Erik Van Looy

Erik Ludovicus Maria Van Looy (Dutch: [ˈeːrɪk fɑn ˈloːi])[1] is a Belgian film director known for his thriller movies.[2] He was born on 26 April 1962.

Erik Van Looy
Van Looy at De Slimste Mens ter Wereld (The Smartest Person on Earth) in 2012
Born (1962-04-26) 26 April 1962
NationalityBelgium
OccupationFilmmaker & host on VIER
Known forThe Memory of a Killer, Loft, The Loft
Children1 (a son)

Van Looy is also a popular television host in Flanders who hosts De Slimste Mens ter Wereld (The Smartest Person on Earth), and has hosted De Pappenheimers. The former is a television show aired on VIER where Van Looy and his team of comical judges are on a quest to find the world's smartest person, i.e., the one who has the best knowledge of politics, history, arts, sports, media and film.

Awards and recognition

His most famous films The Alzheimer Case and Loft have been widely appreciated by the Flemish audience as well as by the Flemish critics, with Loft even being the best watched Flemish movie in theaters up to now. Loft has got a Dutch remake in the Netherlands which was also a success. This resulted in an American remake which was again highly liked by the Flemish audience and critics, but not by the American critics. The reason for Loft not being a success in the United States will be a cultural difference between the United States and Flanders/Netherlands. As Erik Van Looy pointed out in Flanders/Netherlands cheating on someone (by a male or a female) is not considered to be such a big deal (as long as you still love your partner), where in the US it caused the main characters to become all very unlikable to the American audience.[3]

Movies

The American actors of The Loft praised Van Looy's peaceful and calm directing style.[4] This resulted in generally excellent on-screen performances which were also noted by the American audience which although they found the characters highly unlikable still gave the movie a B- on average.[5][6][7]

His most famous movies are:

  • Ad Fundum (1993)
  • Shades (1999)
  • The Alzheimer Case (2003), this movie was also released in the United States as The Memory of a Killer
  • Loft (2008)
  • The Loft (2014), American remake of the 2008 film with the same name
  • The Prime Minister (2016), aka President Under Siege (UK).[8]

References
  1. In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn].
  2. Erik Van Looy. IMDb
  3. Erik Van Looy reageert op kritiek: "IJshockey kijken in plaats van vreemdgaan had misschien wel gewerkt". HLN.be. Retrieved on 25 March 2016.
  4. Acteurs The Loft spreken vol lof over Erik van Looy – Film – KnackFocus.be. Focus.knack.be (28 January 2015). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
  5. The Loft – Movie Review. YouTube (30 January 2015). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
  6. "The Loft" Movie review on The Final Cut. YouTube (1 February 2015). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
  7. The Loft Movie Review (2015). YouTube (30 January 2015). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
  8. Nieuwe film 'De Premier' van Erik Van Looy met Yves Leterme als adviseur – Film – KnackFocus.be. Focus.knack.be (9 August 2013). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
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