Introduction
Olivier Megaton (born Olivier Fontana; 6 August 1965) is a French director, writer, and editor best known for directing The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Colombiana, and Taken 2 and Taken 3.
Early life
Fontana was born in France, 20 years to the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and his choice of the artistic name, Megaton, was influenced by this. He grew up in a Paris banlieue, and after qualifying for a diploma in psychology, was active as an artist, including graffiti. After meeting Jean-Baptiste Mondino, he started working in films.
Career
Megaton has directed Exit, The Red Siren, Transporter 3, Taken 2, and Taken 3. Transporter 3 and Taken 2 received scores of 36% and 21%, respectively, on the critic-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. He was chosen to direct Mathilda, the sequel to Léon, but expressed the opinion that the film was unlikely to be made.He also served as a second unit director for the film Hitman.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Credited as | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Editor | Second unit director | ||
| 1996 | Hard Head (short film) | Yes | |||
| 1997 | One Dance, One Song (TV series) | Yes | |||
| 1998 | No Happy End (short film) | Yes | Yes | ||
| Tout morose | Yes | ||||
| Je ne veux pas être sage (short film) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1999 | Histoires d'objets (TV series) | Yes | |||
| Chambre n° 13 (TV series) | Yes | ||||
| 2000 | Exit | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2001 | Les redoutables (TV series) | Yes | |||
| 2002 | The Red Siren | Yes | Yes | ||
| Chrysalis (short film documentary) | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2006 | Sable noir (TV series) | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2007 | Angie (short film) | Yes | Yes | ||
| Hitman | Yes | ||||
| 2008 | Transporter 3 | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2011 | Colombiana | Yes | |||
| 2012 | Taken 2 | Yes | |||
| 2014 | Taken 3 | Yes | |||