Stephan Elliott
Encyclopedia
Stephan Elliott is an Australian film director
and screenwriter
.
working in the boom of the Australian film industry of the 1980s.
His first two feature films, Frauds and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
, along with his lesser known, shorter films Fast and The Agreement were produced by Rebel Penfold-Russell's Australian production company Latent Image Productions.
Frauds, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Welcome to Woop Woop
were all officially selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival
, with "Priscilla" winning the Prix du public as well as an Academy Award for Best Costume Design
, among numerous other accolades.
In 2004, Elliott was involved in a skiing accident which saw him hospitalised for several months. He credits the accident with rediscovering his sense of humour. This may go part way to explaining why, in 2007 Elliott worked with Fred Nassiri
to create one of the most expensive music videos of all time. Shot in over 15 countries, with seven directors the song "Love Sees No Colour" aspires to spread a message of peace and love.
His latest film Easy Virtue, was written with co-writer Sheridan Jobbins
, and is based on the Noel Coward
play of the same name. It stars Colin Firth
, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Jessica Biel
and Ben Barnes
. It has been produced by Barnaby Thompson for Ealing Studios
in the UK, and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2008. It has also screened in the Rio Film Festival, Rome Film Festival and London Film Festival
to great acclaim.
He is currently in the post-production stage of his next film, A Few Best Men
starring Xavier Samuel
and Olivia Newton John.
Other writing credits include 'the book' (i.e.: the script) for the stage play of 'Priscilla'
which premiered in 2007 at Sydney
's Lyric Theatre in Star City to excellent reviews. Later in the year it moved The Regent Theatre in Melbourne
and in May 2008 will move to Auckland
's The Civic theatre in New Zealand
, and is currently featuring in London
's West End
.
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:...
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:...
.
Life and career
Elliott began his career as an assistant directorAssistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
working in the boom of the Australian film industry of the 1980s.
His first two feature films, Frauds and 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...
, along with his lesser known, shorter films Fast and The Agreement were produced by Rebel Penfold-Russell's Australian production company Latent Image Productions.
Frauds, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Welcome to Woop Woop
Welcome to Woop Woop
Welcome to Woop Woop is a 1997 Australian-British comedy film, directed by Stephan Elliott starring Johnathon Schaech and Rod Taylor. The film was based on the novel The Dead Heart by Douglas Kennedy...
were all officially selected to screen at the 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...
, with "Priscilla" winning the Prix du public as well as an Academy Award for Best Costume Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
, among numerous other accolades.
In 2004, Elliott was involved in a skiing accident which saw him hospitalised for several months. He credits the accident with rediscovering his sense of humour. This may go part way to explaining why, in 2007 Elliott worked with Fred Nassiri
Fred Nassiri
Fred Nassiri is an Iranian-American songwriter, recording artist and philanthropist, who moved to a music career after great success in the fashion and real estate fields...
to create one of the most expensive music videos of all time. Shot in over 15 countries, with seven directors the song "Love Sees No Colour" aspires to spread a message of peace and love.
His latest film Easy Virtue, was written with co-writer Sheridan Jobbins
Sheridan Jobbins
Sheridan Jobbins is an Australian journalist, television presenter and screenwriter.-Life and career:Jobbins was born in Melbourne, Australia. She was educated at Ascham School Edgecliff...
, and is based on the Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
play of the same name. It stars Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
and Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes (actor)
Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
. It has been produced by Barnaby Thompson for Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
in the UK, and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2008. It has also screened in the Rio Film Festival, Rome Film Festival and London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
to great acclaim.
He is currently in the post-production stage of his next film, A Few Best Men
A Few Best Men
A Few Best Men is an upcoming 2011 Australian comedy film written by Dean Craig and directed by Stephan Elliott. The film stars Xavier Samuel as a young groom heading to the Australian outback with his three best men for his wedding.-Plot:...
starring Xavier Samuel
Xavier Samuel
Xavier Samuel is an Australian actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films September, Further We Search, and Newcastle, and played Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third movie in Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga film series.-Early life and education:Samuel was...
and Olivia Newton John.
Other writing credits include 'the book' (i.e.: the script) for the stage play of 'Priscilla'
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...
which premiered in 2007 at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's Lyric Theatre in Star City to excellent reviews. Later in the year it moved The Regent Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and in May 2008 will move to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's The Civic theatre in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and is currently featuring in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's 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...
.
Filmography
His most notable credits as writer/director include;- 1993: FraudsFrauds (film)Frauds is a 1993 Australian black comedy film starring pop star Phil Collins. It was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:The film is a story of the ways in which insurance investigator Roland Copping interferes in and manipulates the lives of others with outrageous games and gimmicks...
, starring Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Hugo WeavingHugo WeavingHugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
and Josephine Byrnes. Entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival1993 Cannes Film Festival- Jury :* Louis Malle * Claudia Cardinale * Inna Churikova * Judy Davis * Abbas Kiarostami * Emir Kusturica * William Lubtchansky * Tom Luddy * Gary Oldman * Augusto M... - 1994: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe 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...
, starring Terence StampTerence StampTerence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, Guy PearceGuy PearceGuy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
and Hugo Weaving - 1997: Welcome to Woop WoopWelcome to Woop WoopWelcome to Woop Woop is a 1997 Australian-British comedy film, directed by Stephan Elliott starring Johnathon Schaech and Rod Taylor. The film was based on the novel The Dead Heart by Douglas Kennedy...
, starring Rod TaylorRod Taylor (actor)Rodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor is an Australian-American actor of film and television.-Early life:Born on 11 January 1930 in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Taylor was the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and the former Mona Thompson, a writer of...
, Johnathon SchaechJohnathon SchaechJohnathon Schaech is an American actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Schaech was born in Edgewood, Maryland to Joseph, a Baltimore City law enforcement officer, and Joanne Schaech, a human resources executive. He is of German and Italian descent, and was raised Roman Catholic...
, Susie PorterSusie PorterSusie Porter is a multiple award winning Australian television and film actress.-Television:Susie Porter began her acting career in one episode of House Gang, a short lived television program. She then had small roles in other Australian television programs in the late 1990s, including Big Sky,...
and guest appearances including Barry HumphriesBarry HumphriesJohn Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the... - 2000: Eye of the BeholderEye of the Beholder (film)Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 thriller film starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, based on the novel of the same name by Marc Behm. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott...
, starring Ashley JuddAshley JuddAshley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
, Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
and singer K. D. Lang - 2008: Easy Virtue, starring Jessica BielJessica BielJessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
, Ben BarnesBen Barnes (actor)Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
, Colin FirthColin FirthSirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
and Kristin Scott-Thomas - 2011: A Few Best MenA Few Best MenA Few Best Men is an upcoming 2011 Australian comedy film written by Dean Craig and directed by Stephan Elliott. The film stars Xavier Samuel as a young groom heading to the Australian outback with his three best men for his wedding.-Plot:...
, starring Xavier SamuelXavier SamuelXavier Samuel is an Australian actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films September, Further We Search, and Newcastle, and played Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third movie in Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga film series.-Early life and education:Samuel was...
, Rebel WilsonRebel WilsonRebel Wilson is an Australian actress, writer, and stand-up comedienne, known for her roles in the television series Pizza and Bogan Pride and the film Bridesmaids.-Early and personal life:...
, and Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...