Chris Palmer (film producer)

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Chris Palmer
Chris Palmer (film producer, cropped).jpg
Born (1947-08-25) 25 August 1947 (age 77)
Hong Kong
Occupation(s)Film producer, Professor, Author
Years active1983–present

Chris Palmer (born on 25 August 1947) is a Hong Kong-born English environmental and wildlife film producer and director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. He was executive producer for the Oscar nominated film Dolphins. He is author of Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom ( ISBN   1578051487), Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker: The Challenges of Staying Honest in an Industry Where Ratings Are King ( ISBN   193895405X), and Now What Grad: Your Path to Success After College ( ISBN   1475823665).

Contents

Early life

Born in Hong Kong, Palmer grew up in England, served as an officer in the Royal Navy for seven years, and immigrated to the United States in 1972. He holds a B.S. with First Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from University College London and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University where he was a Kennedy Scholar and received a Harkness Fellowship.[ citation needed ]

Career

After his immigration to the United States in 1972, he worked as chief energy advisor to Senator Charles H. Percy. He then served as a political appointee in the Environmental Protection Agency under President Jimmy Carter. In 1983, he founded National Audubon Society Productions, where he served as president and CEO for 11 years. In 1994, he founded the nonprofit National Wildlife Productions (part of the National Wildlife Federation, the largest conservation organization in the United States) which he managed as president and CEO for 10 years, directing NWF's launch into broadcast, cable, IMAX, and other media markets. He is a professor in the American University School of Communication. He publishes articles regularly (including a bimonthly column for Realscreen Magazine) and currently serves on the boards of fourteen non-profits.[ citation needed ]

Film and television production

Since the early 1980s, Palmer has been actively involved in film and television production, specializing in environmental and wildlife filmmaking. [1] His films have been broadcast on the Disney Channel, TBS, PBS, Animal Planet, and other channels. Palmer has executive produced several IMAX films with MacGillivray Freeman Films, including Coral Reef Adventure and Dolphins. Dolphins was nominated for the 2000 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary. [2] His other IMAX film include Bears, Wolves, and Whales, "To The Arctic 3D", and "Journey to the South Pacific 3D". In 2004, Palmer was named president of the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, which produces and funds IMAX films and companion educational outreach materials and programs. [3]

Teaching

In August 2004, Palmer joined the full-time faculty of American University as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence. At American, he founded the Center for Environmental Filmmaking. He continues to serve as director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking while also teaching classes in the School of Communication.

Palmer is a frequent speaker at conferences and film festivals and gives workshops on such subjects as effective networking and giving effective presentations. In 2010, he was a featured speaker at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, DC as well as at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has been interviewed on The Today Show and The Fox News Channel and in May, 2010, appeared on the Diane Rehm Show as a guest panelist. [4] His book, Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010 by Sierra Club Books and has received critical acclaim for being "a sharp and searching assessment of the contemporary wildlife media universe from someone who loves the field and wants to see it live up to its promise." [5] On 1 March 2012. In the book Palmer said, "You have to send your kids to college, you want to retire with some money. You cannot go back with dull footage. When you're under that pressure, and the weather is closing in, ethics is the last thing in your mind." His book was recently made into a public television documentary entitled "Shooting in the Wild", and was narrated by Alexandra Cousteau. Palmer was a guest panelist on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Awards

In 1994, Palmer received the Frank G. Wells Award for ongoing commitment to environmental protection from the Environmental Media Association. In 2009, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Media at the International Wildlife Film Festival. Palmer was recognized in 2010 as the "Environmental Film Educator of the Decade" at the Green Globe Film Awards. [6] [7] [8] Palmer received the International Wildlife Film Festival's first-ever "IWFF Wildlife Hero of the Year Award" on 13 May 2011 in Missoula, Montana at the 34th annual award ceremony. In 2012, he was named the recipient of the Ronald B. Tobias Award for Achievement in Science and Natural History Filmmaking Education. In 2015, Palmer received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Wildlife Film Festival.

Personal life

Palmer lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He is married to Gail Shearer and is father to three grown daughters: Kimberly, Christina, and Jennifer. In his free time, he performs stand-up comedy in DC area comedy clubs.

Filmography

Executive producer

YearFilmNotes
1986CondorTV documentary
The Mysterious Black-Footed FerretTV documentary
1987On the Edge of Extinction: Panthers and CheetahsTV documentary
Common Ground: Farming and WildlifeTV documentary
Ducks Under SiegeTV documentary
Woodstork: Barometer of the EvergladesTV documentary
Whales!TV documentary
1988Grizzly & Man: Uneasy TruceTV documentary
Messages from the BirdsTV documentary
Sea Turtles: Ancient NomadsTV documentary
World of Audubon: Sharks!TV documentary
1989Greed and Wildlife: Poaching in AmericaVideo documentary
Crane RiverTV documentary
Ancient Forests: Rage Over TreesTV documentary
WolvesTV documentary
1990If Dolphins Could TalkTV documentary
Arctic Refuge: A Vanishing Wilderness?TV documentary
Ivory HuntersTV movie
Danger at the BeachTV documentary
WildfireTV documentary
1991Hope for the TropicsTV documentary
The New Range WarsTV documentary
Great Lakes, Bitter LegacyTV documentary
Caribbean CoolTV documentary
Mysterious Elephants of the CongoTV documentary
1992This Island EarthTV documentary
Battle for the Great PlainsTV documentary
The Environmental TouristTV documentary
Greenhouse GambleTV documentary
Sex, Lies and Holes in the SkiesTV documentary
1993Hawaii: Paradise in Peril
Galapagos: My Fragile WorldTV documentary
Backlash in the WildTV documentary
Cathedrals in the SeaTV documentary
1994Desperately Seeking SanctuaryTV documentary
Hunt for the Giant BluefinTV documentary
The World of Audubon 10th Anniversary SpecialTV movie
1996An African Love StoryTV documentary
Dolphins in DangerTV documentary
Survival of the Yellowstone WolvesTV documentary
The Last Great American Gold HeistTV documentary
Wild Life AdventuresTV series - 8 episodes (1996–2000)
1997Tiger!Documentary
Wildlife Encounters: AlaskaTV documentary
BirdWatchTV series documentary
1998Whales: An Unforgettable JourneyDocumentary short
Producer - as Christopher Palmer
Nature Episode: "American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation"
Wildlife WarsTV documentary
Wildlife EmergencyTV series documentary
1999Return of the EagleTV movie
Wolves IMAX documentary short
Wild CityTV documentary
2000Tracks: Tracking with the San People of the KalahariTV documentary
Dolphins IMAX documentary short
Troubled WatersTV documentary
2002 India: Kingdom of the Tiger IMAX documentary short
2003 Coral Reef Adventure IMAX documentary short - as Christopher Palmer
2004BearsIMAX documentary short
2008 Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk Documentary short - Senior coordinating producer
2009Ocean for Life: Ocean MelodyIMAX documentary short
2011Working with FireDocumentary short
2012True WolfTheatrical documentary
To the Arctic 3D IMAX documentary short
Safe Haven: The Delmarva Fox Squirrel and Blackwater National Wildlife RefugeDocumentary short
2013 Journey to the South Pacific IMAX documentary short
Shooting in the WildTV documentary - author
2015Fifty Years of FarmingTV documentary
2016The Culture of CollardsTV documentary
When Mickey Came to TownTV documentary

Director

YearTelevisionNotes
2006 The Simpsons Episode: "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" (uncredited);

The Live action opening sequence

References

  1. ↑ "IMAX producer makes conservation cool". Gazette.net. 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  2. ↑ "Dolphins - Cast, Crew, Director and Awards - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation". Macgillivrayfreemanfilms.com. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "The Future of Commercial Whaling | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR". The Diane Rehm Show. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Wayne Pacelle: New Book Goes Behind the Scenes of Nature Films". Huffingtonpost.com. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Chris Palmer to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award". BigMovieZone.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "1994 Award Winners". EMA-Online.org. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "The Green Planet Movie Awards". Movie-Voters.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2010.

Further reading

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