Roger Spottiswoode

Roger Spottiswoode
Born
John Roger Spottiswoode

(1945-01-05) 5 January 1945
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[1]
Occupations
Years active1966–present
Spouse
Holly Palance
​
​
(m. 1983; div. 1997)​
Children2
Awards
    • Gemini Award
    • Festival du Film Policier de Cognac Special Jury Prize
    • Cinéfest Sudbury Award for Best Canadian Film

John Roger Spottiswoode[2] (born 5 January 1945) is a Canadian-British director, editor and writer of film and television.

Early life

Spottiswoode was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was raised in Britain.[3] His father Raymond Spottiswoode was a British film theoretician[4] who worked at the National Film Board of Canada during the 1940s, directing short films such as Wings of a Continent.

Career

In the 1960s, Spottiswoode entered the British film industry as a trainee editor where he apprenticed under editor John Bloom. In the early 1970s Spottiswoode edited several films for Sam Peckinpah.[5]

He wanted to direct and Walter Hill advised him the best way in was to write a script. Hill and Spottiswoode collaborated on the scripts for 48 Hours and the never-made The Last Gun.[6]

Spottiswoode turned to directing in the early 1980s and has since directed a number of notable films and television productions, including Under Fire (1983)[7] and the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies starring Pierce Brosnan.[8] Spottiswoode was a member of the writing team responsible for 48 Hrs. starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte.[9] In 2000, he directed the science fiction action thriller The 6th Day starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Editor Refs.
1971 Straw Dogs No Yes
1973 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid No Yes
1974 The Gambler No Yes
1975 Hard Times No Yes
1980 Terror Train Yes No [11]
1981 The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper Yes No Replaced director Buzz Kulik[12]
1982 48 Hrs. No No Writer only; co-written with Walter Hill, Larry Gross & Steven E. de Souza
1983 Under Fire Yes No
1986 The Best of Times Yes No [13]
1988 Shoot to Kill Yes No [14]
1989 Turner & Hooch Yes No
1990 Air America Yes No [15]
1992 Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot Yes No [16]
1994 Mesmer Yes No [17]
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies Yes No
2000 The 6th Day Yes No
2003 Spinning Boris Yes No [18]
2005 Ripley Under Ground Yes No
2007 Shake Hands with the Devil Yes No [19]
2008 The Children of Huang Shi Yes No [20]
2012 Beyond Right and Wrong Yes No Documentary film;
Co-directed with Lekha Singh
2014 The Journey Home Yes No Co-directed with Brando Quilici
2016 A Street Cat Named Bob Yes No
2021 Either Side of Midnight Yes No

Television

Year Title Notes
1982 The Renegades Episode "Pilot"

TV movies

  • The Last Innocent Man (1987)
  • Third Degree Burn (1989
  • And the Band Played On (1993)
  • Hiroshima (1995)
  • Murder Live! (1997)
  • Noriega: God's Favorite (2000)
  • The Matthew Shepard Story (2002)
  • Ice Bound: A Woman's Survival at the South Pole (2003)
  • The Beach House (2018)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Notes Ref.
1982 Festival du Film Policier de Cognac Special Jury Prize The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper Won
1983 Edgar Award Best Motion Picture 48 Hrs. Nominated with Walter Hill, Larry Gross, and Steven E. de Souza
1988 CableACE Award Directing, Movie or Miniseries The Last Innocent Man Nominated
NAACP Image Awards Best Motion Picture Shoot to Kill Nominated
1993 Montreal World Film Festival Special Grand Jury Prize And the Band Played On Won [21]
1994 Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Nominated
1995 CableACE Award Directing, Movie or Miniseries Nominated
Gemini Awards Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Hiroshima Won
2003 Hamptons International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Spinning Boris Won [22]
2007 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival Audience Award Shake Hands with the Devil Won
Best Canadian Film Won
2008 Beverly Hills Film Festival Jury Award Won
Genie Awards Best Achievement in Direction Roger Spottiswoode Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Roger Spottiswoode". Northern Stars. Archived from the original on 5 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Roger Spottiswoode". Directors Guild of Canada.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Schneller, Johanna (7 June 2008). "Making the Movies Hollywood Doesn't Want". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  4. ^ Brown, Geoff. "Criticism: The 1930s: theory and debate". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  5. ^ "All Aboard...If You Dare!: An Interview with Roger Spottiswoode". The Terror Trap. April 2011.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (13 July 2020). ""John Wick with spurs" – A look at Walter Hill's Unmade The Last Gun". Diabolique. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  7. ^ Canby, Vincent (21 October 1983). "Screen: 'Under Fire'". The New York Times. p. C13.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Todd (14 December 1997). "Tomorrow Never Dies [Review]". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  9. ^ Maslin, Janet (8 December 1982). "Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in '48 Hours'". The New York Times. p. C28.
  10. ^ McCarthy, Todd (9 November 2000). "The 6th Day [Review]". Variety. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  11. ^ Corry, John (3 October 1980). "Spottiswoode's 'Terror Train'". The New York Times. p. C10. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  12. ^ "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper [Review]". Variety. 31 December 1980. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  13. ^ Goodman, Walter (31 January 1986). "Film: 'Best of Times,' Football Story". The New York Times. p. C20. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  14. ^ "Shoot to Kill [Review]". Variety. 31 December 1987. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  15. ^ "Air America [Review]". Variety. 31 December 1989. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  16. ^ "Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot [Review]". Variety. 31 December 1991. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  17. ^ Klady, Leonard (12 September 1994). "Mesmer [Review]". Variety. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  18. ^ Rooney, David (27 October 2003). "Spinning Boris [Review]". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  19. ^ The Associated Press (7 September 2007). "Shake Hands With the Devil [Review]". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  20. ^ Vlessing, Etan (9 June 2008). "Spottiswoode's Nanjing drama surfaces". Playback. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  21. ^ "‘Trahir’ tops Montreal" by Brendan Kelly at variety.com
  22. ^ "Fest’s big ‘Screen’" by David Rooney at variety.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.