David Gleeson (born in
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
) is an Irish film director and writer.
Personal life
A native of
Cappamore
Cappamore () is a small town in northeast County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
Location and facilities
Cappamore is situated on the R505 regional road, on the ...
, Co. Limerick, Gleeson is the third generation of his family to enter the film business. His grandfather opened up the Regal Cinema, Cappamore, in the early 1940s, and his father, Eddie Gleeson, took over the business, opening up several more screens across the south west of Ireland, including the Curzon Cinema,
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...
, and the Ormond Cineplex,
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...
, Co. Tipperary. David began his career at the age of nineteen writing and directing non-professional theater in
Limerick City
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
with the one-act drama ''Class Control''.
A few years later he entered the
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea.
In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea ...
industry where he worked for five years, chiefly in the
Forties Field on the
Forties Charlie platform Forties can mean:
*1940s, the years 1940–1949
* 40s, the years 40-49 AD
*The years 40-49 of any century - see List of decades
*Long Forties, area in the North Sea
*The Forties shipping forecast area (roughly corresponding to the Long Forties)
*F ...
, followed by two years in the Arctic Circle off the coast of Norway onboard the Ocean Alliance. Gleeson met his producing partner and future wife, Nathalie Lichtenthaler, in New York City while attending a film course at the
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...
where she produced his first short film as a writer/director ''Feels Like Home''.
Career
Gleeson wrote and directed one other short film, ''Hunted'', prior to writing and directing his feature debut, ''
Cowboys & Angels
''Cowboys & Angels'' is an Irish film released on 14 May 2003 at the Cannes Film Market in France. Set in Limerick city, the movie stars Michael Legge as Shane and Allen Leech as Vincent, Shane's gay roommate. The film was directed by David Gl ...
''.
''Cowboys & Angels'', a youth comedy/drama set in his native Limerick, was released in cinemas across Ireland by
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
Int. The film won eight international film awards including Best Screenplay at
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...
(U.S.) and two Gold Medal Awards at
Giffoni (Italy). ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented,
he film
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
'offers a fresh mix of open-minded intelligence and a heartfelt point of view,' while the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' commented, 'Stack "Cowboys" against most of the fare American studios offer young adults and it's meatier by far'.
Gleeson's next film which he also wrote and directed, the crime drama''
The Front Line'', was released in cinemas in 2006 also through
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
Int.
Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...
called it; 'A satisfying blend of crime drama and geopolitical think piece about a Congolese refugee in Dublin,
he Front Linesustains high levels of suspense while delivering an emotional wallop.' The
Sunday Independent (Ireland) commented; 'Gleeson has delivered a terrific film that reminds us what big screens were made for, and it deserves to be a smash.'
In 2008, Gleeson signed with
Creative Artists Agency
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...
and sold his time travel sci-fi spec screenplay 'The End of History' to
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
and
Original Film
Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
History
Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...
. He followed this up with several more spec sales and commissions to studios including
Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in th ...
,
Fox Filmed Entertainment
Fox Entertainment Group was an American entertainment company specialised in filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were folded into various Disney units. Th ...
,
Mattel Films
Mattel Films is the film production division of Mattel originally formed on October 16, 2013, as Mattel Playground Productions as part of Mattel Global Brands, a unified media structural and strategy unit.
On March 31, 2016, Mattel placed the ...
and
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
In July 2017, Gleeson began principal photography on his third film as writer and director,
Don't Go (2018 film), starring
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Back ...
and
Melissa George
Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...
. The film is based on a screenplay by Ronan Blaney who shares a writing credit with Gleeson. ''
Don't Go'' was released in the US through
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...
on 28 October 2018.
In 2013,
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century St ...
commissioned Gleeson to write ''
Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...
'', based on his original pitch, about the English writer and author of ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
'' and ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'',
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
. Fox Searchlight and
Chernin Entertainment
Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head ...
produced the biographical film, which stars
Nicholas Hoult
Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His List of roles and awards of Nicholas Hoult, body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in Independent film, independent p ...
and was released in 2019.
In January 2019, Gleeson was commissioned by
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
to write ''The Grimm Legacy'', the first in a potential franchise based on the book series by Polly Shulman.
Filmography
Feature films
*''
Cowboys and Angels'' (2003)
*''
The Front Line'' (2006)
*''
Don't Go'' (2018)
*''
Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...
'' (2019)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, David
Irish film directors
Irish screenwriters
Irish male screenwriters
Mass media people from County Limerick
1966 births
20th-century Irish writers
21st-century Irish writers
Living people