TAYLOR HACKFORD

'Taylor Hackford' (born December 31, 1944 in Santa Barbara, California) is an American film director. Hackford is married to Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren.

Contents

Biography

Awards

Trivia and Personal Information

Filmography

Director and producer

Director

Producer

Actor

References

External links

Biography

Hackford served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia in the 1960s.
Hackford graduated from USC's School of Cinema-Television in 2000. In a recent interview, he confirmed that he never attended film school, "When I finish a film, I put it away and I never look at it again. Occasionally I do now because of the DVDs and the commentary tracks. I usually put it aside and go onto the next. I never went to film school. I worked for the KCET public television station in L.A. I worked in concerts. I have done a lot of music. I feel very comfortable shooting music, and I think you can see that." [1]
On April 11, 2006 Hackford announced that he would be making his directorial debut on Broadway by brining the 1992 Steve Martin film ''Leap of Faith'' to the stage as a Broadway musical. The score was written by Alan Menkin with lyrics by Glenn Slater, and is aiming for a 2007-2008 season debut. Hackford chose "Leap of Faith" even though he had previously been offered the opportunity to bring his film ''Ray'' to the stage. "What got me here was Alan Menken's score and how it so beautifully fit the book," Hackford said.[2]

Awards

★ Hackford received an Oscar in 1979 for the short film ''Teenage Father''.

★ He received two Oscar nominations in 2004 for the Ray Charles biopic ''Ray''.

★ He was awarded the ''2005 Film Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing''.

Trivia and Personal Information

★ Hackford met future wife Helen Mirren when he was directing her in White Nights and their first meeting did not go well. He kept her waiting to audition for White Nights, and she was icy. “It was a strange way to meet Helen, because she is a lovely person,” says Hackford, “but she didn’t hold back her fury.” [3]

★ Hackford and Mirrem wed in 1997 after 12 years together. As a young woman Mirren had vowed never to marry. [4]

★ Richard Gere balked at shooting the ending of Hackford's movie ''An Officer and a Gentleman'' where his character arrives at his lover's factory wearing his naval dress whites and carries her off from the factory floor. Gere thought the ending wouldn't work because it was too sentimental. Hackford was initially inclined to agree with Gere until during a rehearsal the extras playing the workers began to cheer and cry. When Gere saw the scene later with the music underneath it at the right tempo, he said it sent chills up the back of his neck. Gere is now convinced Hackford made the right decision.[5]

★ Hackford kept Lou Gossett Jr. in separate living quarters from the other actors during ''An Officer and a Gentleman'' so he could intimidate them more during his scenes as a drill instructor.[6]

★ Hackford discusses his movie ''The Idolmaker'': "I make films about working-class people; show business is one of those things through which people can get themselves out of the lower rung of society. To me, the compelling story in "The Idolmaker" is the guy with a wonderful talent and a fairly strong ego has [that] to make it happen through puppets." [7]

★ Hackford discusses his movie ''Ray'': "My proudest moments in "Ray" were in those 'chitlin' clubs. Ray Charles ended his life in concert halls, where people would go in tuxedos and quietly listen to a genius perform. But in these clubs, he had to get people up dancing. What I tried to create was a little of that energy and exuberance. The great thing about music is when you can get people on their feet." [8]

Filmography

Director and producer

★ ''Bukowski'' — 1973

★ ''Against All Odds'' — 1984

★ ''White Nights'' — 1985

★ ''Everybody's All-American'' — 1988

★ ''Dolores Claiborne'' — 1995

★ ''Devil's Advocate'' — 1997 (executive producer)

★ ''Proof of Life'' — 2000

★ ''Ray'' — 2004

Director

★ ''Teenage Father'' — 1978

★ ''The Idolmaker'' — 1980

★ ''An Officer and a Gentleman'' — 1982

★ ''Chuck Berry 'Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll' — 1987

★ ''Blood In Blood Out'' — 1993

★ ''Smooth Criminal: The Michael Jackson Story'' — 2007

Producer

★ ''La Bamba'' — 1987

★ ''The Long Walk Home'' — 1990 (executive producer)

★ ''When We Were Kings'' — 1996

★ '' — 1999

Actor

★ '' — Himself (2003)

References

★ "Notable Former Volunteers / Arts and Literature". Peace Corps official site. Accessed 5 January 2007.

External links

★

★ Peace Corps biography of Taylor Hackford news clips