Christophe Gans

Christophe on the set of the Silent Hill movie

Birth date

March 11, 1960 (age 52)

Death date

NA

Silent Hill films

Silent Hill

Role

Director
Writer (uncredited)

Christophe Gans is a French writer and director, who directed and co-wrote Silent Hill.

Background

Christophe first showed passion for filmmaking as a child, by making kung-fu movies with his friends. He later went on to direct films such as Necronomicon, Crying Freeman, Brotherhood of the Wolf and Saint Ange. Brotherhood of the Wolf is the second highest-grossing French film in the U.S..

As of 2012, he is set to direct a theatrical version of Beauty and the Beast.

Silent Hill

In interviews, Christophe has stated that his love for the Silent Hill series began when he first played Silent Hill. Christophe contacted producer Samuel Hadida and asked for his aid in creating a theatrical version of Silent Hill, which Hadida agreed to. Despite Hadida's influence as a producer, Konami refused to grant Christophe the rights to produce the film. For five years, Christophe sent letter after letter, and was finally able to convince the corporation of his ability to create a faithful film adaptation when he sent them a version of Silent Hill he had filmed on his own budget. Konami was impressed, and Christophe was hired on as director for the upcoming film adaptation.

Christophe teamed with writer Nicolas Boukhrief to write an initial treatment for the film. After completion of the treatment, writer Roger Avary was hired to finalize the story, and was granted sole writing credit for reasons unknown. The script was completed in 2005, just before filming began.

Christophe directed Silent Hill on a $50 million budget, which completed filming in mid 2005. On April 21, 2006, Silent Hill opened across the world to a $100 million box office. Christophe would later promise the release of a collector's edition outside of France, however, there is no time frame on when this will happen.

Silent Hill: Revelation

Initially, Christophe announced he would return for the Silent Hill sequel. In interviews, he stated that he wished to make an adaptation of Silent Hill 3, centering around an older version of Sharon Da Silva.

In 2007, producer Don Carmody stated that Gans would not be returning due to his involvement with Onimusha. Onimusha was later stalled indefinitely; however, Christophe still remained absent from the sequel. After being hired to write and direct Silent Hill: Revelation, Michael J. Bassett spoke with Christophe briefly about the new film's plot.

Trivia

• Christophe did not get along with lead actress Radha Mitchell, as he felt she did not care about the film as much as she should.

• Christophe's favorite character in the Silent Hill series is James Sunderland. He even cast actor Sean Bean specifically because of his physical resemblance to the character.