Stephen Norrington

Stephen Norrington (born 1964) is an English special effects artist and retired film director known for his work in the horror and action genres. Beginning his career as a sculptor and makeup artist, he worked under Dick Smith, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston on a number of well-known, effects-driven films of the 1980s and 90s. His directorial credits include the cult sci-fi horror film Death Machine and the comic book adaptations Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He portrayed Michael Morbius in the alternative ending to Blade.

Norrington first worked in film as a special effects artist, doing so for several years, which included work on the films Aliens and Split Second. In 1999, Norrington was offered to direct Blade II, the sequel to his 1998 film.[10][11] He turned it down, having deliberately negotiated a one-picture deal for the first film. "I told my agent that I'd only do a 1-picture deal for Blade," Norrington explained. "The studio was simultaneously offended and nonplussed—I think they figured I was mentally ill." The studio hired Guillermo del Toro instead.[12] He directed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) during which he experienced significant creative conflicts with the film's star Sean Connery. Following the production, Norrington left mainstream studio filmmaking and has since focused on independent projects, including The Migrant, a micro-budget sci-fi film he's producing single-handedly from his home studio.

Norrington was originally attached to Dimension Films's Ghost Rider before it was acquired by Columbia Pictures. He was set to direct a remake of the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans before the position went to Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk.

In 2008 it was announced that Norrington would direct a reboot of The Crow franchise. In 2010 it was reported he would direct and write the supernatural action thriller The Lost Patrol, to be distributed by Legendary Pictures.

In December 2011, Norrington revealed in an interview that, for the past year, he'd been working on Untitled Norrington Genre Project #1, based on a feature film script he wrote in April 2008 for that year's Script Frenzy challenge. Centering on car chases, it was said to feature both live-action footage and scale models for greenscreen shots. Norrington revealed he was doing most of the work himself, as he did in his 2001 film The Last Minute.

Norrington has had several unrealised projects throughout his career, listed here in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 20 years, he has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Many of them were produced after he left production.

In 1999, Norrington was offered to direct Blade II, the sequel to his 1998 film. He turned it down,^{[citation needed]} and the studio hired Guillermo del Toro instead.

In 2001, Norrington became attached to direct John Sayles' long-in-development script adaptation Brother Termite.