People

Chris Columbus

Directing · follow into films and chains

Biography

Christopher Joseph Columbus (born September 10, 1958) is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several teen comedies in the mid-1980s, including Gremlins, The Goonies, and Young Sherlock Holmes, he made his directorial debut with a teen adventure, Adventures in Babysitting(1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly successful Christmas comedy Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). The comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), starring Robin Williams, was another box-office success for Columbus. He went on to direct several other films throughout the 1990s, which were mostly met with lukewarm reception. However, he found commercial success again by directing the film adaptations of J. K. Rowling's novels Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). In addition to directing, Columbus was a producer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), as well as the drama The Help(2011). He also directed the fantasy Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief(2010) and the 3D action comedy Pixels (2015). Columbus is the co-founder of 1492 Pictures, a film production company that has produced some of his films since 1995. More recently, he co-founded another production firm with his daughter in 2014 called Maiden Voyage Pictures. In 2017, he launched ZAG Animation Studios, alongside Michael Barnathan, Haim Saban, and Jeremy Zag. Columbus is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, with whom he had worked on the film Home Alone and the film series Harry Potter. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Columbus, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Directed

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Directed

The Witch

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Lighthouse

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Goonies

Screenplay

Mrs. Doubtfire

Directed

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Directed

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

Storming the Deck

From the Bounty to the Caine, mutiny films have always been about more than shipboard insurrection. This chain charts how cinematic rebellions at sea reflect th...

7 films

The Wicker Shadows of Folk Horror

From a wartime farce to sunlit cults and lighthouse madness, a journey through rural dread and the rituals that bind us.

8 films

From Transylvania to Treasure Island

Trace Tim Curry's wild ride from cult icon to family favourite, one unforgettable role at a time.

8 films

Into the Woods We Go

From Enid Blyton's enchanted tree to the haunted forests of world cinema, a journey through the woods where magic, memory, and transformation await.

8 films

Moana and the Sea as Mirror and Crucible

Taking the core premise of Moana (the ocean as a living force that tests, transforms, and reveals who you are) and steering it into far darker territory, this c...

8 films

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