This hip, intelligent director makes films--with the exception of the incoherent and unwatchable "Straight to Hell" (1987)--that seem destined for instant cult status. Liverpudlian Alex Cox had originally intended to pursue a career in law when he caught the showbiz bug at Oxford. He went on to study film at Bristol University and UCLA before making an assured feature debut with the self-evidently postmodern thriller "Repo Man" (1984). Cox later expertly engineered a harrowing portrait of addiction with "Sid and Nancy" (1986), his portrait of punk rocker Sid Vicious and his doomed affair with groupie Nancy Spungen, and garnered mixed reviews for his ambitious, allegorical biopic "Walker" (1987), about William Walker, the would-be American dictator of Nicaragua in the 1850s. After an absence of several years, Cox returned to filmmaking with "El Patrullero/Highway Patrolman" (1993), a modestly-budgeted story of an exiled survivor filmed in Spanish. For much of the 90s, Cox worked as an actor in bit roles in independent features while nurturing a dream project. a screen adaptation of Hunter S Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Just before shooting was to begin in April 1997, however, Cox dropped out of the project over "creative differences". Terry Gilliam went on to helm what was essentially unfilmable material, but Cox remained as one of four writers credited with the script. He disowned "The Winner" (1997), a character study of a gambler in Las Vegas, after it was taken away from him and re-edited and re-scored but had better luck with "Three Businessmen" (1998), about two Liverpudlians who encounter a mysterious stranger. Cox has also been shepherding several features through the development process, including "Waldo's Hawaiian Holiday", a sequel to "Repo Man" and a biopic of acclaimed surrealist Luis Bunuel.
Profession(s):
director, screenwriter, editor, songwriter, Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Education
Oxford University Oxford, England law
Bristol University Bristol, England film
School of Film, University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California
1998 One of four writers credited with the screenplay for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"; at one time had been slated to direct film; left project in April 1997 over "creative differences"
1998 Helmed "Three Businessmen"; premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival
1997 Wrote, acted and directed in "Death and the Compass"
1997 Directed "The Winner"; filmed debuted on The Movie Channel before receiving theatrical release; Cox disowned film after studio re-edited and re-scored it
1994 Acted small parts in three films: "Floundering", "The Queen of the Night" and "Dead Beat"
1993 Helmed Spanish-language feature "Highway Patrolman"; also had cameo
1990 Directed the video of the Cole Porter song "Well, Did You Evah!" aired as part of "Red, Hot & Blue" (ABC)
1989 Made uncredited appearance as D H Lawrence in "Backtrack"
1987 Edited and directed "Walker", about the 19th Century soldier of fortune William Walker
1986 Wrote and directed the biopic "Sid and Nancy"
1984 Feature directorial debut, "Repo Man"; also scripted
Joined the Drama Society at Oxford, acting in and directing plays
Between leaving UCLA and directing "Repo Man," wrote and sold several screenplays, none of which were produced