Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two

Academy Awards 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 ...

for his work in ''

Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having ...

'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers online community ''

Shooting People Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search, in which members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen. Dedicated to the support a ...

''.

Early life

Figgis was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and grew up in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

until he was eight. The rest of his childhood was spent in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Career

Figgis's early interest was in music. He played trumpet and guitar in The People Band and is audible in their first record (produced by Charlie Watts) in 1968. He also played keyboards for

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

's first band. In 1983 he directed a theatre play, produced in Theatre Gerard-Philipe (Saint-Denis, Paris). This play performed with great success at Festival de Grenada and in Theater der Welt (Munich). After working in theatre (he was a musician and performer in the experimental group People Show) Figgis made his feature film debut with the low budget ''

Stormy Monday "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast blu ...

'' in 1988. The film earned him attention as a director who could get interesting performances from established Hollywood actors. His first American film was '' Internal Affairs'', which helped to revive the career of

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

. His next Hollywood feature, '' Mr. Jones'', was misunderstood by the studio, who attempted to market the downbeat story as a feelgood film, resulting in a box office flop. Figgis poured his disenchantment with the film industry into ''

'', which starred

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

and

Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), '' Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), ''Cocktail'' (1988), '' Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), ''B ...

, which earned Figgis

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 ...

nominations for Best Directing and Best Screenplay. He followed this up with the romantic drama '' One Night Stand'', starring

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

and

Nastassja Kinski Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; , ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with ''Stay as You Are'' (1978). She then came to gl ...

, but the movie received a poor response from critics and was a commercial failure. His most ambitious film to date is the low-budget film ''

The Loss of Sexual Innocence ''The Loss of Sexual Innocence'' is a 1999 film written and directed by Mike Figgis. It tells the story of the sexual development of a filmmaker through three stages of his life, in a non-linear and disjointed manner. The film stars British actress ...

'', a loosely based autobiographical film of the director himself. In 2007, Figgis shot ''Love Live Long'' set between

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

on the infamous

Gumball 3000 The Gumball 3000 is an annual international celebrity motor rally, which takes place on public roads. The name comes from the 1976 movie ''The Gumball Rally''. It was established in 1999 by Maximillion Cooper, with his vision to combine cars, ...

Rally, starring

Sophie Winkleman Sophie Lara Winkleman (born 5 August 1980) is an English actress. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent, a paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Early life Winkleman was born in Primrose Hill, London. He ...

and

Daniel Lapaine Daniel Lapaine (born 15 June 1971) is an Australian stage, film and television actor, currently residing in London. He also works as a writer and director. Career Born in Sydney, New South Wales to an Italian father and an Australian mother ...

. In 2008, he was called upon by Transport for London to help shoot a PIF entitled ''A Little Thought From Each of Us, A Big Difference For Everyone'', encouraging more considerate behaviour on London's public transport systems, which was then shown in London cinemas. The ad comprised the screen split into four sections, each section showing one of four scenarios all on the same double-decker bus. At the end of the ad, the friction-creating scenarios were resolved and the ad ended on "A little thought from each of us. A big difference for everyone."

Digital video

Forays into digital video technology led Figgis to conceive of and direct ''

Timecode A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...

'', which took advantage of the technology to create an ensemble film shot simultaneously with four cameras all in one take and also presented simultaneously and uncut, dividing the screen into four-quarters. He returned to the ''Timecode'' quad-screen approach for his section of ''

Ten Minutes Older ''Ten Minutes Older'' is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films titled ''The Trumpet'' and ''The Cello''. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of th ...

'', but has also worked on documentary pieces including a segment of ''

The Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

(called Red, White, and Blues)'' and a short piece on

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

. His curiosity with the cinematic use of time has led him to cite

Robert Enrico Robert Georgio Enrico (13 April 1931 – 23 February 2001) was a French film director and scriptwriter best known for making the Oscar-winning short ''An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' (1961). He was born in Liévin, Pas-de-Calais, in the nort ...

's 1962 film version of ''

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890) is a short story by the American writer and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce. Described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature","An Occurrence at Owl Creek ...

'' as an influential film for him. Figgis has a well-documented love-hate relationship with the Hollywood system which leads him to often be an outspoken critic of the system while also despairing the lack of a better alternative. At an appearance at

Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage () is a festival dedicated to the celebration of cinematography and recognition of its creators, cinematographers. The first seven events (1993–1999) were held in Toruń, ...

in 2005, he expressed the view that filmmaking had become "boring and perhaps need dto become even worse before anything better can emerge" successfully at least in reaction. At one of the ''Shooting People'' events in 2005 he said that filmmaking with a small digital camera made the experience more like painting or novel writing than the movie industry. His fascination with camera technology has also led him to create a camera stabilisation rig for smaller video cameras, called the

Fig Rig Fig Rig is a handheld stabilization device for smaller film cameras/video cameras designed by film director Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two ...

which places the camera on a platform held within a steering wheel-like system and has since been released by

Manfrotto Group Manfrotto is an Italian brand of camera and lighting supports, including tripods, monopods, and other accessories, that is manufactured by Lino Manfrotto + Co. Spa, a company headquartered in Cassola, Italy. The brand is wholly-owned by Videndum p ...

. To promote a new camera phone,

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. I ...

commissioned Figgis to create ''Life Captured'', a short film made out of mobile phone snapshots taken by 14 people from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, who were selected to submit a series of photos after winning the global competition.

Educational career

Figgis, since 2008, has been professor of film studies at the

European Graduate School The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta. History It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, P ...

Saas-Fee Saas-Fee () is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he conducts intensive summer seminars. Figgis was made an Honorary Associate of London Film School.

Filmography

*''The House'' (1984) *''

'' (1988) *'' Internal Affairs'' (1990) *'' Women & Men 2'' (1991) *'' Liebestraum'' (1991) *'' Mr. Jones'' (1993) *'' The Browning Version'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *'' Flamenco Women'' (1997) *'' One Night Stand'' (1997) *''

'' (1999) *''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...

'' (1999) *''

'' (2000) *''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

'' (2001) *'' The Battle of Orgreave'' (2001) *'' Ten Minutes Older: The Cello'' (2002) Segment: ''About Time 2'' *''

'' (2003) – Episode: ''Red, White, And Blues'' *''

Cold Creek Manor ''Cold Creek Manor'' is a 2003 American thriller film directed by Mike Figgis, and starring Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Stephen Dorff, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Stewart and Christopher Plummer. The screenplay by Richard Jefferies tells the story o ...

'' (2003) *''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' – Episode: "

Cold Cuts Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on ...

" (2004) *'' Co/Ma'' (2004) *''

Love Live Long ''Love Live Long'' is a 2008 experimental film centred on the Gumball 3000 The Gumball 3000 is an annual international celebrity motor rally, which takes place on public roads. The name comes from the 1976 movie ''The Gumball Rally''. It w ...

'' (2008) *''The Co(te)lette Film'' (2010) *'' Suspension of Disbelief'' (2012) *''Mara'' (2015) *'' The Battle of Hastings (documentary film)'' (2017) *''

Somebody Up There Likes Me (documentary film) Somebody Up There Likes Me may refer to: Music Songs *" Somebody Up There Likes You", a song by Simple Minds, released in 1982 on their studio album ''New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)'' * "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (song), a song by David Bo ...

'' (2019)

Bibliography

*''Mike Figgis: Collected Screenplays 1 – Stormy Monday, Liebestraum, Leaving Las Vegas'' (2002) *''Digital Filmmaking'' (2007) *''The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations'' (2017): 978-057130504-9

References

External links

Wellcome Trust oral-history interview from July 2009

Mike Figgis
Faculty page at

(Includes biography, filmography, photos and video lectures) * * *
Digital Filmmaking book

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070704020158/http://www.independentfilmquarterly.com/ifq/issues/issue2/mikefiggis.htm Interview
Mike Figgis judged the Film of the Month competition in January 2009 on the independent filmmakers networking site Shooting People.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Figgis, Mike 1948 births Living people Alumni of Middlesex University English composers English film directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters English expatriates in Switzerland European Graduate School faculty Independent Spirit Award for Best Director winners People from Carlisle, Cumbria Screenwriting instructors