Albin Michel 2003), The Way of the Tarot (Albin Michel, 2004).
His most recent plays; ‘Opéra panique’ (in 2000, which was performed in France), ‘The Dream Without End (created and toured through Italy, Turin and Mexico in 2007), ‘L’école des Ventriloques’ (performed in Feb 2008 at The Théâtre de la Basamine de Bruxelles, directed by Jean-Michel d'Hoop, and on tour in France, Russia and Chile throughout 2009), and The Gorilla (directed by the author, performed in May 2008 at Fenice Festival de Poggibonsi in Italy and Festival MaelstrÖm in Brussels in April 2009, and touring to London, Buenos-Aires and Santiago in autumn 2009).
He has just started work on his long awaited new film King Shot, "a metaphysical gangster movie." with David Lynch as executive producer, the cast includes Nick Nolte,Asia Argento, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Udo Kier, and Santiago Segura. Release date 2010.
For a more detailed bio please visit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Jodorowsky
