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Michael Apted

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Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Michael David Apted Template:Post-nominals (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer.

Apted began working in television and directed the Up documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later directed Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), which was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. His subsequent work included Gorillas in the Mist (1988), Nell (1994), the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Enigma (2001). His film Amazing Grace (2006) premiered at the closing of the Toronto International Film Festival that year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 29 June 2003, he was elected president of the Directors Guild of America,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> a position he served until 2009.<ref name=":2" /> He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Early life and educationEdit

Apted was born on 10 February 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, the son of Frances Amelia (née Thomas) and Ronald William Apted.<ref name="filmref">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name = NYT>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was educated at City of London School and Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied law and history.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

CareerEdit

TelevisionEdit

Apted began his career in television as a trainee for six months at Granada Television in Manchester, where he worked as a researcher. One of his first projects at Granada would become his best known: the 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">Template:Cite magazine</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It won a Peabody Award in 2012 "for its creator’s patience and its subjects' humanity."<ref>Annual Peabody Awards Template:Webarchive, 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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Lovers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They worked together again in 1982 for the TV movie P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 by Harold Pinter. The play starred Laurence Olivier, Malcolm McDowell, Alan Bates and Helen Mirren.<ref name="Variety obit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2005, he directed the first three episodes of the TV series Rome.<ref>The three first episodes were:

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For his work in television, Apted won several 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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Michael Apted by David Shankbone.jpg
Michael Apted in 2007

FilmEdit

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">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Triple Echo was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.<ref name="Moscow1973">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1" />

In 1979 he directed the Hollywood-financed Agatha, featuring Vanessa Redgrave.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> He went to the United States in 1980, where he directed Coal Miner's Daughter,<ref name="BFI" /> which received seven Academy Award nominations, winning best actress for Sissy Spacek.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 residents and to the avoidance of stereotypes that previously had marred portrayals of 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">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Apted also made several films with a strong social message or that deal with an ethical dilemma. In 1983 he directed Gorky Park, a political thriller based on the novel by Martin Cruz Smith, that deals with police corruption in the former Soviet Union.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Class Action deals with a corporate whistleblower,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and Extreme Measures is about medical ethics.<ref name="Radio Times">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Class Action was entered into the 17th Moscow International Film Festival.<ref name="Moscow1991">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1994, he directed Nell, which received three Golden Globe Award nominations<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and one Academy Award nomination.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1999, Apted directed the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.<ref name="RTimes2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DocumentaryEdit

In addition to the Up series, Apted made other documentaries, including Bring On the Night, a feature-length concert film about the making of Sting's first solo album.<ref>Template:Cite news</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>Template:Cite book</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>.Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1997, he explored the creative process in Inspirations through candid discussion with seven artists from diverse media, including David Bowie, Louise Lecavalier and Roy Lichtenstein among others.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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, 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>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2006, Apted co-directed The Official Film of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, narrated by Pierce Brosnan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Apted was the collaborator and subject of the documentary: Michael Apted – Visions on Film, by artist and filmmaker Melinda Camber Porter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

TheatreEdit

In 1977, Apted directed the premiere of Strawberry Fields at the National Theatre in London.

Personal life and deathEdit

Apted's first marriage was to Jo, with whom he had two sons, Paul and Jim. Paul Apted was a sound editor who worked on movies such as The Wolverine; he died from colon cancer in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was married to screenwriter Dana Stevens for 10 years, before they divorced. They had a son, John.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2007 Apted became a father for the fourth time, to a girl, who lives with her mother Tania Mellis.<ref name=":0" /> Apted married Paige Simpson, his third wife, in January 2014.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Apted died at his home in Los Angeles on 7 January 2021, at the age of 79.<ref name = NYT/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FilmographyEdit

FilmEdit

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Documentary film

Year Title Director Producer Writer
1985 Bring On the Night Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes
1992 Incident at Oglala Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
1994 Moving the Mountain Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes
1997 Inspirations Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
1999 Me & Isaac Newton Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2007 The Power of the Game Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2012 56 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
2014 Bending the Light Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No

TelevisionEdit

Year Title Director Producer Notes Ref.
1966-1967 Coronation Street Template:Yes Template:No 21 episodes <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1967 Escape Template:Yes Template:No Episode "A Bad Risk"
Haunted Template:Yes Template:No citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1967-1968 City '68 Template:Yes Template:No 5 episodes
1968-1972 Playhouse Template:Yes Template:No 11 episodes citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref name="Rosenthal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1969 Big Breadwinner Hog Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Parkin's Patch Template:Yes Template:No 8 episodes <ref name=":1" />
1970 The Sinners Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Mother Matilda's Book"
The Lovers Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes <ref name="Rosenthal"/>
1971-1972 ITV Saturday Night Theatre Template:Yes Template:No Episodes "Another Sunday and Sweet F.A." and "Big Soft Nellie" citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Follyfoot Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
1972 Thirty-Minute Theatre Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Said the Preacher"
1972-1976 Play for Today Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes <ref name=":1" />
1973 Black and Blue Template:Yes Template:No Segment High Kampf
1975 Shades of Greene Template:Yes Template:No Episode "The Destructors" citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1976 Great Performances Template:Yes Template:No Episode "The Collection"  citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Plays for Britain Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Paradise Run"
1982-1985 First Love Template:Yes Template:No  
1991 My Life and Times  Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes <ref name=":1" />
1992-1993 Crossroads Template:Yes Template:Yes citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

1995 New York News Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Pilot" <ref name=":1" />
2005 Blind Justice Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Leap of Faith"
Rome Template:Yes Template:Yes 3 episodes (Including "The Stolen Eagle") <ref name=":1" />
2006 What About Brian Template:Yes Template:No Episode "What About the Fish...?"
2013-2016 Ray Donovan Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
Masters of Sex Template:Yes Template:Yes 9 episodes
2014 Reckless Template:Yes Template:No Episode "Bloodstone" <ref>Template:Citation</ref>
2017 Bloodline Template:Yes Template:No "Part 30"  citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

TV movies

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Documentary film

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (2003)

  • Married in America 2 (2006)
Up series
Year Title Director Producer
1970 7 Plus Seven Template:Yes Template:Yes
1977 21 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes
1984 28 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes
1991 35 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes
Age 7 in America Template:No Template:Yes
1998 14 Up in America Template:No Template:Yes
42 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes
2005 49 Up Template:Yes Template:Yes
2006 21 Up America Template:No Template:Yes

Other rolesEdit

He served as president of the Directors Guild of America from 2003 to 2009 and served as the secretary-treasurer from 2011 to his death.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards and nominationsEdit

Year Title Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
1974 Stardust 1
1979 Agatha 1 1 2
1980 Coal Miner's Daughter 7 1 2 2 2
1983 Gorky Park 1 1
1988 Gorillas in the Mist 5 1 3 2
1994 Nell 1 3
Total 14 1 6 0 11 4

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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