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MI6 takes a look back at the careers of the James
Bond film directors, from 1995 to 2006...
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James Bond Directors (2)
14th September 2006
Previously, MI6 looked into the lives and work of the early Bond
directors. Click here to read part 1.
Martin Campbell
| Date of Birth: 24/10/40
Bond Films: GoldenEye, Casino
Royale
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New Zealand born, Campbell moved to
London in 1966 where he developed a career in television.
From there his role in the film industry took off. He landed
jobs such as producer on “Scum” (1966) and “Black
Joy” (1979) before getting his first directorial job
on the BBC’s TV series "The Professionals".
Campbell directed a variety of films and series’
before his claim to fame and recognition came in 1998. “The
Mask of Zorro” was popular with both critics and casual
viewers receiving two Oscar nominations and two Golden Globes. Since then, Campbell has been in the directors chair on
several big budget films, including “Vertical Limit”,
“Beyond Borders”, “GoldenEye” and
just out this year, “The Legend of Zorro” the
sequel to the film that brought him into the spotlight.
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The latest project on Campbell's agenda is none other than the 21st Bond picture, Casino Royale.
Roger Spottiswoode
Son of Canadian producer Raymond Spottiswoode, Roger spent much of his childhood in Britain, but traveled wherever his father's work carried him. He entered into the movie industry as an editor of minor documentaries, but his talent was soon brought forward, and in 1971 he was invited to cut a Sam Peckinpah feature film entitled “Straw Dogs”.
Spottiswoode worked as editor on two other Peckinpah films, “The Getaway” (1972), and “Pat Garrett” (1973), which firmly established his career in the industry. However, like every name in the movie industry, Spottiswoode had to be content with minor editing for TV and a few feature films before landing the director’s chair.
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Date of Birth: 05/01/1945
Bond Films: Tomorrow Never Dies
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His directorial debut came in 1980 and starred Jamie Lee Curtis. This was an unmemorable “slasher” horror, entitled “Terror Train”. However, from here, his career blossomed and his talents expanded to writing, when he co-penned “48-Hours” (an Eddie Murphy flick) with Walter Hill – among others.
The 1997 Bond adventure is without a doubt, one of the highlights
of his career. Spottiswoode directed Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
in the action-packed thriller that was “Tomorrow Never Dies”. Post Bond, Spottiswoode took a break from the movie game and
returned in 2000 to direct the action/adventure “The 6th
Day”, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Michael Apted
| Date of Birth: 02/10/1941
Bond Films: The World is
not Enough
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Apted began life as the son of an insurance
agent in Buckinghamshire. He attended a public school and
went on to excel at law and history at Cambridge University.
He entered the film industry as a trainee researcher for
Granada Television. He soon found himself working on the
TV programme “Up!”, a documentary following
the life of children from the age of seven though to 24. As the Granada researcher, Apted was tasked with finding
suitable subjects for the project. Later, he would receive
a chance to helm the series as its director.
After directing “Up!”, and at the tender age of 22, Apted was asked to direct the popular British soap, “Coronation Street”, where he collaborated with “Corrie” writer, Jack Rosenthal. Apted would find himself working regularly with Rosenthal on projects such as “The Dustbinmen” and “The Lovers”.
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His television career sprung and Apted became a recognizable figure of the British TV scene after wining “Best Dramatic Director” at the British Academy Awards. In 1972 Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson starred in Michael Apted’s
first feature film, “The Triple Echo”. Impressed with
his work, British producer and politician
David Putnam grabbed Apted and put him at the helm of his mini
series, “Play for Today”. 1979 saw Apted entering the Hollywood world, when he was given
the chance to direct Vanessa Redgrave in the film “Agatha”. After the success of “Agatha”, Apted moved to the
US to direct “Coal Miner's Daughter” – which
picked up seven Academy Awards nominations and Sissy Spacek, “Coal
Miner's Daughter” star, took home the best Actress award.
In 1999, Apted helmed the Bond outing “The World Is Not
Enough”. Apted was considered an odd choice for the role,
as he had very little experience with action/adventure films –
as his is much the genre of drama. Nevertheless, Apted focused
in on the characters and left the stunts to the stunt people,
and produced a top quality Bond picture. In 2003, Apted was elected President of the Director's Guild
of America.
Lee Tamahori
| Date of Birth: 17/06/1950
Bond Films: Die Another Day
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Born in New Zealand to a British father
and a Maori mother, Tamahori got started in life as a photographer.
He got into New Zealand film industry in the late ‘70s
as a boom operator. But by the 1980s, Tamahori had worked
his way into the role of assistant director.
He made his feature film debut directing “Once Were
Warriors”, based on Alan Duff's highly controversial
novel. Tamahori made his way into the Hollywood spotlight
with “Mulholland Falls”, a crime drama starring
the like of Michael Madsen and John Malkovich.
From here, Tamahori got into directing advertisements, and for these he won several awards. These awards included a Mobius (USA), Facts (Australia) and Axis (New Zealand).
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More recently, Tamahori has directed films such as “Along Came a Spider” (2001), “xXx: State of the Union” (2005) and of course, the 20th Bond picture, “Die Another Day” (2002).
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