Stephen Sommers | |
---|---|
Born |
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
March 20, 1962
Nationality | American |
Education | St. Cloud Apollo High School |
Alma mater |
Saint John's University University of Seville USC School of Cinematic Arts |
Occupation | Film director, film producer, screenwriter |
Years active | 1989–present |
Notable work | Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra |
Spouse(s) | Jana Sommers (1993–present) |
Website | http://www.stephensommers.com |
Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy (1999) and its sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001). He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994), the action/horror film Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009).
Stephen Sommers was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he attended St. Cloud Apollo High School. He is a 1980 graduate of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and the University of Seville in Spain. After graduating, he spent four years performing as an actor in theater groups and managing rock bands throughout Europe. He eventually returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles, where he attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts for three years, earning a master's degree and writing and directing the award-winning short film Perfect Alibi.
Perfect Alibi helped Sommers acquire independent funding to write and direct his first feature film, the teen racing film Catch Me If You Can, filmed for $800,000 on location in his hometown of St. Cloud. The film was sold at the Cannes Film Festival for $7 million and later debuted on video in the United States.