Academy Award winner Roger Christian has had an extensive film career. He won an Academy Award for set decoration on director George Lucas's La guerre des étoiles (1977), which began a long collaboration between the filmmakers. Christian subsequently worked with Lucas on Le retour du Jedi (1983) and was hand-picked by Lucas to direct the second unit on the recent Star Wars: Épisode I - La menace fantôme (1999). It was through Lucas that Christian got his first opportunity to direct a film, the short feature entitled Ángel negro (2000), which accompanied the UK release of L'empire contre-attaque (1980). Christian followed "Black Angel" with another short, The Dollar Bottom (1981), which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He followed that success with the thriller L'armée du silence (1998), which received much critical acclaim and a nomination for Best Film by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
His directing credits include the 1994 Orion Pictures release _Nostradamus (1994/I)_, starring Julia Ormond and F. Murray Abraham, the HBO premiere movie The Final Cut (1996), Underworld (1996) starring Annabella Sciorra and Masterminds (1997) starring Patrick Stewart. Christian has also directed numerous high profile commercials, including worldwide campaigns for SEGA, Taco Bell, Jeep, Lancia, Fiat and Chrysler/Dodge, among others. Christian's work as an art director and production designer was highly regarded. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his art direction on Ridley Scott's Alien - Le 8ème passager (1979). His other art direction credits include La vie de Brian (1979), Ken Russell's Mahler (1974) and Peter Hall's Akenfield (1974). Roger also directed Battlefield Earth - Terre champ de bataille (2000), with John Travolta and Forest Whitaker.
Roger Christian recently wrapped production on Bandido (2004), starring Angie Everhart, for Fries Film Group. Written by Carlos Gallardo, who also wrote El Mariachi, Bandidos continues the saga of the stylish Mexican thief who remains nameless. The same character was also portrayed by Antonio Banderas in Desperado (a remake of El Mariachi). In Bandidos, Carlos Gallardo reprises the starring role as the most infamous thief in Mexico.
