Julian Richards (director)
Encyclopedia
Julian Richards, is a British film director.
, South Wales, where his father owned DIY retail store Handiland. Inspired by his uncle Rex Richards
Hollywood acting career, Julian decided to become a film director and produced several short films on super 8 mm including The Curse Of Cormac, Gang War, Evil Inspirations and The Girl That Cried Wolf which was broadcast by the BBC
in the "16 and Up Video Showcase". His early cinematic influences include horror film directors James Whale
, Tod Browning
, Terence Fisher
, John Carpenter
, Dario Argento
, Tobe Hooper
and George A. Romero
, in addition to Alfred Hitchcock
and Steven Spielberg
.
. Pirates won The Starting Out Award at the Celtic Media Festival
1988 and Queen Sacrifice
won the Thames Television Award for Best Fiction Film at the BP Expo - British Short Film Festival 1990 before being broadcast in the BBC Series Screenplay Firsts.
In 1988, Richards attended the National Film and Television School
in Beaconsfield, where he was invited to direct In With The Rent a playhouse for BBC Wales
and A Week In The Life a documentary about a cattle drover for S4C
. In 1992, Richards graduated the NFTS with the 16 mm short Bad Company which was broadcast on ITV Wales and selected to screen at AFI Fest in Los Angeles.
and adapted Chris Westwood
's novel Calling All Monsters
for Steven Spielberg
's Amblin Entertainment
at Universal Studios
. In 1994 he returned to the UK to direct A Mutter Of Voices for BBC2 and twelve episodes of the Channel 4
soap Brookside
, including the body under the patio episodes.
In 1996 Richards wrote and directed his debut feature film Darklands
, a brooding tale of underground paganism starring Jon Finch
, Craig Fairbrass
and Rowena King
. A firm festival favourite winning several awards including the Melies D'Argent for Best European Fantasy Film 1997, Darklands
was picked up for distribution by Pathé
. Richards followed up with Silent Cry
starring Emily Woof
, Douglas Henshall
, Frank Finlay
, Kevin Whately
, Clive Russell
and Craig Kelly
, an urban thriller which received its UK premiere on Channel 5.
In 2003, Richards expanded into film production, establishing Prolific Films through which he produced and directed the micro-budget shocker The Last Horror Movie
. A cult sensation, winning sixteen awards including Best UK Feature at Raindance Film Festival
and the Melies D'Argent for Best European Fantasy Film 2005. This video diary of a serial killer was theatrically released in the USA by Fangoria
and in the UK by Tartan Films
.
In 2004, Richards became a professional advisor to The Arts Council Of Wales and in 2006 he produced and directed coming-of-age thriller Summer Scars
which won two BAFTA Cymru awards and was nominated for Best Film. Summer Scars
was released in North America by TLA Releasing
and the UK by Soda Pictures
.
In 2008, Richards directed Charles Dickens's England
featuring Derek Jacobi
, a documentary about the life of the 19th century author. The film received a theatrical release in the UK by Guerilla Films before being broadcast by Sky Television
. Richards is currently directing psychological thriller "Shiver" starring anielle Harris}}, John Jarratt
, Casper Van Dien
and Rae Dawn Chong
. He is also to produce The Maddening. and is also set to direct and produce the horror film Suicide Solution.
with his Brazilian partner Rosana Coutinho. Jinga represents over thirty feature films including Timer, Shadow and A Serbian Film. Jinga has licensed such titles as Wild Country to Lionsgate and "The Disappeared" to IFC
in North America.
Early life
Julian Richards was born and raised in NewportNewport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, South Wales, where his father owned DIY retail store Handiland. Inspired by his uncle Rex Richards
Rex Richards (rugby player)
Rex Clive Richards was a Wales international rugby union player. He gained his only cap against France at Cardiff on 24 March 1956, Wales winning 5 - 3. He played for Cross Keys RFC until 1955 before heading to Hollywood to try to make his fortune as an actor.He had a number of roles, including...
Hollywood acting career, Julian decided to become a film director and produced several short films on super 8 mm including The Curse Of Cormac, Gang War, Evil Inspirations and The Girl That Cried Wolf which was broadcast by 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...
in the "16 and Up Video Showcase". His early cinematic influences include horror film directors James Whale
James Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
, Tod Browning
Tod Browning
Tod Browning was an American motion picture actor, director and screenwriter.Browning's career spanned the silent and talkie eras...
, Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. He was born in Maida Vale, a district of London, England.Fisher was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century...
, John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
, Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
, Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
and George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
, in addition to Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
Education
In Newport, Julian attended St Julian's Comprehensive School and Gwent College of Higher Education where he studied Art & Design Foundation. In 1985 he attended the film school at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art where he directed two Super 8 mm shorts "Time" and "Infanticide" and two 16 mm shorts Pirates and Queen SacrificeQueen Sacrifice (film)
Queen Sacrifice is a 30 minute short film written and directed by Julian Richards in 1988 whilst he was a film student at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and is based on his childhood experience as a school boy chess champion....
. Pirates won The Starting Out Award at the Celtic Media Festival
Celtic Media Festival
The Celtic Media Festival, previously known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations on screen and in broadcasting. The festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting and film from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall...
1988 and Queen Sacrifice
Queen Sacrifice (film)
Queen Sacrifice is a 30 minute short film written and directed by Julian Richards in 1988 whilst he was a film student at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and is based on his childhood experience as a school boy chess champion....
won the Thames Television Award for Best Fiction Film at the BP Expo - British Short Film Festival 1990 before being broadcast in the BBC Series Screenplay Firsts.
In 1988, Richards attended the National Film and Television School
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in Beaconsfield, where he was invited to direct In With The Rent a playhouse for BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
and A Week In The Life a documentary about a cattle drover for S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. In 1992, Richards graduated the NFTS with the 16 mm short Bad Company which was broadcast on ITV Wales and selected to screen at AFI Fest in Los Angeles.
Career
In 1992, Richards moved to Los Angeles where he worked for Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment directing an EPK for Slaughter of the innocents starring Scott GlennScott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
and adapted Chris Westwood
Chris Westwood (author)
Christopher Westwood also known as Chris Westwood is an English author and journalist. Born as the son of a coal miner and school teacher, he is best known as the author of young adult fiction and children's books...
's novel Calling All Monsters
Calling All Monsters
Calling All Monsters is the second novel by Chris Westwood, a British author of children's and young adult fiction. It was first published in the UK in 1990 by Viking Kestrel and in the US in 1993 by HarperCollins Children's Books...
for Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. In 1994 he returned to the UK to direct A Mutter Of Voices for BBC2 and twelve episodes of 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...
soap Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
, including the body under the patio episodes.
In 1996 Richards wrote and directed his debut feature film Darklands
Darklands (film)
Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King and released in 1997....
, a brooding tale of underground paganism starring Jon Finch
Jon Finch
Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
, Craig Fairbrass
Craig Fairbrass
Craig Fairbrass is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive Cockney accent.-Life and career:Fairbrass was born in Stepney, London. He made his acting debut in an episode of the television series Shelley in 1980. This was followed by appearances in series such as Emmerdale, Three Up Two...
and Rowena King
Rowena King
Rowena Josephine King , sometimes credited as Roweena King, is an English film, television and theatre actress.-Early life and education:She was born in London, England, to an African mother and a Caucasian British father....
. A firm festival favourite winning several awards including the Melies D'Argent for Best European Fantasy Film 1997, Darklands
Darklands (film)
Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King and released in 1997....
was picked up for distribution by Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
. Richards followed up with Silent Cry
Silent Cry (film)
Silent Cry is a British thriller film directed by Julian Richards, starring Emily Woof, Douglas Henshall, Frank Finlay, Clive Russell, Kevin Whately, Craig Kelly and released in 2003.- Synopsis :...
starring Emily Woof
Emily Woof
Emily Woof , is an English actress and author, known for her roles in such films as The Full Monty, The Woodlanders, Velvet Goldmine, Wondrous Oblivion, Silent Cry and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse....
, Douglas Henshall
Douglas Henshall
Douglas James Henshall is a Scottish actor probably best known for his role as Professor Nick Cutter in the British science fiction series Primeval.-Early life:...
, Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
, Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...
, Clive Russell
Clive Russell
Clive Russell is a British actor.Clive was born in Reeth, England and brought up in Fife, Scotland.He is a familiar face on British television and has appeared in numerous television series including Boys From the Black Stuff ,Hope And Glory, Neverwhere, Great Expectations, The Mists of Avalon,...
and Craig Kelly
Craig Kelly (actor)
Craig Kelly is a British actor, best known for his role as Vince Tyler in the Channel 4 television series Queer as Folk and as Luke Strong in Coronation Street.-Biography:...
, an urban thriller which received its UK premiere on Channel 5.
In 2003, Richards expanded into film production, establishing Prolific Films through which he produced and directed the micro-budget shocker The Last Horror Movie
The Last Horror Movie
The Last Horror Movie is a British horror film directed by Julian Richards, starring Kevin Howarth, Mark Stevenson and released in 2004. It is filmed in a found footage style.- Plot :...
. A cult sensation, winning sixteen awards including Best UK Feature at Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
and the Melies D'Argent for Best European Fantasy Film 2005. This video diary of a serial killer was theatrically released in the USA by Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
and in the UK by Tartan Films
Tartan Films
Palisades Tartan is a US and UK film distribution company, founded by US-based Palisades Media Group to take over the film library of Tartan Films after it folded in Summer 2008.-History:...
.
In 2004, Richards became a professional advisor to The Arts Council Of Wales and in 2006 he produced and directed coming-of-age thriller Summer Scars
Summer Scars
Summer Scars is a British feature film produced and directed by Julian Richards in 2007 and is based on a hostage situation that Richards experienced during his childhood....
which won two BAFTA Cymru awards and was nominated for Best Film. Summer Scars
Summer Scars
Summer Scars is a British feature film produced and directed by Julian Richards in 2007 and is based on a hostage situation that Richards experienced during his childhood....
was released in North America by TLA Releasing
TLA Releasing
TLA Releasing is a US film distribution company owned by TLA Entertainment Group. In March 2011, a new LLC was formed for the operation. Its primary output is LGBT-related films from all over the world under the "TLA Releasing" label, as well as horror films under the label "Danger After Dark"...
and the UK by Soda Pictures
Soda Pictures
Soda Pictures is a UK based film distributor of art house, independent and world cinema. They have provided distribution for many award-winning films such as Frostbite , Into Great Silence & Old Joy.- Releases :...
.
In 2008, Richards directed Charles Dickens's England
Charles Dickens's England
Charles's Dickens's England is a feature documentary written and produced by David Nicholas Wilkinson, directed by Julian Richards and presented by Derek Jacobi...
featuring Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, a documentary about the life of the 19th century author. The film received a theatrical release in the UK by Guerilla Films before being broadcast by Sky Television
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
. Richards is currently directing psychological thriller "Shiver" starring anielle Harris}}, John Jarratt
John Jarratt
-Early life:Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilli, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarratt's father was a coal miner and later concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. Both his parents were of Irish origin....
, Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
and Rae Dawn Chong
Rae Dawn Chong
Rae Dawn Chong is a Canadian-American actress.-Life and career:Chong was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the daughter of Maxine Sneed and Tommy Chong. She and her sister Robbi were raised by her grandmother, Tommy Chong's mother. Chong's father is of Chinese and Scottish-Irish ancestry and her...
. He is also to produce The Maddening. and is also set to direct and produce the horror film Suicide Solution.
International sales
In 2005, Richards set up the international sales agency Jinga FilmsJinga Films
Jinga Films is an international film sales agency based in London, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2005 by producer/director Julian Richards and marketing executive Rosana Coutinho....
with his Brazilian partner Rosana Coutinho. Jinga represents over thirty feature films including Timer, Shadow and A Serbian Film. Jinga has licensed such titles as Wild Country to Lionsgate and "The Disappeared" to IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
in North America.
Filmography
- Shiver (2011) - Director
- Charles Dickens's England (2009) - Director
- Summer Scars (2007) - Director, Producer, Co-Writer
- The Last Horror Movie (2003) - Director, Producer, Co-Writer
- Silent Cry (2002) - Director
- Darklands (1997) - Director, Writer