Jonathan Stewart Cavendish (born 4 February 1959) is a British independent film producer. He is notable for his work on ''
Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' (2007), ''
Breathe'' (2017) and the
Bridget Jones
Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's '' Bridget Jones's Diary'' column in ''The Independent'' in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an act ...
films. He is a member of the
Cavendish family
The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of Newc ...
.
Early life
Jonathan Stewart Cavendish was born 4 February 1959, the son of
Robin Cavendish and Diana Blacker Cavendish, who became advocates for the disabled following Robin's paralysis by
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
in December 1958.
[Renton, Alice; Renton, Tim (10 August 1994)]
"Obituary: Robin Cavendish"
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''.[Oaksey, John (17 August 2001)]
"Obituaries: Professor E T 'Teddy' Hall"
''The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
''.
Cavendish studied history at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
.
Career
Cavendish began his career in advertising. He was part of the marketing team behind
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's launch in 1982. After joining Little Bird Productions in 1983, Cavendish has been responsible for acclaimed titles such as ''
In My Father's Den'' (2004), ''
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.
Origin of the word
Originally a "croupier" meant ...
'' (1998) and ''
Trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
'' (2004), as well as numerous TV projects.
[
In 2011, he founded The Imaginarium Studios with actor ]Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...
. The Imaginarium is a creative digital studio based in Ealing, dedicated to the invention of believable, emotionally engaging digital characters using Performance Capture technology. Cavendish had his motion capture "epiphany" while watching ''King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
''. "To the embarrassment of my children, I cried … and it was only afterwards when I looked up the movie and found out about it that I discovered that inside all of that was little Andy."
On 20 October 2012, the studio acquired rights to ''The Bone Season
''The Bone Season'' is a supernatural dystopian novel by British writer Samantha Shannon and is her debut novel. The novel was published on 20 August 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing and is the first of a seven book series. Television rights to ' ...
'' by Samantha Shannon
Samantha Shannon (born 8 November 1991) is a British author of dystopian and fantasy fiction. Her debut novel, '' The Bone Season'', was published in 2013 and is the first of a seven-book series.
Life and career
Shannon was born in Hammersmith ...
and a new motion capture adaptation of ''Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to c ...
''. Cavendish will produce both films along with Serkis.
Cavendish commissioned writer William Nicholson to write a screenplay on his father's life and work. The film, '' Breathe'', is directed by Serkis, and opened in October 2017. In it, Cavendish's father, Robin, is portrayed by Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time' ...
, and his wife, Diana, is portrayed by Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
.[2016 Toronto International Film Festival
The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown.
Awards
The festival's final awards were ...]
Cavendish is married to Lesley Ann Rogers. They have triplets, born in 1996.