Ilya Salkind

Ilya Salkind was born in Mexico City, and grew up in the world of motion pictures. At the age of one, Ilya was photographed sitting on the lap of Zsa Zsa Gabor. His grandfather, Michael Salkind, was one of the pioneers of silent films and produced The Joyless Street (1925) (aka "The Joyless Street"), featuring then relative unknown Greta Garbo in her first major role. Afterwards, Michael and his son, Alexander Salkind, were responsible for many successful films of artistic achievement, including Orson Welles's The Trial (1962) (aka "The Trial"). Ilya then took the reins and became the third generation of successful filmmakers. Ilya has worked in Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, New York and Los Angeles. He speaks fluent French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English. At a young age, Ilya started his career as a producer and has accumulated a stunning filmography. Ilya produced, with his father and grandfather, the tremendous worldwide box office hits The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), which was the first time in the industry a film and its sequel were shot simultaneously. Ilya was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on The Three Musketeers (1973). Ilya then went on to initiate the blockbuster "Superman" franchise, one of the most successful in film history. The Academy Award-winning Superman (1978) also has the distinction of being the first major Comic Book film adaptation ever made. Under Ilya's supervision, this film and its first two sequels became worldwide blockbusters. Superman II (1980) was awarded the Best Science Fiction Film of the year by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Ilya's venture into television, Superboy (1988) (1988-1992), also proved successful, lasting four seasons for a total of 100 episodes. The show was recognized by the Young Artist Awards as one of the Best Family Series on television. After producing the $50 million Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) with Marlon Brando, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Georges Corraface, in the role of Christopher Columbus, Ilya and wife Jane Chaplin (daughter of Charles Chaplin and granddaughter of Eugene O'Neill) settled down in Orlando, Florida and took a sabbatical to raise their two young sons. The celebrity couple amicably parted ways at the end of 1999. Ilya, now based in LA and having formed The Ilya Salkind Company, Inc., is completing the company's first film, Young Alexander the Great (2010), recently shot in Egypt and Greece about the young Alexander the Great. The film has already seemingly launched the careers of four of its previously unknown stars. Sam Heughan ("Young Alexander") was signed by the prestigious agency ICM, Paul Telfer ("Hephaestion") was chosen from out of 200 candidates to play the title role in the $25 million miniseries "Hercules," Lauren Cohan ("Leto") is starring alongside Heath Ledger in "Casanova" and Louis Tamone ("Thessaly") is now a regular on the successful British television show Hollyoaks. Ilya Salkind has a reputation for discovering new talent throughout his career, including Christopher Reeve (Superman), Helen Slater (Supergirl), and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Benicio Del Toro (Christopher Columbus: The Discovery starring Marlon Brando). Alexander the Great from Macedonia is geared for a 2006 summer release and aimed toward a teen audience. The Ilya Salkind Company is actively in pre-production on the mega-film "The Abominable Snowman." The legend of the "Abominable Snowman" has been in the public consciousness for centuries and is one of the greatest unresolved mysteries in the world. Ilya said, "I envision "The Abominable Snowman" to follow in the blockbuster franchise tradition of "Superman" and "The Three Musketeers". With today's seemingly unlimited technologies in filmmaking, the time is right. We are assembling the best creative team available in the world to capture on the screen this mythical and extraordinary being in its awe-inspiring magnificence". Ilya also returns to the visionary work of Jules Verne (his very first film with his father was based on Verne's "Light at the Edge of the World", starring Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner) with the major motion picture event The Nautilus, part of a diverse slate of film and television projects with international appeal actively being developed by the company.