David Leland
Encyclopedia
David Leland is a director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut Wish You Were Here in 1987.
in 1981. Their film Made in Britain
was critically acclaimed and marked the beginning of the career of actor Tim Roth
. Made in Britain won the Prix Italia
(an international Television award) in 1984. In 1986 he wrote the screenplay for the thriller-drama Mona Lisa
, featuring Bob Hoskins
. This film was critically acclaimed and Leland earned nominations for the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild of America
.
He then wrote Personal Services
in 1986. It was directed by Terry Jones
and was about Cynthia Payne
, a real-life British madam
who ran a private brothel
. Julie Walters
took the leading role. While Personal Services dealt with the adult life of Cynthia Payne, Leland's next film, Wish You Were Here
, concerned her teenage years. This film was a success at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival
and it made the young British actress Emily Lloyd
a star. It was awarded the FIPRESCI-Award at Cannes and the BAFTA for best screenplay.
Leland's next two films, Checking Out
(with Jeff Daniels
) and The Big Man
(with Liam Neeson
), failed at the Box Office and with the critics but have since been successful in the private market. In 1997, Leland co-wrote and directed The Land Girls
starring Rachel Weisz
and Anna Friel
and, in 2000, wrote and directed Episode 6 of the enormously successful HBO Miniseries Band of Brothers.
After the death of his friend George Harrison
, Leland was closely involved in the former Beatle's memorial, Concert for George
, and directed a cinematic documentary of the night to be put on general release, the DVD of which went platinum. The documentary also won a Grammy Award
. His latest project is the Dino De Laurentiis
produced Virgin Territory
, which is scheduled for a theatrical release in September 2007.
David Leland is married to Sabrina and has five children: Chloë (seen in Wish You Were Here and a producer by herself), Abigail (seen in Wish You Were Here), Rosie, Jacob (seen in The Land Girls), and Grace (seen in The Land Girls).
Episodes of miniseries
Life
After several small parts as actor he began his collaboration with British television director Alan ClarkeAlan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
in 1981. Their film Made in Britain
Made in Britain
Made in Britain is a 1982 British drama film directed by Alan Clarke, and written by David Leland, about a 16-year-old white power skinhead named Trevor, and his constant confrontations with authority figures. It was originally broadcast on ITV as the fourth in an untitled series of works by...
was critically acclaimed and marked the beginning of the career of actor Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
. Made in Britain won the Prix Italia
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
(an international Television award) in 1984. In 1986 he wrote the screenplay for the thriller-drama Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa (film)
Mona Lisa is a 1986 British film about a petty criminal who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The movie was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films...
, featuring Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
. This film was critically acclaimed and Leland earned nominations for the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
.
He then wrote Personal Services
Personal Services
Personal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. The film...
in 1986. It was directed by Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
and was about Cynthia Payne
Cynthia Payne
Cynthia Payne is a retired English party hostess who made the headlines in the 1970s and 1980s when she was accused of being a madam and of running her brothel at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in Streatham, in the south-west of London, England.Payne first came to national attention in 1978 when police...
, a real-life British madam
Madam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
who ran a private brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
took the leading role. While Personal Services dealt with the adult life of Cynthia Payne, Leland's next film, Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...
, concerned her teenage years. This film was a success at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and it made the young British actress Emily Lloyd
Emily Lloyd
-Early life:Emily Lloyd Pack was born in London, the daughter of Sheila , now known as , a theatrical agent who was a longtime secretary at Harold Pinter's stage agency, and Roger Lloyd-Pack, a stage actor, well-known as Trigger in the British hit sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Her grandfather,...
a star. It was awarded the FIPRESCI-Award at Cannes and the BAFTA for best screenplay.
Leland's next two films, Checking Out
Checking Out (1989 film)
Checking Out is an American comedy film, made in 1989, directed by David Leland and starring Jeff Daniels.-Plot summary:Ray Macklin is obsessed with his own mortality. When a close friend suddenly dies of a heart attack at a barbecue, Ray becomes convinced that every ache, pain and twinge he...
(with Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
) and The Big Man
The Big Man
This article is about the film. For the saxophonist with that nickname, see Clarence Clemons.The Big Man is a 1990 film produced by Miramax Films. It starred Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly and the film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone. It was featured in FlixMix's Ultimate...
(with Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
), failed at the Box Office and with the critics but have since been successful in the private market. In 1997, Leland co-wrote and directed The Land Girls
The Land Girls (film)
The Land Girls is a 1998 movie directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. It is based on the book Land Girls by Angela Huth.-Synopsis:...
starring Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
and Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
and, in 2000, wrote and directed Episode 6 of the enormously successful HBO Miniseries Band of Brothers.
After the death of his friend George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Leland was closely involved in the former Beatle's memorial, Concert for George
Concert for George
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne...
, and directed a cinematic documentary of the night to be put on general release, the DVD of which went platinum. The documentary also won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. His latest project is the Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
produced Virgin Territory
Virgin Territory
Virgin Territory is a 2007 romantic comedy film based upon Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. It has also been known under the working titles The Decameron, Angels and Virgins, Guilty Pleasures and Chasing Temptation. The film's Italian title Decameron Pie pays tribute to both the title of the...
, which is scheduled for a theatrical release in September 2007.
David Leland is married to Sabrina and has five children: Chloë (seen in Wish You Were Here and a producer by herself), Abigail (seen in Wish You Were Here), Rosie, Jacob (seen in The Land Girls), and Grace (seen in The Land Girls).
Actor
- When Saturday ComesWhen Saturday Comes (film)When Saturday Comes is a British film from 1996 starring Sean Bean and Emily Lloyd, directed by Maria Giese. It is about a factory worker who gets scouted, firstly by the well-known non-league side Hallam F.C. and then later by Sheffield United Football Club...
as Priest - Personal ServicesPersonal ServicesPersonal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. The film...
as Mr. Pilkington - The MissionaryThe MissionaryThe Missionary is a 1982 British comedy directed by Richard Loncraine, produced by George Harrison, Denis O'Brian, Michael Palin and Neville C. Thompson. The film stars Palin as the Rev...
as Long Haired Man at Gin Palace - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on BBC Two...
(television series; episode #4) as Majikthise - Big Breadwinner HogBig Breadwinner HogBig Breadwinner Hog is a British television thriller serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV network. It portrayed the ruthless rise through the criminal underworld of the trendy young London gangster...
(television series) (1969) as Grange
Screenwriter
- Made in BritainMade in BritainMade in Britain is a 1982 British drama film directed by Alan Clarke, and written by David Leland, about a 16-year-old white power skinhead named Trevor, and his constant confrontations with authority figures. It was originally broadcast on ITV as the fourth in an untitled series of works by...
(Director: Alan ClarkeAlan ClarkeAlan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
) - R.H.I.N.O.; Really Here in Name Only (Director: Jane Howell)
- Mona LisaMona Lisa (film)Mona Lisa is a 1986 British film about a petty criminal who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The movie was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films...
(Director: Neil JordanNeil JordanNeil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
) - Personal ServicesPersonal ServicesPersonal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. The film...
(Director: Terry JonesTerry JonesTerence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
) - The White River Kid (Director: Arne GlimcherArne GlimcherArnold "Arne" Glimcher is an American art dealer, film producer and director. He is the founder of The Pace Gallery and is widely known as one of the art world's most powerful dealers. Glimcher has also produced and directed several films, including The Mambo Kings and Just Cause.-Life and...
)
Director
Films- Wish You Were Here (1987)
- Checking OutChecking Out (1989 film)Checking Out is an American comedy film, made in 1989, directed by David Leland and starring Jeff Daniels.-Plot summary:Ray Macklin is obsessed with his own mortality. When a close friend suddenly dies of a heart attack at a barbecue, Ray becomes convinced that every ache, pain and twinge he...
(1989) - The Big ManThe Big ManThis article is about the film. For the saxophonist with that nickname, see Clarence Clemons.The Big Man is a 1990 film produced by Miramax Films. It starred Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley and Billy Connolly and the film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone. It was featured in FlixMix's Ultimate...
(1990) - The Land GirlsThe Land Girls (film)The Land Girls is a 1998 movie directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. It is based on the book Land Girls by Angela Huth.-Synopsis:...
(1998) - Concert for GeorgeConcert for George (film)Concert for George is a 2003 British documentary film directed by David Leland that narrates the events of the Concert for George held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002.-Cast:*Gary Brooker: Himself*Joe Brown: Himself...
(2003) - Virgin TerritoryVirgin TerritoryVirgin Territory is a 2007 romantic comedy film based upon Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. It has also been known under the working titles The Decameron, Angels and Virgins, Guilty Pleasures and Chasing Temptation. The film's Italian title Decameron Pie pays tribute to both the title of the...
aka Mediaeval Pie (2008)
Episodes of miniseries
- Band of Brothers (part #6 "Bastogne") (2001)
Awards and nominations
- 2005 Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for best long form music video (Concert for George) - 2002 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for best miniseries (Band of Brothers) - 2002 Christopher Award for best miniseries (Band of Brothers)
- 1988 BAFTA Award for best screenplay (Wish You Were Here)
- 1987 FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Award International Cannes Film Festival (Wish You Were Here) - 1987 Peter Sellers Award for Comedy (Evening Standard British Film AwardsEvening Standard British Film AwardsThe Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by the British London area evening newspaper Evening Standard. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony honours films from the previous...
) (Wish You Were Here and Personal Services) - 1986 Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Nomination (Mona Lisa) - 1986 Golden Globe Nomination (Mona Lisa)