ALAN PARKER

'Sir Alan William Parker', CBE, (born February 14,1944) is an English film director, producer, writer, and actor. He has been active in both the British film industry as well as in Hollywood. He is a founding member of the Director's Guild of Great Britain.
Born into a working class family in Islington, North London, Parker started out as a copywriter for advertising agencies in the 1960s and 1970s and later began to write his own television commercial scripts. His most celebrated and enduring advertising work was when he worked for famed London agency Collet Dickenson Pearce where he directed many award winning commercials, including the famous Cinzano vermouth advertisement, starring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins, shown in the UK.
His start in film came through his association with producer David Puttnam, now Lord Puttnam, when he wrote the screenplay for the 1971 feature ''Melody''. Puttnam would later produce a number of Parker's films including
''Midnight Express'' (1978). This, his breakthrough, was a gritty film set in a Turkish prison that was lauded by critics and ended up earning Parker a number of Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. He was later nominated for Best Director with ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988).
Parker has directed a number of off-beat musicals including ''Bugsy Malone'' (1976)'', Fame'' (1980), ''Pink Floyd The Wall'' (1982), ''The Commitments'' (1991) and the 1996 film ''Evita''.
He was knighted in the New Year's Honours for 2002. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland in 2005 of which his long time associate Lord Puttnam is chancellor.

Contents

Filmography

External links

Filmography

★ ''Melody'' (1971)

★ ''Our Cissy'' (1974)

★ ''Footsteps'' (1974)

★ ''The Evacuees'' (1975) (TV)

★ ''Bugsy Malone'' (1976)

★ ''Midnight Express'' (1978)

★ ''Fame'' (1980)

★ ''Shoot the Moon'' (1982)

★ ''Pink Floyd The Wall'' (1982)

★ ''Birdy'' (1984)

★ ''Angel Heart'' (1987)

★ ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988)

★ ''Come See the Paradise'' (1990)

★ ''The Commitments'' (1991)

★ ''The Road to Wellville'' (1994)

★ ''Evita'' (1996)

★ ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999)

★ ''The Life of David Gale'' (2003)

★ ''The Ice At The Bottom Of The World'' (2007 (in production))
He has also directed several commercials as well as the Madonna videos "You Must Love Me", "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" for ''Evita''.

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