Michael Apted (born February 10, 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom) is a British director, producer, writer and actor. His is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up! series of documentaries.

Biography

Apted came from a lower middle class family, his father worked for an insurance company, but he secured a scholarship to attend a Public School and to study law and history at Cambridge University (Downing). He began his career in television, securing a traineeship at Granada Television and then working as a researcher. One of his first projects became his most famous at Granada the Up! series, which started in 1964 with fourteen seven-year-old children. As researcher Apted was involved in selecting the children. Beginning as a one-shot documentary, it has become an institution revisiting the subjects every seven years with Apted directing the later series. The series follows Apted's thesis that the British class system remains largely in place. Now in its seventh installment, the series is a dramatic look at peoples lives. The latest version, 49 Up, was produced in 2005 and Apted has said that he hopes to be able to make 56 up.

During his time at Granada, he directed a number of episodes of Coronation Street then written by Jack Rosenthal. Apted and Rosenthal went on to collaborate on a number of popular television and film projects including the pilot episodes for The Dustbinmen and The Lovers (TV series). Apted and Rosenthal teamed up again in 1984 for the TV movie P'tan Yang Kipperbang one of the first films commissioned by Channel 4.

For his work in television, Apted has won several British Academy Awards, including one for Best Dramatic Director.

Apted made his first feature film in 1972 The Triple Echo starring Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson and directed two films for David Putnam alternating with television work on Play for Today. Apted directed six plays for the strand including Stronger than the Sun written by Stephen Poliakoff and starring Francesca Annis as a young woman who places her life in danger to expose a crime, a theme Apted has returned to several times. In 1979 he directed the Hollywood financed Agatha featuring a strong performance by Vanessa Redgrave. The majority of Apted's successful feature films since have been based around a female subject. He went to the United States in 1980, and there directed Coal Miner's Daughter, which got seven Academy Award nominations winning best actress for Sissy Spacek. Sigourney Weaver and Jodie Foster have also earned Academy Award nominations from Apted directed films.

Apted has also made several films with a strong social message or dealing with an ethical dilemma. In 1983 he directed the film, Gorky Park based on the novel by Martin Cruz Smith dealing with police corruption in the USSR. Class Action deals with a corporate whistle blower and Extreme Measures medical ethics.

In addition to feature films, Apted has continued to direct a number of documentaries including Bring on the Night a feature length concert film about the making of Sting's first solo album. After making Thunderheart Apted also made the documentary Incident at Oglala detailing the actual events behind the film.

Apted directed the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough the first Bond film in which the main villain is a woman. Apted also gave considerably more screen time than usual to the character of 'M' as played by Judi Dench.

On June 29, 2003 he was elected President of the Director's Guild of America. He returned to television directing the TV miniseries Rome (TV series). His next feature film project is Amazing Grace (2006 film)

Selected Filmography

Feature Films

• The Triple Echo, 1972
• Stardust (1974 movie), 1974
• The Squeeze, 1977
• Agatha, 1979
• Coal Miner's Daughter, 1980
• Continental Divide, 1981
• Gorky Park, 1983
• Firstborn (film), 1984
• Gorillas in the Mist, 1988
• Class Action (1991 film), 1991
• Thunderheart, 1992
• Blink (film), 1994
• Nell, 1994
• Extreme Measures, 1996
• The World is Not Enough, 1999
• Enigma (2001 film), 2001
• Enough, 2002
• Amazing Grace (2006 film)

Television Plays and Series

• Coronation Street, 1963 - 1964
• Haunted, 1967
• There's a hole in your dustbin, Deliah, 1968 - writer Jack Rosenthal
• The Dustbinmen, 1969
• Big Breadwinner Hog, 1969
• The Lovers (TV series), 1970
• Follyfoot, 1970
• Another Sunday and Sweet F.A., 1970 - writer Jack Rosenthal
• The Collection, 1976 - writer Harold Pinter and starring Laurence Olivier.
• Play for Today, 1972 - 1977
• P'tan Yang Kipperbang, 1984
• New York News, 1994

External links

• Resumé at PFD
• Michael Apted at IMDB.com

1941 births | Living people | British film directors | British television directors

Michael Apted | Michael Apted | マイケル・アプテッド | Michael Apted | Michael Apted