Stephen Sommers Biography
Born: March 20, 1962
A purveyor of old-fashioned popcorn entertainment, writer/director Stephen Sommers hit pay dirt with his effects-driven action spectacle The_Mummy (1999). Born in Indianapolis and raised in St. Cloud, MN, Sommers left the Midwest behind to attend college in New York and Seville, Spain. After spending several years as a performer and band manager in Europe, Sommers returned to the United States to study in U.S.C. Film School's graduate program. Following his directorial debut Catch_Me_If_You_Can (1989), Sommers gained further Hollywood notice with his live-action adaptations of The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) and Rudyard_Kipling's_The_Jungle_Book (1994) for Disney. He moved to more grown-up action, and high-tech effects, with the Treat_Williams ocean-liner thriller Deep_Rising (1998), but the movie failed to make an impression at the box office. Sommers finally nabbed the Hollywood blockbuster brass ring, however, with his version of The_Mummy (1999). Loosely updating the 1932 Universal Studios Boris_Karloff chestnut with top-notch digital effects, Sommers' combination of flashy action, a monstrous, shape-shifting Imhotep, and amiably hunky hero Brendan_Fraser won over the audience (if not all the critics), turning The_Mummy into the first summer blockbuster of 1999. Sealing The_Mummy's success, Sommers and his cast reunited for the sequel The_Mummy_Returns (2001). Heavily hyped and featuring a new little boy character to appeal to the young fry as well as an appearance by wrestling star The_Rock as the Scorpion King, The_Mummy_Returns made a record-setting debut in early May 2001. Despite critical disdain for its chaotically amped-up special effects and paper-thin story, The_Mummy_Returns went on to become one of the biggest hits of the summer. Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
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