Andrew Niccol is a screenwriter and director. Born in New Zealand, he worked as a commercial director in Great Britain before transitioning to film.http://allmovie.com/artist/andrew-niccol-231638 He wrote and directed Gattaca (1997) and wrote The Truman Show (1998). His films often deal with themes of perception, artificial reality, and free will.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629272/bio

In 2009, Niccol began development of The Cross with actors Orlando Bloom, Vincent Cassell, and Olga Kurylenko.http://blog.moviefone.com/2009/02/06/andrew-niccols-next-project-will-blow-my-mind/http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/is-the-new-andrew-niccol-film-the-cross-really-newIn 2010, Niccol began filming a science-fiction production originally titled I'm.Mortal, that has since been renamed NOW.http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/11/01/matthew-bomer-alex-pettyfer-now-immorta/ The plot is based in a futuristic world where people stop aging at 25. The film stars Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde, and Cillian Murphy.http://www.collider.com/2010/10/01/olivia-wilde-justin-timberlake-im-mortal/

Niccol worked as an advertising director for ten years. In order to tell stories that "lasted longer than 60 seconds", he moved to Hollywood and wrote the screenplay for The Truman Show.http://allmovie.com/artist/andrew-niccol-231638 The film's producers were not willing to let the untested Niccol direct, in part because the film's budget escalated after Jim Carrey was signed to play the title role.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629272/bio

Niccol then wrote Gattaca, and kept the budget in mind to ensure he would be allowed to direct the script. The acclaimed film was released in 1997, but performed poorly at the box office.http://allmovie.com/artist/andrew-niccol-231638 The Truman Show was a hit in 1998 and garnered Niccol an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/Andrew-Niccol.html

Niccol then wrote and directed Simone, another media satire in the vain of The Truman Show, about a celebrity actress that is actually a digital creation. The film starred Al Pacino, but received mixed reviews.http://allmovie.com/artist/andrew-niccol-231638 In 2005, Niccol wrote and directed Lord of War, which starred Nicolas Cage as an arms dealer. That film reunited Niccol with his Gattaca star, Ethan Hawke.

Hollywood's only allegiance these days is to money. If they think there's cash to be made by making films with a conscience, then you might see a revival of that kind of film-making. Otherwise, forget it.http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/sep/25/features.review

My biggest mistake, going back to The Truman Show, was that I wrote my most expensive film first. And you just shouldn't do that. I remember talking to the studio head at the time and she said, "There's no way for a first film that we'll give you a budget of $80 million. But we would give you $20 million." So I went off and wrote Gattaca and made sure it was $20 million. So they let me make it.http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=8592

• 1997 Gattaca
• 1998 The Truman Show (screenplay)
• 2002 Simone
• 2004 The Terminal (story)
• 2005 Lord of War
• 2011 "Now (in production)
• 2011 The Cross (in production)http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629272/