Peter Shaw (producer, born 1942)

Peter Shaw (born 6 November 1942) is a British film producer, known for Champions, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Water Babies, The Will to Work, and Enigma.[1][2][3]

Peter Shaw
Born6 November 1942
Alma materEton College
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1970–present
SpouseValerie Anne (nee McAlpine)
Children2

Early life

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Shaw was born on 6 November 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire, the son of Thomas William and Margaret Aylwen. He was educated at Eton College, followed by a three-year short service commission in the British Army serving with the Royal Green Jackets.

Career

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In 1970 Shaw identified a pressing need for new, up-to-date management training films. Between 1970 and 1973 he produced eight industrial training films, distributed worldwide by the Rank Organisation, winning a Grierson for "The Will to Work"; meanwhile he expanded his film interests. From 1970 to 1980 he co-produced a 12 part TV series Let's Face It and a number of TV documentaries and cinema shorts, including: The World of Miss World, Race for the Double Helix, Maharajahs, Victorians, Display, Sport of Kings, Wind in the Wires.[4]

In 1971 Shaw acquired the screen rights to Nicholas Monsarrat's novel Something to Hide, which went into production in 1972 starring Peter Finch and Shelley Winters, directed by Alistair Reid. In 1975 he teamed up with producer Joseph Shaftel to produce a remake of the 1945 movie The Spiral Staircase directed by Peter Collinson and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Plummer distributed by Warner Bros. Then in 1978 he produced The Water Babies and Eagles Wing for The Rank Organisation in 1979. In 1982 Shaw produced Enigma in Paris as an Anglo/French co-production; with screenplay by John Briley, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Martin Sheen, Bridget Fosse, Sam Neill.

In 1984 he formed and became CEO of United British Artists Ltd (UBA). Shortly after formation he negotiated "first look" deals for UBA with MGM/UA in Hollywood and with TESE in UK.[5]

In 2017, he acted as executive producer on The Ninth Passenger, which was shot and produced in Canada and which he had previously developed with Lionsgate (UK) in London.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes ref
1972 Something to Hide Associate producer Thriller film directed by Alastair Reid [6]
1974 The World of Miss World Producer Documentary directed by Tony Palmer
1975 The Spiral Staircase Producer Horror mystery thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and a remake of the 1945 film of the same name [7]
1978 The Water Babies Producer Live action-animated feature film directed by Lionel Jeffries [8]
1979 Eagle's Wing Executive producer Euro-Western Eastmancolor film directed by Anthony Harvey [9]
1982 Enigma Producer Anglo-American drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc [10]
1984 Champions Producer Based on the true story of jockey Bob Champion and directed by John Irvin [11]
1986 Castaway Executive producer Adventure-drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and adapted from its namesake 1984 book by Lucy Irvine
1988 Taffin Producer Irish thriller film directed by Francis Megahy [12]
1997 Keep the Aspidistra Flying Producer
[13]
The Tale of Sweeney Todd Executive producer and story Crime-drama/horror television film directed by John Schlesinger [14]
2017 The Ninth Passenger Executive producer Horror Movie

Awards

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Year Film Award Result
1971 Will to Work John Grierson Award for best Industrial documentary film Winner
1984 Champions Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Award Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Peter Shaw". BFI. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  2. ^ Shenton, Mark (18 September 2013). "Water Babies to Receive World Premiere at U.K.'s Curve Leicester". Playbill. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Curve Theatre / Lauren Samuels joins Louise Dearman in Water Babies". Curve Theatre / Lauren Samuels joins Louise Dearman in Water Babies. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Peter Shaw". IMDb. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  5. ^ Brennan, Judy (21 October 1992). "UBA buys rights to the 'Devil'". Variety. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Something to Hide". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. ^ "The Spiral Staircase". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. ^ "The Water Babies". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Eagle's Wing". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Enigma". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Champions". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Taffin". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  14. ^ "The Tale of Sweeney Todd". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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