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Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Production Information (Continued)
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
ALFONSO CUARÓN
(Director) is fast becoming one of the most celebrated directors of his
generation, most recently enjoying critical acclaim for Y Tu Mama También
for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay
(written with his brother Carlos) and BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign
Film and Best Original Screenplay.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Cuarón studied cinema and philosophy
at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He worked as an assistant
director in several films and directed TV shows before making his movie
debut with Solo Con Tu Pareja. This dark comedy starring Daniel Gimenez
Cacho and Claudia Ramirez was the biggest box office hit in Mexico in
1992 and garnered him an Ariel Award as co-writer.
He then directed Murder Obliquely, an episode of the Fallen Angels series
on Showtime. The story, starring Laura Dern and Alan Rickman, won him
the 1993 Cable ACE Award for Best Director.
He made his American feature film debut with the critically acclaimed
A Little Princess (which was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Cinematography
and Art Direction and won the L.A. Film Critics New Generation Award).
This was followed in 1998 by a contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens'
classic novel Great Expectations, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert
De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Ethan Hawke.
Cuarón established his own film production companies in partnership
with Jorge Vergara - Anhelo, focusing on Spanish speaking features, and
Monsoon Entertainment for films in English.
Having spent many
years working in the States, it was in 1997 that DAVID HEYMAN (Producer)
returned from the U.S. to the UK to set up Heyday Films, with the intention
of building on his unique relationships in the U.S. and Europe to produce
international films of all sizes.
Following the enormous worldwide success of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Heyday Films has now
opened an office in Los Angeles, recently putting out its first film,
Taking Lives starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. He will next produce
an adaptation of the comic book The Exec, to be directed by Chris Nolan
(Memento) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, written
and directed by Steve Kloves.
Heyman has also just been honored as ShoWest's 2003 Producer of the Year,
becoming the first British producer to have ever been bestowed with this
accolade.
Educated in England and the United States, Heyman began his career as
a production runner on Milos Forman's Ragtime and David Lean's A Passage
to India. Heyman went to Los Angeles in 1986 to become a Creative Executive
at Warner Bros. working on such films as Gorillas in the Mist and Goodfellas.
He moved on to become a Vice President at United Artists in the late 1980s,
before embarking on a career as an independent producer. The first film
he produced was Ernest Dickenson's Juice starring Tupac Shakur and Omar
Epps. As an independent filmmaker Heyman has produced several films including
the low budget classic The Daytrippers, which was directed by Greg Mottola
and stars Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey, Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci and
Campbell Scott.
Following the phenomenal
worldwide success of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets, director CHRIS COLUMBUS (Producer) returns
as a producer on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Prior to this, Columbus is perhaps best known for directing one of the
highest grossing motion pictures comedies of all time, Home Alone, and
its hugely successful follow-up Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Columbus directed the hit comedy Mrs. Doubtfire starring Robin Williams
and Sally Field. Other directing credits include the drama Stepmom with
Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon and Nine Months, which he also wrote
and produced.
Columbus was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania and grew up outside of Youngstown,
Ohio. As a youngster, he aspired to draw cartoons for Marvel Comics and
eventually discovered that comic books resemble movie storyboards. In
high school, he began making 8mm films and drawing his own storyboards
(which he continues to do for his films today). After high school, he
enrolled in the Directors Program at New York University's prestigious
Tisch School of the Arts.
Columbus first attained success as a screenwriter. While still in college
he sold his first script Jocks, a semi-autobiographical comedy about a
Catholic schoolboy who tries out for a football team.
After graduating from NYU, Chris wrote a small town drama entitled Reckless,
based on his experiences as a factory worker in Ohio. He gained prominence
in Hollywood writing several original scripts for Steven Spielberg: the
1984 comedy thriller Gremlins, the 1985 adventure Goonies and the fantasy
Young Sherlock Homes, which was directed by Barry Levinson.
These screenwriting achievements led Chris to directing his first feature,
Adventures in Babysitting. A meeting with John Hughes brought Columbus
to the helm on Home Alone, the first of three films together including
Only the Lonely, which he directed from his own screenplay.
MARK RADCLIFFE (Producer)
previously served as producer on the box office hits Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom,
Nine Months and Jingle all the Way, having also been executive producer
on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, co-producer of Only the Lonely and
associate producer and assistant director on Home Alone. He and Columbus
first worked together on Heartbreak Hotel.
A native of Oklahoma, Radcliffe began his film career as assistant director
on Francis Ford Coppola's The Escape Artist. He later worked for Coppola
again on Rumblefish and Peggy Sue Got Married.
Other credits include assistant director on John Hughes' She's Having
a Baby and Planes, Trains & Automobiles; Jerry Zucker's Ghost, Donald
Petrie's Mystic Pizza and Paul Schrader's Light of Day.
MICHAEL BARNATHAN
(Executive Producer) is President of 1492 Pictures and a producing partner
with Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe. He was also executive producer
on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets.
Prior to joining 1492 Pictures, Barnathan was Senior Vice President of
Production at Largo Entertainment for four years. His responsibilities
included supervision of both development and production of Largo's films.
Barnathan served as Executive Producer on Largo's Used People and supervised
such productions as Point Break, Dr. Giggles, Judgement Night and The
Getaway.
Before joining Largo, Barnathan worked with producer Edgar J. Scherick.
During his tenure he produced numerous cable movies and miniseries, including
The Kennedys of Massachusetts, which received nine Emmy nominations.
For 1492 Pictures, Barnathan produced Nine Months, Jingle all the Way,
Stepmom, and Bicentennial Man.
Barnathan is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
CALLUM MCDOUGALL (Executive
Producer) entered the film industry in 1978 as a production runner on
such films as Victor/Victoria and the Hammer House of Horror television
series.
In 1982 he became a third assistant director on Curse of the Pink Panther
and various other films, including Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
and The Keep, before moving up to second assistant director in 1985. In
this capacity, he worked on over twenty productions internationally, including
Gothic, two James Bond films: The Living Daylights and License To Kill,
Air America, the television series Inspector Morse and The Storyteller,
The Witches, and The Muppet Christmas Carol, all for Jim Henson Productions.
He also served as second assistant director on three seasons of George
Lucas' internationally acclaimed television series The Young Indiana Jones
Chronicles and Lucasfilm/Universal's feature Radioland Murders.
McDougall then moved up to production manager on the 007 film GoldenEye,
a role he also performed on Fierce Creatures and the live action remake
of 101 Dalmatians. He was production supervisor on Tomorrow Never Dies
and Alien Love Triangle, and co-produced Danny Boyle's The Beach starring
Leonardo DiCaprio, and his fifth James Bond film Die Another Day.
He was executive in charge of production on Beautiful Creatures, Strictly
Sinatra and The Final Curtain for DNA Films.
With Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald, McDougall produced the comedy
film The Parole Officer starring Steve Coogan.
TANYA SEGHATCHIAN
(Executive Producer) was the co-producer of Chris Columbus' Harry Potter
and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
After a close collaboration with Alfonso Cuarón on the third Harry
Potter film, she is now executive producer of Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban.
Aside from the Potter franchise, Seghatchian recently produced My Summer
of Love by award winning director Pawel Pawlikoswki. She is also a respected
public interviewer and devised and hosted the sell-out Orangeword Screenwriting
Series with Oscar and BAFTA nominated Screenwriters.
Prior to joining David Heyman in the creation of his company Heyday Films
and subsequently discovering J.K. Rowling's much loved books, Seghatchian
script edited Jimmy McGovern's award winning BBC drama series The Lakes
and produced and directed various BAFTA nominated documentaries for BBC
Television.
She is a graduate of Cambridge University where she ran the legendary
Cambridge Footlights Theatre Company.
STEVE KLOVES (Writer) again pens the screenplay for the third film in
the Harry Potter series.
Kloves began his career with the screenplay for the 1984 Jaffe-Lansing
production Racing With The Moon, a World War II era coming-of-age story
directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern
and Nicholas Cage in one of his earliest and most important roles.
In 1989 Kloves made his directorial debut with the comedy-drama The Fabulous
Baker Boys, which starred Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The film, which Kloves also wrote, received four Academy Award nominations
and Michelle Pfeiffer won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for her performance.
Four years later Kloves wrote and directed the psychological thriller
Flesh and Bone starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Gywneth Paltrow.
More recently Kloves penned the screenplay for Wonderboys starring Michael
Douglas, Tobey Maguire and Frances McDormand. The film, which was directed
and produced by Curtis Hanson, won him his first Academy Award nomination
for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Kloves wrote the screenplay for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is currently writing the
screenplay for the fourth of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire.
MICHAEL SERESIN (Director of Photography) joins the production for the
first time as director of photography on Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban.
Inspired by film makers such as Truffaut and Fellini, Michael Seresin
left his job as a camera assistant at Pacific Films in his native New
Zealand in 1966 to pursue a film career in Europe. After a year in Rome,
he arrived in London and, within two years, established himself as one
of the country's most sought after commercial cinematographers, a reputation
he continues to enjoy in his movie career.
Seresin's many feature credits include nine films for director Alan Parker:
Midnight Express; Bugsy Malone; Shoot the Moon; Birdy; Angel Heart; Come
see the Paradise; Fame; Angela's Ashes and The Life of David Gale.
Other key films include four films for Harold Becker: The Ragman's Daughter;
City Hall; Mercury Rising and Domestic Disturbance, as well as French
director Gerard Pires' Elle Court, Elle Court la Banlieue; Roger Donaldson's
Sleeping Dogs and Adrian Lyne's Foxes.
In tandem with his film career, Seresin has continued to combine a career
as a director and cinematographer for commercials. When not making films,
his interests include his acclaimed vineyard Seresin Estate in Marlborough,
New Zealand; the world of wine being a benign antidote to the strain and
stress but exhilaration of the film world.
Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban marks STEVEN WEISBERG's (Editor) third collaboration
with director Alfonso Cuarón, following on from Great Expectations
starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke and the enchanting A Little Princess.
He had previously edited three projects for director Barry Sonnenfeld
including Men in Black 2, as well as Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty, which
he co-edited, and Ben Stiller's The Cable Guy starring Jim Carey.
Other film editor credits include Luis Mandoki's Message in a Bottle starring
Robin Wright Penn and Kevin Costner, David Veloz's Permanent Midnight
(co-editor) with Ben Stiller, David Frankel's Miami Rhapsody and Barry
Primus' Mistress.
His television credits include Kiefer Sutherland's Last Night and Robert
Alan Ackerman's Mrs. Cage.
The creation of the magical world of Hogwarts requires the ingenuity of
one of the industry's most talented production designers, and who better
than seven time Academy Award nominee and three-time winner STUART CRAIG
(Production Designer).
In addition to this year's BAFTA nomination for Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets, Craig was previously nominated for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone. The visionary sets from the first film also garnered him an Evening
Standard Award and Academy Award nomination.
Craig has been winning awards for 20 years and in 1981 he won his first
Academy Award for Best Art Direction (and a BAFTA nomination) for Richard
Attenborough's Ghandi and a BAFTA Award for David Lynch's Elephant Man.
He went on to win a further Academy Award in 1988 for Stephen Frears'
Dangerous Liaisons (and a BAFTA nomination) and then in 1996 he swept
the board with his third Academy Award, a BAFTA nomination and an Award
for Excellence in Production Design from Society of Motion Picture &
Television Art Directors, USA for Anthony Minghella's The English Patient.
Craig has also received two further Academy Award nominations for Roland
Joffe's The Mission (1986) and Richard Attenborough's Chaplin (1991).
He also received a BAFTA nomination for Hugh Hudson's Greystoke (1982).
In addition to his plethora of awards, Craig's artistry can be seen in
a number of features including Cal (1983) a film which he also produced;
Cry Freedom (1986); Memphis Belle (1988); The Secret Garden (1992); Shadowlands
(1993); Mary Reilly (1994); In Love and War (1996); The Avengers (1997)
and most recently The Legend of Bagger Vance in 1999.
Craig received an OBE in this year's New Year's Honors List.
JOHN WILLIAMS (Composer)
is one of the world's most decorated and respected composers with five
Academy Awards, 18 Grammys, three Golden Globes, three British Academy
Awards and four Emmy Awards. He has also garnered an incredible 42 Academy
Award nominations, including most recently for his score for Catch Me
If You Can.
Williams has composed the music and served as a music director for more
than 100 films, including: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones;
A.I. Artificial Intelligence; The Patriot; Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom
Menace; Stepmom; Saving Private Ryan (Grammy); Amistad; Seven Years in
Tibet; The Lost World; Rosewood; Angela's Ashes (Grammy); Sleepers; Nixon;
Sabrina; Schindler's List (Academy Award and Grammy); Jurassic Park; Home
Alone; Home Alone 2; Far and Away; JFK; Hook; Presumed Innocent; Born
on the Fourth of July; the Indiana Jones trilogy (Grammy); The Accidental
Tourist; Empire of the Sun (British Academy Award); The Witches of Eastwick;
ET (Academy, Award, Golden Globe and Grammy); Superman (Grammy); Close
Encounters of the Third Kind (Grammy); the Star Wars trilogy (Academy
Award, Golden Globe, Grammy); Jaws (Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy);
Fiddler on the Roof (Academy Award) and Goodbye Mr. Chips. His most recent
project is Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
In 1980 Williams was named 19th Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
He currently holds the title of Boston Pops Laureate Conductor, which
he assumed following his retirement in 1993. He also holds the title of
Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood.
Williams has written many concert pieces including two symphonies, a cello
concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood
in 1994, concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the London Symphony
Orchestra, concertos for the clarinet and tuba, and a trumpet concerto,
which was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet
Michael Sachs in 1996. His bassoon concerto, The Five Sacred Trees, which
was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and principal bassoon player
Judith LeClair in 1995, was recorded by Williams with Ms. LeClair and
the London Symphony Orchestra and has recently been released by Sony Classical
to critical acclaim. In addition, Williams has composed the NBC theme
The Mission, Liberty Fanfare composed for the rededication of the Statue
of Liberty, We're Looking Good! composed for the Special Olympics in celebration
of the 1987 International Summer Games, and themes for the 1984, 1985
and 1986 Summer Olympic games. His recent concert work Seven for Luck
is a seven-piece song cycle based on the texts of former U.S. Poet Laureate
Rita Dove, premiered by the Boston Symphony with Soprano Cynthia Haymon
at Tanglewood in 1998. In 1999 Williams composed his American Journey,
an orchestral work written to commemorate the new Millennium and to accompany
the retrospective film The Unfinished Journey directed by Steven Spielberg.
The film and music were premiered at the America's Millennium concert
in Washington D.C. on New Year's Eve of 1999. Most recently Williams composed
a concerto for french horn and orchestra commissioned by the renowned
Chicago Symphony Orchestra for their principal horn Dale Clevenger.
Many of Williams' film scores have been released as recordings; the soundtrack
album for Star Wars has sold more than four million copies. Williams'
highly acclaimed series of albums with the Boston Pops Orchestra began
in 1980. He has to date recorded over 20 successful albums with the Orchestra
including his most recent recording Summon the Heroes, the title track
of which was the official theme for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Williams has led the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra on United States
Tours in 1985, 1989 and 1992 and on a tour in Japan in 1987. He led the
Boston Pops Orchestra on tour in Japan in 1990 and 1993. In addition to
leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood,
Williams has appeared as guest conductor with a number of major orchestras,
including the London Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia
Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Dallas Symphony,
the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which
he has appeared many times at the Hollywood Bowl. Williams holds honorary
degrees from 19 American universities, including Berklee College of Music
in Boston, Boston College, Northeastern University, Tufts University,
Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University
of Massachusetts at Boston, The Eastman School of Music and the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music.
STEVE HAMILTON (Special
Effects Supervisor) joins John Richardson as special effects supervisor
on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hamilton has been in the industry for 20 years and has worked on over
40 features. His most recent notable credits as special effects floor
supervisor include Die Another Day; Tomb Raider; 102 Dalmatians; The Mummy;
The World is Not Enough; Merlin; Tomorrow Never Dies; Firestorm; 101 Dalmatians;
Golden Eye; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Little Buddha; Shipwreck; Under
Suspicion; Map of a Human Heart; Memphis Belle; Eric the Viking and The
Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Hamilton trained at the Royal Military College of Sciences/Institute of
Explosive Engineers and then trained on numerous productions including
The Great Muppet Caper; Rocky Horror Picture Show; The Clockwork Orange,
the Professionals and Pink Floyd's The Wall.
His other main credits as Senior Technician include The House of the Spirits;
The Three Musketeers; Splitting Heirs; Shadowlands; Charlie; Prince of
Thieves; Licence to Kill; Roger Rabbit; Superman IV and Little Shop of
Horrors.
TIM BURKE (Visual
Effects Supervisor) joins Roger Guyett as visual effects supervisor on
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He was previously visual effects
supervisor for Mill Film (which he co-founded and directed) on Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets.
Burke has 16 years experience as a digital compositor in the film and
television industry and has worked on a variety of productions as visual
effects supervisor including Gladiator, for which he won an Academy Award
in 2001 for Best Visual Effects and a BAFTA nomination.
Other notable credits as visual effects supervisor include Black Hawk
Down, Hannibal, A Knight's Tale and Enemy of the State. Other film credits
include: Babe 2 Pig in the City, Still Crazy, Mill on the Floss and My
Life So Far.
Having graduated with a degree in Graphic Design, Burke began his career
at the Cal Computer Graphics Co. before moving into Cell Animation on
commercials and television productions. Awards during this time included
D&AD Gold and Silver, Monitor Awards including Best Showreel 1992
and 1994, Creative Circle Gold, Cannes Lion, British Television Society
Golden Arrow and Clio.
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