Top 10 interesting Facts about Tim Bevan


 

Timothy John Bevan, better known by his screen name Tim Bevan, is a New Zealand-British film producer, the co-chairman (with Eric Fellner) of the production company Working Title Films.

He co-founded the production company Working Title Films in the 1980s with Graham Bradstreet and Sarah Radclyffe, and later partnered with Eric Fellner.

Bevan’s Working Title has produced over 100 films that grossed more than $7.5 billion. As a result, the producer has earned much respect and admiration from his peers and the audiences.

In this article, we get to learn more about the producer by discussing the top 10 interesting facts about Tim Bevan;

1. Bevan attended a Quaker boarding school

Front of main Senior School building, Sidcot School, Winscombe, Somerset – Wikipedia

From 1969—1974, Bevan was educated at Sidcot School, a Quaker boarding independent school in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Winscombe in North Somerset, in South West England.

Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements are generally united by a belief in each human’s ability to experience the light within, or see “that of God in every one”.

Up-to-date, Bevan is in support of Quaker schools, stating in an interview, ““The biggest take-away for me from a Sidcot education was ‘don’t be afraid to think for yourself’. I learnt tenacity, resilience, and not necessarily taking no for an answer”.

2. Bevan started out by producing music videos

Stephen Frears at 5th Odessa International Film Festival – Wikipedia

In the 80s Bevan started producing music videos with Sarah Radclyffe with whom they co-founded Working Title Films in London. The two would get film directors to direct the music videos.

At this time Bevan did a video for Nick Rhodes, Derek Jarman and the most important one was with Stephen Frears, because he made the most dreadful video for them with a band called Heaven 17.

Bevan broke into the film scene when Channel 4 began, and he would film programs for them. And the rest is history.

3. The most successful British producers of their era

Four Weddings and a Funeral poster – Wikipedia

Bevan and Fellner are the most successful British producers of their era, having produced several critically and commercially successful films including Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Elizabeth (1998), Notting Hill (1999), Billy Elliot (2000), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Atonement (2007), Frost/Nixon (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), and Darkest Hour (2017).

They are also notable for their long-time collaboration with American filmmakers the Coen brothers, having produced Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? among others. As of 2017, films by Working Title Films have won 12 Academy Awards and 39 British Academy Film Awards.

4. Bevan appointed as the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Commander of the Order of the British Empire medal – Wikipedia

Bevan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2005 Birthday Honours for services to the British film industry.

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.

Bevan deserved this prestigious award because his production company has been turning out a consistent slate of smart global hits since the ’80s with some of his notable works being Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Trash (2014), Legend (2015), Hail, Ceasar! (2016), The Snowman (2017)

5. Bevan ranked as one of the best producers in the world

Poster for My Beautiful Laundrette – Wikipedia

Tim Bevan and his co-chairman Eric Fellner have managed to make some of the most original and arresting films of the past 30 years — from 1985’s My Beautiful Laundrette to 2012’s Les Miserables to 2014’s The Theory of Everything.

Among producers, Tim Bevan ranks 87 out of 89. Before him are Laura Ziskin, Scott Rudin, Susan Downey, Lou Adler, Ilene Chaiken, and Jason Blum. After him are Bryan Burk, Peter Del Vecho, Don Hahn, Jane Rosenthal, Rick McCallum, and Yash Johar.

Among producers born in New Zealand, Tim Bevan ranks 1.

6. Bevan was against the abolishment of UK Film Council

The BFI runs the London IMAX cinema 2 – Wikipedia

The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. Tim Bevan was appointed as the Chairman of the UK Film Council on 30 July 2009.

On 26 July 2010 it was announced that the council would be abolished. The Film Council’s chairman, Tim Bevan, condemned the move stating “Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation,”

He further added, “People will rightly look back on today’s announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK’s more successful growth industries, deserves better.”

Unfortunately, the UK Film Council was abolished on 31 March 2011, with many of its functions passing to the British Film Institute.

7. Bevan’s production company shines bright

Clapperboard – Unsplash

Working Title Films is one of the world’s leading film production companies. Its films have won 14 Academy Awards, 40 BAFTA Awards and numerous prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals.

Bevan and Fellner have been honoured with the Producers Guild of America’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, the PGA’s highest honour for motion picture producers.

The two have also been accorded two of the highest film awards given to British filmmakers: the Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, at the BAFTA Awards, and the Alexander Walker Film Award at the Evening Standard British Film Awards. They have also both been honored with CBEs (Commanders of the Order of the British Empire).

8. Bevan is yet to win an Oscar

Oscar with a clapperboard on the background – Unsplash

While Bevan hasn’t won any Oscars, he is one of only 11 people to ever receive five or more Best Picture nominations.

Tim Bevan’s four Best Picture nominations of the 21st century have been for 2007’s Atonement, 2012’s Les Miserables, 2014’s The Theory of Everything, and 2017’s Darkest Hour. He was also previously nominated for the award for 1998’s Elizabeth.

9. Bevan paving the way for the next generation

David Heyman, one of the producers, Tim Bevan being among them, behind The London Screen Academy

The biggest names in the British film industry; Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G Wilson, David Heyman and Lisa Bryer are working together on their most ambitious production yet: a school. The London Screen Academy in Islington, north London.

The London Screen Academy is a state sixth form that is pioneering a new kind of elite vocational education for students who want to work in film or television. The school is intended to teach teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 the skills they need to get jobs in film and television production.

In regard to the school, Bevan says; “People don’t actually know how many jobs there are behind the camera. Everyone knows about actors and producers and directors. What they’re not aware of is that there are thousands of other good-paying jobs that are based on technical skills.”

10. Bevan resides mostly in London

Central London – Unsplash

Unlike other U.K. execs, Fellner and Bevan never decamped for Hollywood. Working Title maintains an office in Los Angeles, and the two often make the trip west, but London remains home. In London Working Title is housed in Central London offices near the West End.

Edgar Wright, who worked with them on “Baby Driver,” “Shaun of the Dead” and several other films, believes that’s critical to the company’s continued success.

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