Mick Davis (director)
{{Short description|Scottish film director, producer and screenwriter}}{{Infobox film director|name=Mick Davis|birth_place=Glasgow, Scotland, UK|birth_date={{Birth date and age|df=y|1961|8|1}}|nationality=Scottish/American|occupation=Film director{{*}}screenwriter{{*}}producer{{*}}theatre director{{*}}novelist|years active=1992–present|image=}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
Michael Davis (born 1 August 1961){{cite web |title=BFI Films, TV, People |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc0b0b1cc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214130547/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc0b0b1cc |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=2 June 2022}} is a Scottish/American film director, screenwriter, producer, theater director and novelist.{{Cite web |title=Mick Davis {{!}} Producer, Writer, Director |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205169/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kevin |date=2023-11-21 |title=Exclusive Interview: Writer-Director Mick Davis Talks 'Walden,' Working With Emile Hirsch, and More |url=https://pop-culturalist.com/exclusive-interview-writer-director-mick-davis-talks-walden-working-with-emile-hirsch-and-more/ |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Pop-Culturalist.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Mick Davis News, Rumors and Information - Bleeding Cool News Page 1 |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tag/mick-davis/ |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en}}
Early life
Born in Glasgow and raised in the Gorbals, Davis was bedridden with asthma during his childhood. After outgrowing the condition, he worked as a fitness coach for his childhood football team Celtic F.C. where he befriended the singer Rod Stewart, an ardent supporter of Celtic. When Davis moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in filmmaking, Stewart introduced him to contacts in showbusiness, helping to launch his career.{{cite news|last1=Jury|first1=Louise|title=Scottish director puts Modigliani on big screen|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/scottish-director-puts-modigliani-on-big-screen-563685.html|accessdate=20 June 2024|work=The Independent|date=17 May 2004}}
Career
Davis' first major credit was as screenwriter on Love in Paris{{Citation |last=Goursaud |first=Anne |title=Love in Paris |date=1998-01-07 |type=Drama, Romance |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119576/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |access-date=2024-05-04 |others=Mickey Rourke, Agathe de La Fontaine, Angie Everhart |publisher=Jones Film, M6 Films, NTTS Productions Ltd.}} (also known as Another 9½ Weeks, a sequel to 9½ Weeks).
He then wrote a screenplay titled Paganini,{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2015-12-16 |title=Povestea marelui violonist Paganini, pe scena Teatrului Metropolis - Ziarul Metropolis |url=https://www.ziarulmetropolis.ro/povestea-marelui-violonist-paganini-pe-scena-teatrului-metropolis/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Ziarul Metropolis |language=ro}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFogr7jEcrI |title=PAGANINI / TOMESCU |language=en |access-date=2024-05-04 |via=www.youtube.com}} about the 18th century virtuoso. The screenplay received significant attention, leading to his signing with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Actor Mickey Rourke hired Davis to work on a script and they developed a close friendship, collaborating on several projects over the next decade, including the sequel to 9½ Weeks. During this period, Davis began developing a script about the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani{{Citation |last=Davis |first=Mick |title=Modigliani |date=2004-09-29 |type=Biography, Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367188/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_q_modigliani |access-date=2024-05-04 |others=Andy Garcia, Elsa Zylberstein, Omid Djalili |publisher=Lucky 7 Productions LLC, Media Pro Pictures, Alicéléo}} with Al Pacino attached to play Modigliani and Martin Scorsese considering directing, although Davis would eventually write and direct Modigliani himself in 2004, with Andy García in the title role.{{cite news |title=The Strange Story Behind the Modigliani Movie (and Al Pacino's Doomed Attempt to Get it Made) |url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a29955277/scorsese-al-pacino-modigliani-story/ |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=Esquire |date=15 May 2023}}
Davis's first writer-director project was the romantic comedy The Match,{{cite book |last1=Allon |first1=Yoram |title=Contemporary British and Irish film directors : a wallflower critical guide |date=2001 |publisher=Wallflower |isbn=1903364213 |location=London}} produced by Pierce Brosnan's Irish DreamTime, and starring Tom Sizemore, Richard E. Grant and Ian Holm.{{cite web |last1=Elley |first1=Derek |title=The Match |url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-match-1200458758/ |website=Variety |access-date=20 June 2024 |date=9 August 1999}}
His success in film opened opportunities in television, leading to his creation and writing of the American CBS/Warner Bros show Eleventh Hour, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Productions and starring Rufus Sewell.{{cite news |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title=CBS, Bruckheimer meet in 'Eleventh Hour' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/cbs-bruckheimer-meet-eleventh-hour-150454/ |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=19 September 2007}} He also wrote the supernatural film The Invisible,{{cite web |last1=Debruge |first1=Peter |title=The Invisible |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/the-invisible-2-1200559844/ |website=Variety |access-date=20 June 2024 |date=28 April 2007}} initially for a Swedish film company and later for Spyglass/Disney.{{cite news |title=Disney Gets Invisible with Blade Trinity Director |url=https://www.awn.com/news/disney-gets-invisible-blade-trinity-director |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=Animation World Network |language=en}}
In 2013, Davis wrote, produced and directed a short film, Haunting Charles Manson, and the next year, a feature-length version of the same film.{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=William J. |title=Every Actor Who Has Played Charles Manson In A Movie |url=https://www.grunge.com/599865/every-actor-who-has-played-charles-manson-in-a-movie/ |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=Grunge |date=9 September 2021}}
He later adapted his original Paganini screenplay into a stage play, which he directed for the Metropolis Theate in Bucharest. The play was a significant success, running for three years.{{cite news |title=INTERVIU - Mick Davis: I-am invitat pe Andy Garcia şi Al Pacino la premiera spectacolului "Paganini" de la Teatrul Metropolis |url=https://www.mediafax.ro/cultura-media/interviu-mick-davis-i-am-invitat-pe-andy-garcia-si-al-pacino-la-premiera-spectacolului-paganini-de-la-teatrul-metropolis-13780989 |access-date=14 June 2024 |work=Mediafax |date=22 January 2015 |language=Romanian}}
More recently, Davis directed the comedy My Dad’s Christmas Date, starring Jeremey Piven and Joely Richardson, as well as Father Christmas Is Back, featuring John Cleese and Kelsey Grammer. His recent work includes the horror film Walden, starring Emile Hirsch, which he wrote and directed.{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Jason | title=Walden is a Bloody Deep Character Study of a Vigilante |url=https://bleedingcool.com/movies/walden-is-a-bloody-deep-character-study-of-a-vigilante/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |work=Bleeding Cool |date=14 November 2023 |language=en}} He also directed the comedy Trust In Love, which has won awards at multiple film festivals worldwide and was set for release in 2024.{{cite news |last1=Luissi |first1=Emmanuel |title=Mick Davis and Malibu local Jim Petulla create film: 'Trust In Love'|url=https://malibutimes.com/mick-davis-and-malibu-local-jim-petulla-create-film-trust-in-love |work=Malibu Times|access-date=June 18, 2024 |date=January 1, 2024}}
Davis credits Mickey Rourke for giving him his first break and Irish actor Richard Harris for being his mentor.
References
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External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0205169}}
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Category:Scottish screenwriters
Category:Scottish film directors
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