Matthew Greenhalgh (born 1972) is an English

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. He is best known for writing the screenplay to the film ''

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool ''Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool'' is a 2017 biographical romantic drama film directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, with a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Walters. It is based on the memoir of th ...

'', which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Early life and education

Greenhalgh was born in Salford in the

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

area of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to Philip Greenhalgh and Rita Greenhalgh (née Roberts). He grew up in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...

in North Manchester. Greenhalgh graduated from

St Bede's College, Manchester ("He never relaxed in idleness") , established = 1876 , closed = , type = Independent day school Public School , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head ...

and

Loreto College, Manchester Loreto College is a Roman Catholic sixth form college in Hulme, Manchester, England, based on the educational philosophy of Mary Ward (nun), Mary Ward, a 16th-century nun, who founded the Sisters of Loreto, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ...

. He attended Warrington Collegiate Institute with a focus in media studies. He graduated from the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

where he studied print media.

Career

Greenhalgh started out writing reviews for the

magazine, ''City Life.'' Greenhalgh got his start working in television on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

TV series '' Hollyoaks'' and '' Brookside'' as a runner. From 1999 to 2000, he worked as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

on the British TV show, ''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of the UK series ** ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, soundtrack albums from ...

.'' He was first assistant director on the 2000 TV show, '' Fat Friends,'' and on 2001's ''

Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an ant ...

.'' In 2002, Greenhalgh wrote for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

TV series, ''

.'' In 2003, he wrote one of the 90 minute episodes of the last series of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

series, ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

.'' He worked as a writer and director on series 1 and 2 of the

BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

series, the Mancunian ''

Burn It {{Infobox television , image = Burn It (BBC 2003).jpg , caption = , alt_name = , genre = Drama , creator = , developer = , writer = Matt Greenhal ...

,'' and then as a writer and director on the

series, ''Legless.'' Greenhalgh's film writing debut was a biopic of Joy Division frontman

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

, the 2007 film ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

'', which was directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

. He was awarded the Carl Foreman BAFTA award at the

61st British Academy Film Awards The 61st British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 10 February 2008 and honoured the best films of 2007. ''Atonement'' won Best Film, while Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, won Best Directo ...

, and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the British Independent Film Award for his work on the film. ''Control'' was adapted from the book, '' Touching From a Distance,'' written by Ian Curtis' wife,

Deborah Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

. Greenhalgh wrote the 2009 film '' Nowhere Boy'', about a young John Lennon, which was directed by Sam Taylor Wood and starred Aaron Johnson. The film was nominated for a BAFTA and a BIFA for Best Screenplay. In 2010, Greenhalgh wrote and directed the short film, ''Acid Burn,'' which starred Agyness Deyn and Matthew Beard. In 2011, he wrote the script for the short film, ''Supermarket Girl,'' which starred Matthew Beard and Nichola Burley. He wrote the screenplay for the 2013's '' The Look of Love'', a film about the famous British pornographer Paul Raymond, directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

and Anna Friel which premiered in

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

2013 and

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

2013. Greenhalgh wrote the 2017

Paul McGuigan Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

film, ''

'', starring Annette Bening,

Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest ...

and

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

. was nominated for

BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968, when the original category (BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) was split into two awards, the other being the BAF ...

. In July 2022, it was announced that the feature film ''Back To Black'', based on the life and career of late singer Amy Winehouse has been scripted by Greenhalgh, with Sam Taylor-Johnson directing the movie.

Personal life

Greenhalgh is married to British television producer

Nicola Shindler Nicola Shindler (born 8 October 1968) is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. S ...

, with whom he has two daughters and a son.

Awards

* 2003: BAFTA TV Award, Best New Writer (nomination) for ''Clocking Off'' * 2007: British Independent Film Award, Best Screenplay (nomination) for ''Control'' * 2007:

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, Silver Hugo Award, Best Screenplay for ''Control'' * 2008:

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer for ''Control'' * 2008:

Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, first recognising the ...

(nomination) for ''Control'' – with

Orian Williams Orian Williams (born 11 November 1965) is an American film producer. Williams is best known for the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated Willem Dafoe/John Malkovich film ''Shadow of the Vampire'', as well as the BIFA-winning ''Control'', an Ian Cur ...

, Todd Eckert, Anton Corbijn * 2008: Evening Standard British Film Awards, Best Screenplay for ''Control'' * 2008:

London Critics Circle Film Awards The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of the ...

, ALFS Award, British Breakthrough – Filmmaking for ''Control'' * 2009: British Independent Film Award, Best Screenplay (nomination) for ''Nowhere Boy'' * 2010:

(nomination) for ''Nowhere Boy'' with Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae, Robert Bernstein, Sam Taylor-Johnson * 2018: BAFTA Film Award, Best Screenplay (Adapted) (nomination) for ''Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool''

Filmography

* 1999-2000: ''

'' (TV Series) – Third Assistant Director (8 episodes); First Assistant Director (2 episodes) * 2000: '' Fat Friends'' (TV Series) – First Assistant Director (3 episodes) * 2001: ''

'' (TV Series) – First Assistant Director (1 episode); Written by (1 episode) * 2003: ''

'' (TV Series) – Written by (1 episode) * 2003: ''

Burn It {{Infobox television , image = Burn It (BBC 2003).jpg , caption = , alt_name = , genre = Drama , creator = , developer = , writer = Matt Greenhal ...

'' (TV Series) – Written by (15 episodes) * 2005: ''Legless'' (TV Movie) – Writer, Director * 2007: ''

'' – Screenplay * 2009: '' Nowhere Boy'' – Screenplay * 2010: ''Acid Burn'' (Short) – Writer, Director * 2011: ''Supermarket Girl'' (Short) – Director * 2012: '' Move On'' – Writer * 2013: '' The Look of Love'' – Written by * 2017: ''

'' – Screenplay * 2024: ''Back To Black'' — Screenplay

Selected works and publications

* *

References

External links

Matt Greenhalgh
at fficial website*
Matt Greenhalgh
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhalgh, Matt 1972 births Living people Alumni of the University of Chester English male screenwriters English screenwriters Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer BAFTA Award winners Place of birth missing (living people)