Frank Daniel

Frank (Frantisek) Daniel (14 April 1926 - March 29, 1996) was a film director, producer and scriptwriter born in Kolin, Czech Republic. He is known for developing the sequence paradigm of screenwriting.

Biography

Daniel produced over 40 films in the former Czechoslovakia, including Jan Kadar's Oscar-winning The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na Korze) (1965). His biggest contribution to cinematography, particularly American cinema, has been as a teacher and as the head of some of the world's most prestigious film schools.

He entered film after earning a master's degree in music.

Daniel was the first foreigner to be allowed entry into the prestigious All-Union State Institute of Cinematography, now known as Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow.

Upon his return home, Daniel founded his own production company and also served as dean of the Faculty of Film and Television - FAMU part of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Prague's famous film school. While in charge, Frank Daniel was liberal in allowing such blossoming filmmakers as Milos Forman and Jiri Menzel leeway to make their own types of films, regardless of Communist government sanctions, which helped lead in the liberalization of his country in the 1960s.

In addition to producing films, Daniel also directed two films.

In 1968, he produced The Shop on Main Street, which won an Oscar for the best foreign language film.

He immigrated to the United States in 1968 after the Soviets invaded his country. In 1969, he became the first dean of the Center for Advanced Study of Motion Pictures. One of his proteges was future director David Lynch. He left the Center in 1976 to become the Luce Professor at Carleton College in Minnesota.

In 1978, he came to Columbia University, where he was reunited with Milos Forman, his former student. He stayed until 1986, when he became dean of USC School of Cinema-Television. He stepped down in 1990, but continued to develop scripts.

Frank Daniel died on March 29, 1996 at the age of 69 in Palm Springs, California, of a heart attack.

Filmography

The most notable of his projects are:

• Není Stále Zamraceno (1950), Writer
• O Vecech Nadprirozených (1958), Screenplay
• Kam Cert Nemuze aka When the Woman Butts In (1959), Writer
• Spadla S Mesíce (1961), Writer
• Hledá Se Táta (1961), Director/Writer
• Prosim nebudit! (1962), Writer
• Destivý Den (1962), Writer
• Letos V Zari (1963), Director
• Dva Tygri (1966), Writer
• Poslední ruze od Casanovy aka Last Rose from Casanova (1966), Writer
• Prísne Tajné Premiéry (1967), Writer
• The Shop on Main Street (1968), Producer
• In the Wee Wee Hours... (1987), Producer