Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)
Encyclopedia
Allan Scott, the alias of Allan Shiach, (born 16 September 1940) is a Scottish
screenwriter and producer, nominated for BAFTA's Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film
and a Genie Award
for his 1997 film Regeneration
. He has won the Edgar Award
(1976) and Writers' Guild Award (1978).
, Moray
, and educated at Gordonstoun School and McGill University
, Montreal
, where he obtained a B.A.
in English Literature
. After training in the Scotch whisky industry, he worked as a writer for television both in the US and the UK during the seventies while also serving as a non-executive director of Macallan-Glenlivet plc.
He served for several years on the Broadcasting Council of BBC Scotland
and in 1986 succeeded Sir Denis Forman as Chairman of the Scottish Film Production Fund. His subsequent Chairmanship of the Scottish Film Council lasted for six years and following upon the SFC’s initiative to create a new, broadly-based body for the Scottish screen industries (the Film Archive, Media Education, Exhibition, Screen Locations and Production Fund), he was appointed the first Chairman of the new organisation named Scottish Screen
. Having chaired the Interim Board which supervised the transition and consolidation, he remained as Chairman for a further year before stepping down in 1998, after twelve years of involvement with Scotland’s film making bodies.
While continuing his career as a screenwriter and producer, he was also a director of both Caledonian Newspapers and Scottish Television plc and when the companies merged, to form SMG plc
, he remained on the board for thirteen years. He was appointed a Governor of The British Film Institute
in 1992 and served that Board for some six years. He is also a former Chairman of The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, thus perhaps the only person ever to chair a trades union and a Stock Exchange company at the same time.
He was Executive Producer of the thriller Shallow Grave
(1992.) He also wrote and produced the BAFTA-nominated film, Regeneration
(1997) as well as The Fourth Angel
(2001.) He has written or co-written more than a dozen films, including The Awakening (with Chris Bryant, 1980) and five films directed by Nicolas Roeg
: Don't Look Now
(with Chris Bryant
, 1974), Castaway
(1986), The Witches (1990), Cold Heaven
(1991) and Two Deaths
(1995.) He was also co-writer of The Preacher's Wife
(1996) and In Love and War
(1997).
He is the co-writer and co-producer the stage musical adaptation
of the 1990s film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
which opened in Sydney in October 2006 and has since become the most successful Australian stage musicals of all time, seen by over a million people and grossing over $90m in Australia and New Zealand. Productions of the show are due in London, Scandinavia, North America and elsewhere in 2009 and 2010.
Awarded honorary doctorates by Napier University
, Edinburgh
(2007) and by Aberdeen University (2008).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
screenwriter and producer, nominated for BAFTA's Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
and a Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for his 1997 film Regeneration
Regeneration (1997 film)
Regeneration is a 1997 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Pat Barker. The film is directed by Gillies MacKinnon. It was released as Behind the Lines in the USA in 1998.-Plot:...
. He has won the Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
(1976) and Writers' Guild Award (1978).
Early life
Allan Scott was born in ElginElgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
, Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
, and educated at Gordonstoun School and McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, where he obtained a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. After training in the Scotch whisky industry, he worked as a writer for television both in the US and the UK during the seventies while also serving as a non-executive director of Macallan-Glenlivet plc.
Career
He became Chairman and Chief Executive of Macallan-Glenlivet in the late ‘70’s, a role he held until 1996, during which period the company’s market capitalization on the London Stock Exchange grew some two hundredfold, its reputation for innovative and focused marketing and management helping to establish a highly successful international brand of malt whisky.He served for several years on the Broadcasting Council of BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
and in 1986 succeeded Sir Denis Forman as Chairman of the Scottish Film Production Fund. His subsequent Chairmanship of the Scottish Film Council lasted for six years and following upon the SFC’s initiative to create a new, broadly-based body for the Scottish screen industries (the Film Archive, Media Education, Exhibition, Screen Locations and Production Fund), he was appointed the first Chairman of the new organisation named Scottish Screen
Scottish Screen
Scottish Screen is the national body for film and television in Scotland, established in April 1997. It took on the functions of the Scottish Film Council, the Scottish Film Production Fund, Scottish Screen Locations and Scottish Broadcast and Film Training, forming a unitary organisation.Scottish...
. Having chaired the Interim Board which supervised the transition and consolidation, he remained as Chairman for a further year before stepping down in 1998, after twelve years of involvement with Scotland’s film making bodies.
While continuing his career as a screenwriter and producer, he was also a director of both Caledonian Newspapers and Scottish Television plc and when the companies merged, to form SMG plc
SMG plc
STV Group plc is a Scottish media company. It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. Originally formed as Scottish Television, it changed its name to Scottish Media Group in 1996 when it acquired Caledonian Publishing, owners of Glasgow-based newspapers The Herald and Evening Times...
, he remained on the board for thirteen years. He was appointed a Governor of The British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in 1992 and served that Board for some six years. He is also a former Chairman of The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, thus perhaps the only person ever to chair a trades union and a Stock Exchange company at the same time.
He was Executive Producer of the thriller Shallow Grave
Shallow Grave
-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
(1992.) He also wrote and produced the BAFTA-nominated film, Regeneration
Regeneration (1997 film)
Regeneration is a 1997 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Pat Barker. The film is directed by Gillies MacKinnon. It was released as Behind the Lines in the USA in 1998.-Plot:...
(1997) as well as The Fourth Angel
The Fourth Angel
The Fourth Angel is a 2001 British thriller directed by John Irvin and written by Allan Scott, from a novel by Robin Hunter. It stars Jeremy Irons as a man who seeks justice after a terrorist attack on the plane in which his family is travelling...
(2001.) He has written or co-written more than a dozen films, including The Awakening (with Chris Bryant, 1980) and five films directed by Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
: Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now is a 1973 thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland star as a married couple whose lives become complicated after meeting two elderly sisters in Venice, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their recently deceased daughter is...
(with Chris Bryant
Chris Bryant
Christopher John Bryant is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001...
, 1974), Castaway
Castaway (film)
Castaway is a 1986 film starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed, and directed by Nicolas Roeg. It was adapted from the 1984 book of the same name by Lucy Irvine, telling of her experiences of staying for a year with writer Gerald Kingsland on the isolated island of Tuin, between New Guinea and...
(1986), The Witches (1990), Cold Heaven
Cold Heaven (film)
Cold Heaven is a film, released in 1991, which was directed by Nicolas Roeg. The screenplay, by Allan Scott, is based on a novel by Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore, which was published in 1983.-Plot:...
(1991) and Two Deaths
Two Deaths
Two Deaths is a 1995 British drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1995 before having a wider release in 1996.-Plot:...
(1995.) He was also co-writer of The Preacher's Wife
The Preacher's Wife
The Preacher's Wife is a 1996 romantic-family-dramedy-christmas film directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Loretta Devine. It is a remake of the 1947 film The Bishop's Wife....
(1996) and In Love and War
In Love and War (1996 film)
In Love and War is a romance drama film based on the book, Hemingway in Love and War by Henry S. Villard and James Nagel, starring Mackenzie Astin, Chris O'Donnell, Sandra Bullock, and Margot Steinberg. This film takes place during World War I, and is based on the World War I experiences of the...
(1997).
He is the co-writer and co-producer the stage musical adaptation
Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical with a book by Australian film director-writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, using well-known pop songs as its score...
of the 1990s film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
which opened in Sydney in October 2006 and has since become the most successful Australian stage musicals of all time, seen by over a million people and grossing over $90m in Australia and New Zealand. Productions of the show are due in London, Scandinavia, North America and elsewhere in 2009 and 2010.
Awarded honorary doctorates by Napier University
Napier University
Edinburgh Napier is one of the largest higher education institutions in Scotland with over 17,000 students, including nearly 5,000 international students, from more than 100 nations worldwide.-History:...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
(2007) and by Aberdeen University (2008).