Pete Travis
Encyclopedia
Pete Travis is an English television
and film director
. His work includes Cold Feet
(1999), The Jury
(2002) and Omagh
(2004) for television, and Vantage Point
(2008) and Endgame (2009) for cinema. In November 2010, Travis began filming Dredd, a new film adaptation of the Judge Dredd
comics character.
's Faith for £12,000. A producer invested the same amount in the film and Faith premiered at the London Film Festival
on 11 November 1997. Comparing Faith to other unsuccessful football films, Travis told The Guardian
, "I think the secret of making a good football film is not to have any football in it [...] Football is so much about the passion of its supporters, and you cannot portray that by showing 11 guys running around. Faith is more about the spirit of football than the sport.
Travis became interested in film-making late in life, inspired by Alan Clarke
, Costa Gavras and Frank Capra
. His second short, an adaptation of Anne Fine
's Bill's New Frock (1998), won the ScreenScene Award for Best Short Film or Video at the 1998 Atlantic Film Festival
. Faith lead to direction work on the ITV
series The Bill
, Cold Feet
and The Jury
.
In 2003, Paul Greengrass
sent Travis the script to Omagh
—a dramatisation of the Omagh bombing
that he co-wrote with Guy Hibbert—after seeing his work on The Jury and Henry VIII
. The Channel 4
/RTÉ
television film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2004, where it won the Discovery Award. The next year it won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama, which Travis shared with the producers. He was also nominated for the Irish Film and Television Award
for Best Film Director.
His first studio film, Vantage Point
, opened in the United States in February 2008 to the number one box office spot. Another film, Endgame, about the end of apartheid in South Africa
, had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
. In June 2009, he signed on to direct Come Like Shadows, a reworking of Shakespeare's Macbeth
. The following year he signed on to direct Dredd
, a film adaptation of the Judge Dredd
comics character.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and film director
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:...
. His work includes Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
(1999), The Jury
The Jury (TV serial)
The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:...
(2002) and Omagh
Omagh (film)
Omagh was a film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in June, 2004....
(2004) for television, and Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
(2008) and Endgame (2009) for cinema. In November 2010, Travis began filming Dredd, a new film adaptation of the Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
comics character.
Career
Before becoming a director, Pete Travis was a social worker. After taking a post-graduate course in film-making he bought the film rights to Nick HornbyNick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
's Faith for £12,000. A producer invested the same amount in the film and Faith premiered at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
on 11 November 1997. Comparing Faith to other unsuccessful football films, Travis told The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, "I think the secret of making a good football film is not to have any football in it [...] Football is so much about the passion of its supporters, and you cannot portray that by showing 11 guys running around. Faith is more about the spirit of football than the sport.
Travis became interested in film-making late in life, inspired by Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
, Costa Gavras and Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
. His second short, an adaptation of Anne Fine
Anne Fine
Anne Fine, OBE FRSL is a British author best known for her children's books, of which she has written more than 50. She also writes for adults...
's Bill's New Frock (1998), won the ScreenScene Award for Best Short Film or Video at the 1998 Atlantic Film Festival
Atlantic Film Festival
The Atlantic Film Festival is an international film festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Held annually, the ten-day celebration of film and video from Atlantic Canada and around the world is committed to screening an inspiring and engaging collection of films and videos from Canada and the...
. Faith lead to direction work on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
and The Jury
The Jury (TV serial)
The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:...
.
In 2003, Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
sent Travis the script to Omagh
Omagh (film)
Omagh was a film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in June, 2004....
—a dramatisation of the Omagh bombing
Omagh bombing
The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...
that he co-wrote with Guy Hibbert—after seeing his work on The Jury and Henry VIII
Henry VIII (TV serial)
Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television for ITV. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married...
. The 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...
/RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
television film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2004, where it won the Discovery Award. The next year it won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama, which Travis shared with the producers. He was also nominated for the Irish Film and Television Award
Irish Film and Television Awards
The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...
for Best Film Director.
His first studio film, Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
, opened in the United States in February 2008 to the number one box office spot. Another film, Endgame, about the end of apartheid in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. In June 2009, he signed on to direct Come Like Shadows, a reworking of Shakespeare's Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. The following year he signed on to direct Dredd
Dredd (film)
Dredd is an upcoming film directed by Pete Travis. It was announced in December 2008 that Danny Boyle, through his production company DNA Films, was to make a comic book adaption of 2000 AD character Judge Dredd and would be unrelated to the 1995 film version. The film is to be directed by Pete...
, a film adaptation of the Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
comics character.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Faith | Director | Short subject |
| 1997 | The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... |
Director | 1 episode of television series:
|
| 1998 | Bill's New Frock | Director | Short subject |
| 1999 | Cold Feet Cold Feet Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the... |
Director | 2 episodes of television series:
|
| 2000 | Other People's Children Other People's Children (TV series) Other People's Children is a four-episode 2000 British television drama, adapted by Leigh Jackson from Joanna Trollope's 1998 novel of the same name... |
Director | Television serial |
| 2002 | The Jury The Jury (TV serial) The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:... |
Director | Television serial |
| 2003 | Henry VIII Henry VIII (TV serial) Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television for ITV. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married... |
Director | Two-part television film |
| 2004 | Omagh Omagh (film) Omagh was a film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in June, 2004.... |
Director | Television film |
| 2008 | Vantage Point Vantage Point (film) Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of... |
Director | Feature film |
| 2009 | Endgame | Director | Television film with limited theatrical release |
| 2012 | Dredd Dredd (film) Dredd is an upcoming film directed by Pete Travis. It was announced in December 2008 that Danny Boyle, through his production company DNA Films, was to make a comic book adaption of 2000 AD character Judge Dredd and would be unrelated to the 1995 film version. The film is to be directed by Pete... |
Director | Feature film (filming) |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Toronto International Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues... |
Discovery Award | Omagh | Won |
| 2005 | British Academy Television Award | Best Single Drama | Omagh | Won |
| 2005 | Irish Film and Television Award Irish Film and Television Awards The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community... |
Best Film Director | Omagh | Nominated |
| 2005 | Director's Guild of Great Britain Awards 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"... |
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Movie/Miniseries | Omagh | Nominated |
External links
- Interview about Vantage Point at Reviewgraveyard.com