- Tony Scott
Infobox Actor
name = Tony Scott
birthdate = birth date and age|1944|07|21|df=y
location =Stockton-on-Tees ,England ,United Kingdom
birthname = Anthony D. L. Scott
occupation =film director and producer
spouse = Gerry Scott (1967-1974)
Glynis Sanders (1986-1987)Donna W. Scott (1994-)
baftaawards =Michael Balcon Award
1995
emmyawards = Outstanding Made for Television Movie
2002 "The Gathering Storm"Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott (born
21 July 1944 ) is a Britishfilm director . His films include "Top Gun", "The Last Boy Scout ", "True Romance ", "Crimson Tide", "Enemy of the State " and "Spy Game ". He is the brother of directorRidley Scott .Pre-filmmaking years
Born in
Stockton-on-Tees inNorth East England , Tony Scott's first foray into filmmaking was not from behind the camera, but rather in front of it. At the age of sixteen, Scott appeared in "Boy and Bicycle ", a short film marking the directorial debut of his then twenty-three-year-old brother Ridley. He followed in his older brother's footsteps, studying atGrangefield School ,West Hartlepool College of Art and Sunderland Art School, the latter for a fine arts degree. He subsequently graduated from theRoyal College of Art , fully intending to become a painter. It was only the success of his older brother's fledging television commercial production outfit,Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), that turned his attentions towards film."Tony had wanted to do documentaries at first. I told him, 'Don't go to the
BBC , come to me first.' I knew that he had a fondness for cars, so I told him 'Come work with me and within a year you'll have aFerrari '. And he did" (Ridley Scott's comment on The Directors).In the course of the next two decades, Scott directed literally thousands of television commercials for RSA, while also overseeing the company's operation during periods in which his brother was developing his feature film career, ultimately realized with 1977's "
The Duellists ", and "Alien" in1979 . Tony also took time out in1975 to direct an adaptation of theHenry James story "The Author of Beltraffio " for French television, a project he landed by virtue of winning a coin-flip against his brother. After the considerable feature film successes of fellow British commercial directorsHugh Hudson ,Alan Parker ,Adrian Lyne and his elder brother in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Scott was beginning to receive overtures from Hollywood himself in 1980, but in the same year his older brother Frank died of cancer.1980s
Grieving, Scott nevertheless persisted in trying to kickstart a feature film career. Among the projects interesting him was an adaptation of the
Anne Rice novel "Interview with the Vampire " then in development.MGM , however, had a vampire yarn of their own that they wanted Scott to direct, and after failing to convince the company to drop their project and tackle "Interview" instead, Scott instead decided to accept the MGM project, and pour into it all of the visual design concepts he had bandied about for "Interview". In 1982, Scott began production on "The Hunger "."The Hunger" starred
David Bowie andCatherine Deneuve as chicManhattan socialite vampires, desperately searching for a medical cure to arrest Bowie's rapid aging. Willem Dafoe was introduced on film via a small, walk-on part in the movie. The Hunger had elaborate photography and sumptuous production design, unlike many pictures at the time of its release in 1983. The picture failed to find an audience, received harsh reviews by critics and was ignored at the box-office (though it later became a cult favorite). Finding himself largely unemployable in Hollywood for the next two and a half years, Scott returned to commercials and music videos.In 1985, producers
Don Simpson andJerry Bruckheimer signed Scott to direct "Top Gun". Both of them were among the few admirers of "The Hunger" during its initial release, Simpson and Bruckheimer had settled upon choosing Scott largely on the basis of a commercial he had done for Swedish automaker Saab in the early 1980s: in the spot, aSaab 900 turbo is shown racing aSaab 37 Viggen fighter jet. Scott, though reluctant at first, agreed on directing "Top Gun", one of the highest-grossing films of1986 , taking in more than US$176 million, and making a star of its young lead,Tom Cruise .Following "Top Gun's" success, Scott found himself on Hollywood's A list of action directors. Reteaming with Simpson and Bruckheimer in
1987 , Scott directedEddie Murphy in the highly anticipated sequel "Beverly Hills Cop II ". A critical disaster, the picture nevertheless became one of the year's highest grossers. His next film, "Revenge", thriller of adultery and revenge set inMexico , was something of a change of pace for the director. StarringKevin Costner ,Madeleine Stowe andAnthony Quinn , the film was both a critical and commercial flop. The production was not a pleasant one for Scott, as he was denied final cut in post-production, being re-cut at the insistence of producerRay Stark .1990s
In
1990 , Scott returned to the Simpson-Bruckheimer fold to helm the big-budget film "Days of Thunder ". Once again directing Tom Cruise in a similar plot to "Top Gun", though the film was a box-office disappointment when released in the summer of 1990.Scott's next film, the action thriller "
The Last Boy Scout ", was a modest commercial success, particularly in comparison to starBruce Willis ' previous vehicle, "Hudson Hawk ". In 1992, through a meeting arranged by a former employee, Scott was introduced toQuentin Tarantino , a long time fan of Scott. Tarantino offered him samples of his work to read, among them the screenplays for "Reservoir Dogs " and "True Romance ". Scott told Tarantino that he would love to make them both. Tarantino, however, politely replied to Scott that he could not have the rights to "Dogs", as Tarantino intended to direct it himself. He was, however, able to make "True Romance".Made for $13 million in
1993 , a fraction of what his previous four pictures had cost, "True Romance" boasted a first rate cast includingChristian Slater ,Patricia Arquette ,Dennis Hopper ,Christopher Walken ,Gary Oldman ,Brad Pitt ,Tom Sizemore ,Chris Penn ,Val Kilmer and, in bit roles,James Gandolfini andSamuel L. Jackson , "True Romance" was the picture that helped change the perception of Scott as a serious film director. Although reaction to the film was initially lukewarm, it quickly developed a strong cult following. Tarantino himself was enormously pleased with the final product, even consenting to record a commentary track for the special editionDVD release of the film.Scott's next film returned him back into the Simpson-Bruckheimer fold for a big-budget thriller, but unlike their previous collaborations, this one showed a renewed interest in strong characterizations. "Crimson Tide", a
submarine thriller starringGene Hackman andDenzel Washington , was a box-office hit in1995 . His follow-up film,1996 's "The Fan", contained a similarly A-list cast (Robert De Niro ,Wesley Snipes ,Ellen Barkin andBenicio del Toro ), but was a low point in Scott's career: a film which pleased neither critics nor moviegoers. Scott bounced back in1998 with "Enemy of the State", a thriller starringWill Smith and Gene Hackman. Featuring a similar plot toFrancis Coppola 's "The Conversation " (1974 ), Scott's high-tech thriller was well received by critics and audiences alike.Fact|date=February 20072000s
"
Spy Game " was released during the Thanksgiving Holiday of 2001. It performed decently with the critics, garnering 66% positive reviews at the online movie websiteRotten Tomatoes . Even with the positive critical response, starpower, and a popular premise, it only made a little over 60 million dollars at the U.S. box office."Man on Fire" was released in April 2004 and was a hit with audiences. The
Denzel Washington actioner made over 75 million dollars at the U.S. box office. However, critics did not respond well to the film, and it received negative reviews from the likes ofRoger Ebert andLeonard Maltin . They did not appreciate Scott's fast paced camerawork, or the amount of violence featured in the movie.Next for Scott came "Domino" starring
Keira Knightley . This film performed dismally both with the audience and the critics. The sole bright spot may have been the "Two Thumbs Up" rating the film received from film critics Ebert and Roeper.Then in Fall of 2006, Scott reteamed with
Denzel Washington for the futuristic action movie "Deja Vu". Its performance was solid if not spectacular both at the Box Office and with critics. For this movie, Scott used a more traditional style of direction than he had in the frenetic "Domino".Tony, along with brother
Ridley Scott , are co-producers of the TV series "Numb3rs ". Tony Scott directed the first episode of the fourth season.Future projects
Scott has once again teamed with Denzel Washington on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 currently shooting in New York. The film is a remake of the original 1974 film of the same title, starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.
Scott is set to film a modern-day remake of the film "The Warriors" featuring new gangs with a tentative release date of 2008. However the 2008 date is probably not happening due to shooting "Pelham." Scott has expressed his desire to remake "The Warriors" including mostly real gang members, and try to create a version set in LA (as opposed to the original 1979 movie, which was set in New York). The remake will not share much with the original except for the title and the character Cyrus.
Scott is also slated to direct "Emma's War" which will about a British aid worker in the Sudan who marries a warlord bent on controlling part of the country.
The Scott brothers teamed up to release a remake of 'The Andromeda Strain'
June 1 , a TV Mini-Series, on A&E: [http://www.aetv.com/the-andromeda-strain/index.jsp?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=andromeda+strain&utm_campaign=andromeda&keywords=andromeda+strain&paidlink=1&ref_str=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dandromeda+strain%26btnG%3DGoogle+Search The Andromeda Strain]Filmography
Feature films
* "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" (2009) (filming)
*"Emma's War" (2009 )
*"The Warriors" (2008 )
*"Déjà Vu" (2006 )
*"Domino" (2005 )
*"Agent Orange" (2004 )
*"Man on Fire" (2004 )
*"" (2002 )
*"Spy Game " (2001 )
*"Enemy of the State" (1998 )
*"The Fan" (1996 )
*"Crimson Tide" (1995 )
*"True Romance " (1993 )
*"The Last Boy Scout " (1991 )
*"Days of Thunder " (1990 )
*"Revenge" (1990)
*"Beverly Hills Cop II " (1987 )
*"Top Gun" (1986 )
*"The Hunger " (1983 )
*"Loving Memory " (1969 )Music videos
*Danger Zone,
Kenny Loggins (1986 )
*One More Try,George Michael (1988 )Commercials
*
DIM Underwear (1979 )
*Telecom Italia (2000 ) (StarringMarlon Brando andWoody Allen )
*"Player", "Achievements" and "Big Bang" forBarclays Bank (2000 )
*"Ice Soldier " forUS Army (2002 )
*"One Man, One Land " for Marlboro (2003 )External links
*
* [http://www.dareland.com/tonyscot.htm Daily Variety, Aug. 6, 1996: Spotlight on Tony Scott - Billion Dollar Director]
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