Stephen Bayly
Stephen Bayly | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 7, 1942 |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer Film director |
| Years active | 1969 – 1997 |
Stephen Bayly (born 7 July 1942) is an American born film producer and film director.
Stephen took a sabbatical from his Ph.D. in architecture in order to produce his first film, Loving Memory, with first-time director Tony Scott. Stephen and Tony formed Scott Free Enterprises, later joined by Ridley Scott, through which Stephen produced several films for television, including The Author of Beltraffio, which Tony directed as part of a European coproduction of Henry James stories - with Claude Chabrol and Volker Schloendorf directing other episodes.
Stephen then enrolled at the British National Film and Television School to study direction. Upon graduating from the NFTS he established a reputation as a commercials director, then, by a quirk of fate, began making films in the Welsh language, for the newly formed Welsh channel. He directed a number of highly vaunted Welsh films, starting with Joni Jones, and ending with Coming Up Roses - which was the first-ever Welsh language feature film, and the "sleeper" hit at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival (distributed by Skouras in the US and Mainline in the UK).
With Linda James producing, Stephen directed a comedy feature film, Just Ask for Diamond in 1988, starring Susannah York and Roy Kinnear, then spent the next few years producing television films for Red Rooster.
These films had been made by Red Rooster Film and Television, which Stephen founded with partner Linda James in 1983. Red Rooster became one of Britain's most successful production companies, and was eventually bought by Chrysalis Entertainment.
In 1995 he produced, with Lisa Katselas, Richard III, directed by Richard Loncraine and starring Ian McKellen. The film was nominated for two Oscars, and won several BAFTA awards, as well as Evening Standard Best Film. In 1996 Stephen and Lisa produced Mrs. Dalloway, directed by Marleen Gorris, based on Virginia Woolf's novel.
In 1998 Stephen was appointed Director of the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, taking over from Henning Camre. He enjoyed five successful years, during which time the schools MA programmes aquired accademic acreditation from the Royal College of Art, before handing over to Nik Powell in 2003 in order to resume his directorial career.
In 2004 Stephen supported the establishment of the now highly-regarded Actors Temple in London, a training ground for actors specialising in the techniques of Sanford Meisner. He has studied Meisner intensively since 2004 and now teaches directors and actors together in his Working With Actors workshops. As well as teaching at several UK universities and conservatories, Stephen teaches at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television in Cuba, and runs workshops in places as diverse as Madrid and Nigeria. Stephen consults internationally on film education, and is an advisor to the Screen Academy Wales.
He has a daughter with producer Linda James.
Selected filmography
- Coming Up Roses (1986)
- Just Ask for Diamond (1986)
- Richard III (1995)
References
External links
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