Werner Herzog facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Werner Herzog
Herzog in September 2009
Born	Werner Stipetić (1942-09-05) 5 September 1942 (age 82) Munich, German Reich
Occupation	Filmmaker actor opera director author
Years active	1961–present
Spouse(s)	Martje Grohmann ​ ​ (m. 1967; div. 1985)​ Christine Maria Ebenberger ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1997)​ Lena Pisetski ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	3
Relatives	Lucki Stipetić (half-brother)
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Werner Herzog (born 5 September 1942) is a famous German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and writer. He is known for his unique movies that often show people with big dreams or those facing tough challenges in nature. Herzog is considered a leader of the New German Cinema movement.

He started making films in 1961 when he was just 19. Since then, he has made over 60 films and documentaries. Some of his well-known works include Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Grizzly Man (2005), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). He has also written more than 12 books and directed many operas.

Famous French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the most important film director alive." American film critic Roger Ebert praised him, saying Herzog "has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons, or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular." In 2009, Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Werner Herzog: A Filmmaker's Journey

Early Life and Big Dreams

Growing Up in Germany

Werner Herzog was born Werner Stipetich in Munich, Germany. When he was only two weeks old, his mother moved them to a small village called Sachrang in the Chiemgau Alps. This was during World War II, and their home in Munich was near a house that was bombed.

In Sachrang, Herzog grew up without many modern things like running water or a telephone. He said they had no toys or tools. He didn't even know what movies were until a traveling projectionist showed films at his school.

When he was twelve, Herzog and his family moved back to Munich. His father had left the family when Werner was young. Later, Werner decided to use his father's last name, Herzog, which means "duke" in German. He thought it sounded more impressive for a filmmaker.

Herzog had a tough time with a music teacher who tried to make him sing in front of his class. He refused and almost got expelled. This experience made him avoid music for several years. But when he turned eighteen, he became very interested in music.

Starting His Film Career

Herzog knew he wanted to be a filmmaker from a young age. He learned the basics from a few pages in an encyclopedia. He also "borrowed" a 35 mm camera from the Munich Film School. He didn't see it as stealing, but as a necessary tool for his work.

During his last years of high school, no film company would support his projects. So, he worked night shifts as a welder in a steel factory to save money for his first short films. After high school, he spent time in Manchester, England, to learn English. He also briefly studied history and literature at Munich University.

Making Movies: His Unique Style

Herzog is known for his special way of making films. He avoids using storyboards, which are like comic strips that plan out each shot. Instead, he likes to improvise and put his actors and crew into real-life situations that are similar to what happens in the movie.

His films often take place in unusual and distant locations. They often have a mysterious feel, which Herzog says comes from his Catholic upbringing.

Famous Films and Awards

In 1971, while looking for filming locations in Peru for Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Herzog almost got on a plane that later crashed. He had changed his plans at the last minute. Nearly 30 years later, he made a documentary called Wings of Hope (1998) about the only survivor of that crash.

Herzog has won many awards for his films. His first big award was the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury for his first feature film, Signs of Life (1968). He won Best Director for Fitzcarraldo at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. In 1975, his movie The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury at Cannes.

Amazing Adventures and Challenges

Werner Herzog is famous for taking on difficult challenges. Once, he promised to eat his shoe if his friend, filmmaker Errol Morris, finished a film project. In 1978, when Morris's film Gates of Heaven premiered, Herzog cooked and publicly ate his shoe! This event was even made into a short documentary called Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. Herzog said he hoped this act would encourage others to finish their projects.

In the winter of 1974, Herzog walked from Munich to Paris (a very long distance!) because he believed it would help his friend, Lotte H. Eisner, live longer. He kept a diary during this journey, which was later published as Of Walking in Ice.

Herzog moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s. He found the city exciting and full of dreams, appreciating its diverse culture and hardworking people.

Later Career and New Projects

Herzog continued to make important films. His documentary Grizzly Man won an award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. In 2008, his film Encounters at the End of the World, which was filmed in Antarctica, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This was Herzog's first Oscar nomination.

In 2009, he made history at the Venice Film Festival by having two films in competition at the same time: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?.

In 2010, Herzog released Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a documentary filmed inside the Chauvet Cave in France, showing ancient cave paintings. He filmed it in 3-D, even though he usually doesn't like 3-D movies. He also co-directed Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, which shows the lives of fur trappers in Siberia.

Acting and Voice Roles

Herzog has also acted in films and TV shows. In 2010, he did his first voiceover for an animated TV show, appearing in The Boondocks. He also voiced a character in The Simpsons and appeared in American Dad! and Rick and Morty.

In 2012, he played the villain Zec Chelovek in the action film Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise. In 2013, Herzog made a 35-minute documentary called From One Second to the Next. This film showed the dangers of texting while driving and was part of a safety campaign.

In 2019, Herzog joined the cast of the Disney+ Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian. He played "The Client", a character connected to the Galactic Empire. Herzog took the role because he liked the script, even though he had never seen any Star Wars films before!

In 2022, Herzog published his first novel, The Twilight World. It tells the story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who hid in the jungle of a Philippine island for decades after World War II, refusing to surrender. Herzog had met Onoda years before and discussed the jungle with him.

Teaching Filmmaking

Herzog isn't a fan of traditional film schools. So, in 2009, he started his own "Rogue Film School." Young directors spend a few days with him in interesting places, learning about filmmaking. He teaches them things like how music works in film and even how to create their own filming permits.

In 2018, he led a twelve-day workshop in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, near where he filmed Fitzcarraldo. New filmmakers from around the world made short films under his guidance. Herzog was very impressed with their work. He also teaches filmmaking online through a course called "Werner Herzog teaches filmmaking."

Werner Herzog's Personal Life

His Family and Interests

Werner Herzog has been married three times and has three children. He moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and married Russian-American photographer Elena Pisetski in 1999.

He loves to read a lot. For his Rogue Film School, he recommends books like J. A. Baker's The Peregrine and Virgil's Georgics.

Herzog has been described as an atheist. Besides German, he speaks English, French, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. He can also read Latin and Ancient Greek.

Filmography

Since 1962, Werner Herzog has directed many films, including 20 fiction feature films, 7 fiction short films, 34 documentary feature films, and 8 documentary short films. He has also written or co-written all his films and appeared as an actor in many productions.

Stage works

Werner Herzog has also directed many stage productions, especially operas.

Opera

Theatre

• Varété (1992)
• Floresta Amazonica (A Midsummer Night's Dream) (1992)
• Specialitaeten (1993)

Concerts

• The Killers: Unstaged (2012)

Images for kids

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  Herzog at the 1991 Venice International Film Festival

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  Herzog at a press conference in Brussels, 2007

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  Herzog's star on the Boulevard der Stars [de] in Berlin

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  Herzog in 2015

See also

In Spanish: Werner Herzog para niños