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Ridley Scott, Filmmaker
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Ridley Scott was born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear (then Northumberland) on 30 November 1937. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and the family followed him as his career posted him throughout the UK and Europe before they eventually returned to Teesside.
Scott wanted to join Army (his elder brother Frank had already joined the Merchant Navy) but his father encouraged him to develop his artistic talents instead and so he went to West Hartlepool College of Art and then London's Royal College of Art where he helped found the film department.
He joined BBC in 1962 as trainee set designer working on several high profile shows. He attended a trainee director's course while he was there and his first directing job was an episode of the prestigious BBC series Z Cars (1962), Z Cars: Error of Judgement (1965).
More TV work followed until, frustrated by the poor financial rewards at the BBC, he went into advertising. With his younger brother, Tony Scott, he formed the advertising production company RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) in 1967 and spent the next 10 years making some of the best known and best loved TV adverts ever shown on British television, including a series of ads for Hovis bread set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony which are still talked about today ("'e were a great baker were our dad.")
He began working with producer David Puttnam in the 1970s developing ideas for feature films. Their first joint endeavour, The Duellists (1977) won the Jury Prize for Best First Work at Cannes in 1977 and was nominated for the Palm d'Or, more than successfully launching Scott's feature film career.
The success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) inspired Scott's return to sci-fi (he had been a production designer on the cult series Doctor Who (1963) while he was at the BBC) and he accepted the offer to direct Dan O'Bannon's low budget sci-fi horror movie Alien (1979), a critical and commercial success that firmly established his worldwide reputation as a movie director.
Blade Runner (1982) followed in 1982 to, at best, a lukewarm reception from public and critics but in the years that followed, its reputation grew - and Scott's with it - as one of the most important sci-fi movies ever made.
Scott's next major project was back in the advertising world where he created another of the most talked-about advertising spots in broadcast history when his "1984"-inspired ad for the new Apple Macintosh computer was aired during the Super Bowl on 22 January 1984.
Scott's movie career has seen a few flops (notably Legend (1985) and 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)), but with successes like Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001) to offset them, his reputation remains solidly intact.
Sir Ridley was knighted in 2003 for his "substantial contribution to the British film industry".
2013 Klondike (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer)
2013 The Vatican (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2009-2013 The Good Wife (TV Series) (executive producer - 97 episodes)
- The Decision Tree (2013) ... (executive producer) - The Next Week (2013) ... (executive producer) - The Next Day (2013) ... (executive producer) - Hitting the Fan (2013) ... (executive producer) - Outside the Bubble (2013) ... (executive producer) Show all 97 episodes 2013 Killing Kennedy (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2013 Out of the Furnace (producer)
2013 The Counselor (producer)
2013 Springsteen & I (Documentary) (executive producer)
2013 Crimes of the Century (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 1 episode)
- The DC Snipers (2013) ... (executive producer) 2013 Welcome to the Punch (executive producer)
2013 Killing Lincoln (TV Movie) (executive producer) / (producer)
2013 The East (producer)
2013 Stoker (producer)
2012 Labyrinth (TV Series) (producer - 2 episodes)
- Episode #1.2 (2012) ... (producer) - Episode #1.1 (2012) ... (producer) 2012 Japan in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2012 World Without End (TV Mini-Series) (producer - 8 episodes)
- Checkmate (2012) ... (producer) - Queen (2012) ... (producer) - Rook (2012) ... (producer) - A People Revolt (2012) ... (producer) - Plague and Passion (2012) ... (producer) Show all 8 episodes 2011-2012 Call of Duty ELITE: Friday Night Fights (TV Series) (executive producer - 17 episodes)
- Optic vs. LFN (2012) ... (executive producer) - Brandon Jacobs vs. Terrence Cody (2012) ... (executive producer) - Countdown 321 vs. Make Us Famous (2012) ... (executive producer) - FourPlay vs. Red Shoe Rebels (2012) ... (executive producer) - Rampage Jackson vs. Joe Carnahan (2012) ... (executive producer) Show all 17 episodes 2012 Coma (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 1 episode)
- Part One (2012) ... (executive producer) 2012 Britain in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2012/I Prometheus (producer)
2012 Ghost Recon: Alpha (Short) (producer)
2012 Loom (Short) (executive producer)
2011-2012 Prophets of Science Fiction (TV Series documentary) (executive producer - 8 episodes)
- George Lucas (2012) ... (executive producer) - Robert Heinlein (2012) ... (executive producer) - Jules Verne (2012) ... (executive producer) - Isaac Asimov (2012) ... (executive producer) - Arthur C. Clarke (2011) ... (executive producer) Show all 8 episodes 2011 The Grey (producer)
2011 Gettysburg (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
2011 Life in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2010 Nomads (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2010 The Pillars of the Earth (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 8 episodes)
- The Work of Angels (2010) ... (executive producer) - New Beginnings (2010) ... (executive producer) - Witchcraft (2010) ... (executive producer) - Legacy (2010) ... (executive producer) - Battlefield (2010) ... (executive producer) Show all 8 episodes 2010 The A-Team (executive producer)
2010 Robin Hood (producer)
2010 The Real Robin Hood (TV Movie documentary) (producer)
2005-2010 Numb3rs (TV Series) (executive producer - 116 episodes)
- Cause and Effect (2010) ... (executive producer) - Devil Girl (2010) ... (executive producer) - Arm in Arms (2010) ... (executive producer) - Scratch (2010) ... (executive producer) - Old Soldiers (2009) ... (executive producer) Show all 116 episodes 2010/I Cyrus (executive producer)
2010 Welcome to the Rileys (executive producer)
2009/I Cracks (executive producer)
2009 Into the Storm (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2009 Tell Tale (producer)
2008 Body of Lies (producer)
2008 The Andromeda Strain (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer)
2007 The Company (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 6 episodes)
- Episode #1.6 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.5 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.4 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.3 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.2 (2007) ... (executive producer) Show all 6 episodes 2007 Law Dogs (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2007 American Gangster (producer)
2007 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (producer)
2006 Orpheus (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2006 A Good Year (producer)
2006 Tristan + Isolde (executive producer)
2005 In Her Shoes (producer)
2005 Kingdom of Heaven (producer)
2003 Matchstick Men (producer)
2002 Ticker (Short) (executive producer)
2002 Beat the Devil (Short) (executive producer)
2002 Hostage (Short) (executive producer)
2002 The Gathering Storm (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2002 AFP: American Fighter Pilot (TV Series) (executive producer)
2001 Black Hawk Down (producer)
2001 Hannibal (producer)
2000 The Last Debate (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2000 Gladiator (executive producer - uncredited)
2000 Where the Money Is (producer)
1999 RKO 281 (TV Movie) (executive producer)
1997-1999 The Hunger (TV Series) (executive producer - 4 episodes)
- Night Bloomer (1999) ... (executive producer) - The Secret Shih Tan (1997) ... (executive producer) - Necros (1997) ... (executive producer) - Menage a Trois (1997) ... (executive producer) 1998 Clay Pigeons (producer)
1997 G.I. Jane (producer)
1996 White Squall (executive producer)
1994 The Browning Version (producer)
1994 Monkey Trouble (executive producer)
1993 Elephant (TV Short) (associate producer)
1992 1492: Conquest of Paradise (producer)
1991 Thelma & Louise (producer)
1987 Someone to Watch Over Me (executive producer)
1982 Blade Runner (co-producer - uncredited)
1956 Boy and Bicycle (Short) (producer)
Scott wanted to join Army (his elder brother Frank had already joined the Merchant Navy) but his father encouraged him to develop his artistic talents instead and so he went to West Hartlepool College of Art and then London's Royal College of Art where he helped found the film department.
He joined BBC in 1962 as trainee set designer working on several high profile shows. He attended a trainee director's course while he was there and his first directing job was an episode of the prestigious BBC series Z Cars (1962), Z Cars: Error of Judgement (1965).
More TV work followed until, frustrated by the poor financial rewards at the BBC, he went into advertising. With his younger brother, Tony Scott, he formed the advertising production company RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) in 1967 and spent the next 10 years making some of the best known and best loved TV adverts ever shown on British television, including a series of ads for Hovis bread set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony which are still talked about today ("'e were a great baker were our dad.")
He began working with producer David Puttnam in the 1970s developing ideas for feature films. Their first joint endeavour, The Duellists (1977) won the Jury Prize for Best First Work at Cannes in 1977 and was nominated for the Palm d'Or, more than successfully launching Scott's feature film career.
The success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) inspired Scott's return to sci-fi (he had been a production designer on the cult series Doctor Who (1963) while he was at the BBC) and he accepted the offer to direct Dan O'Bannon's low budget sci-fi horror movie Alien (1979), a critical and commercial success that firmly established his worldwide reputation as a movie director.
Blade Runner (1982) followed in 1982 to, at best, a lukewarm reception from public and critics but in the years that followed, its reputation grew - and Scott's with it - as one of the most important sci-fi movies ever made.
Scott's next major project was back in the advertising world where he created another of the most talked-about advertising spots in broadcast history when his "1984"-inspired ad for the new Apple Macintosh computer was aired during the Super Bowl on 22 January 1984.
Scott's movie career has seen a few flops (notably Legend (1985) and 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)), but with successes like Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001) to offset them, his reputation remains solidly intact.
Sir Ridley was knighted in 2003 for his "substantial contribution to the British film industry".
2013 Klondike (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer)
2013 The Vatican (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2009-2013 The Good Wife (TV Series) (executive producer - 97 episodes)
- The Decision Tree (2013) ... (executive producer) - The Next Week (2013) ... (executive producer) - The Next Day (2013) ... (executive producer) - Hitting the Fan (2013) ... (executive producer) - Outside the Bubble (2013) ... (executive producer) Show all 97 episodes 2013 Killing Kennedy (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2013 Out of the Furnace (producer)
2013 The Counselor (producer)
2013 Springsteen & I (Documentary) (executive producer)
2013 Crimes of the Century (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 1 episode)
- The DC Snipers (2013) ... (executive producer) 2013 Welcome to the Punch (executive producer)
2013 Killing Lincoln (TV Movie) (executive producer) / (producer)
2013 The East (producer)
2013 Stoker (producer)
2012 Labyrinth (TV Series) (producer - 2 episodes)
- Episode #1.2 (2012) ... (producer) - Episode #1.1 (2012) ... (producer) 2012 Japan in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2012 World Without End (TV Mini-Series) (producer - 8 episodes)
- Checkmate (2012) ... (producer) - Queen (2012) ... (producer) - Rook (2012) ... (producer) - A People Revolt (2012) ... (producer) - Plague and Passion (2012) ... (producer) Show all 8 episodes 2011-2012 Call of Duty ELITE: Friday Night Fights (TV Series) (executive producer - 17 episodes)
- Optic vs. LFN (2012) ... (executive producer) - Brandon Jacobs vs. Terrence Cody (2012) ... (executive producer) - Countdown 321 vs. Make Us Famous (2012) ... (executive producer) - FourPlay vs. Red Shoe Rebels (2012) ... (executive producer) - Rampage Jackson vs. Joe Carnahan (2012) ... (executive producer) Show all 17 episodes 2012 Coma (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 1 episode)
- Part One (2012) ... (executive producer) 2012 Britain in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2012/I Prometheus (producer)
2012 Ghost Recon: Alpha (Short) (producer)
2012 Loom (Short) (executive producer)
2011-2012 Prophets of Science Fiction (TV Series documentary) (executive producer - 8 episodes)
- George Lucas (2012) ... (executive producer) - Robert Heinlein (2012) ... (executive producer) - Jules Verne (2012) ... (executive producer) - Isaac Asimov (2012) ... (executive producer) - Arthur C. Clarke (2011) ... (executive producer) Show all 8 episodes 2011 The Grey (producer)
2011 Gettysburg (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
2011 Life in a Day (Documentary) (executive producer)
2010 Nomads (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2010 The Pillars of the Earth (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 8 episodes)
- The Work of Angels (2010) ... (executive producer) - New Beginnings (2010) ... (executive producer) - Witchcraft (2010) ... (executive producer) - Legacy (2010) ... (executive producer) - Battlefield (2010) ... (executive producer) Show all 8 episodes 2010 The A-Team (executive producer)
2010 Robin Hood (producer)
2010 The Real Robin Hood (TV Movie documentary) (producer)
2005-2010 Numb3rs (TV Series) (executive producer - 116 episodes)
- Cause and Effect (2010) ... (executive producer) - Devil Girl (2010) ... (executive producer) - Arm in Arms (2010) ... (executive producer) - Scratch (2010) ... (executive producer) - Old Soldiers (2009) ... (executive producer) Show all 116 episodes 2010/I Cyrus (executive producer)
2010 Welcome to the Rileys (executive producer)
2009/I Cracks (executive producer)
2009 Into the Storm (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2009 Tell Tale (producer)
2008 Body of Lies (producer)
2008 The Andromeda Strain (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer)
2007 The Company (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer - 6 episodes)
- Episode #1.6 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.5 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.4 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.3 (2007) ... (executive producer) - Episode #1.2 (2007) ... (executive producer) Show all 6 episodes 2007 Law Dogs (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2007 American Gangster (producer)
2007 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (producer)
2006 Orpheus (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2006 A Good Year (producer)
2006 Tristan + Isolde (executive producer)
2005 In Her Shoes (producer)
2005 Kingdom of Heaven (producer)
2003 Matchstick Men (producer)
2002 Ticker (Short) (executive producer)
2002 Beat the Devil (Short) (executive producer)
2002 Hostage (Short) (executive producer)
2002 The Gathering Storm (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2002 AFP: American Fighter Pilot (TV Series) (executive producer)
2001 Black Hawk Down (producer)
2001 Hannibal (producer)
2000 The Last Debate (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2000 Gladiator (executive producer - uncredited)
2000 Where the Money Is (producer)
1999 RKO 281 (TV Movie) (executive producer)
1997-1999 The Hunger (TV Series) (executive producer - 4 episodes)
- Night Bloomer (1999) ... (executive producer) - The Secret Shih Tan (1997) ... (executive producer) - Necros (1997) ... (executive producer) - Menage a Trois (1997) ... (executive producer) 1998 Clay Pigeons (producer)
1997 G.I. Jane (producer)
1996 White Squall (executive producer)
1994 The Browning Version (producer)
1994 Monkey Trouble (executive producer)
1993 Elephant (TV Short) (associate producer)
1992 1492: Conquest of Paradise (producer)
1991 Thelma & Louise (producer)
1987 Someone to Watch Over Me (executive producer)
1982 Blade Runner (co-producer - uncredited)
1956 Boy and Bicycle (Short) (producer)