Robert Watts (born 23 May 1938)
[Adam Pirani, ''Robert Watts: Secrets of "The Temple of Doom"'', Starlog #94, April 1985, pp 23–26,62.] is a British retired film producer who is best known for his involvement with the ''
Star Wars'' and ''
Indiana Jones'' film series.
Career
Watts began working in the film industry in 1960,
after two years'
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
.
[Dennis Pellegrom]
''Star Wars Interviews: Robert Watts, Co-producer Star Wars''
Retrieved 6 September 2012. His first film work was as a runner on the
Boulting brothers
John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...
production ''
A French Mistress''.
Watts earned his union membership during two years as a runner, and later production manager, at a company based at England's
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...
which made TV commercials and documentaries.
He then returned to feature films as a second assistant director on the film ''
Man in the Middle''.
During the 1960s, Watts worked extensively as a production manager and location manager, including on ''
Darling'' (1965) starring
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...
and
Dirk Bogarde, the 1967
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
You Only Live Twice'' and
Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968).
[Stuart Cummins]
''Interview: Robert Watts, Producer of Star Wars & Indiana Jones''
''whatculture.com'', 25 May 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
Watts was employed by producer
Gary Kurtz
Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Retu ...
as production supervisor on ''
Star Wars'', having met Kurtz several years earlier in Los Angeles.
[James Hoare]
"Star Wars Interview: Robert Watts"
''SciFiNow'', 25 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2012. Watts then enjoyed a long collaboration with
George Lucas and
Lucasfilm, working as associate producer on ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...
'' and co-producer on ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
''; and as associate producer on ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and producer on ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' and ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. He also worked on other
Steven Spielberg-presented productions including as producer on ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
'' and ''
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', and with Spielberg's long-term producer
Frank Marshall on Marshall's second feature as director, ''
Alive
Alive may refer to:
*Life
Books, comics and periodicals
* ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler
* '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka
* '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...
''.
Personal life
Watts' half brother was
Jeremy Bulloch
Jeremy Andrew Bulloch (16 February 1945 – 17 December 2020) was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing as th ...
,
who played
Boba Fett
Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...
in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Robert
British film producers
Living people
1938 births