John Hay is an English

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Career

After leaving university, he began directing for UK television, making dramas such as ''Looking Back'' and two adaptations of

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

' epic poems, ''Falling for a Dolphin'' and ''

Autogeddon ''Autogeddon'' is the eleventh solo album by Julian Cope, released in 1994 on The Echo Label. According to the album's sleeve notes, written by Cope, it was "inspired by Heathcote Williams' epic poem of the same name and a little incident conce ...

'', which starred

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winner

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

. ''

'' was critically revered and won the Jury Prize at Shanghai, which led to Hay's working with

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

on ''Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get into Trouble'', a short about Pacino’s personally-financed feature ''

The Local Stigmatic ''The Local Stigmatic'' is a 1990 film directed by David Wheeler and produced by and starring Al Pacino. It was filmed and edited during the late 1980s. It had a showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in March 1990, but was never r ...

'', which was based on a stage play by Heathcote Williams. He worked again with Pacino in 1996 on ''

Looking for Richard ''Looking for Richard'' is a 1996 American documentary film directed by Al Pacino, in his directorial debut. It is a hybrid film, including both a filmed performance of selected scenes of William Shakespeare's '' Richard III'' and a documentary e ...

'', starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

and

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

. With his writing partner, Rik Carmichael, he co-wrote and directed an adaptation of a

Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian ...

story, ''The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag'' which starred

Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for roles in British films such as ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) ...

and

Jodhi May Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...

. For independent production company Childsplay Productions, he also directed one episode of original sci-fi drama '' Life Force'', and an adaptation of the children's story ''

Stig of the Dump ''Stig of the Dump'' is a children's novel by Clive King which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and has been ...

'', which won a BAFTA and an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. His film ''

There's Only One Jimmy Grimble ''There's Only One Jimmy Grimble'', also known as ''Jimmy Grimble'', is a 2000 British drama film directed by John Hay (director), John Hay. It is centred on one young boy's dream to play for Manchester City F.C. The film is set around Oldham, ...

'', which starred

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

and

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

, won the Crystal Bear for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival in 2001 and ten other first prizes including the Golden Griffin for best feature at

Giffoni Film Festival The Giffoni International Film Festival is an Italian children's film festival which takes place annually in Giffoni Valle Piana, Campania. It began in 1971. The Giffoni International Film Festival typically has around 100,000 guests and has had ...

. In 2021, he directed and co-wrote ''

To Olivia ''To Olivia'' (formerly titled ''An Unquiet Life'') is a 2021 British drama film directed by John Hay and starring Hugh Bonneville as Roald Dahl and Keeley Hawes as Patricia Neal. It is based on Stephen Michael Shearer's biography about Neal titl ...

'', a film about a tumultuous year in the life of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal. It stars

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a nom ...

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Haw ...

Sam Heughan Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

and

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

in his last film role. He is attached to a live-action version of ''

Captain Pugwash ''Captain Pugwash'' is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action (the first series ...

'' and a Second World War spy drama, Lives in Secret, based on

Sarah Helm Sarah Helm (born 2 November 1956) is a British journalist and non-fiction writer. She worked for ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Independent'' in the 1980s and 1990s. Her first book ''A Life in Secrets'', detailing the life of the secret agent Ver ...

's book, A Life in Secrets.

Major works

As director

*''

Minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

'' (1991) *''

The Steal The Steal were an English hardcore punk band, from Kingston upon Thames and Brighton. History They formed in late 2005, and were influenced by Minor Threat, 7 Seconds (band), 7 Seconds and Kid Dynamite (band), Kid Dynamite. In 2006 they compl ...

'' (1995) *''

Q.E.D Q.E.D. or QED is an initialism of the List of Latin phrases (full), Latin phrase , meaning "which was to be demonstrated". Literally it states "what was to be shown". Traditionally, the abbreviation is placed at the end of Mathematical proof#Endin ...

'' (1997) *''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2002) *'' The Truth About Love'' (2004) *''The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag'' (2005) *''

Lost Christmas ''Lost Christmas'' is a 2011 British drama written by David Logan and John Hay and directed by John Hay. It stars Eddie Izzard, Jason Flemyng and Larry Mills. The BBC film, set in Manchester over two Christmases, shows a group of people who are ...

'' (2011) *''

'' (2021) *'' Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis'' (2023)

As producer

(2011) *Girl Power (2014) *

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...

(2019)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, John English film directors Living people English television directors Year of birth missing (living people)