Bernd Eichinger

Bernd Eichinger (11 April 1949 – 24 January 2011) was a German film producer and director, notable for the 2004 film Der Untergang, Resident Evil, Fantastic Four and The Baader Meinhof Complex.

Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s, and bought a stake in the fledgling Neue Constantin Filmin 1979, becoming its executive director. Under his leadership, Constantin Film evolved into one of the most successful German film businesses. As of 2005, he was chairman of the supervisory board and still owned a substantial stake in the company.

One of Eichinger's last films was about the left-wing terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF) based on the book Der Baader Meinhof Komplex ("The Baader-Meinhof Complex") by Stefan Aust.

Eichinger died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on 24 January 2011 at the age of 61.

Due to blockbuster movies such as Der bewegte Mann (1994), Der Untergang (2004) and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), he is considered Germany's most successful producer.

Notable films

 * Grete Minde (1977), directed by Heidi Genée
 * Die Konsequenz (1977), directed by Wolfgang Petersen
 * Christiane F. (1982), directed by Uli Edel
 * The Neverending Story (1984), directed by Wolfgang Petersen
 * The Name of the Rose (1986), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
 * The Cement Garden (1992), directed by Andrew Birkin
 * The House of the Spirits (1993), directed by Bille August
 * Der bewegte Mann (1994), directed by Sönke Wortmann
 * Das Mädchen Rosemarie (1996), directed by Eichinger himself
 * Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997), directed by Bille August
 * Prince Valiant (1997), directed by Anthony Hickox
 * Der große Bagarozy (1999), directed by Eichinger himself
 * Nowhere in Africa (2001), co-produced by Eichinger (won Oscar)
 * Resident Evil (2002), directed by Paul Anderson
 * Downfall (2004), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
 * Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), directed by Alexander Witt
 * Fantastic Four (2005), directed by Tim Story
 * Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), directed by Tom Tykwer
 * Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), directed by Russell Mulcahy
 * Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), directed by Tim Story
 * The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), directed by Uli Edel
 * Zeiten ändern dich (2010), directed by Uli Edel
 * The Vow (2012), directed by Michael Sucsy

Awards

 * 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980 German Film Awards
 * 1979 Oscar-Nomination, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 1984 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Producing
 * 1986 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Producing
 * 1987 César, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 1990 German Film Awards
 * 1993 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Producing
 * 1995 German Film Awards
 * 2003 Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany)
 * 2002, 2003 German Film Awards
 * 2004 Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film (as Co-Producer)
 * 2004 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Producing
 * 2005 Oscar-Nomination, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 2007 German Film Awards
 * 2008 Bavarian Film Awards
 * 2009 Oscar-Nomination, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 2009 Golden Globe-Nomination, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 2009 BAFTA-Nomination, Best Foreign Language Film (as Producer)
 * 2010 German Film Awards, Ehrenpreis (Honorary Award)
 * 2011 Goldene Kamera, Sonderpreis (Special Award; posthumous)

Video
thumb|200px|left|Bernd Eichinger talks about Downfall

Trivia

 * After living in hotels for many years, he bought his own apartment at the age of 40
 * According to George A. Romero, the rejection of his Resident evil: Experiment fatal (2002) script was due to Eichinger. Everyone else associated with the pre-production apparently liked the script.