Jan de Bont

'Jan de Bont' (qv) was born in the Netherlands to a Roman Catholic Dutch family on the 22 of October 1943. He has always had a creative mind and good mentality for camera techniques and soon got into film as a popular cinematographer. He worked on a huge number of films before finding himself on the production of the film _Speed (1994)_ (qv), which became his first as a director. The film was a success and took him onto the next set for _Twister (1996)_ (qv), which he also directed. But then the total flops started coming his way: firstly, _Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)_ (qv), which he wrote and directed but without the company of 'Keanu Reeves' (qv). He also directed the star-packed _The Haunting (1999)_ (qv) but that also failed him at the Box Office.Later, Jan directed _Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)_ (qv), and is still active in cinema. His brilliant direction of _Speed (1994)_ (qv) proves he is a director with a spark of his own.::Francesco Bori