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'', ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'', ''The Quiet American (2002 film), The Quiet American''); thrillers (''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'', ''Sliver (film), Sliver'', ''The Bone Collector''); and action films (''Blind Fury'', ''The Saint (1997 film), The Saint'', ''Salt (2010 film), Salt''). He has also directed the Jack Ryan (character), Jack Ryan adaptations ''Patriot Games (film), Patriot Games'' (1992) and ''Clear and Present Danger (film), Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and the The Giver (film), 2014 adaptation of Lois Lowry's ''The Giver''. He has worked with such actors as Val Kilmer, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Michael Caine, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Rutger Hauer. He has also directed, written, and executive-produced television programmes in both Australia and North America, including ''The Cowra Breakout (miniseries), The Cowra Breakout'', ''Vietnam (miniseries), Vietnam'', ''Revenge (TV series), Revenge'', ''Roots (2016 miniseries), Roots'', and most-recently Netflix's ''What/If.'' Noyce's work has won him several accolades, including AACTA Awards for Best Film, Best Director, and a special AACTA Longford Lyell Award, Longford Lyell lifetime achievement award.

Life and career

Noyce was born in Griffith, New South Wales, attended high school at Barker College 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, 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: Gillian Armstrong, Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, George Miller (director), George Miller, Paul Cox (director), 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 University of Sydney, Sydney University, he joined the Australian Film, Television and Radio School 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 commandos, Australian Commando unit Z Special Unit, Z Force during World War II. After his debut feature, the medium-length ''Backroads (1977 film), Backroads'' (1977), Noyce achieved huge commercial and critical success with ''Newsfront'' (1978), which won Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards for AACTA Award for Best Film, Best Film, Director, Actor, Screenplay, and opened the BFI London Film Festival, London Film Festival and was the first Australian film to play at the New York Film Festival. Noyce worked on two miniseries for Australian television with fellow Australian filmmaker George Miller: ''The Dismissal (miniseries), The Dismissal'' (1983) and ''The Cowra Breakout (miniseries), The Cowra Breakout'' (1984). Miller also produced the film that brought Noyce to the attention of Hollywood studios – ''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'' (1988) which launched the career of Nicole Kidman. After Dead Calm (film), ''Dead Calm'', Noyce went to America to direct ''Blind Fury'' 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 ''Clear and Present Danger (film), Clear and Present Danger'', starring Harrison Ford, was the most successful, critically and commercially, grossing $216 million. After 1999's ''The Bone Collector, Bone Collector'' starring Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington, Noyce decided to return to his native Australia for Stolen Generations saga ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'', which won the AACTA Award for Best Film, 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 Quiet American (2002 film), The Quiet American'', the 2002 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, which gave Michael Caine an Academy Award Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor nomination and earned best director awards from London Film Critics' Circle and National Board of Review in the US. After the Apartheid-set ''Catch a Fire (film), Catch a Fire'' (2006) in South Africa, Noyce decided to make another big budget studio film with 2010's ''Salt (2010 film), Salt'' starring Angelina Jolie, 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 American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Revenge (TV series), Revenge'' and has since directed numerous TV pilots, including Netflix's ''What/If'' starring Renée Zellweger and the ongoing FOX Network hit The Resident (TV series), ''The Resident'', now in its 5th season. In 2017, he signed a first look deal with 20th Century Fox Television. Above Suspicion (2019 film), ''Above Suspicion'', starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston, originally to be released in America in 2020 by Roadside Attractions was delayed until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coronavirus Pandemic. In 2021, Noyce became executive producer on the film ''Show Me What You Got (film), Show Me What You Got,'' 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'' (originally titled ''Lakewood''), starring Naomi Watts, 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 in Paris. Noyce's next film, shooting in spring of 2022, will be the darkly comedic thriller ''Fast Charlie'', starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and James Caan, written by Richard Wenk.

Personal life

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

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