Anthony Minghella
Encyclopedia
Anthony Minghella, CBE
(6 January 1954 18 March 2008) was an English film director
, playwright
and screenwriter
. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute
between 2003 and 2007.
He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The English Patient
(1996), which also won the BAFTA Award
for Best Film
and Golden Globe Award
for Best Director.
, Isle of Wight
, the son of Gloria (née Arcari) and Edward Minghella, ice cream factory owners. His father was an Italian immigrant and his mother was born in Leeds
to an Italian family; her ancestors originally came from Valvori
, a small village in the Lazio region of central Italy.
Minghella attended Sandown Grammar School and St. John's, Portsmouth
. He graduated from the University of Hull
, where he completed undergraduate and postgraduate courses, but eventually abandoned his doctoral thesis.
's Mobius the Stripper and it was his 1985 piece Whale Music
that kickstarted his career. He made his directorial debut with a double bill of Samuel Beckett
's Play and Happy Days. His first feature film as a director was A Little Like Drowning
in 1978.
During the 1980s, he worked in television, starting as a runner on Magpie
before moving into script editing
the children's drama series Grange Hill
for the BBC
and later writing The Storyteller
series for Jim Henson
. He also wrote several episodes of the ITV
detective drama Inspector Morse
and an episode of long-running ITV drama Boon
. His 1986 play Made in Bangkok found mainstream success in the West End
.
Minghella won radio success with a Giles Cooper Award
for his radio drama Cigarettes and Chocolate first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. It was revived on 3 May 2008 as a tribute to its author director following his death. His production starred Juliet Stevenson
, Bill Nighy
and Jenny Howe. His first radio play Hang Up, starring Anton Lesser
and Juliet Stevenson, was revived on 10 May 2008 as part of the BBC Radio 4 Minghella season.
Minghella's 1990 feature Truly, Madly, Deeply
, a drama he had written and directed for the BBC's Screen Two anthology strand, bypassed its expected TV broadcast and received a cinema release. In order to make the film, he had turned down an offer to direct another episode of Inspector Morse, which he had thought would be a much higher-profile assignment.
In 1996, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for The English Patient
. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay for 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley
.
The pilot episode of the television adaptation of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
, which he co-wrote and directed, was broadcast on BBC One
shortly after his death on 23 March 2008; it was watched by 6.3 million viewers.
He vocally supported I Know I'm Not Alone, a film of musician Michael Franti
's peacemaking excursions into Iraq
, Palestine
and Israel
.
He directed a party election broadcast for the Labour Party
in 2005. The short film depicted Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown
working together and was criticised for being insincere: "The Anthony Minghella party political broadcast last year was full of body language fibs", said Peter Collett, a psychologist at the University of Oxford
. "When you are talking to me, I'll give you my full attention only if I think you are very high status or if I love you. On that party political broadcast, they are staring at each other like lovers. It is completely false."
He returned to radio drama in 2006 with Eyes Down Looking on BBC Radio 3, starring Jude Law
, Juliet Stevenson and David Threlfall
to mark Samuel Beckett's 100th birthday celebrations.
Minghella made his opera
tic debut directing Puccini
's Madama Butterfly
. It was first seen at the English National Opera
in London in 2005, at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
in Vilnius in March 2006 and at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City in September 2006. The Met's production has been transmitted live into movie theaters worldwide on March 7, 2008 part of the Met's HD series and is now available on DVD. The Anthony Minghella Theatre at the Quay Arts Centre
on the Isle of Wight
is named in his honour. Minghella also made an appearance in the 2007 film Atonement
, playing a television host interviewing the novelist whose role was central to the story. Minghella died the day the film was released on DVD.
Minghella's last work was the screenplay of the film adaptation of
the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical Nine
, based on the film 8½
, book by Arthur Kopit, score by Maury Yeston
. Minghella worked with Michael Tolkin
on the screenplay
, with whom he shared credit.
, is the creator of the popular British television series Doc Martin
, and a scriptwriter. Minghella's son, Max
, is an actor. His daughter Hannah worked as a production assistant on The Talented Mr. Ripley, and is currently President of Sony Pictures Animation. His sister Loretta is Director of Christian Aid, his sister Edana participated in a jazz
event on the Isle of Wight, and his nephew Dante is one of the participants in Channel 4's Child Genius series.
He was a big Portsmouth
fan and appeared in the Channel 4
documentary Hallowed Be Thy Game. His home had two double bedrooms dedicated to the display of Portsmouth memorabilia dating back to the club's founding in 1898.
Minghella died of a haemorrhage
on 18 March 2008 in Charing Cross Hospital
, London, following an operation the previous week to remove cancer
of the tonsils and neck
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(6 January 1954 18 March 2008) was an English film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at 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...
between 2003 and 2007.
He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
(1996), which also won the BAFTA Award
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for Best 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 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Director.
Early life
Minghella was born in RydeRyde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, the son of Gloria (née Arcari) and Edward Minghella, ice cream factory owners. His father was an Italian immigrant and his mother was born in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
to an Italian family; her ancestors originally came from Valvori
Valvori
Valvori is a small village that is a part of Vallerotonda, a town and comune in the region of Lazio in central Italy. The village, which is located in the Apennine Mountains, is 3 km away from the town of Vallerotonda, forms part of the Comino Valley....
, a small village in the Lazio region of central Italy.
Minghella attended Sandown Grammar School and St. John's, Portsmouth
St John's College (Portsmouth)
St John's College is an independent Catholic day and boarding school in Southsea, Hampshire, England run by the De La Salle brothers. St John's caters for students between the ages of 2 and 18 aiming towards the national assessments of GCSE at 16 and A-Level at 18.Established in 1908 as an all-male...
. He graduated from the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, where he completed undergraduate and postgraduate courses, but eventually abandoned his doctoral thesis.
Career
His first piece of produced work was a 1975 stage adaptation of Gabriel JosipoviciGabriel Josipovici
Gabriel David Josipovici FBA, FRSL is a British novelist, short story writer, critic, literary theorist, and playwright.-Biography:...
's Mobius the Stripper and it was his 1985 piece Whale Music
Whale Music
Whale Music is a novel by Canadian writer Paul Quarrington. It was first published by Doubleday Canada in 1989.The novel's central character is Desmond Howl, a reclusive former rock star who has lived in virtual seclusion from the world since the death of his brother Danny in a car accident...
that kickstarted his career. He made his directorial debut with a double bill of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's Play and Happy Days. His first feature film as a director was A Little Like Drowning
A Little Like Drowning
A Little Like Drowning is the first film Anthony Minghella directed. This 55 minute feature film was shot on the Isle of Wight in 1977 and completed in 15 days.-Credits:* Director: Anthony Minghella* Production Company: The Silver Screen Film Company...
in 1978.
During the 1980s, he worked in television, starting as a runner on Magpie
Magpie (TV series)
Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture...
before moving into script editing
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
the children's drama series Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and later writing The Storyteller
The Storyteller
The StoryTeller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
series for Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
. He also wrote several episodes of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
detective drama Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
and an episode of long-running ITV drama Boon
Boon (TV series)
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
. His 1986 play Made in Bangkok found mainstream success in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
Minghella won radio success with a Giles Cooper Award
Giles Cooper Awards
The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chosen from the entire year's production of BBC drama,...
for his radio drama Cigarettes and Chocolate first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. It was revived on 3 May 2008 as a tribute to its author director following his death. His production starred Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
, Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
and Jenny Howe. His first radio play Hang Up, starring Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser is a British actor. He attended Moseley Grammar School and the University of Liverpool before going to RADA in 1977 where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year....
and Juliet Stevenson, was revived on 10 May 2008 as part of the BBC Radio 4 Minghella season.
Minghella's 1990 feature Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 film made for the BBC's Screen Two series.-Overview:The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Minghella said he wrote the script specifically as “a vehicle for [Stevenson] to express all her talents...
, a drama he had written and directed for the BBC's Screen Two anthology strand, bypassed its expected TV broadcast and received a cinema release. In order to make the film, he had turned down an offer to direct another episode of Inspector Morse, which he had thought would be a much higher-profile assignment.
In 1996, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay for 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Talented Mr. Ripley (film)
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith 1955 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed as Plein Soleil .The film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth...
.
The pilot episode of the television adaptation of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a television comedy-drama series, produced by the BBC in conjunction with HBO, and based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr....
, which he co-wrote and directed, was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
shortly after his death on 23 March 2008; it was watched by 6.3 million viewers.
He vocally supported I Know I'm Not Alone, a film of musician Michael Franti
Michael Franti
Michael Franti is an American poet, musician, and composer. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock...
's peacemaking excursions into Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Palestine
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
He directed a party election broadcast for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 2005. The short film depicted Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
working together and was criticised for being insincere: "The Anthony Minghella party political broadcast last year was full of body language fibs", said Peter Collett, a psychologist at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. "When you are talking to me, I'll give you my full attention only if I think you are very high status or if I love you. On that party political broadcast, they are staring at each other like lovers. It is completely false."
He returned to radio drama in 2006 with Eyes Down Looking on BBC Radio 3, starring Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, Juliet Stevenson and David Threlfall
David Threlfall
David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
to mark Samuel Beckett's 100th birthday celebrations.
Minghella made his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic debut directing Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
. It was first seen at the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
in London in 2005, at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre
200px|thumb|Theatre buildingLithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is an opera house and ballet theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was built in 1974.-Opera:...
in Vilnius in March 2006 and at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City in September 2006. The Met's production has been transmitted live into movie theaters worldwide on March 7, 2008 part of the Met's HD series and is now available on DVD. The Anthony Minghella Theatre at the Quay Arts Centre
The Quay Arts
The Quay Arts Centre is located at the head of the River Medina, in Newport in the centre of the Isle of Wight. It is the island's leading art gallery and venue for live events....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
is named in his honour. Minghella also made an appearance in the 2007 film Atonement
Atonement (film)
Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
, playing a television host interviewing the novelist whose role was central to the story. Minghella died the day the film was released on DVD.
Minghella's last work was the screenplay of the film adaptation of
Nine (film)
Nine is a 2009 musical-romantic film directed and produced by Rob Marshall. The screenplay, written by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella, is based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 musical of the same name, which was itself suggested by Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½...
the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical Nine
Nine (musical)
Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The story is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½...
, based on the film 8½
8½
8½ is a 1963 Italian fantasy film directed by Federico Fellini. Co-scripted by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director...
, book by Arthur Kopit, score by Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine...
. Minghella worked with Michael Tolkin
Michael Tolkin
Michael L. Tolkin is an American filmmaker and novelist. He has written numerous screenplays, including The Player , which he adapted from his 1988 book by the same name, and for which he received the 1993 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay...
on the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, with whom he shared credit.
Personal life
Minghella was married to Hong Kong–born choreographer Carolyn Choa. His brother, Dominic MinghellaDominic Minghella
Dominic Minghella is a British television screenwriter. His most successful project has been the creation of the ITV network comedy-drama series Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes, which began in 2004. He was also the chief writer and show runner of BBC One's 2006 production Robin Hood, produced...
, is the creator of the popular British television series Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
, and a scriptwriter. Minghella's son, Max
Max Minghella
Max Giorgio Choa Minghella is an English actor. The son of film director Anthony Minghella, he has appeared in several dramatic American films, making his feature film debut in 2005's Bee Season and starring in 2006's Art School Confidential...
, is an actor. His daughter Hannah worked as a production assistant on The Talented Mr. Ripley, and is currently President of Sony Pictures Animation. His sister Loretta is Director of Christian Aid, his sister Edana participated in a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
event on the Isle of Wight, and his nephew Dante is one of the participants in Channel 4's Child Genius series.
He was a big Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
fan and appeared in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary Hallowed Be Thy Game. His home had two double bedrooms dedicated to the display of Portsmouth memorabilia dating back to the club's founding in 1898.
Minghella died of a haemorrhage
Bleeding
Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging or haemorrhaging is the loss of blood or blood escape from the circulatory system...
on 18 March 2008 in Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
, London, following an operation the previous week to remove cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
of the tonsils and neck
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
.
Director
| Year | Title | Oscar nominations |
Oscar wins |
BAFTA nominations |
BAFTA wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Little Like Drowning A Little Like Drowning A Little Like Drowning is the first film Anthony Minghella directed. This 55 minute feature film was shot on the Isle of Wight in 1977 and completed in 15 days.-Credits:* Director: Anthony Minghella* Production Company: The Silver Screen Film Company... |
|||||
| Truly, Madly, Deeply Truly, Madly, Deeply Truly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 film made for the BBC's Screen Two series.-Overview:The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Minghella said he wrote the script specifically as “a vehicle for [Stevenson] to express all her talents... |
|
|
|||
| Mr. Wonderful Mr. Wonderful (film) Mr. Wonderful is a 1993 romantic comedy film directed by Academy Award winning director Anthony Minghella.The film stars Matt Dillon, Annabella Sciorra, and features one of the few appearances of Vincent D'Onofrio as a romantic character.-Plot:... |
|||||
| The English Patient The English Patient (film) The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture... |
|
|
|||
| The Talented Mr. Ripley The Talented Mr. Ripley (film) The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith 1955 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed as Plein Soleil .The film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth... |
|
|
|||
| Play | |||||
| Cold Mountain Cold Mountain (film) Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier... |
|
|
|
|
|
| Breaking and Entering Breaking and Entering (film) Gabriel Yared and Underworld collaborated on the film's original music score.-External links:* at TIFF, by Andrea Miller /CANOE Live... |
|||||
| The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series) The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a television comedy-drama series, produced by the BBC in conjunction with HBO, and based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr.... |
Producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iris | Executive Producer | |
| Heaven Heaven (2002 film) Heaven is a 2002 Film directed by Tom Tykwer, starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi. Co-screenwriter Krzysztof Kieślowski intended for it to be the first part of a trilogy , but died before he could complete the project... |
||
| The Quiet American The Quiet American (2002 film) The Quiet American is a 2002 film adaptation of Graham Greene's bestselling novel of the same name. It was directed by Phillip Noyce and starred Michael Caine, George Henry Hsu, Brendan Fraser, and Do Thi Hai Yen.... |
Executive Producer | |
| The Interpreter The Interpreter The Interpreter is a 2005 political thriller film starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener. It was the final film to be directed by Sydney Pollack.-Plot:... |
Executive Producer | |
| Catch a Fire Catch a Fire (film) Catch a Fire is a 2006 dramatic thriller about activists against apartheid in South Africa. The film was directed by Phillip Noyce, from a screenplay written by Shawn Slovo... |
||
| Breaking and Entering Breaking and Entering (film) Gabriel Yared and Underworld collaborated on the film's original music score.-External links:* at TIFF, by Andrea Miller /CANOE Live... |
||
| Michael Clayton Michael Clayton (film) Michael Clayton is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Tony Gilroy, starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack... |
Executive Producer | |
| The Reader | Nominated for an Academy Award posthumously | |
| The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series) The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a television comedy-drama series, produced by the BBC in conjunction with HBO, and based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr.... |
||
| Love You More Love You More (film) Love You More is a short drama directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, written by Patrick Marber and produced by Anthony Minghella, which was screened in Main Competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The film includes two songs by Buzzcocks and features a cameo appearance by the band's... |
||
| Margaret | Completed but unreleased, Executive producer |
Actor
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| A Little Like Drowning A Little Like Drowning A Little Like Drowning is the first film Anthony Minghella directed. This 55 minute feature film was shot on the Isle of Wight in 1977 and completed in 15 days.-Credits:* Director: Anthony Minghella* Production Company: The Silver Screen Film Company... |
Eduardo | |
| Atonement Atonement (film) Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006... |
Interviewer |
Selected plays
- Whale Music (New End TheatreNew End TheatreThe New End Theatre, Hampstead, was a 80-seat fringe theatre venue in London, England, located in the London Borough of Camden which operated from 1974 until 2011. It was listed widely on the internet, including with the New York Times....
, Hampstead, June 1981); revived for radio, BBC Radio 4, 10 May 2008 - Two Planks And A Passion (Greenwich TheatreGreenwich TheatreThe Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
, November 1984) - A Little Like Drowning (Hampstead TheatreHampstead TheatreHampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
, July 1984) - Made in BangkokMade in BangkokMade in Bangkok is a stage play written by Anthony Minghella. It was first performed on 18 March 1986 at the Aldwych Theatre, London.The play is set in Bangkok, Thailand in the 1980s.Cast:* Felicity Kendal as Frances* Peter McEnery as Edward...
(West End debut as a playwright, Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
. 18 March 1986, director Michael BlakemoreMichael BlakemoreMichael Howell Blakemore OBE is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director. In 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for Copenhagen and Kiss Me, Kate....
) - Hang Up (radio play for BBC Radio 4,1987)
- Cigarettes and Chocolate (60-minute radio play for BBC Radio 4, 1988)
- Eyes Down Looking (Beckett 100th Birthday tribute, radio play for BBC Radio 3, 1 April 2006)
Awards
- 1984 Plays and Players: Critics Award – Most Promising Playwright for A Little Like Drowning
- 1986 Plays and Players: Critics Award – Best New Play for Made in Bangkok
- 1988 Giles Cooper Award for the radio play Cigarettes and Chocolate
- 1992 BAFTA Film AwardBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
– Best original screenplay for Truly, Madly, DeeplyTruly, Madly, DeeplyTruly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 film made for the BBC's Screen Two series.-Overview:The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Minghella said he wrote the script specifically as “a vehicle for [Stevenson] to express all her talents...
(1990) - 1997 Academy Award – Best director for The English Patient (1996)
- 1997 BAFTA Film AwardBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
– Best film for The English Patient (1996) (shared with Saul Zaentz) - 1997 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award – Best Director and Best Screenplay for The English Patient (1996)
- 1997 Directors Guild of America Award – Outstanding Achievement in Motion Pictures for The English Patient (1996)
- 1999 National Board of Review Award – Best Director for The Talented Mr. RipleyThe Talented Mr. Ripley (film)The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith 1955 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed as Plein Soleil .The film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth...
(1999) - 2003 National Board of Review AwardNational Board of Review Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayThe National Board of Review Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is an annual award given by the National Board of Review.-2000s:-2010s:...
– Best Adapted Screenplay for Cold MountainCold Mountain (film)Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
(2003) - 2006 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production for the English National Opera production of Madama Butterfly
External links
- Media Masterclass with Anthony Minghella on Directing Film
- Anthony Minghella: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast, 2 December 2006
- Anthony Minghella interview with stv, November 2006
- "About Anthony", Minghella Film Festival, Isle of Wight
- Anthony Minghella – Obituary and public tribute
- Anthony Minghella, a brother to all he met by Dominic MinghellaDominic MinghellaDominic Minghella is a British television screenwriter. His most successful project has been the creation of the ITV network comedy-drama series Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes, which began in 2004. He was also the chief writer and show runner of BBC One's 2006 production Robin Hood, produced...
, 24 March 2008 - An Appreciation of Anthony Minghella by Charlie RoseCharlie RoseCharles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, 24 March 2008 - Anthony Minghella, my teacher, my friend, by Harvey WeinsteinHarvey WeinsteinHarvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 10 April 2008 - Anthony Minghella remembered by Jude LawJude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Sunday 14 December 2008 - musical discovered, BBC Humberside.
- Obituaries:
Tributes
- Minghella Movie Marathon, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, updated 25 March 2009, accessed 22 July 2009. - Minghella Movie Marathon, at British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe 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...
, accessed 22 July 2009. - More stars join Minghella marathon, iwcp.co.uk, 4 March 2009, accessed 22 July 2009.
- Anthony Minghella's family celebrates his memory with film festival, Syma Tariq, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 12 March 2009, accessed 22 July 2009.