Peter Hyams

Overview

Born
July 26, 1943 · New York City, New York, USA
Height
6′ 1″ (1.85 m)

Biography

Family

Spouse

Trademarks

All his movies have a character (usually a minor one) named "Spota."
Likes to shoot his movies on soundstages, where none of the light is natural and all of it can be controlled.
Frequently uses background voices, such as walkie-talkie/radio chatter, intercoms, or radio/TV broadcasts, to spice up scenes with no dialogue.

Trivia

Claims that he has never been invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) because they "don't like" him and are biased against directors who shoot their own films. In 1996, he said this to Conrad L. Hall, who didn't believe him. After Hall and Haskell Wexler offered to sign recommendations on an application letter for him, the ASC summoned him for a 90-minute interview. Two days later he received a rejection letter in the mail. He keeps it framed on his office wall.
One of the few writer/directors of major films who also serves as his own cinematographer.
Onetime Chicago news anchorman.
"Spota" (the name used in most Hyams movies) is his wife's maiden name. His love for her and her family makes the fact that most of the "Spotas" in his movies are villains ironic.
Was asked to direct Night of the Living Dead (1990), but turned it down to work on Narrow Margin (1990).

Quotes

I've never done anything that's totally worked for me. It has always been very painful to watch what I've done. Filmmaking, by definition, is a process of failure and because of that I always seem to be looking for the blemishes in my work.
There's a really wretched invention called a zoom lens, which is the most abused, single abused, thing in filmmaking. It's more abused by young filmmakers than anybody. It's just a vile piece of equipment. As for tricky scene transitions, I know directors who sit down and literally look for those things as ways to get from scene to scene. I mean, what is the point of starting on a blade of grass with a blur behind you and racking focus then to the lady? I mean, what is so critical about that? I mean, why are you doing that? And then, the zoom lens thing does something that I don't think people understand. When you zoom in to something, you are not bringing the audience to the subject. You are bringing the subject to the audience. Major emotional difference. People do not realize that. You zoom back, you are not moving away from that subject. You are pushing the subject away from the audience. It's a tremendous difference.
I'm somebody who sits in the first few rows of the movie theater, and gets goosebumps when I just see the studio logo. I love film more than any inanimate thing in the entire world. And I can't think of anything more exulting than the conspiracy of trying to make something look wonderful, and to be wonderful.
I'm in love with the full, widescreen, two-four-oh aspect ratio of a film. I think it's elegant. I think it's unique to film. It doesn't look like a painting, it doesn't look like a television, it doesn't look like a theater. It looks like film. So I love it.
I think there's no excuse for not trying to make things look wonderful. I mean, I clearly fail more than I succeed... except I don't fail for lack of trying.