Mike Newell (director)

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Mike Newell
Mike Newell.jpg
Newell at WonderCon 2010
Born
Michael Cormac Newell

(1942-03-28) 28 March 1942 (age 83)
St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Alma mater Magdalene College, Cambridge
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1963–present
Notable work Four Weddings and a Funeral
Donnie Brasco
Pushing Tin
Mona Lisa Smile
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Great Expectations
Spouse
​
(m. 1980)​
Children2
Awards BAFTA Award for Best Direction
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Michael Cormac Newell (born 28 March 1942) is an English film and television director and producer. He won the BAFTA for Best Direction for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), which also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and directed the films Donnie Brasco (1997) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). [1]

Contents

Early life

Newell was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, as the son of amateur actors, [2] and was educated at St Albans School. He read English at Magdalene College, Cambridge. [3] [4] He then attended a three-year training course at Granada Television with the intention of entering the theatre.

Career

Newell directed various British TV shows from the 1960s onwards (such as Spindoe , credited as Cormac Newell, and Big Breadwinner Hog ), but eventually shifted his focus to film direction.

His first feature-length project was The Man in the Iron Mask (1977), a made-for-television film. His first critically acclaimed movie was Bad Blood (1981), concerning the 1941 manhunt for the New Zealand mass-killer Stan Graham played by Jack Thompson. This was followed by Dance with a Stranger (1985), a biographical drama starring Miranda Richardson as Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK. For his directorial efforts, Newell won the Award of the Youth at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.

Newell continued his successes in the film industry with Enchanted April (1991), an adaptation of the 1922 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. Miranda Richardson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and Joan Plowright won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.

During this period, George Lucas recruited Newell as one of the numerous feature film directors to direct episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles .

The comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) was also critically acclaimed, winning numerous awards, including a César Award (Best Foreign Film), a Golden Globe (Best Actor – Hugh Grant), and a number of London Critics Circle Film Awards (Best Director, Film, Producer, and Screenwriter).

Since these award-winning productions, Newell has directed a number of films in Hollywood, such as Donnie Brasco (1997) (starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp), Pushing Tin (1999) (starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, and Angelina Jolie) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003) (starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, and Julia Stiles).

In 2005, Newell was presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts by the University of Hertfordshire which has a campus in St Albans, his birthplace. He was also awarded the BAFTA Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing for his career prior to 2005. [5] Newell became the first British director of the Harry Potter film series with the production of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , the fourth adaptation in the series, which became a major critical and financial success worldwide. Newell is heard briefly as the radio announcer at the beginning of the film.

Newell directed Love in the Time of Cholera in 2007 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010. In February 2011, Newell attended the British Academy Film Awards along with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, David Heyman, David Barron, David Yates, Alfonso Cuarón, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson to collect the Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema on behalf of the Harry Potter film series. [6]

Continuing to work on adaptations, Newell directed Great Expectations (2012) from the novel by Charles Dickens with Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jeremy Irvine in starring roles. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. [12]

On Christmas Day in 2016, Newell appeared as a contestant on a special episode of the BBC's University Challenge , representing his alma mater , Magdalene College, Cambridge. [4]

Filmography

Film

Director

Executive producer

Television

TV series

Year(s)TitleNotes
1966 Coronation Street 8 episodes
1967The Fellows5 episodes
Escape1 episode
1967–1981 ITV Playhouse 4 episodes
1968 Spindoe 4 episodes
City '68 2 episodes
Her Majesty's Pleasure5 episodes
1969 Big Breadwinner Hog 6 episodes
Parkin's Patch 2 episodes
1969–1970ITV Saturday Night Theatre2 episodes
1970Confession2 episodes
Diamond Crack Diamond1 episode
The Adventures of Don Quick 1 episode
1971 The Guardians 2 episodes
1971–1972 Thirty-Minute Theatre 2 episodes
Budgie6 episodes
1972The Man from Haven
1972–1978 Play for Today 6 episodes
1973 Love Story 2 episodes
Hadleigh 2 episodes
Late Night Theatre 3 episodes
Wessex Tales1 episode
1974Childhood1 episode
Late Night Drama2 episodes
1975 BBC2 Playhouse 1 episode
Comedy Premiere1 episode
1976Red Letter Day1 episode
Second City Firsts 1 episode
1977The Sunday Drama1 episode
1978BBC2 Play of the Week1 episode
1989 Smith and Jones in Small Doses 1 episode
1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles 2 episodes
2019One Red Nose Day and a WeddingTV Short

Executive producer

Year(s)NameNotes
2003The Branch
2004–2006 Huff 16 episodes

TV movies

  • Sharon (1964) (Documentary)
  • Comedy Workshop: Love and Maud Carver (1964)
  • The Kindness of Strangers (1967)
  • Them Down There (1968)
  • The Visitors (1968)
  • The Gamekeeper (1968)
  • 69 Murder – The Blood Relation (1968)
  • Blood Relations (1969)
  • Arthur Wants You for a Sunbeam (1970)
  • Mrs. Mouse, Are You Within? (1971)
  • Big Soft Nelly Mrs. Mouse (1971)
  • Baa Baa Black Sheep (1974)
  • The Gift of Friendship (1974)
  • The Boundary (1975)
  • The Midas Connection (1975)
  • Lost Yer Tongue? (1975)
  • Of the Fields, Lately (1976)
  • The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)
  • The Fosdyke Saga (1977)
  • Little Girls Don't (1978)
  • Blood Feud (1983)
  • Birth of a Nation (1983)
  • The Whole Hog (1989)
  • Common Ground (1990)
  • Jo (2002) (Also producer)
  • The Interestings (2016)

Unrealized projects

YearTitle and descriptionRef(s)
1990sOld Friends, a film written by Mark Andrus about a curmudgeon who forms a family with a waitress and a gay artist [13] [14]
Phenomenon [15] [16]
High Fidelity [16] [14]
A film adaptation of A. S. Byatt's novel Possession written by Don Macpherson [16]
A film adaptation of Peter Guralnick's novel Last Train to Memphis starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Elvis Presley [17] [14]
Best Laid Plans [18] [14]
An untitled black comedy written by Bob Comfort [14]
A remake of the 1960 film The Grass Is Greener [19]
Shanghai [20]
2000s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days starring Gwyneth Paltrow [21]
The Poetess, a film written by Will Davies about a romance between a female poet and a Cambridge don [22]
The Girl with the Pearl Earring starring Kate Hudson and Ralph Fiennes [23] [24] [25]
Runaway Jury starring Will Smith [26]
A film adaptation of Esther Vilar's novel The Seven Fires of Mademoiselle written by Randi Mayem Singer [27]
Jo, an unaired TV pilot about a mother and daughter who run a veterinary hospital starring Andie MacDowell [28] [29] [30]
An untitled Western written by John Milius set in post-revolution Mexico [31] [32] [33]
Mrs. Darwin, a "period romance" written by Tim Rose Price about Emma Darwin's relationship with her husband Charles [32]
Alibi Club [34]
A film adaptation of Len Deighton's novel Bomber written by Leigh Jackson [35]
The Constant Gardener [36]
An untitled one-hour TV pilot for ABC and Touchstone Television [29]
A film adaptation of John Masefield's novel The Box of Delights written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce [37] [38]
The Lone Ranger [39]
2010sA film adaptation of Alan Cowell's novel The Terminal Spy co-written with David Scarpa [40] [41]
A film adaptation of Ben Macintyre's novel Agent Zigzag written by Mark Bomback and Rowan Joffé [41] [42]
A film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Dombey and Son [41] [38]
An untitled fantasy film about Odysseus' journey back from Troy [43]
A film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies [44]
A film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novella On Chesil Beach [45] [38]
Reykjavík, a historical drama about the Reykjavík Summit written by Kevin Hood starring Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz [46] [47] [48]
A film adaptation of John Wyndham's novel The Day of the Triffids written by Neil Cross [49]
The Comedian [50]
The One and Only Ivan [51]
2020sA film adaptation of Henry James' novel The Ambassadors written by Janet Dulin Jones [52] [53] [54]
Gramercy Park, a TV series written by Janet Dulin Jones starring Millie Brady, Brian Cox, Gabriel Byrne and Mira Sorvino [55] [56] [57] [58]
A film adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel China Court written by Brian Kinsey [59]

References

  1. ↑ "Mike Newell on Love in the Time of Cholera". ComingSoon.net.
  2. ↑ "Mike Newell Biography (1942-)". filmreference.com.
  3. ↑ Church Gibson, Pamela. "Newell, Mike (1942–)". Screenonline. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Magdalene, Cambridge v St Hilda's, Oxford". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Mike Newell: BAFTA/LA Archived 16 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Harry Potter Series Receives Prestigious BAFTA". The Lord of the Hallows. 14 February 2011.
  7. ↑ Ralph Fiennes In Talks For Great Expectations Archived 12 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Zakarin, Jordan (14 April 2011). "Helena Bonham Carter in 'Great Expectations'? Star in Talks for Miss Havisham Role". HuffPost. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "Jeremy Irvine Meeting Great Expectations, Helena Bonham Carter also in talks". Empire Online. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  10. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (14 April 2011). "'War' star Irvine meets 'Expectations'". Variety. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Number 9's slate includes new Neil Jordan vampire film". ScreenDaily. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "Great Expectations | tiff.net". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Variety Staff (20 May 1993). "Newell is making 'Friends'". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Petrikin, Chris (16 May 1997). "Dogstar unveils slate of pix at home, away". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  15. ↑ Variety Staff (15 May 1995). "Travolta becoming payday 'Phenomenon'". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 Dawtrey, Adam (12 June 1995). "Dogstar rises with full slate". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  17. ↑ Variety Staff (6 January 1997). "'Day' spikes Fox's year Fox parts total some whole". Variety . Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  18. ↑ Variety Staff (27 January 1997). "Fox 2000 to go 'Mobile'". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  19. ↑ Variety Staff (28 July 1997). "Spelling grows 'Grass'". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  20. ↑ Brodesser, Claude (27 October 1999). "Inside Move". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  21. ↑ Hayes, Dade (27 June 2000). "Newell will direct comedy for Par". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  22. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (7 December 2000). "Heavyweight helmers head to Working Title". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  23. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (13 July 2001). "Brit coin develops". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  24. ↑ Dunkley, Cathy (29 July 2001). "Intermedia gets 'The Girl'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  25. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (16 September 2001). "Hudson, coin exit 'Earring'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  26. ↑ Lyons, Charles (28 November 2001). "Newell mulls 'Jury,' 'Mona'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  27. ↑ Vaucher, Andrea R. (20 February 2002). "Singer stokes 'Fires' for Pathe Pix". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  28. ↑ Franco, Jose (11 February 2002). "MacDowell working on pilot for CBS". GoUpstate . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  29. 1 2 Adalian, Josef (11 September 2006). "Newell turns on the telly". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  30. ↑ Adalian, Josef (6 June 2007). "McKinnon to get Cannon's ball rolling". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  31. ↑ Stax (22 February 2002). "Newell & Milius Head West". IGN . Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  32. 1 2 Dunkley, Cathy (4 March 2002). "'Darwin' evolves at Catch 23". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  33. ↑ Speier, Michael (14 July 2005). "Newell floats to oater". Variety . Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  34. ↑ Lyons, Charles (16 May 2002). "Fireworks pops for 'Alibi Club'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  35. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (25 June 2002). "U.K.'s Film Council backs 'Bomber'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  36. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (20 April 2003). "Newell digs 'Gardner'". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  37. ↑ Turner, Mimi (6 April 2009). "Mike Newell opens 'Box of Delights'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  38. 1 2 3 Mellor, Louisa (25 November 2012). "Mike Newell interview: Great Expectations, Voldemort, budgets, reviewers & more". Den of Geek . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  39. ↑ Ward, Audrey (1 May 2009). "UK director Mike Newell eyes The Lone Ranger". Screen Daily . Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  40. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (12 February 2010). "Newell goes spying for Warner Bros". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  41. 1 2 3 Zeitchik, Steven (28 May 2010). "With his new projects, Mike Newell continues to zigzag". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  42. ↑ Adler, Tim (16 February 2011). "Director Rowan Joffe Writing 'Agent Zigzag'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  43. ↑ Gilchrist, Todd (30 May 2010). "Mike Newell Reveals His Next Fantasy Franchise?". Cinematical. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  44. ↑ Fischer, Russ (18 October 2010). "Mike Newell And Neil Marshall In Consideration To Direct 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'; Scarlett Johansson And Bradley Cooper Rumored". /Film . Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  45. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (5 November 2011). "Mike Newell to direct On Chesil Beach". Screen Daily . Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  46. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (29 August 2012). "Michael Douglas to Play Ronald Reagan in Indie 'Reykjavik' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  47. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (15 October 2012). "Christoph Waltz Joins Michael Douglas In Mike Newell's Historical Drama 'Reykjavik'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  48. ↑ de Semlyen, Phil (22 November 2012). "Mike Newell Talks Reykjavik". Empire . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  49. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (23 January 2014). "Mike Newell Plants Flag To Helm 'The Day Of The Triffids'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  50. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (20 May 2015). "Robert De Niro & Mike Newell On Fast Laugh Track With 'The Comedian'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  51. ↑ Kit, Borys (6 May 2016). "'Harry Potter' Director Mike Newell to Tackle 'The One and Only Ivan' for Disney (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  52. ↑ "The Ambassadors - IMDb". IMDb . Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  53. ↑ "Film & Television - Janet Dulin Jones". janetdulinjones.site. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  54. ↑ Van Aken, Norman (15 April 2022). "A Conversation: Janet Dulin Jones and Norman Van Aken" . Retrieved 6 April 2025. Her original TV series Gramercy Park is in partnership with directors: Mike Newell and Scott Winant, Producers Brenda Friend and Consulting Producer Martin Sherman. [...] Janet and Mike Newell are prepping, The Ambassadors, her adaptation of the Henry James novel with producers Philippe Carcassonne and David Parfitt and Cleone Clark.
  55. ↑ @sunshinepoodle (29 October 2022). mike Newell GP 10 29 22 . Retrieved 4 June 2025– via YouTube.
  56. ↑ @sunshinepoodle (29 October 2022). Millie Brady GP 10 28 22 . Retrieved 4 June 2025– via YouTube.
  57. ↑ "Gramercy Park (Series)". Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance Production. 3 March 2025. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  58. ↑ Prasad, Sumith (2 March 2025). "AMC Orders Gramercy Park; Begins Filming in London in Spring 2025". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  59. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (5 April 2023). "'Harry Potter' Director Mike Newell Sets U.K. Shoot for 'China Court' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2025.
Preceded by Harry Potter film director
2005 		Succeeded by
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