To this day, one of the most visually stunning movies I have seen is The Cell (2000 starring Jennifer Lopez), directed by Tarsem Singh. I liked the cast (including a freaky Vincent D’Onofrio and a more calm Vince Vaughn, making me look forward to more of all 3 of their work), and the premise (a social worker uses a new technology to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer), but it was the visual style that Tarsem brought to the production that convinced me that a new generation of films were on their way. The choices for costumes, settings, and the overall heavy but captivating atmosphere in every scene made me want to keep pausing just make sure I was able to see everything in the frame. He has continued his style throughout 5 feature length films and his most recent work was directing the entire 10 episodes of the tv show Emerald City, a modern version of the stores related to The Wizard of Oz.

Tarsem was born in Jalandhar, India, and is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in California, (whose alumni include Ralph McQuarrie who helped design the original Star Wars trilogy and Zack Snyder who directed 300). He has directed music videos, including “Losing my Religion” for R.E.M. which won 6 awards at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, and multiple commercials, including one for Pepsi which starred Beyonce, Pink, and Britney Spears in a gladiator arena (2003). His feature length films include The Fall (2006), Immortals (2011 with Henry Cavill), Mirror Mirror (2012 with Julia Roberts), and Self/less (2015 with Ryan Reynolds).

Thank you and Happy Birthday Tarsem!