Editing Michael Apted (section)

==Career==
===Television===
Apted began his career in television as a trainee for six months at [[Granada Television]] in [[Manchester (England)|Manchester]], where he worked as a researcher. One of his first projects at Granada would become his best known: the [[Up (film series)|''Up ''series]], which began in 1964 as a profile of 14 seven-year-old children for the current affairs series ''[[World in Action]].'' As a researcher and assistant to Canadian director [[Paul Almond]], Apted was involved in selecting the children, who came from a variety of backgrounds and classes.<ref name="Nation7Up">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/michael-apted-up-series-british-life/ |title=A Thing or Two About Life |date=2 November 2020 |magazine=The Nation |access-date=7 November 2022 |last1=Pedersen |first1=Susan |author-link=Susan Pedersen (historian)}}</ref> Though originally conceived as a one-off documentary, the series has become an institution. When it was suggested that they revisit the subjects at ages fourteen and twenty one, Apted accepted the offer to direct and directed every subsequent episode in the series.<ref name="Nation7Up"/> It explores Apted's thesis that the [[British class system]] remains largely in place. It studies the participants based on the [[Jesuit]] motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weeratunga |first=Jann |title="Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man." – The Schools Reading Road Show |url=https://srrssa.co.za/give-me-a-child-until-he-is-seven-and-i-will-show-you-the-man/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> looking at how they develop during their lives, compared to when they were seven. The series looks at the lives of these people over the years; the latest instalment, ''63 Up'', was produced in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haddou |first=Jihane |date=8 January 2021 |title=Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Give You the Man |url=https://jihanehaddou.medium.com/give-me-the-child-until-he-is-seven-and-i-will-give-you-the-man-9298fa4b35b5 |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 January 2021 |title=Michael Apted, Director Of The 'Up' Documentary Series, Dies At 79 |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/08/955128728/michael-apted-director-of-the-up-documentary-series-dies-at-79 |access-date=9 January 2021 |publisher=NPR |language=en}}</ref> It won a [[Peabody Award]] in 2012 "for its creator’s patience and its subjects' humanity."<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/institutional-award-michael-apteds-up-series72nd Annual Peabody Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109140205/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/institutional-award-michael-apteds-up-series72nd |date=9 January 2021 }}, May 2013.</ref>

During his seven-year period of working at Granada, Apted also directed a number of episodes of ''[[Coronation Street]],''<ref name=":1" /> then written by [[Jack Rosenthal]], among others. Apted and Rosenthal later collaborated on a number of popular television and film projects, including the pilot episodes for ''[[The Dustbinmen]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dustbinmen: There's a Hole in Your Dustbin, Delilah |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-dustbinmen/theres-a-hole-in-your-dustbin-delilah-318268/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=TV.com}}</ref> and ''[[The Lovers (1970 TV series)|The Lovers]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duguid |first=Mark |title=Lovers, The (1970–71) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1289920/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=BFI Screenonline}}</ref> They worked together again in 1982 for the TV movie ''[[P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang. (1982) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6999e9e7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701223908/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6999e9e7 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 July 2019 |access-date=9 January 2021 |publisher=British Film Institute |language=en}}</ref> the first film commissioned by Britain's [[Channel 4]]. In 1976 Apted directed a play in the Granada TV series ''[[Laurence Olivier Presents]]''. The episode was ''[[The Collection (play)|The Collection]]'' by [[Harold Pinter]]. The play starred [[Laurence Olivier]], [[Malcolm McDowell]], [[Alan Bates]] and [[Helen Mirren]].<ref name="Variety obit">{{cite web |title=Michael Apted, Director of 'Coal Miner's Daughter' and 'Up' Series of Documentaries, Dies at 79 |date=8 January 2021 |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/michael-apted-dead-up-docs-1234881490/ |work=Variety |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

Apted used his idea from the ''Up'' series a second time in ''[[Married in America]]'' and ''Married in America 2''. The idea was to interview nine married couples every two years over a ten-year period to tell a more complete story of their marriages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/16/PK175924.DTL&type=printable |title=Keeping a watchful eye on love, commitment / Michael Apted's 'Married in America' to trace nine couples over 10 years |date=16 June 2002 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> In 2005, he directed the first three episodes of the TV series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]''.<ref>The three first episodes were:
*{{Cite web |title=Rome: The Stolen Eagle |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/rome/the-stolen-eagle-291012/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=TV.com}}
*{{Cite web |title=Rome: How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/rome/how-titus-pullo-brought-down-the-republic-291013/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=TV.com}}
*{{Cite web |title=Rome: An Owl in a Thornbush |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/rome/an-owl-in-a-thornbush-291014/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=TV.com}}</ref>

For his work in television, Apted won several [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|British Academy Awards]], including two Flaherty Documentary Awards for his work on 28 ''Up'' and ''35 Up'' and a BAFTA for Best Dramatic Director for the single play ''Kisses at Fifty'' in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=Michael%20Apted |title=BAFTA Awards |publisher=BAFTA |access-date=8 January 2021}}</ref>

[[Image:Michael Apted by David Shankbone.jpg|150px|thumb|Michael Apted in 2007]]

===Film===
Apted made his first feature film in 1972, ''[[The Triple Echo]]'', starring [[Oliver Reed]] and [[Glenda Jackson]], and he directed two films for [[David Puttnam]].<ref name="five">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-nat-cohen-part-five-1971-1988/|access-date=5 February 2025|date=5 February 2025|title=Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)}}</ref> ''The Triple Echo'' was entered into the [[8th Moscow International Film Festival]].<ref name="Moscow1973">{{cite web |url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1973 |title=8th Moscow International Film Festival (1973) |access-date=3 January 2013 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116194922/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1973 |archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> He alternated this work with working on the TV series ''[[Play for Today]]''. He directed six plays including ''Stronger than the Sun'', written by [[Stephen Poliakoff]] and starring [[Francesca Annis]] as a young woman who places her life in danger to expose a crime, a theme Apted returned to several times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stronger than the Sun (1977) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b773da300 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103092322/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b773da300 |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 January 2018 |access-date=9 January 2021 |publisher=British Film Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

In 1979 he directed the Hollywood-financed ''[[Agatha (film)|Agatha]]'', featuring [[Vanessa Redgrave]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Agatha (1979) – Michael Apted {{!}} Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v1214 |language=en |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> He went to the United States in 1980, where he directed ''[[Coal Miner's Daughter (film)|Coal Miner's Daughter]]'',<ref name="BFI" /> which received seven [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations, winning best actress for [[Sissy Spacek]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 53rd Academy Awards {{!}} 1981 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1981/A--E |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |language=en}}</ref> Both Spacek and [[Loretta Lynn]], the subject of the film, have said that they believe Apted's outsider point of view was crucial to the movie's success in securing the participation of [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian]] residents and to the avoidance of stereotypes that previously had marred portrayals of [[Appalachia|mountain culture]].<ref name="dvdcomm-apted">Sissy Spacek and Michael Apted. Feature commentary track, ''Coal Miner's Daughter'' 25th Anniversary/Collector's Edition, 2005.</ref><ref name="dvdcomm-lynn">Interview with Loretta Lynn and Michael Apted. Featurette on ''Coal Miner's Daughter'' 25th Anniversary/Collector's Edition DVD, 2005.</ref> In 2019, ''Coal Miner's Daughter'' was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="Chow">{{cite magazine |last=Chow |first=Andrew R. |date=11 December 2019 |title=See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks |url=https://time.com/5747503/national-film-registry-2019-additions/|magazine=Time |location=New York, NY |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>

Apted also made several films with a strong social message or that deal with an ethical dilemma. In 1983 he directed ''[[Gorky Park (film)|Gorky Park]]'', a political thriller based on the novel by [[Martin Cruz Smith]], that deals with police corruption in the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Gorky Park (1983) – Michael Apted {{!}} Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v20395 |language=en |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> ''[[Class Action (film)|Class Action]]'' deals with a [[corporate]] [[whistleblower]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Class Action (1991) – Michael Apted {{!}} Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v9818 |language=en |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> and ''[[Extreme Measures]]'' is about [[medical ethics]].<ref name="Radio Times">{{cite web |title=Extreme Measures |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/cc8d4/extreme-measures/ |work=Radio Times |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> ''Class Action'' was entered into the [[17th Moscow International Film Festival]].<ref name="Moscow1991">{{cite web |url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1991 |title=17th Moscow International Film Festival (1991) |access-date=2 March 2013 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403102003/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1991 |archive-date=3 April 2014}}</ref>

In 1994, he directed ''[[Nell (film)|Nell]]'', which received three Golden Globe Award nominations<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nell |url=https://gg-proto.ps-pantheon.com/film/nell |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=Golden Globes Awards}}</ref> and one Academy Award nomination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 67th Academy Awards {{!}} 1995 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995 |access-date=9 January 2021 |website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |date=5 October 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1999, Apted directed the ''[[James Bond]]'' film ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]''.<ref name="RTimes2">{{cite web |title=James Bond and 7-Up director Michael Apted dies age 79 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2021-01-09/james-bond-director-michael-apted-dies/ |work=Radio Times |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

===Documentary===
In addition to the [[Up (film series)|''Up'' series]], Apted made other documentaries, including ''[[Bring On the Night (film)|Bring On the Night]]'', a feature-length concert film about the making of [[Sting (musician)|Sting]]'s [[The Dream of the Blue Turtles|first solo album]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Screen: Sting in 'Bring on the Night' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/08/movies/screen-sting-in-bring-on-the-night.html |first=Janet |last=Maslin |page=C12 |date=8 November 1985 |access-date=9 January 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> He directed the documentary ''The Long Way Home'', which was released in 1989. It chronicled the UK, US and USSR adventures of [[Boris Grebenshchikov]], the first Soviet [[underground musician]] allowed to record in the West.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzwKfkQS1QwC&pg=PT348 |title=Annie Lennox: The Biography |publisher=Omnibus Press |date=16 December 2009 |last=Ellis |first=Lucy |isbn=9780857121141}}</ref>

Before the making of ''[[Thunderheart]]'', Apted made the documentary ''[[Incident at Oglala]]'' about [[Leonard Peltier]]. ''Incident at Oglala'' then informed ''Thunderheart'' in the casting of actors for the fiction film.<ref>.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/incident-at-oglala-the-leonard-peltier-story-98420/ |title=Incident at Ogala: The Leonard Peltier Story |date=26 June 1992 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

In 1997, he explored the creative process in ''[[Inspirations (film)|Inspirations]]'' through candid discussion with seven artists from diverse media, including [[David Bowie]], [[Louise Lecavalier]] and [[Roy Lichtenstein]] among others.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/4008/inspirations/ |title=Inspirations |publisher=DVDTalk.com |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

In a departure from his earlier work, from 1992 to 1994, Apted ventured into China's rapidly changing popular culture. In a project backed by [[Trudie Styler]], Apted directed ''[[Moving the Mountain (1994 film)|Moving the Mountain]]'', a feature documentary which probed the origins of the [[1989 protests in Tiananmen Square]] and the consequences of the movement in the lives of several of the movement's student leaders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/26/movies/film-review-moving-mountain-upheaval-china-real-recollections-false-flashbacks.html |title=Film Review:Moving the Mountain: Upheaval in China |work=The New York Times |date=26 April 1995 |access-date=9 January 2021 |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet}}</ref>

In 2006, Apted co-directed ''The Official Film of the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]'', narrated by [[Pierce Brosnan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Film producer lists at Byron |url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-sunday-telegraph-sydney/20180428/283300343163128 |date=29 April 2018 |access-date=9 January 2020 |newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph |location=Sydney}}</ref>

Apted was the collaborator and subject of the documentary: ''Michael Apted – Visions on Film'', by artist and filmmaker [[Melinda Camber Porter]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://melindacamberporter.com/gallery/series/journalism/1055/ |title=Michael Apted, English director |publisher=MelindaCamberPorter.com |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

===Theatre===
In 1977, Apted directed the premiere of ''[[Strawberry Fields (play)|Strawberry Fields]]'' at the National Theatre in London.