Robert Mark Kamen is an American screenwriter, film producer and winemaker best known as creator and co-creator of The Karate Kid, Transporter and Taken franchises. Since 1999 he has produced Kamen wine from his vineyards near Sonoma, California.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Background and education
Kamen grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City. Starting in 1965, he took karate classes in Queens from instructor Ed McGrath. He received a B.A. from New York University and a Ph.D in American Studies from The University of Pennsylvania.
Karate Classes In Queens Video
Collaboration with Luc Besson
Kamen is a frequent collaborator of French writer, director and producer Luc Besson--his co-creator on The Fifth Element, The Transporter, and the Taken series of films. The two first worked together on the Natalie Portman and Jean Reno thriller The Professional. After the success of The Fifth Element, Besson invited Kamen to join him in his goal of creating a "mini-studio" in Europe, making "movies that would travel, international movies, you know, action movies."
Kamen Estate Wines
In 1980, after being paid $135,000 for his first screenplay (which was never produced), Kamen used the check to buy 280 acres of rocky land on Mount Veeder in Sonoma County, California. He hired winemaker Phil Coturri to make 46 acres into a vineyard in 1981. In 1984, the first grapes were sold to local winemakers. The vineyard suffered a fire in 1996, destroying a pipe that carried nutrients to many of the vines. Kamen reorganized the vineyard by replanting different varietals, and in 1999 he bottled his first Kamen-branded wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2002, Kamen hired Mark Herold of Merus Wines to craft his wines.
Personal
Kamen lives on his vineyard in Sonoma County.
Filmography
- Taps (1981)
- Split Image (1982)
- The Karate Kid (1984)
- The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
- The Punisher (producer, rewriter) (1989)
- The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
- Gladiator (1992)
- Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
- The Power of One (1992)
- A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
- The Devil's Own (1997, uncredited rewrite)
- The Fifth Element (1997)
- Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
- The Transporter (2002)
- Black Sash (2003, TV creator)
- Transporter 2 (2005)
- Bandidas (2006)
- Taken (2008)
- Transporter 3 (2008)
- Colombiana (2011)
- Taken 2 (2012)
- Brick Mansions (2014)
- Taken 3 (2014)
- The Warriors Gate (2015)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
EmoticonEmoticon