Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian filmmaker. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama (''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown, directed by Phillip Noyce. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Phillip Noyce. The original mu ...

'', ''

Rabbit-Proof Fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...

'', ''

The Quiet American ''The Quiet American'' is a 1955 novel by English author Graham Greene. Narrated in the first person by journalist Thomas Fowler, the novel depicts the breakdown of French colonialism in Vietnam and early American involvement in the Vietnam W ...

''); thrillers (''

Dead Calm Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

'', '' Sliver'', '' The Bone Collector''); and action films (''

Blind Fury ''Blind Fury'' is a 1989 American action comedy film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Rutger Hauer, Brandon Call, Terry O'Quinn, Lisa Blount, Randall "Tex" Cobb, and Noble Willingham. The screenplay by Charles Robert Carner is a loosely ba ...

'', '' The Saint'', ''

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

''). He has also directed the Jack Ryan adaptations ''

Patriot Games ''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. '' Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character i ...

'' (1992) and ''

Clear and Present Danger ''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...

'' (1994) and the 2014 adaptation of

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of several books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet,'' ''Number the Stars'', and '' Rabble Starkey.'' She is known for writing ...

's ''

The Giver ''The Giver'' is a 1993 American young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry, set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has taken away pa ...

''. He has worked with such actors as

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington,

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

, and

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

. He has also directed, written, and executive-produced television programmes in both Australia and North America, including '' The Cowra Breakout'', ''

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

'', '' Revenge'', ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'', and most-recently

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

's '' What/If.'' Noyce's work has won him several accolades, including

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

for Best Film, Best Director, and a special Longford Lyell lifetime achievement award.

Life and career

Noyce was born in

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffit ...

, attended high school at

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

in Sydney and began making short films at the age of 18. A poster for a screening of "underground" films had captured his imagination and the 16 US and Australian experimental films ignited something else. Four months later he shot his first short film, the 15 minute ''Better to Reign in Hell'', financed by selling roles to his friends. In 1969, Noyce became the manager of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-op, a collective of filmmakers. With

Jan Chapman Jan Chapman (born 28 March 1950) is an Australian film producer. Films produced by Chapman include '' The Last Days of Chez Nous'' (1992), ''The Piano'' (1993), '' Love Serenade'' (1996), '' Holy Smoke!'' (1999), and ''Lantana'' (2001). While ...

, he ran the Filmmaker's Cinema for three years atop a socialist bookshop in Sydney, screening the short films of the directors who would go on to form the

Australian New Wave The Australian New Wave (also known as the Australian Film Revival, Australian Film Renaissance, or New Australian Cinema) was an era of resurgence in worldwide popularity of Australian cinema, particularly in the United States. It began in the ea ...

: Gillian Armstrong,

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

, George Miller, Paul Cox. These were a generation of boomers who had grown up rarely seeing an Australian film, as British and American interests controlled distribution and exhibition Australia wide. After graduating from Sydney University, he joined the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

in 1973, and released his first professional film in 1975. Many of his films feature espionage, as Noyce grew up listening to his father's stories of serving with the Australian Commando unit Z Force during World War II. After his debut feature, the medium-length '' Backroads'' (1977), Noyce achieved huge commercial and critical success with ''

'' (1978), which won Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards for

Best Film 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 ...

, Director, Actor, Screenplay, and opened the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

and was the first Australian film to play at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

. Noyce worked on two miniseries for Australian television with fellow Australian filmmaker George Miller: '' The Dismissal'' (1983) and '' The Cowra Breakout'' (1984). Miller also produced the film that brought Noyce to the attention of Hollywood studios – ''

'' (1988) which launched the career of

. After ''Dead Calm'', Noyce went to America to direct ''

'' starring Rutger Hauer for Tri-Star Pictures. Moving with his young family to the United States in 1991, Noyce directed five films over the following eight years, of which ''

'', starring Harrison Ford, was the most successful, critically and commercially, grossing $216 million. After 1999's ''

Bone Collector ''The Bone Collector'' is a 1999 American crime thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. It was produced by Martin Bregman. The film is based on the 1997 crime novel of the same name written b ...

'' starring

and Denzel Washington, Noyce decided to return to his native Australia for

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...

saga ''

'', which won the AFI Award for Best Film in 2002. He has described ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'' as "easily" his proudest moment as a director: "Showing that film to various Aboriginal communities around the country and seeing their response, because it gave validity to the experiences of the stolen generations." Although independently financed, the film was a huge hit with Australian audiences and sold worldwide. Noyce was also lauded for ''

'', the 2002 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, which gave

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 ...

Best Actor nomination and earned best director awards from

London Film Critics' Circle 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 ...

and

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

in the US. After the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-set ''

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...

'' (2006) in South Africa, Noyce decided to make another big budget studio film with 2010's ''

'' starring

, which proved to be his biggest commercial hit to date, making nearly $300 million worldwide. In 2011, Noyce directed and executive produced the pilot for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series '' Revenge'' and has since directed numerous TV pilots, including

's '' What/If'' starring

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

and the ongoing FOX Network hit ''The Resident'', now in its 5th season. In 2017, he signed a first look deal with 20th Century Fox Television. ''Above Suspicion'', starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston, originally to be released in America in 2020 by

Roadside Attractions Roadside Attractions is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, specializing largely in independent films. Lionsgate Lions Gate ...

was delayed until May 2021 due to the

Coronavirus Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. In 2021, Noyce became executive producer on the film ''

Show Me What You Got "Show Me What You Got" is the lead single by rap artist Jay-Z from his album '' Kingdom Come''. Song information It is the first single from his "comeback" album '' Kingdom Come''. It was produced by Just Blaze. The song samples " Show 'Em ...

,'' written and directed by Svetlana Cvetko. "He clearly believed in our vision and ability to tell this story in the beautiful way we wanted, and just simply helped us enhance it," Cvetko says of Noyce in a 2022 FilmInk Interview. ''

The Desperate Hour ''The Desperate Hour'' (originally ''Lakewood'') is a 2021 thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce. It stars Naomi Watts as a woman who is desperately racing to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shoote ...

'' (originally titled ''Lakewood''), starring

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

, will be released in the US by Roadside Attractions in February 2022. In late 2021, a 17 feature and 10 shorts retrospective of Noyce's work was presented at the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

in Paris. Noyce's next film, shooting in spring of 2022, will be the darkly comedic thriller ''

Fast Charlie ''Fast Charlie'' is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Richard Wenk, based on the 2001 novel ''Gun Monkeys'' by Victor Gischler. It stars Pierce Brosnan, James Caan (in his final film appearance), and ...

'', starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Suppo ...

, written by

Richard Wenk Richard Wenk (born 1956) is an American film screenwriter and director best known for his work on '' The Expendables 2'' (2012), '' The Equalizer'' (2014), and ''The Magnificent Seven'' (2016). Early life Wenk was born in 1956 in Metuchen, New ...

Personal life

Noyce has been married three times. He was married to film producer

from 1971 to 1977. From 1979 to 2004, he was married to producer Jan Sharp, with whom he has two children. He is now married to designer Vuyo Dyasi, with whom he has two children. Noyce was an avid supporter of the Labor government of

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...

Filmography

Films

Short films

Documentary films

Television

Unmade films

*''Simmonds and Newcombe'' (late 1970s) – about the manhunt for Simmonds and NewcombeRod Bishop & Peter Beilby, "Ken Cameron", ''Cinema Papers'', March–April 1979 p 257-258 *''King Hit'' (late 1970s) – about the dismissal of the Whitlam government

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noyce, Phillip 1950 births Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian screenwriters Australian television directors Australian television producers Australian television writers Living people People from Griffith, New South Wales Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni People educated at Barker College