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Richard Boddington (born February 6, 1968) is a British-Canadian film director, writer, editor, cinematographer and television producer, with dual citizenship from the United Kingdom and Canada. Born in Yorkshire, England, he now resides in Ontario, Canada.


Career

Richard began making films at the age of 12 using Super 8. After seeing ET in 1982, he committed to being a filmmaker. He kept making Super 8 films in high school, then moved onto film school in the USA. From 1995–2000, Boddington worked as a Producer at the CTV Network in Toronto. His first film was ''Dark Reprieve'' (2008), for which Boddington was the producer, director, editor and director of photography. He also self-financed it.Jesse Ikeman http://www.crafttruck.com/through-the-lens-podcast/business-of-film-7-with-richard-boddington-indie-producer/ 3 December 2013 Richard then directed, produced and edited the family comedy film, ''The Dogfather'' (2010), which starred
Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...
. In 2012, Boddington wrote, directed, edited and produced his third feature film, ''
Against the Wild ''Against the Wild'' is a 2013 Canadian direct-to-video children's film directed by Richard Boddington and starring CJ Adams, Erin Pitt, Natasha Henstridge and Ted Whittall. Plot 13-year-old Zach Wade and 12-year-old Hannah are brother and ...
'' (2014), which was shot entirely on location in Northern Ontario. The film tells the story of two children and their Alaskan Malamute, who must fight for survival after their plane crashes in the wilderness. Featuring a number of animals, a decision was made to exclusively use real animals and no computer generated ones. The film achieved world wide distribution and won such awards as the Director's Choice Grand Prize at the 2013 Rhode Island International Film Festival. The film stars,
Natasha Henstridge Natasha Tonya Henstridge (born August 15, 1974) is a Canadian actress and model. In 1995, she came to prominence with her debut role in the science-fiction thriller ''Species'', followed by performances in ''Species II'' and ''Species III''. She ...
,
CJ Adams Cameron John Adams (born April 6, 2000) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in the film ''Dan in Real Life'' (2007) and became best known for his title role in the film ''The Odd Life of Timothy Green'' (2012). Early life Adams was bo ...
and
Erin Pitt Erin Michelle Pitt (born September 22, 1999) is a Canadian actress, known for her trio of roles in the horror film '' Silent Hill: Revelation'', where she played Dark Alessa, Alessa Gillespie, and the younger Sharon DaSilva. Pitt's first lead ...
. Richard was nominated for the
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 ...
for Against the Wild in October 2014. In May 2015, Boddington filmed ''Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti'' in South Africa. The film is a sequel to ''Against the Wild'' and follows the Alaskan Malamute, Chinook, on another adventure. This time Chinook must protect two children after their plane crashes in the African bush. The film features extensive use of elephants, lions, giraffes, hyenas and leopards. The film stars Jeri Ryan, John Paul Ruttan and
Ella Ballentine Ella Ballentine (born July 18, 2001) is a Canadian television, film, and stage actress who began her acting career as a child actor on the Toronto stage. Ballentine's portrayal of Anne Shirley in the TV movie adaptation of the classic Canadia ...
. ''Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti'', was released into US theatres on February 26, 2016. The film went on to be highly successful in international sales, airing on many of the world's biggest broadcasters, including TF1 in France, STARZ in the USA, Antenna 3 in Spain, and Channel 5 in the UK. In April 2017, Boddington began production on '' Phoenix Wilder and the Great Elephant Adventure'', which starred Elizabeth Hurley and Sam Ashe Arnold, in South Africa. Boddington was heavily inspired by The Black Stallion (film) a movie he considers to be a masterpiece. The movie tells the story of an orphan boy who is adopted by his aunt and then moves to join her in Africa. While on safari, Phoenix becomes lost in the African bush and befriends an elephant that helps him stop the efforts of elephant poachers. The film had its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival in July 2017. ''Phoenix Wilder'' was recognized by the Canadian government as a film that highlights the success of the Canada/South Africa co-pro treaty for film signed in 1997. For a 2018 Fox News article, Boddington stated "The Great Elephant Census reported that between 2007 and 2014, Africa lost 144, 000 elephants. Think about that number: 144, 000 elephants. Knowing that the elephant has the longest gestational period of any animal at 22 months, just think about how long it would take to replace 144, 000 elephants with such a low reproductive rate!" ''Phoenix Wilder'' opened in 725 theatres in the USA on April 16, 2018, which made it one of the biggest theatrical releases of a Canadian film in over five years. The movie was released on DVD and VOD in the USA by Lionsgate on October 23, 2018, and renamed ''An Elephant's Journey'' for the US market. Richard Boddington spoke about his experiences making the film with the International Elephant Foundation. He said of his decision to use real elephants in the film, "Using a real animal is key to making these films, one could use computer generated animals that is true. However, you’ll never be able to program into a computer the unpredictability of a living organism." In October 2019, Boddington began work on the third in his series of
Against the Wild ''Against the Wild'' is a 2013 Canadian direct-to-video children's film directed by Richard Boddington and starring CJ Adams, Erin Pitt, Natasha Henstridge and Ted Whittall. Plot 13-year-old Zach Wade and 12-year-old Hannah are brother and ...
films, entitled, ''Against The Wild III: The Journey Home''. This time Chinook, the Alaskan Malamute, must lead a shipwrecked blind man out of the wilderness, while his children launch a rescue mission of their own to find him.
Natasha Henstridge Natasha Tonya Henstridge (born August 15, 1974) is a Canadian actress and model. In 1995, she came to prominence with her debut role in the science-fiction thriller ''Species'', followed by performances in ''Species II'' and ''Species III''. She ...
reprises her role from the first film, and stars as the aunt of the children. The film also stars Morgan Dipietrantonio, Zackary Arthur, Steve Byers, and Colin Fox (actor). The film is distributed by Lions Gate in the US market as, ''Hero Dog: The Journey Home''. The film attained a top 10 sales ranking in the USA, its first week in release. On January 12, 2021, three of Boddington's films were shown on the new HBO Max platform in the USA.
Against the Wild ''Against the Wild'' is a 2013 Canadian direct-to-video children's film directed by Richard Boddington and starring CJ Adams, Erin Pitt, Natasha Henstridge and Ted Whittall. Plot 13-year-old Zach Wade and 12-year-old Hannah are brother and ...
, ''Against The Wild II: Survive the Serengeti'', and '' Phoenix Wilder and the Great Elephant Adventure'', a.k.a., ''An Elephant's Journey''. In September 2021 Boddington began filming, Wickensburg, his seventh career feature film as writer, producer, and director. The film tells the story of a recently widowed mother, played by Denise Richards, and her 13 year old son, Elliott, played by Jensen Gering. Who move to the small town of Wickensburg so that Richards can take a job as a reporter at the local paper. Elliott soon meets a mysterious young girl named Willow, who tells Elliott about the curse Wickensburg is under. Together Elliott and Willow embark on an adventure to save the town from an evil warlock. Following the clues laid out in a strange book found in the attic of Elliott's new home. Meanwhile, Denise Richards uncovers a corporate conspiracy to exploit the story of the old curse for profit. The film stars Julian Richings as Mr. Hexenmeister, Maurice Dean Wint as Mr. Wilson, and Steve Byers as Uncle Dave.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boddington, Richard 1968 births Living people English film directors Film directors from Ontario