Iain Smith (producer)
Encyclopedia
Iain Smith OBE
(born in Glasgow
, Scotland
) is a film producer
. He is known for his productions of Seven Years in Tibet
(1997), The Fifth Element
(1997), The Fountain (2006) and Children of Men (2006), among many others.
.
In the early 1970s, Iain worked as assistant editor
, assistant director or production manager on numerous short films, commercials and children's feature films. He worked in London for several years before returning to his native Scotland
to make (uncredited) My Childhood for the British Film Institute
, the first of the trilogy by Bill Douglas
.
In 1976, Iain formed his own production company in partnership with Jon Schorstein (Smith Schorstein Associates Ltd) and produced television commercials, documentaries, children's feature films and low budget dramas. In 1978, he production-managed Bertrand Tavernier
's Death Watch
, starring Romy Schneider
and Harvey Keitel
. A year later, he joined David Puttnam
and Hugh Hudson
to make Chariots of Fire
, starring Ian Charleson
and Ben Cross
.
Iain went on to line produce a variety of films for David Puttnam
, including Bill Forsyth
's Local Hero
, starring Burt Lancaster
and Peter Riegert
, Roland Joffe
's The Killing Fields (film)The Killing Fields, starring Sam Waterston
and Haing Ngor, and Roland Joffe
's The Mission, starring Robert De Niro
and Jeremy Irons
. He also produced Brian Gilbert's The Frog Prince
.
In 1987, Iain formed Applecross Productions and went on to co-produce Richard Marquand
's Hearts of Fire
, starring Bob Dylan
and Rupert Everett
, followed by Michael Austen
's Killing Dad, starring Richard E. Grant
, Denholm Elliott
and Julie Walters
. In 1991, he co-produced Roland Joffe
's City of Joy
, starring Patrick Swayze
and Pauline Collins
, and in 1992, executive produced Ridley Scott
's 1492 - Conquest of Paradise, starring Gerard Depardieu
and Sigourney Weaver
.
In 1994, Iain co-produced Stephen Frear's Mary Reilly
, starring Julia Roberts
and John Malkovich
for Tristar Pictures
, followed by Luc Besson
's The Fifth Element
in 1996, which starred Bruce Willis
and Gary Oldman
and was produced by his company Zaltman Films Ltd for Gaumont.
He then produced Jean-Jacques Annaud
's Seven Years in Tibet
, starring Brad Pitt
and David Thewlis
for Columbia Pictures
, followed by Jon Amiel
's Entrapment
with Sean Connery
and Catherine Zeta-Jones
for Twentieth Century Fox.
Smith executive produced Tony Scott
's Spy Game
for Universal Pictures, which starred Robert Redford
and Brad Pitt, followed by Anthony Minghella
's Cold Mountain
for Miramax, starring Jude Law
, Nicole Kidman
and Renée Zellweger
. He went on to produce Oliver Stone
's Alexander
for Intermedia
, starring Colin Farrell
, Anthony Hopkins
and Angelina Jolie
, followed by producing Darren Aronofsky
's The Fountain
for New Regency/Warner Bros.
, starring Hugh Jackman
, Rachel Weisz
and Ellen Burstyn
, and Alfonso Cuarón
's Children of Men
for Strike Entertainment
/Universal Pictures.
In 2005, he was awarded a BAFTA Scotland
for Outstanding Achievement in Film. He also was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
.
In 2008, Smith produced Timur Bekmambetov
's Wanted for Universal Pictures
followed in 2010 by Joe Carnahan's The A-Team for Twentieth Century Fox.
In 2011, Iain Smith was appointed Chair of the British Film Commission . He is often called upon to speak about the film industry - Scottish, British and global. In 2011, he gave a hallmark speech at a United Nations' WIPO conference.
Iain Smith is also Keeper of the Lair.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is known for his productions of Seven Years in Tibet
Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)
Seven Years in Tibet is a 1997 film based on the book of the same name written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer on his experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War, the interim period, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's invasion of Tibet in 1950. The film...
(1997), The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997), The Fountain (2006) and Children of Men (2006), among many others.
Biography
Iain was educated in Glasgow. He received a 1st Class Hons Diploma from London School of Film Technique (1969/70) now the London Film SchoolLondon Film School
The London Film School is a private film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, close to a hub of the UK film industry based in Soho. The LFS was founded in 1956 by Bob Dunbar as The London School of Film Technique...
.
In the early 1970s, Iain worked as assistant editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, assistant director or production manager on numerous short films, commercials and children's feature films. He worked in London for several years before returning to his native Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to make (uncredited) My Childhood for the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
, the first of the trilogy by Bill Douglas
Bill Douglas
William Gerald Forbes Douglas was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.-Biography:...
.
In 1976, Iain formed his own production company in partnership with Jon Schorstein (Smith Schorstein Associates Ltd) and produced television commercials, documentaries, children's feature films and low budget dramas. In 1978, he production-managed Bertrand Tavernier
Bertrand Tavernier
Bertrand Tavernier is a French director, screenwriter, actor, and producer.-Life and career:Tavernier was born in Lyon, the son of Geneviève and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, several years president of the French PEN club. Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker since the age of thirteen...
's Death Watch
Death Watch
Death Watch is a 1980 science fiction film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It is based on the novel The Unsleeping Eye by David G. Compton, also known as The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe...
, starring Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
and Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
. A year later, he joined David Puttnam
David Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA is a British film producer. He sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, although he is not principally a politician.-Early life:...
and Hugh Hudson
Hugh Hudson
Hugh Hudson is an English film director. His best-known international success is the 1981 multiple Academy Award-winning film, Chariots of Fire.- Early life :...
to make Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
, starring Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson
Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well known for his portrayal of Rev...
and Ben Cross
Ben Cross
Ben Cross is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
.
Iain went on to line produce a variety of films for David Puttnam
David Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA is a British film producer. He sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, although he is not principally a politician.-Early life:...
, including Bill Forsyth
Bill Forsyth
Bill Forsyth is a Scottish film director and writer, noted for his commitment to national film-making.Forsyth first came to attention with a low-budget film, That Sinking Feeling, made with youth theatre actors and featuring a cameo appearance by the Edinburgh gallery owner Richard Demarco...
's Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
, starring Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director, best known for his role as Boon from Animal House and crooked New Jersey State Assemblyman Ronald Zellman on the HBO original series The Sopranos.-Early life:...
, Roland Joffe
Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé is an English-French film director who is known for his Oscar nominated movies, The Killing Fields and The Mission. He began his career in television. His early television credits included episodes of Coronation Street and an adaptation of The Stars Look Down for Granada...
's The Killing Fields (film)The Killing Fields, starring Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
and Haing Ngor, and Roland Joffe
Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé is an English-French film director who is known for his Oscar nominated movies, The Killing Fields and The Mission. He began his career in television. His early television credits included episodes of Coronation Street and an adaptation of The Stars Look Down for Granada...
's The Mission, starring Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
and Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
. He also produced Brian Gilbert's The Frog Prince
The Frog Prince
The Frog Prince can refer to the following titles:*The Frog Prince ,*"The Frog Prince" , a song by English band Keane*The Frog Prince , the soundtrack album of a British film released in 1984, featuring Enya...
.
In 1987, Iain formed Applecross Productions and went on to co-produce Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand was a Welsh film director best known for directing the 1983 blockbuster Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi.-Early life:...
's Hearts of Fire
Hearts of Fire
Hearts of Fire is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Bob Dylan, Fiona Flanagan and Rupert Everett. The film was essentially a vehicle for Dylan based on his success as a rock musician...
, starring Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
, followed by Michael Austen
Michael Austen
Dr. Michael Hubert Austen was born 17 May, 1964 in Cape Town. He is a South African cricketer who for the Otago Volts, Wellington Firebirds and Western Province.- External Links :* from Cricinfo....
's Killing Dad, starring Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
, Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
and Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
. In 1991, he co-produced Roland Joffe
Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé is an English-French film director who is known for his Oscar nominated movies, The Killing Fields and The Mission. He began his career in television. His early television credits included episodes of Coronation Street and an adaptation of The Stars Look Down for Granada...
's City of Joy
City of Joy (film)
City of Joy is a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé, with a screenplay by Mark Medoff. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Dominique Lapierre.-Plot:...
, starring Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
and Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins, OBE is an English actress of the stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah during the 1970s. She later drew acclaim for playing the title role in the play Shirley Valentine for which...
, and in 1992, executive produced Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's 1492 - Conquest of Paradise, starring Gerard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
and Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
.
In 1994, Iain co-produced Stephen Frear's Mary Reilly
Mary Reilly (film)
Mary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
, starring Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
and John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
for Tristar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
, followed by Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
's The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
in 1996, which starred Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
and Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
and was produced by his company Zaltman Films Ltd for Gaumont.
He then produced Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud is a French film director, film producer and screenwriter.- Biography :Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne...
's Seven Years in Tibet
Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)
Seven Years in Tibet is a 1997 film based on the book of the same name written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer on his experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War, the interim period, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's invasion of Tibet in 1950. The film...
, starring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and David Thewlis
David Thewlis
David Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, followed by Jon Amiel
Jon Amiel
Jon Amiel is an English film director who has since the early 1980s worked in film and television in both the UK and the US.-Early life:...
's Entrapment
Entrapment (film)
Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.-Plot:Virginia "Gin" Baker is an investigator for Waverly Insurance. Robert "Mac" MacDougal is an international art thief. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one...
with Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
for Twentieth Century Fox.
Smith executive produced Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
's Spy Game
Spy Game
Spy Game is a 2001 American spy film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62,362,785 in the United States and $143,049,560 worldwide.-Plot:...
for Universal Pictures, which starred Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
and Brad Pitt, followed by Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007....
's Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)
Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
for Miramax, starring Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
. He went on to produce Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's Alexander
Alexander (film)
Alexander is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role...
for Intermedia
Intermedia (production company)
Intermedia is a film production company, wholly owned by IM Internationalmedia AG.The company mostly acts as a co-producer, funding films through the IMF funds.-History:...
, starring Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, followed by producing Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
's The Fountain
The Fountain
The Fountain is a 2006 American romantic drama film, which blends elements of fantasy, history, religion, and science fiction. It was directed by Darren Aronofsky, and starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz...
for New Regency/Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, starring Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
and Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
, and Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
's Children of Men
Children of Men
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
for Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment is an American production company founded in 2002 by Marc Abraham, Thomas Bliss and Eric Newman. Strike's films are distributed through Universal Studios...
/Universal Pictures.
In 2005, he was awarded a BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1997, the branch holds an annual awards ceremony, the British Academy Scotland Awards , to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, television and video games...
for Outstanding Achievement in Film. He also was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
New Year Honours 2008
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008....
.
In 2008, Smith produced Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Kazakh-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch , and the American film Wanted .-Early life:Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the...
's Wanted for Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
followed in 2010 by Joe Carnahan's The A-Team for Twentieth Century Fox.
Membership
Iain Smith has served on the boards of the UK Film Council, Scottish Screen, the Joint board of Creative Scotland, the Scottish Film Council, the Scottish Film Production Fund, the Scottish Film Training Trust and as a Governor of the National Film and Television School. He is currently a patron of the London Film School, Chair of the Film Skills Council, and is a director of the Children’s Film and Television Foundation. He has recently been appointed Chair of the new UK Film Industry Training Board, and is Chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. He is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Production Guild of Great Britain, and the Producers Guild of America.In 2011, Iain Smith was appointed Chair of the British Film Commission . He is often called upon to speak about the film industry - Scottish, British and global. In 2011, he gave a hallmark speech at a United Nations' WIPO conference.
Iain Smith is also Keeper of the Lair.