Michael Apted
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Biography
Having displayed a fondness for both documentaries and feature films, versatile director Michael Apted struck a creative balance between both worlds that was matched by very few of his contemporaries. After establishing himself in his native England with the documentary series "7 Up," as well as numerous episodes of various television shows, Apted journeyed to America, where he garnered instant credibility with "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980), widely considered to be one of the best musical biopics ever made. He achieved further box office success with the crime thriller "Gorky Park" (1983). Apted directed Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey in "Gorillas in the Mist" (1988), which he followed with the compelling courtroom drama "Class Action" (1991). While continuing the "7 Up" documentaries throughout the decades, the director continued to work in the feature world as well, and took the reins of the James Bond franchise with "The World Is Not Enough" (1999). He found further success in directing episodic television - particularly on the acclaimed HBO series "Rome" (2005-07), and could take pride in a long and venerable career.
Born on Feb. 10, 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, Apted began his career with England's Granada Television - first as a researcher, where he first encountered fellow future British director Mike Newell; then as a director, most notably on the long-running soap "Coronation Street" (ITV, 1960- ). After serving as the assistant to director Paul Almond on "7 Up" (Granada TV, 1963), Apted directed and produced some 50-odd episodes of plays, serials and television series. In 1970, he helmed "7 Plus Seven," a documentary update of Almond's "7 Up." Apted soon ventured into feature films, making his debut with "Triple Echo" (1973), an off-beat wartime romance in which Oliver Reed falls for an AWOL soldier (Brian Deacon) disguised as a woman. The director displayed his enthusiasm for the music scene with his follow-up, "Stardust" (1974), which chronicled the rise and fall of a Beatles-like pop group. Continuing to show eclectic taste, as well as a talent for action sequences, Apted made the gritty British crime thriller, "The Squeeze" (1977), starring Stacy Keach as a burnt-out, alcoholic ex-cop offered a chance at redemption when called upon to rescue his former spouse from kidnappers.
Apted's last British effort before crossing the pond to work in Hollywood, "Agatha" (1979), was an intriguing speculation on the 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926, which starred Vanessa Redgrave as the famous mystery writer and Dustin Hoffman as the smooth Yankee reporter who tracks her down. Making his American film debut, Apted gained instant credibility with "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980), widely considered to be one of the finest musical bios ever made. The rags-to-riches story of country star Loretta Lynn earned star Sissy Spacek - who also sang Lynn's songs pitch-perfect - a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar and featured equally outstanding work from Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm in supporting parts. He stumbled with his next outing, "Continental Divide" (1981), despite the presence of potent collaborators like screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, executive producer Steven Spielberg and star John Belushi, whom viewers had a hard time accepting in a romantic leading man role. Apted returned to England for the middling adolescent comedy "Kipperbang" (1982), which was made for British television, but released theatrically in the United States, before finally scoring at the box office with "Gorky Park" (1983). Adapted from Martin Cruz Smith's best-selling crime novel, "Gorky Park" was an absorbing, but rather complex examination of a corrupt Soviet state hindering a murder investigation headed by a dogged police inspector (William Hurt).
Following a very bad Richard Pryor vehicle, "Critical Condition" (1986), Apted recovered his bearings with "Gorillas in the Mist" (1988), an intriguing blend of documentary and career-woman melodrama starring Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey, the real-life ferocious and antisocial recluse whose zealous protection of Rwandan gorillas led to her unsolved murder. His success in features not withstanding, Apted was also an accomplished documentarian, particularly after his assistant stint on Paul Almond's "7 Up," which attempted to document the effects of social and economic disparities among English schoolchildren of radically different backgrounds. Once Apted came into his own as a director, he took over the project and made it his own, directing follow-up portraits of the same group of subjects at seven-year intervals in the sequels "7 Plus Seven," "21 Up" (1977), "28 Up" (1984), "35 Up" (1991) and "42 Up" (1998). The popularity of the series led to an American spin-off, "Age Seven in America" (CBS, 1992) and its later installment "14 Up in America" (Showtime, 1998), both directed by Phil Joanou with Apted serving behind the scenes as producer and executive producer, respectively. The series crossed over into other countries, with Russia, South Africa, Japan and Germany producing their own series.
Although there was a time when the "Up" films were his only break from fiction, Apted increasingly expanded his scope as a nonfiction filmmaker. "Bring on the Night" (1985), his look into the formation of Sting's rock/jazz band culminating in their first concert performance, earned a Grammy for Best Music Video, Long Form. He similarly profiled Russian rock star Boris Grebenshikov in "The Long Way Home" (Granada TV, 1989). After soliciting crackling performances from Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as father and daughter lawyers on opposite sides in "Class Action" (1991), Apted journeyed to Sioux country for the incisive documentary "Incident at Oglala" (1992) and its related feature "Thunderheart" (1992), a drama based loosely on those events of the 1970s which occurred at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota which led to the framing of Indian activist Leonard Peltier. The engrossing thriller starred Val Kilmer as an FBI man who discovers his own Indian roots while investigating murder on the reservation. Apted next traveled to China for "Moving the Mountain" (1994), a documentary look inside the origins of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and what subsequently happened to the lives of the movement's leaders.
Apted's penchant for dramas revolving around female protagonists continued with "Blink" (1994), which starred Madeline Stowe as a blind woman who regains her sight after 20 years, only to witnesses a murder, which she then doubts she has seen. For "Nell" (1994), Apted incorporated a documentary tone to tell the story of a young woman (Jodie Foster) raised in isolation who becomes the center of controversy when a kindly doctor (Liam Neeson) and an ambitious psychologist (Natasha Richardson) take opposing views on whether she should be integrated into society. Following "Extreme Measures" (1996), a rather predictable conspiracy thriller set in the medical world, Apted embarked on back-to-back documentaries: "Inspirations" (1997), which detailed the creative process of celebrated artists like David Bowie and Roy Lichtenstein, and "Me and Isaac Newton" (1999), which examined individuals who find solace in the answers provided by science. His reputation for helming character-driven projects prompted producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to invite him to take on James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in "The World Is Not Enough" (1999). Apted tried to concentrate on strong characterization and storytelling amidst the usual gadgets and action sequence, while elevating the Bond girls above their usual sexual ornamentation. But instead, he created a lifeless and confusing addition to the franchise, while also introducing Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards), widely considered to be one of the worst Bond girls of all time.
Staying within espionage territory, Apted directed the talky and nostalgic spy film, "Enigma" (2001), which starred Kate Winslet as a plucky member of the British team trying to crack the Nazi's Enigma machine ciphers, while helping a brilliant, but broken-down mathematician (Dougray Scott) trying to find his missing former love (Saffron Burrows). After helming the dismal Jennifer Lopez revenge vehicle "Enough" (2002), he embarked on a documentary series on marriage called "Married in America" (A&E, 2002). Using the same format as his seminal "7 Up" series, nine couple's lives were documented over the course of a decade. A second installment, "Married in America 2" (A&E, 2006), caught up with the same couples five years later. Meanwhile, Apted returned to episodic television, directing episodes of the short-lived procedural "Blind Justice" (ABC, 2004-05) and the first three episodes of the lurid and violent historical drama, "Rome" (HBO, 2005-07). While serving as President of the Directors Guild of America from 2003-09, Apted directed "Saving Grace" (2007), a historical drama chronicling the efforts of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) to eliminate the slave trade in 19th century England. Returning to large-scale filmmaking, Apted directed "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (2010), the third installment to the popular film franchise based on the novels of C.S. Lewis.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
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Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Producer (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Producer (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1963
Was an assistant to director Paul Almond for "7 Up" on Granada TV
1970
Directed "Seven Plus Seven," a documentary update for Granada TV of Almond's "7 Up"
1973
Made feature directorial debut with "Triple Echo"
1975
Directed "Stardust," a provocative and believable look at a fictional, Beatles-like rock group
1977
American TV directorial debut, the PBS special "Childhood"
1977
Directed "21 Up," a continuing update for Granada TV of Almond's "7 Up"
1978
Made debut as a stage director with "Strawberry Fields" at the National Theatre in London
1979
Directed "Agatha," a fictional speculation on Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance in 1926
1980
Directed first American film "Coal Miner's Daughter"; first collaborations with Tom Rickman who scripted and Tommy Lee Jones who co-starred
1981
Teamed with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and executive producer Steven Spielberg for "Continental Divide"
1983
Directed "Gorky Park," an absorbing murder mystery set in Russia starring John Hurt
1984
Directed "28 Up" for Granada TV
1985
Directed the documentary "Bring On the Night" about the formation of Sting's rock-jazz band
1985
Appeared as Ace Tomato Agent in John Landis' "Spies Like Us"
1985
Produced the feature version of "28 Up," consolidating the four TV documentaries begun by Almond 21 years before in "7 Up"
1988
Directed Sigourney Weaver in "Gorillas in the Mist," based on the life of Dian Fossey
1989
Directed a documentary about Russian rock star Boris Grebenshikov, "The Long Way Home"
1991
Directed the premiere episode of "My Life and Times" (ABC)
1991
Earned first screenplay credit for "35 Up"; also produced and directed
1991
Directed Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in "Class Action" as father-daughter lawyers on opposite sides of a class-action lawsuit against a negligent auto company
1992
Brought the franchise to America, producing "Age 7 in America" for CBS
1992
Journeyed into Sioux Indian country, directing "Thunderheart" and "Incident at Oglala"
1992
Co-executive produced Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula"
1993
Served as co-executive producer of Forest Whitaker's directing debut, "Strapped" (HBO)
1994
Directed Jodie Foster in her Oscar nominated role "Nell"
1994
Scripted and directed "Moving the Mountain," a documentary look inside the inner circle of China's pro-Democracy leaders
1997
Produced and directed "Inspirations," a documentary detailing the creative process of seven celebrated artists
1998
Directed the modern urban fable "Always Outnumbered" (HBO)
1998
Produced and directed the continuing series "42 Up" for Granada TV
1998
Executive produced "14 Up in America"
1999
Directed the 19th film in the James Bond film series "The World Is Not Enough"
2002
Created the documentary series "Married in America," which followed nine newlywed couples over ten years
2002
Directed Jennifer Lopez as an abused woman who strikes back in "Enough"
2003
Replaced Martha Coolidge as President of the DGA
2005
Returned to television, directing the first three episodes of the HBO series "Rome"
2007
Helmed "Amazing Grace," a film about the slave trade in 19th century Britain
2010
Directed the third installment of the Narnia films "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
2012
With Curtis Hanson, co-directed sport drama "Chasing Mavericks"
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