- Jan de Bont was one of 17 children born into a Roman Catholic Dutch family in Eindhoven on 22 October 1943. Credited with being creative and having a good mentality for camera techniques, he became a popular cinematographer. He worked on a huge number of films before finding himself on the production of Speed (1994), his first film as a director. He has resided in Los Angeles since 1968.
The film was a success and took him onto the next set for Twister (1996), which he also directed. But then the total flops started coming his way: firstly, Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), which he wrote and directed but without the company of Keanu Reeves. He also directed the star-packed The Haunting (1999) but that also failed at the box office. Later, he directed Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003). He is still active in cinema.
- IMDb mini biography by: Francesco Bori
- SpousesMonique van de Ven(1973 - 1988) (divorced)Trish Reeves (2 children)
- Frequently includes references to Stanley Kubrick's movies
- His visual style is characterised by a constantly moving camera, and (The Haunting excluded) the use of handheld cameras.
- Was scalped by a lion on the set of Roar (1981).
- Frequently shoots with older Panavision (anamorphic) lenses, note the lens flares in Die Hard (1988) and Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997).
- Was originally set to direct Minority Report (2002), but Steven Spielberg sacked him and took over as director, probably due to the failure of The Haunting (1999).
- After the huge success of his directorial debut, Speed (1994), Tri-Star offered him their American version of Godzilla (1998). He obtained a script and worked out a budget. Tri-Star rejected the submitted budget (reportedly over $160,000,000) and De Bont left the project which was temporarily shelved.
- One of 17 children born into a Roman Catholic Dutch family.
- Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) - $5,000,000
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