Michael Apted with Anne-Katrin Titze at BritBox in New York on Granada TV head Denis Forman and a World in Action show leading to 7 Plus Seven, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 49 Up, 56 Up, and 63 Up: “He said ‘Have you ever thought of going back to see these people?’ I said ‘That's an extremely good idea.’ It was so obvious that we were on to something.” Photo: Vince Johnson
At the Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday, at Bric in Brooklyn, Michael Apted, the director of Gorillas In The Mist; Coal Miner's Daughter; The World Is Not Enough (Pierce Brosnan as James Bond); Enigma; Gorky Park; Extreme Measures, and Amazing Grace received a Landmark Award for his Up series of TV documentaries.
Sissy Spacek won an Oscar as Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted’s Coal Miner's Daughter
Michael Apted at BritBox in New York gave me some insight on the evolution...
At the Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday, at Bric in Brooklyn, Michael Apted, the director of Gorillas In The Mist; Coal Miner's Daughter; The World Is Not Enough (Pierce Brosnan as James Bond); Enigma; Gorky Park; Extreme Measures, and Amazing Grace received a Landmark Award for his Up series of TV documentaries.
Sissy Spacek won an Oscar as Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted’s Coal Miner's Daughter
Michael Apted at BritBox in New York gave me some insight on the evolution...
- 11/11/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Producer and director Michael Apted pays tribute to the former Granada TV chairman who died last week
When I joined Granada in 1963, I was part of a small group straight out of university (which included Mike Newell) chosen by Sir Denis Forman, in his role as head of programmes, to train at the company. It was the place to be – ahead of the field in current affairs, drama, light entertainment and comedy. I doubt any of us has any idea of how lucky we were to be asked to join.
Granada was a small company, with neither the space nor resources for serious training, so ours was on-the-job. I did news, some small documentaries, football matches, church services, World In Action, then on to Coronation Street and eventually into drama, working with some to the best writers of their generation: Jack Rosenthal, Arthur Hopcraft and Colin Welland. In those early years,...
When I joined Granada in 1963, I was part of a small group straight out of university (which included Mike Newell) chosen by Sir Denis Forman, in his role as head of programmes, to train at the company. It was the place to be – ahead of the field in current affairs, drama, light entertainment and comedy. I doubt any of us has any idea of how lucky we were to be asked to join.
Granada was a small company, with neither the space nor resources for serious training, so ours was on-the-job. I did news, some small documentaries, football matches, church services, World In Action, then on to Coronation Street and eventually into drama, working with some to the best writers of their generation: Jack Rosenthal, Arthur Hopcraft and Colin Welland. In those early years,...
- 3/4/2013
- by John Plunkett
- The Guardian - Film News
Dedicated chairman of Granada who championed high-quality popular TV
Sir Denis Forman, who has died aged 95, was a driving force in Granada TV, one of the leaders in the first batch of independent regional commercial television companies, from its beginnings in the mid-1950s through to his lengthy spell as chairman (1974-87). Though scarcely ever named as producer, he was directly responsible for many programmes and ran his favourite series as personal fiefdoms. His greatest achievement in this capacity was The Jewel in the Crown (1984), based upon the Raj Quartet novels by Paul Scott.
Forman threw himself headlong into many other enthusiasms, including atheism, battle drill, Mozart and Scottish country dancing. A large man in every sense, he was affable, eloquent and determined. At Granada's Manchester studios in the early days, the shortest path to lunchtime refreshment was barred by a waist-high wall. Forman would lead the way and, despite...
Sir Denis Forman, who has died aged 95, was a driving force in Granada TV, one of the leaders in the first batch of independent regional commercial television companies, from its beginnings in the mid-1950s through to his lengthy spell as chairman (1974-87). Though scarcely ever named as producer, he was directly responsible for many programmes and ran his favourite series as personal fiefdoms. His greatest achievement in this capacity was The Jewel in the Crown (1984), based upon the Raj Quartet novels by Paul Scott.
Forman threw himself headlong into many other enthusiasms, including atheism, battle drill, Mozart and Scottish country dancing. A large man in every sense, he was affable, eloquent and determined. At Granada's Manchester studios in the early days, the shortest path to lunchtime refreshment was barred by a waist-high wall. Forman would lead the way and, despite...
- 2/26/2013
- by Philip Purser
- The Guardian - Film News
Former Granada TV chairman Sir Denis Forman has died, aged 95.
One of the founding executives of Granada TV in the mid 1950s, he was responsible for giving the greenlight to shows such as Coronation Street and World in Action.
Forman, who also served as director of the British Film Institute and deputy chairman of the Royal Opera House, died on Sunday (February 24) at a nursing home in London, The Guardian reports.
ITV's director of television Peter Fincham paid tribute to Forman, describing him as "one of the great pioneers of British broadcasting".
He added: "He made a lasting contribution to quality drama and investigative journalism, being at the helm of Granada Television for the commissioning of Coronation Street.
"[He was] responsible for programmes such as World in Action, 7Up, Jewel in the Crown and Brideshead Revisited. He was a remarkable man and will be sadly missed."
Ray Fitzwalter, former editor and executive producer of World in Action,...
One of the founding executives of Granada TV in the mid 1950s, he was responsible for giving the greenlight to shows such as Coronation Street and World in Action.
Forman, who also served as director of the British Film Institute and deputy chairman of the Royal Opera House, died on Sunday (February 24) at a nursing home in London, The Guardian reports.
ITV's director of television Peter Fincham paid tribute to Forman, describing him as "one of the great pioneers of British broadcasting".
He added: "He made a lasting contribution to quality drama and investigative journalism, being at the helm of Granada Television for the commissioning of Coronation Street.
"[He was] responsible for programmes such as World in Action, 7Up, Jewel in the Crown and Brideshead Revisited. He was a remarkable man and will be sadly missed."
Ray Fitzwalter, former editor and executive producer of World in Action,...
- 2/25/2013
- Digital Spy
There was a terrific reminder last night of the brilliant investigative and campaigning journalism of Granada TV's World In Action in the 35 years from 1963 until 1998.
ITV1 screened a 90-minute documentary showing a variety of the highlights from the series with contributions from past editors - such as Ray Fitzwalter, John Birt, Leslie Woodhead, Steve Boulton and Ian McBride - plus a former editor, Paul Greengrass, cameraman George Jesse Turner, researcher Michael Apted and Granada's ex-chairman Sir Denis Forman.
Among about the programmes they spoke about, with understandable pride, were those that helped to effect genuine changes, such as the release of the innocent Birmingham Six, the reuniting of Anwar Ditta with her three children and the exposures of John Poulson and Reginald Maudling.
As Greengrass pointed out, it was the mixture of journalism and film-making that made the programmes so popular and so successful. It is fair to say World In Action...
ITV1 screened a 90-minute documentary showing a variety of the highlights from the series with contributions from past editors - such as Ray Fitzwalter, John Birt, Leslie Woodhead, Steve Boulton and Ian McBride - plus a former editor, Paul Greengrass, cameraman George Jesse Turner, researcher Michael Apted and Granada's ex-chairman Sir Denis Forman.
Among about the programmes they spoke about, with understandable pride, were those that helped to effect genuine changes, such as the release of the innocent Birmingham Six, the reuniting of Anwar Ditta with her three children and the exposures of John Poulson and Reginald Maudling.
As Greengrass pointed out, it was the mixture of journalism and film-making that made the programmes so popular and so successful. It is fair to say World In Action...
- 1/8/2013
- by Roy Greenslade
- The Guardian - Film News
Sight & Sound magazine has announced the results of its latest critics' poll to decide the greatest film of all time. Philip French charts the history of the poll
In the early 1950s, the British Film Institute was transformed by Denis Forman and Gavin Lambert. Forman was appointed director of the BFI in 1948, and one year later, he invited Lambert to edit what Lambert recalled as "the institute's terminally boring magazine Sight & Sound and bring it back to life". Both left the institute in 1955, Forman to help create Granada TV, Lambert to become a Hollywood screenwriter and novelist, and by then the National Film Theatre had been established on the South Bank, and Sight & Sound had become one of the world's pre-eminent film journals.
Among Lambert's innovations was a worldwide poll of critics to vote each decade on the top 10 films of all time, an immense undertaking that utilises the resources...
In the early 1950s, the British Film Institute was transformed by Denis Forman and Gavin Lambert. Forman was appointed director of the BFI in 1948, and one year later, he invited Lambert to edit what Lambert recalled as "the institute's terminally boring magazine Sight & Sound and bring it back to life". Both left the institute in 1955, Forman to help create Granada TV, Lambert to become a Hollywood screenwriter and novelist, and by then the National Film Theatre had been established on the South Bank, and Sight & Sound had become one of the world's pre-eminent film journals.
Among Lambert's innovations was a worldwide poll of critics to vote each decade on the top 10 films of all time, an immense undertaking that utilises the resources...
- 8/6/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
He's a feted Hollywood director, whose career started with a bunch of children in Seven Up! And he is still charting their lives 49 years later in a landmark of documentary broadcasting
They understand longevity at Manchester's ITV Granada, which was Granada Television and is the only survivor of the original four independent TV franchisees awarded in 1954. Not only does it make Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, but this week sees the return of its Up series, which may be the world's longest-running documentary.
The first Up programme was the brainchild of Tim Hewat, the brilliant Australian producer behind the World In Action strand. Legend has it he walked into the World in Action office and quoted the Jesuit motto cited at the beginning of the film: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." And then instructed a young trainee...
They understand longevity at Manchester's ITV Granada, which was Granada Television and is the only survivor of the original four independent TV franchisees awarded in 1954. Not only does it make Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, but this week sees the return of its Up series, which may be the world's longest-running documentary.
The first Up programme was the brainchild of Tim Hewat, the brilliant Australian producer behind the World In Action strand. Legend has it he walked into the World in Action office and quoted the Jesuit motto cited at the beginning of the film: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." And then instructed a young trainee...
- 5/12/2012
- by Andrew Anthony
- The Guardian - Film News
BAFTA Fellowship: Few Women, Few Outside UK/Hollywood, Steven Spielberg Before Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Billy Wilder [Photo: Laurence Olivier] 1971 Alfred Hitchcock 1972 Freddie Young 1973 Grace Wyndham Goldie 1974 David Lean 1975 Jacques Cousteau 1976 Charles Chaplin, Laurence Olivier 1977 Denis Forman 1978 Fred Zinnemann 1979 Lew Grade, Huw Wheldon 1980 David Attenborough, John Huston 1981 Abel Gance, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1982 Andrzej Wajda 1983 Richard Attenborough 1984 Hugh Greene, Sam Spiegel 1985 Jeremy Isaacs 1986 Steven Spielberg 1987 Federico Fellini 1988 Ingmar Bergman 1989 Alec Guinness 1990 Paul Fox 1991 Louis Malle 1992 John Gielgud, David Plowright 1993 Sydney Samuelson, Colin Young 1994 Michael Grade 1995 Billy Wilder 1996 Jeanne Moreau, Ronald Neame, John Schlesinger, Maggie Smith 1997 Woody Allen, Steven Bochco, Julie Christie, Oswald Morris, Harold Pinter, David Rose 1998 Sean Connery, Bill Cotton 1999 Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise, Elizabeth Taylor 2000 Michael Caine, Stanley Kubrick, Peter Bazalgette 2001 Albert Finney, John Thaw, Judi Dench 2002 Warren Beatty, Merchant Ivory Productions (James Ivory, Ismail Merchant) 2002 Andrew Davies, John Mills 2003 Saul Zaentz, David Jason 2004 John Boorman, Roger Graef 2005 John Barry, David Frost 2006 David Puttnam,...
- 1/4/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
David Cronenberg, Ralph Fiennes to Become BFI Fellows. [Right: Bette Davis.] The list of those who have received a British Film Institute Fellowship since it was first handed out in 1983 is quite extensive. [See below.] BFI Fellows include not only Britishers, but also numerous foreigners who have somehow or other been associated with either the film world or the BFI itself, among them directors (Michelangelo Antonioni, Marcel Carné), producers (John Brabourne, David Puttnam), film executives (Harvey Weinstein, Sidney Bernstein), editors (Thelma Schoonmaker), cinematographers (Jack Cardiff), actors (from Alec Guinness to Bette Davis, from Jean Simmons to Isabelle Huppert), writers (Graham Greene), critics (Dilys Powell), and philanthropists (J. Paul Getty). There are a number of puzzling omissions, however. For instance, the following are a few British actresses who have left an indelible mark on world cinema: Anna Neagle (left out perhaps because she died in 1986), Margaret Lockwood, Julie Andrews, Julie Christie, Lynn Redgrave, and Greer Garson.
- 10/6/2011
- Alt Film Guide
The BFI's assumption of the UK Film Council's responsibilities continues a decades-long saga of chopping and changing in the British film industry
This morning's announcement by Ed Vaizey confirms the rumours that have been circulating from pretty much the moment that the UK Film Council was abolished: the British Film Institute will be picking up the reins of lottery-fund distribution to the film industry. What's remarkable is that, after over two decades of chopping and changing, we are back where we were in the late 1980s: the BFI is the only game in town.
It's especially extraordinary given the kind of rhetoric that accompanied the establishment of the UK Film Council in 2000. When John Woodward was appointed the UK Film Council's chief executive in 2000, an interview he gave to the Guardian was perceived to be a not-especially-coded attack on the kind of – largely experimental – film the BFI's production...
This morning's announcement by Ed Vaizey confirms the rumours that have been circulating from pretty much the moment that the UK Film Council was abolished: the British Film Institute will be picking up the reins of lottery-fund distribution to the film industry. What's remarkable is that, after over two decades of chopping and changing, we are back where we were in the late 1980s: the BFI is the only game in town.
It's especially extraordinary given the kind of rhetoric that accompanied the establishment of the UK Film Council in 2000. When John Woodward was appointed the UK Film Council's chief executive in 2000, an interview he gave to the Guardian was perceived to be a not-especially-coded attack on the kind of – largely experimental – film the BFI's production...
- 11/29/2010
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
"My Life So Far" is a gem. Magical and wise, witty and sentimental, this film from producer David Puttnam and director Hugh Hudson is one of the most engaging pictures about British family life since John Boorman's 1987 autobiographical tale "Hope and Glory".
Miramax Films may have a boxoffice hit here that could cross over from the specialty market into mainstream venues.
This film marks a triumphant reunion for Puttnam and Hudson, who collaborated on the 1981 Oscar-winning best picture "Chariots of Fire". Right from the opening shot -- of a bright-eyed baby grinning in a crib -- the film casts its spell. Within moments, an enchanted world in the misty Scottish Highlands opens up to the viewer.
Like "Hope and Glory", "My Life So Far" derives from personal history. The film is based on a memoir, "Son of Adam", by British television executive Denis Forman. He relates the story of a tumultuous year in the life of a wide-eyed 10-year-old in which he sees his world and his family change forever.
Young Fraser Pettigrew -- played with charm and spunk by newcomer Robert Norman -- lives on a bucolic Scottish estate in the early 1930s where a storybook castle named Kiloran House crowns a verdant hill. This kingdom of animals and crazy gizmos is benignly ruled by Fraser's eccentric inventor-father Edward (a buoyant Colin Firth).
"It's just bedlam -- like a zoo!" grouses Fraser's more practical-minded Uncle Morris (a debonair Malcolm McDowell), making one of his frequent visits to the ancestral home. It is indeed bedlam, but what a place to grow up!
Edward, a lover of Beethoven and hater of jazz, forever pursues hopeless schemes and a passionate belief in the medicinal properties of sphagnum moss. He has turned the estate into Europe's only moss factory, much to the distress of Uncle Morris, who would plant Norwegian pine for the publishing industry.
Indeed, Uncle Morris hints darkly he will throw Fraser's family off the estate once he inherits it. Holding Kiloran House together are twin towers of feminine strength: the family matriarch, Gamma Macintosh (a serenely handsome Rosemary Harris), and Edward's wife, Moira (lovely Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
Into this idyllic world comes Uncle Morris' "child bride," the utterly beautiful and utterly exotic Heloise (Irene Jacob), a French musician who brings with her a whiff of continental sophistication. What's more, she likes jazz.
Everyone falls in love with Heloise, especially young Fraser. Unbeknownst to the others, however, the highly moralistic Edward has also succumbed to her charms, which nearly leads to disastrous consequences.
The story is narrated by the 10-year-old whose sensibilities grow more adult as the year skips by. Events force him to alter his image of his seemingly God-like father whereby Edward becomes more of a flesh-and-blood man and less of a role model for his adoring, impressionable son.
British playwright Simon Donald has crafted a wry screenplay from Forman's memoir, filled with surprises and rich in the details of extraordinary lives. Donald, Hudson and Puttnam along with the terrific cast make certain the story contains no villains. People may behave in less than perfect ways, but they remain true to their passions.
Young Norman's performance is a miracle, but the entire cast is a complete delight. This extends to even smaller roles such as Tcheky Karyo's "Emperor of the Air", an aviator who literally drops onto the estate to amaze the Pettigrews, and Kelly MacDonald as the eldest daughter who is bewitched by the Emperor.
French cinematographer Bernard Lutic fills the screen with the beauty of misty Scotland and a country house that designer Andy Harris has turned into an ancient family seat. One senses the Pettigrew ancestors still inhabit this dwelling whose large rooms remain somehow homelike.
Young Fraser's childhood is filled with enchantment -- the wild man lurks in the nearby woods, devils allegedly dwell in the attic, bizarre inventions (all designed by Alain Chennaux) clutter the lawns. But most fantastic of all are the secret books and drawings of naked women belonging to Fraser's late grandfather, which the young lad devours without fully comprehending their implications.
Hanging over this idyllic world is the specter of the coming world war that will forever shatter its splendid isolation. This specter gives the comic events a gentle scent of nostalgia for what has been lost. Such innocence could never have lasted. But this magical story celebrates the memory of that innocence as few films have done.
MY LIFE SO FAR
Miramax Films
Enigma Prods. in association_with Hudson Film
Producers: David Puttnam, Steve Norris
Director: Hugh Hudson
Writer: Simon Donald
Based on the book "Son of Adam" by: Denis Forman
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Paul Webster
Director of photography: Bernard Lutic
Production designer: Andy Harris
Music: Howard Blake
Costumer: Emma Porteous
Editor: Scott Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Edward: Colin Firth
Gamma: Rosemary Harris
Heloise: Irene Jacob
Moira: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Uncle Morris: Malcolm McDowell
Fraser: Robert Norman
Gabriel Chenoux: Tcheky Karyo
Elspeth: Kelly MacDonald
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Miramax Films may have a boxoffice hit here that could cross over from the specialty market into mainstream venues.
This film marks a triumphant reunion for Puttnam and Hudson, who collaborated on the 1981 Oscar-winning best picture "Chariots of Fire". Right from the opening shot -- of a bright-eyed baby grinning in a crib -- the film casts its spell. Within moments, an enchanted world in the misty Scottish Highlands opens up to the viewer.
Like "Hope and Glory", "My Life So Far" derives from personal history. The film is based on a memoir, "Son of Adam", by British television executive Denis Forman. He relates the story of a tumultuous year in the life of a wide-eyed 10-year-old in which he sees his world and his family change forever.
Young Fraser Pettigrew -- played with charm and spunk by newcomer Robert Norman -- lives on a bucolic Scottish estate in the early 1930s where a storybook castle named Kiloran House crowns a verdant hill. This kingdom of animals and crazy gizmos is benignly ruled by Fraser's eccentric inventor-father Edward (a buoyant Colin Firth).
"It's just bedlam -- like a zoo!" grouses Fraser's more practical-minded Uncle Morris (a debonair Malcolm McDowell), making one of his frequent visits to the ancestral home. It is indeed bedlam, but what a place to grow up!
Edward, a lover of Beethoven and hater of jazz, forever pursues hopeless schemes and a passionate belief in the medicinal properties of sphagnum moss. He has turned the estate into Europe's only moss factory, much to the distress of Uncle Morris, who would plant Norwegian pine for the publishing industry.
Indeed, Uncle Morris hints darkly he will throw Fraser's family off the estate once he inherits it. Holding Kiloran House together are twin towers of feminine strength: the family matriarch, Gamma Macintosh (a serenely handsome Rosemary Harris), and Edward's wife, Moira (lovely Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
Into this idyllic world comes Uncle Morris' "child bride," the utterly beautiful and utterly exotic Heloise (Irene Jacob), a French musician who brings with her a whiff of continental sophistication. What's more, she likes jazz.
Everyone falls in love with Heloise, especially young Fraser. Unbeknownst to the others, however, the highly moralistic Edward has also succumbed to her charms, which nearly leads to disastrous consequences.
The story is narrated by the 10-year-old whose sensibilities grow more adult as the year skips by. Events force him to alter his image of his seemingly God-like father whereby Edward becomes more of a flesh-and-blood man and less of a role model for his adoring, impressionable son.
British playwright Simon Donald has crafted a wry screenplay from Forman's memoir, filled with surprises and rich in the details of extraordinary lives. Donald, Hudson and Puttnam along with the terrific cast make certain the story contains no villains. People may behave in less than perfect ways, but they remain true to their passions.
Young Norman's performance is a miracle, but the entire cast is a complete delight. This extends to even smaller roles such as Tcheky Karyo's "Emperor of the Air", an aviator who literally drops onto the estate to amaze the Pettigrews, and Kelly MacDonald as the eldest daughter who is bewitched by the Emperor.
French cinematographer Bernard Lutic fills the screen with the beauty of misty Scotland and a country house that designer Andy Harris has turned into an ancient family seat. One senses the Pettigrew ancestors still inhabit this dwelling whose large rooms remain somehow homelike.
Young Fraser's childhood is filled with enchantment -- the wild man lurks in the nearby woods, devils allegedly dwell in the attic, bizarre inventions (all designed by Alain Chennaux) clutter the lawns. But most fantastic of all are the secret books and drawings of naked women belonging to Fraser's late grandfather, which the young lad devours without fully comprehending their implications.
Hanging over this idyllic world is the specter of the coming world war that will forever shatter its splendid isolation. This specter gives the comic events a gentle scent of nostalgia for what has been lost. Such innocence could never have lasted. But this magical story celebrates the memory of that innocence as few films have done.
MY LIFE SO FAR
Miramax Films
Enigma Prods. in association_with Hudson Film
Producers: David Puttnam, Steve Norris
Director: Hugh Hudson
Writer: Simon Donald
Based on the book "Son of Adam" by: Denis Forman
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Paul Webster
Director of photography: Bernard Lutic
Production designer: Andy Harris
Music: Howard Blake
Costumer: Emma Porteous
Editor: Scott Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Edward: Colin Firth
Gamma: Rosemary Harris
Heloise: Irene Jacob
Moira: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Uncle Morris: Malcolm McDowell
Fraser: Robert Norman
Gabriel Chenoux: Tcheky Karyo
Elspeth: Kelly MacDonald
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 7/14/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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