John Goldschmidt
Encyclopedia
John Goldschmidt is a film director
and producer
. Goldschmidt was born in London
, but grew up in Vienna
leaving at the age of 16 to return to London. Goldschmidt has both Austrian and British nationality. He studied at the Czech National Film School 'FAMU' and at The Royal College of Art's Department of Film and Television, where he graduated in 1968 with a Master of Arts degree.
, BBC Films
, Granada Television
, Granada Films, Associated Television
, Thames Television
, Channel 4
, Film4
in the UK, and ZDF
, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
, Norddeutscher Rundfunk
, Österreichischer Rundfunk, SRG SSR idée suisse
, France 3
, Rai 1, Bavaria Film, on the European continent, and HBO Films
in the United States
.
His award winning films as producer/director have included Just one Kid and It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow (writer Bernard Kops
, true stories set in London's East End
, Associated Television), as director Spend, Spend, Spend
(starring Susan Littler
, writer Jack Rosenthal
, about football pools
winner Viv Nicholson
, BBC Television) and The Devil's Lieutenant (starring Ian Charleson
and Helmut Griem, writer Jack Rosenthal
, mini series set in Vienna during the last years of the Habsburg Monarchy
and based on the novel by Maria Fagyas, Channel 4, ZDF, Rai 1 & France 3
), A Crime of Honour (aka A Song for Europe, starring David Suchet
, writer Peter Prince, a true story inspired by the whistle blower Stanley Adams, Channel 4, ZDF, SRG
, France 2 & RAI
), Mashenka (writer John Mortimer
based on Nabakov's first novel C4
& ZDF
). Goldschmidt's award winning films as producer include Utz
( Armin Mueller Stahl, Brenda Fricker
and Paul Scofield
, script by Hugh Whitemore
based on novel by Bruce Chatwin
) for BBC Films & NDR), Deadly Voyage
starring Omar Epps
, written by Stuart Urban
(for HBO Pictures & BBC Films). Goldschmidt's television movies include directing Speech Day (BBC Television), directing Vampires (writer Dixie Williams, BBC Television), executive producing Shooting Stars starring Helmut Griem (Channel 4 & ZDF), (both written by Barry Hines
) and producing the mini-series Murder East, Murder West (written by Ted Whitehead, thriller set either side of the Berlin Wall, Granada Television & NDR
). Goldschmidt directed She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas starring Julie Walters
(Film Four) and produced Captain Jack starring Bob Hoskins
(writer Jack Rosenthal
, Granada Films), both films had theatrical distribution. He co-produced and directed the television mini-series Nobody's Hero (Thames Television). His German language drama-documentary films as director include Egon Schiele starring Felix Mitterer (also co-writer, ORF
& ZDF
) and Der Narr von Wien (aka The Fool from Vienna writer Felix Mitterer, about Peter Altenberg
, ORF & ZDF). His award winning music films as director include The Emperor of Atlantis (aka Der Kaiser von Atlantis
, opera written in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in 1943, WDR & BBC Television). His UK drama-documentaries as producer/director include Life for Christine (writer Fay Weldon
, Granada Television & ZDF
) and The Other Spike (dramatisation of comedian Spike Milligan
's nervous breakdown, Granada).
Goldschmidt's early television documentaries include films for World in Action
(Granada Television), "Bernadette Devlin" (the youngest member of the British Parliament, Associated Television), Doing her own Thing (Helen Mirren
, the youngest actress at the RSC, Associated Television), The Games that Children play (LWT), The Mirror of Maigret (George Simenon, Associated Television), Our Live Experiment is worth more than 3,000 Textbooks (Hornsey art students rebellion, Granada Television), The Unlucky Australians (the Aboriginal tribe Gurindji
wants their land rights, Associated Television), The Dead End Lads (unemployed teenagers dramatised their situation, Associated Television), Telling it like it is (Hugh Cudlipp
on the state of the nation, Associated Television) and A Kind of Exile (folk singer Peggy Seeger
, Associated Television).
Goldschmidt advised the European Union on their audiovisual policy and proposed the setting up of a European Script Fund as part of the EU's MEDIA programme. Goldschmidt's production company Viva Films was set up through an output deal for fiction films with Granada Television in London and NDR
in Hamburg. Goldschmidt has been a member of both BAFTA and European Film Prize (of the European Film Academy
) juries. He co-wrote (with Michael Radford
) the report which proposed Channel 4's involvement in theatrical films, recently co-wrote (with Don Boyd
) The Director's Guild of Great Britain
's report to the British government on the UK tax credit for feature film production and is a member of the board of Directors UK and of the Directors UK film committee.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and 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...
. Goldschmidt was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but grew up in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
leaving at the age of 16 to return to London. Goldschmidt has both Austrian and British nationality. He studied at the Czech National Film School 'FAMU' and at The Royal College of Art's Department of Film and Television, where he graduated in 1968 with a Master of Arts degree.
Biography and film credits
Goldschmidt has made documentary and fiction films for BBC TelevisionBBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
, BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
, Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, Granada Films, Associated Television
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
, Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
in the UK, and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
, Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
, Österreichischer Rundfunk, SRG SSR idée suisse
SRG SSR idée suisse
SRG SSR is the Swiss public broadcasting organisation, founded in 1931 as SRG-SSR. Headquartered in Bern, SRG SSR is a non-profit organisation, funded mainly through radio and television licence fees and making the remaining income from advertising and sponsorship.Switzerland's system of direct...
, France 3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
, Rai 1, Bavaria Film, on the European continent, and HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
His award winning films as producer/director have included Just one Kid and It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow (writer Bernard Kops
Bernard Kops
Bernard Kops is a British Dramatist, poet and novelist, born in the East End of London in 1926.His first play, The Hamlet of Stepney Green, was produced at the Oxford Playhouse in 1957...
, true stories set in London's East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
, Associated Television), as director Spend, Spend, Spend
Spend, Spend, Spend (play)
Spend, Spend, Spend is an episode of the BBC's Play for Today anthology series first transmitted 15 March 1977Michael Brooke , BFI screenonline page on BBC1, recounting the life of football pools winner Viv Nicholson....
(starring Susan Littler
Susan Littler
Susan Littler was an English actress who appeared in many television and stage productions in the 1970s and early 1980s, before her career was cut short by her premature death...
, writer Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
, about football pools
Football pools
A football pool, often collectively referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches set to take place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, with the potential to win huge money. Entries were traditionally...
winner Viv Nicholson
Viv Nicholson
Vivian Nicholson became publicly known overnight within Great Britain in 1961 when she received £152,319 in a football-pools win and announced to the press that she was going to "spend, spend, spend"...
, BBC Television) and The Devil's Lieutenant (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 Helmut Griem, writer Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
, mini series set in Vienna during the last years of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
and based on the novel by Maria Fagyas, Channel 4, ZDF, Rai 1 & France 3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
), A Crime of Honour (aka A Song for Europe, starring David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
, writer Peter Prince, a true story inspired by the whistle blower Stanley Adams, Channel 4, ZDF, SRG
SRG SSR idée suisse
SRG SSR is the Swiss public broadcasting organisation, founded in 1931 as SRG-SSR. Headquartered in Bern, SRG SSR is a non-profit organisation, funded mainly through radio and television licence fees and making the remaining income from advertising and sponsorship.Switzerland's system of direct...
, France 2 & RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
), Mashenka (writer John Mortimer
John Mortimer
Sir John Clifford Mortimer, CBE, QC was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
based on Nabakov's first novel C4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
& ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
). Goldschmidt's award winning films as producer include Utz
Utz (1992 film)
Utz is a 1992 dramatic film directed by George Sluizer, produced by John Goldschmidt and starring Brenda Fricker, Peter Riegert and Armin Mueller-Stahl...
( Armin Mueller Stahl, Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
and Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
, script by Hugh Whitemore
Hugh Whitemore
Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter.Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he is now a Member of the Council. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works by Charles...
based on novel by Bruce Chatwin
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
) for BBC Films & NDR), Deadly Voyage
Deadly Voyage
Deadly Voyage is a 1996 television film directed by John Mackenzie and written by Stuart Urban. Produced by Union Pictures and John Goldschmidt's Viva Films for joint distribution to BBC Films and HBO Films, it tells the true story of Kingsley Ofosu, the sole survivor of a group of nine African...
starring Omar Epps
Omar Epps
Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His film roles include Major League II, Juice, Higher Learning, Scream 2, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love and Basketball. Epps' television work includes the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on the US medical drama series ER,...
, written by Stuart Urban
Stuart Urban
Stuart Urban is a British film and television director. At the age of thirteen in 1972, he became the youngest director to have a film shown at the Cannes Film Festival with his short feature The Virus of War...
(for HBO Pictures & BBC Films). Goldschmidt's television movies include directing Speech Day (BBC Television), directing Vampires (writer Dixie Williams, BBC Television), executive producing Shooting Stars starring Helmut Griem (Channel 4 & ZDF), (both written by Barry Hines
Barry Hines
Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL is a British author who has written several popular novels and television scripts.-Early life:Born in the mining village of Hoyland Common near Barnsley, England, he attended Ecclesfield Grammar School and played football for the England Grammar Schools team...
) and producing the mini-series Murder East, Murder West (written by Ted Whitehead, thriller set either side of the Berlin Wall, Granada Television & NDR
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
). Goldschmidt directed She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas starring 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...
(Film Four) and produced Captain Jack starring Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
(writer Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
, Granada Films), both films had theatrical distribution. He co-produced and directed the television mini-series Nobody's Hero (Thames Television). His German language drama-documentary films as director include Egon Schiele starring Felix Mitterer (also co-writer, ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
& ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
) and Der Narr von Wien (aka The Fool from Vienna writer Felix Mitterer, about Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He was key to the genesis of early modernism in the city.-Biography:...
, ORF & ZDF). His award winning music films as director include The Emperor of Atlantis (aka Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder Die Tod-Verweigerung is a one-act opera by Viktor Ullmann with a libretto by Peter Kien. Both Ullmann and Kien were inmates at the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt , where they collaborated on the opera, around 1943...
, opera written in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in 1943, WDR & BBC Television). His UK drama-documentaries as producer/director include Life for Christine (writer Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
, Granada Television & ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
) and The Other Spike (dramatisation of comedian Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
's nervous breakdown, Granada).
Goldschmidt's early television documentaries include films for World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
(Granada Television), "Bernadette Devlin" (the youngest member of the British Parliament, Associated Television), Doing her own Thing (Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
, the youngest actress at the RSC, Associated Television), The Games that Children play (LWT), The Mirror of Maigret (George Simenon, Associated Television), Our Live Experiment is worth more than 3,000 Textbooks (Hornsey art students rebellion, Granada Television), The Unlucky Australians (the Aboriginal tribe Gurindji
Gurindji people
Gurindji are a group of Indigenous Australians living in northern Australia, 460 km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory's Victoria River region....
wants their land rights, Associated Television), The Dead End Lads (unemployed teenagers dramatised their situation, Associated Television), Telling it like it is (Hugh Cudlipp
Hugh Cudlipp
Hubert "Hugh" Kinsman Cudlipp, Baron Cudlipp, OBE , was a Welsh journalist and newspaper editor noted for his work on the Daily Mirror in the 1950s and 60s.- Life and career :...
on the state of the nation, Associated Television) and A Kind of Exile (folk singer Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
, Associated Television).
Goldschmidt advised the European Union on their audiovisual policy and proposed the setting up of a European Script Fund as part of the EU's MEDIA programme. Goldschmidt's production company Viva Films was set up through an output deal for fiction films with Granada Television in London and NDR
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
in Hamburg. Goldschmidt has been a member of both BAFTA and European Film Prize (of the European Film Academy
European Film Academy
The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988.- European Film Academy :...
) juries. He co-wrote (with Michael Radford
Michael Radford
Michael Radford is an English film director and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford...
) the report which proposed Channel 4's involvement in theatrical films, recently co-wrote (with Don Boyd
Don Boyd
Donald William Robertson Boyd Hon D.Litt is a Scottish film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist...
) The Director's Guild of Great Britain
Director's Guild of Great Britain
The Directors Guild of Great Britain is a professional organization which represents directors across all media, including film, television, theatre, radio, opera, commercials, music videos, corporate film/video and training, documentaries, multimedia and "new technology"...
's report to the British government on the UK tax credit for feature film production and is a member of the board of Directors UK and of the Directors UK film committee.
Awards for film productions
- The British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) - Director,
- The Prix Italia RAI Prize - Music - Director/Writer,
- The Golden Nymph - Monte Carlo - Director,
- The Cine de Luca Award - Monte Carlo - Director,
- Fehrnsehpeis der Oestereichischen Volksbildung - Director/Writer,
- Silver Hugo - Chicago Film Festival - Director/Producer,
- Royal Television Society Award - Director,
- German Cinema Owner's Prize - Berlin Film Festival - Producer,
- The Silver Bear—Berlin Film Festival - Producer,
- Silver Nymph - Monte Carlo (twice) - Producer,
- International Emmy Award Nomination—Drama Series - Director/Producer,
- Prix Italia Prize—Nomination for Drama - Director/Producer,
- CableAce Award (US) - Nomination – Producer.