 |
Raymond Webster Thompson MNZM (born 5 April 1949) is a British-born Canadian/New Zealand screenwriter, composer and producer.
|
Raymond Webster Thompson MNZM (born 5 April 1949) is a British-born Canadian/New Zealand screenwriter, composer and producer.
Thompson was born in Redditch, Worcestershire and grew up in Windsor, Berkshire where he formed a school band with David Samuels , Keith Barnes and Ray Dorey who went on to become guitarist with Edison Lighthouse He studied drama at York University and embarked upon a successful career in the music industry as both a songwriter and musician. His groups include a Canadian duo called Stillwater, and his school band The Avengers, which evolved into Edison Lighthouse, who had the number one record "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)".
Thompson published a novel in 1979, The Number to Call Is... before becoming a script consultant for various producers. His television writing credits include Squadron and the iconic Howards' Way , which ran for six years and was considered to be one the BBC's most loved drama series, drawing huge ratings. He acquired the position of Head of Development for BBC Television Drama Series and worked on many other titles, including Bergerac and The House of Eliott .
In 1994 and in association with the Sanctuary Group PLC, Thompson founded his own production company, the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group, [1] which has since specialized in family entertainment. The company trades through offices in London, Wellington (New Zealand), and has expanded into the Australian market. Southern Star currently distribute the substantial back catalogue.
Since 1994, Thompson has created and produced several television series and movies, including The Enid Blyton Adventure Series , The Enid Blyton Secret Series, The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (starring Richard Thomas), Return to Treasure Island , The Legend of William Tell (created by Thompson), William Shatner's A Twist in the Tale (also created by Thompson). Other series Thompson created include Atlantis High , Revelations – The Initial Journey , and The New Tomorrow .
Perhaps his best known creation is the teen drama/sci-fi hybrid The Tribe , which has become a cult classic around the world and ran for five years with almost three hundred episodes being produced. [2] The series is constantly being repeated and has a fanatical fan base.
In 2001, he returned to his music roots and composed the soundtracks of Cloud 9's portfolio, as well as the Spirit Symphony, which was partly inspired by his Asperger syndrome. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released on CD in 2004. The proceeds of the song "With You Every Step of the Way" (also composed by Raymond) were donated to the foundation.
Thompson has been a juror at BAFTA and the International Emmy Awards. In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to television and entertainment. [3] In the same year he also received an honours award at Dragon*Con.
Thompson has Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum condition. Thompson's son was also diagnosed. Thompson founded the Cloud 9's Children Foundation, [4] which aims to support families in Oceania affected by Asperger syndrome.
A wine lover, Thompson owns Tirohana Estate, a boutique New Zealand vineyard on the outskirts of Martinborough, in the Wairarapa region. [5]
Enid Mary Blyton was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been translated into ninety languages. As of June 2019, Blyton held 4th place for the most translated author. She wrote on a wide range of topics, including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives. She is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers, and Malory Towers books, although she also wrote many others, including; St. Clare's, The Naughtiest Girl, and The Faraway Tree series.
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award and an International Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards.
Rain Man is a 1988 American road comedy-drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish, young wheeler-dealer Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed virtually all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, an autistic savant of whose existence Charlie was unaware. Charlie is left with only his father's beloved vintage car and rosebushes. Valeria Golino also stars as Charlie's girlfriend, Susanna. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting Kim Peek, a real-life savant; his characterization was based on both Peek and Bill Sackter, a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of Bill, an earlier film that Morrow wrote.
The Famous Five is a series of children's adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne, George and their dog Timmy.
Raymond Albert Romano is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Raymond "Ray" Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, for which he won three Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also known for being the voice of Manny in Ice Age (2002), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016). He has received several other awards including nominations for two Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
The Faraway Tree is a series of popular novels for children by British author Enid Blyton. The titles in the series are The Enchanted Wood (1939), The Magic Faraway Tree (1943), The Folk of the Faraway Tree (1946) and Up the Faraway Tree (1951).
St. Clare's is a series of nine books written by English children's authors Enid Blyton and Pamela Cox about a boarding school of that name. The series follows the heroines Patricia "Pat" and Isabel O'Sullivan from their first year at St. Clare's on. Other characters include Alison O'Sullivan, Hilary Wentworth, Sadie Green, Kathleen Gregory, Janet Robins, Doris Elward, Vera Johns, Sheila Naylor, Roberta "Bobby" Ellis, Pamela Boardman, "Sour Milk" Prudence Arnold, Carlotta Brown, "Catty" Elsie Fanshawe, Gladys Hillman, Mirabel Unwin, Kitty Flaherty, Pauline Bingham-Jones, sisters Claudine and Antoinette, "the Honourable" Angela Favorleigh, Alma Pudden, Anne-Marie Longden, Felicity Ray, Winifred James, Belinda Towers, Tessie, Margery Fenworthy, Lucy Oriell, Erica, Priscilla Parsons and Joan Terry.
Noddy is an English character created by English children's author Enid Blyton. Noddy first appeared in a book series published between 1949 and 1963, illustrated by the Dutch artist Harmsen van der Beek from 1949 until his death in 1953, after which the work was continued by Peter Wienk. Television shows based on the character have run on British television from 1955 to 2020.
Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand actor who first gained recognition in his home country for playing Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera Shortland Street. He garnered critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The Muss" Heke in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and its 1999 sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He rose to international fame for his role as Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
The Tribe is a science fiction drama television series which premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 24 April 1999. The series was created by Raymond Thompson and Harry Duffin, and was developed and produced by the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in New Zealand. The series was commissioned by Channel 5, who received the initial screening rights. The series made its New Zealand premiere in 2000 on TV4.
Chorion Limited was a multinational media production company with offices in London, New York, and Sydney. The company produced TV shows and feature films, and was best known for its portfolio of entertainment brands. These included children's characters such as Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit, The Mr. Men, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Olivia, Gaspard and Lisa and Noddy. The company also owned the rights to the Agatha Christie Estate, Raymond Chandler, and Georges Simenon.
Stuart Forbes Devenie is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, whose career spans three decades on stage and screen. He has performed in theatre productions nationally and internationally. In the 1980s, he was the artistic director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and has been a senior educator at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School. In 2000, he founded Playfair Ltd theatre company.
James Hawes is a British television director. He has worked in British television drama since the mid-1990s, and has also produced documentaries for British and American television networks. His work has ranged across high-end period pieces and prime-time adventure drama, including the re-launch of Doctor Who and Enid, a biopic starring Helena Bonham Carter about the celebrated children's author Enid Blyton, which won Hawes a BAFTA nomination as Best Director at the 2010 ceremony.
Christopher David Gorham is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, particularly for playing Henry Grubstick on the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty, Auggie Anderson on the action-drama series Covert Affairs, Bob Barnard on the dark comedy-drama series Insatiable, Harrison John on The WB’s teen comedy-drama series Popular, Henry Dunn in the limited horror series Harper's Island, and Trevor Elliott on the legal drama series The Lincoln Lawyer.
Jennyfer "Jenny" Jewell is an English-born New Zealand television and stage actress. Although she has been in various other productions, she is best known for her role as Ellie on the science fiction teen drama series The Tribe from 1999 to 2003.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
Ryan Runciman is a New Zealand voice and television actor. Although best known for his role in the long-running teen drama science fiction series The Tribe, he has appeared on other children's television series including The Enid Blyton Adventure Series, Mirror, Mirror II and William Shatner's A Twist in the Tale. Runciman has also guest starred on the fantasy-adventure series Dark Knight and Revelations.
The Famous Five is a British television series based on the children's books of the same name by Enid Blyton. It was broadcast on ITV over two series in 1978 and 1979. It was produced by Southern Television in 26 half-hour episodes.
Jason Haynes is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by Jules Robertson. He first appeared in the series eighteen episode "A Partnership, Literally", broadcast on 9 February 2016, and stayed until the show's final episode: "Episode 1102", which was broadcast on 29 March 2022. the Jason arrives at Holby City hospital to work as a porter after being introduced as the nephew of Consultant Serena Campbell. Robertson was cast after he impressed producers after auditioning against several other actors. Jason has Asperger syndrome and Robertson is the first non-neurotypical actor to play a non-neurotypical character in an ongoing role. Robertson has stated that his own experience with autism helped him portray Jason accurately. He is characterised as a nice man, who Robertson describes as "geeky and shy" and lacking a sense of humour.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
