Minghella, Anthony 1954–

views updated Jun 08 2018

MINGHELLA, Anthony 1954–

PERSONAL

Born January 6, 1954, in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England; son of Edward (an ice cream factory owner) and Gloria (an ice cream factory owner) Minghella; married Carolyn Choa (a choreographer); children: Max. Education: University of Hull, Yorkshire, B.A. (honors), English and drama, 1975.

Addresses: Agent—Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Office—Mirage Enterprises, 233 S. Beverly Dr., Suite 200, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Writer, producer, director, script editor, and series creator. University of Hull, lecturer in drama, 1976–81; Mirage Enterprises (a production company), partner (with Sydney Pollack), 2000—; also worked as a teacher and ice cream vendor.

Member: Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Writers Guild of Great Britain, European Film Academy.

Awards, Honors: Reckitt Travel Award; Plays and Players Award, most promising new playwright, 1984, for A Little Like Drowning; Plays and Players Award, best new play, 1986, for Made in Bangkok; Film Award, best original screenplay, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1991, International Fantasy Film Award nomination, best film, Evening Standard British Film Award, most promising newcomer, Mystfest Awards, Audience Award, Critics Award, and best screenplay, Mystfest Award nomination, best film, 1992, all for Truly, Madly, Deeply; Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, best director and best screenplay, Golden Globe Award nominations, best director and best screenplay, Directors Guild of America Award, outstanding directorial achievement, Academy Award nomination, best screenplay based on material previously produced or published, Academy Award, best achievement in directing, 1996, USC Scripter Award (with Michael Ondaatje), Southeastern Film Critics Association Award, best screenplay, Mainichi Film Concours, best foreign language film, Guild Film Award—Gold, Guild of German Art House Cinemas, Golden Satellite Award, best motion picture screenplay—adaptation, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best director of a motion picture, Golden Berlin Bear Award nomination, Berlin International Film Festival, Film Awards, best film (with Saul Zaentz) and best screenplay—adapted, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, David Lean Award for Direction nomination, 1997, ALFS Award, British director of the year, London Critics Circle Film Awards, Empire Award, best British director, Cesar Award nomination, best foreign film, Czech Lion Award nomination, best foreign language film, 1998, all for The English Patient; ShoWest Award, director of the year, 2000; National Board of Review Award, best director, 1999, Academy Award nomination, best writing, screenplay based on material previously produced or published, Golden Globe Award nomination, best director—motion picture, Film Award nomination, best screenplay—adapted, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, David Lean Award for Direction nomination, USC Scripter Award nomination (with Patricia Highsmith), Santa Fe Film Critics Award, best adapted screenplay, Sierra Award nominations, best director and best screenplay—adapted, Las Vegas Film Critics Society, Golden Satellite Award nominations, best director and best screenplay—adapted, Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination, best motion picture, Golden Berlin Bear Award nomination, Berlin International Film Festival, 2000, ALFS Award nomination, British screenwriter of the year, 2001, all for The Talented Mr. Ripley; University of Hull, Yorkshire, D.Litt (honorary), 1997; Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 2001; National Board of Review Award, best screenplay—adapted, 2003, Golden Globe Award nominations, best director—motion picture and best screenplay—motion picture, Writer Guild of America Award (screen) nomination, best screenplay based on material previously produced or published, USC Scripter Award nomination (with Charles Frazier), Online Film Critics Society Award nomination, best screenplay, adapted, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best screenplay, adapted, Empire Award nomination, best director, Directors Guild of Great Britain Award nomination, outstanding directorial achievement in international film, David Lean Award for Direction nomination, Film Award nomination, best screenplay, and Alexander Korda Award nomination for best British film (with others), British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2004, all for Cold Mountain; International Director Award, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2004.

CREDITS

Stage Director:

Mobius the Stripper, Hull, England, 1975.

Child's Play, Hull, 1978.

Whale Music, Haymarket Studio, Leicester, England, 1981, then New End Theatre, London, 1981.

Film Director:

Director, Truly, Madly, Deeply, Samuel Goldwyn, 1991.

Director, Mr. Wonderful, Warner Bros., 1993.

Director, The English Patient, Miramax, 1996.

Director, score producer, and music producer: songs, The Talented Mr. Ripley (also known as The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley), Paramount, 1999.

Director, Play, 2000.

Executive producer, Iris, Miramax, 2001.

Executive producer, Heaven, Miramax, 2002.

Executive producer, The Quiet American (also known as The Spy and Der Stille Amerikaner), Miramax, 2002.

Director, music arranger, and score producer, Cold Mountain, Miramax, 2003.

Executive producer, The Interpreter, Universal, 2005.

Film Appearances:

Himself, The Talented Mr. Ripley: Making the Soundtrack (documentary), Paramount, 1999.

Himself, Inside "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (documentary), Paramount, 1999.

Himself, Welcome to Hollywood (documentary), PM Entertainment Group, 2000.

Himself, Reflections on "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (documentary), 2000.

Television Work; Series:

Script editor, Grange Hill, 1983–1988.

Script editor, EastEnders, 1983–1988.

Television Work; Miniseries:

Creator, Maybury, 1981.

Television Work; Specials:

Script editor and series creator, "Daedalus & Icarus," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO, 1997.

Script editor and series creator, "Orpheus & Eurydice," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO 1997.

Script editor and series creator, "Perseus & the Gorgon," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO, 1997.

Series creator, "The Three Ravens," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO, 1997.

Script editor and series creator, "Theseus & the Minotaur," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO, 1997.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Himself, Inside the Academy Awards, TNT, 1997.

Himself, The 69th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1997.

The Last Morse (documentary), PBS, 2001.

The Inside Reel: Digital Filmmaking (documentary), PBS, 2001.

Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute (documentary), AMC, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, "Saul Zaentz: A Tribute," The South Bank Show, 1998.

Himself, "The English Patient," Page to Screen, 2002.

Himself, Larry King Live, CNN, 2004.

Himself, "Varjogaalojen vastaisku," 4Pop, 2004.

Himself, Filmland, 2004.

WRITINGS

Plays:

Mobius the Stripper (adaptation of story by Gabriel Josipovici), produced in Hull, England, 1975.

Child's Play, produced in Hull, 1978.

Whale Music, produced at Haymarket Studio, Leicester, England, 1981, then New End Theatre, London, 1981, published by S. French, c. 1983, also published in Whale Music and Other Plays, Methuen, 1987, and Plays 1, Methuen, 1992.

A Little Like Drowning, produced at Hempstead Theatre, Hertfordshire, England, 1982, then London, 1984, published in Whale Music and Other Plays, Methuen, 1987, and Plays 1, Methuen, 1992.

Two Planks and a Passion, produced in Exeter, England, 1983, then Greenwich Theatre, London, 1984, published by S. French, 1985, also published in Whale Music and Other Plays, Methuen, 1987, and Plays 1, Methuen, 1992.

Love Bites, produced in Derby, England, 1984.

(West End debut) Made in Bangkok, produced at Aldwych Theatre, London, 1986, then Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1988, published by Methuen, 1987, also published in Plays 1, Methuen, 1992.

Whale Music and Other Plays (contains Whale Music, A Little Like Drowning, and Two Planks and a Passion), published by Methuen, 1987.

Interior: Room, Exterior: City (includes Cigarettes and Chocolate, Hang Up, and What If It's Raining?), Methuen, 1989.

Living with Dinosaurs and One–Act Plays and Sketches, Methuen, 1991.

Plays 1 (includes Made in Bangkok, Whale Music, A Little Like Drowning, and Two Planks and a Passion), Methuen, 1992.

Television Series:

(Television plays) Studio, 1983.

Television Miniseries:

(With Jim Hawkins) "A Fall From Grace," "What I Mean Is …," "The Green Bottles," "Indoor Games," and "Weekend," Maybury, 1981.

Television Specials:

What If It's Raining, 1986, published in Interior: Room, Exterior: City, 1989.

"Hans My Hedgehog" (also known as "The Grovelhog"), The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1987.

"Fearnot," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1987.

"The Soldier and Death," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"Fearnot," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"A Short Story," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"The Luck Child," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"The Three Ravens," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"Sapsorrow," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"The True Bride," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), NBC, 1988.

"The Heartless Giant," The Jim Henson Hour (also known as Jim Henson Presents), NBC, 1989.

Signals (opera), music by John Lunn and Orlando Gough, 1989.

Living with Dinosaurs, 1989.

"The Three Ravens," The Storyteller (also known as Jim Henson's The Storyteller), HBO, 1997.

Television Episodes:

"Grass Widows," Boon, 1986.

"Dead of Jericho," Mystery (also known as Inspector Morse), PBS, 1988.

"Deceived by Flight," Mystery, PBS, 1991, originally broadcast on BBC–England series of Inspector Morse.

"Driven to Distraction," Mystery, PBS, 1992, originally broadcast on BBC–England series of Inspector Morse.

Screenplays:

Truly, Madly, Deeply, Samuel Goldwyn, 1991, published by Methuen, 1992.

Mr. Wonderful, Warner Bros., 1993.

The English Patient (adapted from Michael Ondaatje's novel of the same title), Miramax, 1996, published by Hyperion Miramax Books, 1996.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same title; also known as The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley), Paramount, 1999.

Cold Mountain, Miramax, 2003.

The Assumption, DreamWorks, 2005.

Also adapted Made in Bangkok for film.

Film Song Lyrics:

The Talented Mr. Ripley (also known as The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley), 1999.

Radio Plays:

Hang Up, broadcast in 1987, published in Interior: Room, Exterior: City, Methuen, 1989.

Cigarettes and Chocolate, broadcast in 1988, published in Interior: Room, Exterior: City, Methuen, 1989.

Novels:

On the Line (novelization of television series), Severn House, 1982.

The Storyteller (novelization of television series), Box-tree, 1988.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Dramatists, 6th edition, St. James Press, 1999.

Newsmakers, Issue 3, Gale Group, 2004.

Periodicals:

DGA Magazine, May/June, 1997.

Entertainment Weekly, December 17, 1999, p. 28.

Interview, December, 2003, p. 122.

People Weekly, December 22, 1997, p. 18.

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Minghella, Anthony 1954-2008

views updated May 18 2018

Minghella, Anthony 1954-2008

PERSONAL

Born January 6, 1954, in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England; died of complications following surgery to treat tonsil cancer, March 18, 2008, in London, England. Writer, producer, and director. An award-winning producer and director, Minghella also won praise for his writing and literary adaptations. Minghella possessed the uncanny ability to translate a book into a lush, contemplative film without making audiences feel as if they were reading a book. After graduation from the University of Hull, Minghella taught, but he ultimately quit to pursue a career in the theatre. After a stint as a scriptwriter for the British television shows Maybury and Inspector Morse, Minghella found success in London's West End. In 1984 the London Theatre Critics named him "most promising playwright of the year," and in 1986 his Made in Bangkok won for best play. Minghella made his feature film directorial debut in 1990 with the romantic comedy Truly Madly Deeply, which earned him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for best original screenplay. Minghella followed in 1993 with the small independent film Mr. Wonderful, starring Matt Dillon and Mary-Louise Parker. In 1996 Minghella achieved his greatest success with the period drama The English Patient; he not only directed the film but also wrote its screenplay. Amongst the multitude of awards bestowed upon The English Patient were nine Academy Awards, including best director for Minghella and best picture. Minghella followed in 1999 with The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. The Talented Mr. Ripley again earned Minghella a plethora of awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for best writing, a Golden Globe Award nomination for best director, and a nomination for directing from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2000 Minghella teamed up with acclaimed director Syndey Pollack to form the independent production company Mirage. Minghella's adaptation of the Civil War novel Cold Mountain, starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, and Natalie Portman, was released in 2003. Major awards failed to materialize for Minghella, although his direction of Zellweger earned her an Academy Award. Queen Elizabeth appointed Minghella a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001. In 2005 Minghella staged, with much critical success, the opera Madame Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera and the English National Opera. At the time of his death, Minghella had just finished filming the television pilot The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and was working on one of fifteen short films for the collection New York, I Love You.

PERIODICALS

Entertainment Weekly, March 19, 2008.

New York Times, March 19, 2008.

Time, March 19, 2008.

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Minghella, Anthony 1954-2008

views updated May 14 2018

Minghella, Anthony 1954-2008

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born January 6, 1954, in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England; died of complications from cancer surgery, March 18, 2008, in London, England. Film director and screenwriter, producer, and educator. Minghella did not begin writing and directing feature films until he had spent nearly fifteen years as a stage director and playwright and an occasional television and radio writer, but when he began, he created one blockbuster after another. Minghella worked for stage and television from 1975 to 1989 and lectured in drama at the University of Hull from 1976 to 1981. It was only in 1991 that he wrote and directed his first film, a romantic comedy called Truly, Madly, Deeply. The film became a cult classic and earned the author a Film Award for best screenplay from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 1996 Minghella's fortune changed dramatically when he wrote and directed the rich and complicated film The English Patient. The film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning nine of them, including an award for Minghella for best director and a nomination for best screenplay. There were people who said that the film could never be made because of its complex labyrinth of intertwined love affairs based on the difficult, layered novel by Michael Ondaatje. Minghella not only succeeded beyond expectations; he came to be known for his ability to tell the story within the story, to sort out the vignettes that dart quickly between simultaneous story lines, and to reduce an expansive concept into an intimate, personal story with no apparent effort at all. Minghella next wrote and directed The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), a psychological thriller about a larger-than-life, cold-blooded liar and identity thief living the good life. After these stunning successes, Minghella cofounded the aptly named production company Mirage in 2000. He continued to make hit films, including adaptations such as the epic of the U.S. Civil War, Cold Mountain (2003), and original screenplays such as Breaking and Entering (2006), about victims and thieves in contemporary London. Minghella reportedly had several other projects in the works or the planning stages at the time of his unexpected death.