Michael Winterbottom  

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-'''Michael Winterbottom''' (born [[March 29]] [[1961]] in [[Blackburn]], [[Lancashire]]) is a prolific [[British film]]maker, who has directed fifteen films in the past twelve years, six of them written by screenwriter [[Frank Cottrell Boyce]], including ''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'' and ''[[24 Hour Party People]]''. He has two daughters with his ex-wife, author [[Sabrina Broadbent]].+'''Michael Winterbottom''' (1961) is an [[English film director]]. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'', ''[[Wonderland (1999 film)|Wonderland]]'' and ''[[24 Hour Party People]]''—have competed for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].
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-Three of his movies, ''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'', ''[[Wonderland (1999 movie)|Wonderland]]'' and ''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' have been nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].+
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-=== Life === +
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-== Career == +
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-Winterbottom's television career included such diverse projects as the mystery series ''[[Cracker (British television)|Cracker]]'', the ''Inspector Alleyn Mysteries'', two documentaries about [[Ingmar Bergman]], numerous television movies and an episode of the series ''Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood'', focusing on Scandinavian silent cinema. He also directed the mini-series ''Family'', written by [[Roddy Doyle]], with each of four episodes focusing on one member of a working-class [[Dublin]] family. It was this series that first brought Winterbottom to the attention of moviegoers, when it was edited down into a feature. +
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-His first theatrical feature, [[1995]]'s ''Butterfly Kiss'', firmly established his intense visual sense, naturalistic style and compelling use of pop songs to reinforce narrative. The story of a mentally unbalanced lesbian [[serial killer]] and her submissive lover/accomplice falling in love as they slaughter their way across the motorways of [[northern England]], it found only a limited release. +
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-That same year, he reteamed with [[Jimmy McGovern]], writer of ''[[Cracker (British television)|Cracker]]'', for the powerful [[BBC]] television film ''[[Go Now]]'', the story of a young man who falls ill with [[multiple sclerosis]] just as he has met the love of his life. Focusing on the turmoil this causes the couple, the film was given a theatrical release in many countries, including the [[United States]].+
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-In [[1996]] he adapted his favorite novel, [[Thomas Hardy]]'s bleak classic ''[[Jude the Obscure (film)|Jude the Obscure]]'', the tale of [[forbidden love]] between two cousins which had so scandalized British society on its release in [[1895]] that Hardy gave up novel-writing. It was not Winterbottom's first time approaching the work, he had already filmed the pig slaughter sequence once at film school. Starring [[Christopher Eccleston]] and a luminous, pre-stardom [[Kate Winslet]], ''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' brought Winterbottom wider recognition, his first screening at Cannes and numerous Hollywood offers, all of which he eventually turned down. +
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-''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'' was filmed on location in the titular [[Sarajevo|city]], mere months after the [[Siege of Sarajevo]] had ended, adding greatly to its authenticity and allowing frequent intercutting of actual news footage from the combat. The film is based on the true story of a British reporter, [[Michael Nicholson]], who spirited a young orphan girl out of the warzone to safety in Britain.+
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-Winterbottom's next two films both had distribution difficulties and were not widely seen. ''I Want You'' is a neo-noir sex thriller, shot in bold primary colors by the Polish cinematographer [[Slawomir Idziak]] and set in a decaying seaside resort. Starring [[Rachel Weisz]] and [[Alessandro Nivola]], it focuses more on mood than plot and was inspired by the [[Elvis Costello]] song of the same name. ''With or Without You'', starring [[Christopher Eccleston]], is a light Belfast-set sex comedy, about a couple who are trying desperately to conceive, only for each to have past loves re-enter their lives.+
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-1999's ''Wonderland'' marked a decided shift in style for Winterbottom, with its loose, handheld photography and naturalistic, often improvised dialogue which drew comparisons to [[Robert Altman]]. Featuring Gina McKee, Shirley Henderson, [[Ian Hart]] and [[Stuart Townsend]], it is the story of three sisters and their extended family over the [[Guy Fawkes]] Day weekend in [[London]]. The disparate elements are tied together by an orchestral score by minimalist composer [[Michael Nyman]], who would become a frequent collaborator with Winterbottom.+
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-Winterbottom followed that project up with his biggest budgeted film, ''[[The Claim]]'', an adaptation of [[Thomas Hardy]]'s ''[[The Mayor of Casterbridge]]'' set in [[1860s]]' [[California]]. Shot with a budget of $20 million in the wilds of [[Canada]], it was not a financial success and proved an ordeal to make, with Winterbottom himself getting [[frostbite]]. The production had previously been ready to shoot in [[Spain]], with sets already built, when financing fell through. Attempts were made to cast [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], in a role eventually played by [[Milla Jovovich]] and many of the production details and difficulties were explained to the public on an unusually frank official website.+
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-''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' documents the anarchic, drug and sex-fuelled rise and fall of the influential label [[Factory Records]] and the music scene in [[Manchester]] from the late [[1970s]] to the mid-[[1990s]]. As much an ode to the city of [[Manchester]] as the story of the contemporary musical world, the film stars [[Steve Coogan]] as broadcaster/music-mogul [[Tony Wilson]]. +
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-His [[2002]] film ''[[In This World]]'' depicts the harrowing journey of two [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] [[refugee]]s from [[Pakistan]], across the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]] to Britain which they try to enter with the help of [[people smuggling|people smugglers]]. Shot on [[digital video]] with non-professional actors who virtually lived out the events of the film, its compelling sense of reality brought Winterbottom numerous awards including a [[Berlin Film Festival|Golden Bear]] and a [[Bafta#Awards|BAFTA]] for best film not in the English language. +
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-The futuristic romantic mystery ''[[Code 46]]'' is a retelling of the [[Oedipus]] myth, in a world where [[cloning]] has created people so interrelated that strict laws (the Code 46 of the title) govern human reproduction. Essentially a film noir, it follows a fraud investigator played by [[Tim Robbins]] as he investigates a femme fatale played by [[Samantha Morton]]. The film's highly stylized settings were created on a limited budget by taking the tiny crew around the world, shooting in places which already looked like one hundred years in the future. Much of the film was shot in [[Shanghai]], while [[Dubai]] and [[Rajasthan]] in [[India]] were also variously mixed to create a multi-ethnic melting-pot culture.+
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-''[[9 Songs (movie)|9 Songs]]'', released in [[2004]], gained attention as the most sexually explicit film ever to receive a [[British Board of Film Classification|certificate]] for general release in the UK. It charts a year-long relationship between two lovers, almost exclusively through their sexual interaction and various rock concerts the couple attend. During these concerts, the nine songs of the film's title often comment on the couple's relationship. The film became notorious in the UK for its candid scenes of unsimulated sex between the leads, [[Kieran O'Brien]] and [[Margo Stilley]].+
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-He followed that with 2006's ''[[A Cock and Bull Story]]'', an adaptation of the famously "[[unfilmable]]" ''[[The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman]]'', one of the earliest novels. Shandy is a narrator so easily distracted in relating his life story that by the end of the book he has not yet come to his own birth. The movie, similarly, is about the making of a film of ''Tristram Shandy'', and the impossibility of that task. Moreover, it deals with the impossibility of capturing the complexity of life in a work of art, but the value of the attempt. Steve Coogan stars as himself and as Shandy. The film also marks the end of Winterbottom's lengthy collaboration with writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who chose to be credited under the pseudonym Martin Hardy.[http://www.variety.com/ac2006_article/VR1117933481?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1]+
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-Winterbottom's, ''[[The Road to Guantanamo]]'', is a docu-drama about the "[[Tipton Three]]", three British [[Muslims]] captured by US forces in Afghanistan who spent two years as prisoners at [[Guantánamo Bay]] as alleged [[unlawful combatants|enemy combatants]]. It was shot in [[Afghanistan]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Iran]] (which doubled as [[Cuba]]) in the fall of 2005. It premiered at the Berlinale on February 14, 2006. It debuted in the UK on television, on March 9, as it was co-financed by Channel 4. +
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-Much of the film hinged on claims by the three that they were travelers caught up in the war and had no connection to militant groups. The story appeared to fall apart in 2007 when two of the three appeared on Channel 4's "Lie Lab" to take a lie detector test. Contrary to their accounts of innocence depicted in film, one confessed to attending an Islamist training camp and the other refused to take the test. [http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2094030,00.html]+
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-''[[A Mighty Heart]]'', is based on the book by Mariane Pearl, wife of murdered journalist [[Daniel Pearl]]. The film stars [[Angelina Jolie]] and focuses on the pregnant Mariane's search for her missing husband in Pakistan in 2002. The film, produced by Jolie's partner [[Brad Pitt]], was shot in the fall of 2006 in India, Pakistan and France. It premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2007. +
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-His next project, ''[[Genova]]'', is a ghost story about a British man, played by [[Colin Firth]], who moves his two American daughters to Italy following the death of his wife. It costars [[Catherine Keener]] and [[Hope Davis]] and is being filmed in [[Genoa]], Italy and Boston, Massachusetts beginning in June 2007. It was written by ''Wonderland'' screenwriter Laurence Coriat.+
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-Following this, he plans to shoot ''[[Murder in Samarkand]]'', the memoirs of the former British ambassador to [[Uzbekistan]], [[Craig Murray]], who was fired after drawing attention to the violent rule of American and British sponsored ruler [[Islom Karimov]]. The film will reteam Winterbottom with Steve Coogan, who will play Murray. The script is by playwright [[David Hare (dramatist)|David Hare]].+
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-In addition, he has already begun work on a project that will not be released until 2012. ''[[Seven Days]]'' stars [[John Simm]] as a man imprisoned for drug-smuggling and charts his relationship with his wife, played by [[Shirley Henderson]]. The film is being shot a few weeks at a time, over the next five years, to reflect the character's time in prison. It is being written by Winterbottom and Coriat.+
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-== Trivia ==+
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-In 2004, his ex-wife, [[Sabrina Broadbent]], published her first novel, ''[[Descent (novel)|Descent]]'', a thinly veiled account of their life together, which received positive reviews. Ms. Broadbent had already won the 2002 [[WH Smith]] Raw Talent Award based on her synopsis and first chapter of the novel. She lives in the Crouch End area of North London with their two daughters.+
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==Filmography== ==Filmography==
*''Rosie the Great'' (1989, TV) *''Rosie the Great'' (1989, TV)
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*''[[Family (1994)|Family]]'' (1994, TV) *''[[Family (1994)|Family]]'' (1994, TV)
*''[[Butterfly Kiss]]'' (1995) *''[[Butterfly Kiss]]'' (1995)
-*''[[Go Now]]'' (1995)+*''[[Go Now (film)|Go Now]]'' (1995)
-{{col-2-of-4}}+
*''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' (1996) *''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' (1996)
*''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'' (1997) *''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'' (1997)
*''[[I Want You (1998 film)|I Want You]]'' (1998) *''[[I Want You (1998 film)|I Want You]]'' (1998)
*''[[Wonderland (1999 film)|Wonderland]]'' (1999) *''[[Wonderland (1999 film)|Wonderland]]'' (1999)
-*''With or Without You'' (1999)+*''[[With or Without You (1999 film)|With or Without You]]'' (1999)
-*''[[The Claim]]'' (2000)+*''[[The Claim (2000 film)|The Claim]]'' (2000)
*''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' (2002) *''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' (2002)
*''[[In This World]]'' (2002) *''[[In This World]]'' (2002)
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*''[[The Road to Guantanamo]]'' (2006) *''[[The Road to Guantanamo]]'' (2006)
*''[[A Mighty Heart (film)|A Mighty Heart]]'' (2007) *''[[A Mighty Heart (film)|A Mighty Heart]]'' (2007)
-*''[[Genova (film)|Genova]]'' (2008)+*''[[Genova (2008 film)|Genova]]'' (2008)
*''The Shock Doctrine'' (2009) *''The Shock Doctrine'' (2009)
*''[[The Killer Inside Me (2010 film)|The Killer Inside Me]]'' (2010) *''[[The Killer Inside Me (2010 film)|The Killer Inside Me]]'' (2010)
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*''[[Everyday (2013 film)|Everyday]]'' (2012) *''[[Everyday (2013 film)|Everyday]]'' (2012)
*''[[The Look of Love (film)|The Look of Love]]'' (2013) *''[[The Look of Love (film)|The Look of Love]]'' (2013)
 +*''[[The Trip to Italy]]'' (2014, TV)
 +*''[[The Face of an Angel]]'' (2014)
 +*''[[The Emperor's New Clothes (2015 film)|The Emperor's New Clothes]]'' (2015)
 +*''On the Road'' (2016)
 +*''[[The Trip to Spain]]'' (2017)
 +*''[[The Wedding Guest (2018 film)|The Wedding Guest]]'' (2018)
 +*''[[Greed (2019 film)|Greed]]'' (2019)
 +*''[[The Trip to Greece]]'' (2020)
-{{col-end}} 
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Michael Winterbottom (1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—Welcome to Sarajevo, Wonderland and 24 Hour Party People—have competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

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