John Watson is a British film producer.

Early life and education

Watson, the son of the Somerset cricketer of the same name, was born in the village of

Poyntington Poyntington is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It lies on the edge of the Blackmore Vale about north of Sherborne. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 128. Poyntington shares a grouped pa ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

for boys in the town of

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

, followed by

Churchill College Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Career

Watson's breakthrough came in 1991, when two films he produced were simultaneous hits: '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (which he also co-wrote), starring

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

and

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

; and ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed sp ...

'', starring

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

, directed by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

. He then quickly leaped into television in 1992 where his Trilogy Entertainment Group organization had signed with

RHI Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

. Branching into television in the mid-1990s, Watson executive-produced over 300 hours of network and cable television; 7 seasons of '' The Outer Limits'' (

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

), 4 seasons of '' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (

), 1 season of ''Fame LA'' (Syndication) and 1 season of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' (

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

). Watson developed the CBS series, ''The Magnificent Seven'', on which he was the sole showrunner for 2 seasons, and co-created and executive-produced the

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

and

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

series ''Breaking News''. TV movies and mini-series he has executive-produced; ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

'' (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

), ''Houdini'' and ''Buffalo Soldiers'' (

), ''Brother's Keeper'' (USA), ''Peter Benchley's Creature'', ''Taking of Pelham 123'' (ABC), and ''Lifepod'' (FOX). Watson produced (with

Julian Adams Julian Calhoun Adams II is an American producer, writer, actor, and architect. Early life and education He is the son of Weston Adams and Elizabeth Nelson Adams, and was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He spent his childhood in South Carolin ...

and

Pen Densham Pen Densham (born 14 October 1947) is a British-Canadian film and television producer, writer, and director, known for writing and producing films such as '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves''Kasindorf, Jeanie. "Million Dollar Babies: How a Bunch of ...

) the submarine thriller ''Phantom'' from RCR Media Group, Trilogy Entertainment Group and

Solar Filmworks Solar Filmworks is a film production company which produced '' The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams'' (2007) which stars Julian Adams, Amy Redford, Mickey Rooney, and Tippi Hedren, and was produced by Weston Adams (ambassador) and Julia ...

. ''Phantom'' was written and directed by Todd Robinson, and stars

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

and

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on ''Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski on ...

. Watson is a tenured professor at The

USC School of Cinematic Arts The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...

, and holder of the

Cubby Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

Endowed Chair.

Writing credits

*''The Zoo Gang'' – with

- 1985 *''

A Gnome Named Gnorm ''A Gnome Named Gnorm'' (also known in some markets as ''Upworld'') is a 1990 fantasy buddy comedy film directed by Stan Winston and written by Pen Densham and John Watson. The film stars Anthony Michael Hall, Jerry Orbach and Claudia Christian ...

'' - with

- 1990 *''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' – Story – Screenplay with

1991 *''Taking Liberty'' - with

1993 *''The Magnificent Seven'' - with

(TV series) - 1998

Producing credits

*Multiple films for Insight Productions, Watson's production company with

. *''

Life Times Nine ''Life Times Nine'' is a Canadian short film, which was released in 1973. Produced by Insight Productions in conjunction with a group of nine students from Toronto, Ontario's SEED Alternative School, the film's concept was for each student to produ ...

'' (

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nominated short) - 1973 *'' Don't Mess with Bill'' (Oscar nominated short) - 1980 *''The Zoo Gang'' - 1985 *''The Kiss'' - 1988 *''A Gnome Named Gnorm'' - 1990 *''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' - 1991 *''Backdraft'' - 1991 *''Taking Liberty'' - (executive producer) - 1993 *''Space Rangers'' (TV series) (executive producer) - 1993 *''Lifepod'' (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1993 *''Blown Away'' - 1994 *''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

'' - 1995 *''Moll Flander''s - 1996 *''Larger Than Life'' - 1996 *''Fame L.A.'' (TV series) - (executive producer) - 1997 *''Buffalo Soldiers'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 1997 *''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 1998 *''Mr. Headmistress'' (TV movie) - (co-producer) - 1998 *''The Magnificent Seven'' (TV series) - (executive producer) - 1998 *''Creature'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 1998 *''Houdini'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 1998 *''Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (TV series) - (executive producer) - 1996-1999 *''The Outer Limits'' (TV series) - (executive producer)- 1995-2001 *''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'' - (executive producer) - 2002''Screen World 2003.'' New York: Applause Theater & Cinema Books, 2003. 72. *''My Brother's Keeper'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 2002 *''Breaking News'' (TV series) - (executive producer) - 2002 *''Carrie'' (TV movie) - (executive producer) - 2002 *''The Twilight Zone'' (TV series) - (executive producer) - 2003 *''Just Buried'' - 2008 *''Phantom'' - with

and

- 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John English film producers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)