David Nicholas Wilkinson
Encyclopedia
David Nicholas Wilkinson (born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in December 1955) is the founder and Chairman of Guerilla Films Limited, a production and distribution company based in London. He is also Chairman of Guerilla Books Limited.
The Nicholas is a middle name and he started to use it when he stopped acting to avoid confusion with John Cleese's agent David Wilkinson.
At age 14 he started his career as an actor. He was discovered from over 500 boys by Binkie Beaumont
in 1970, for the title role in H M Tennant's West End revival production of The Winslow Boy
.
He continued acting in theatre plays and television returning to school for short periods. On leaving school he joined Harrogate Rep for a year as an acting assistant stage manager doing everything from sweeping the stage, making the tea and playing all manner of small roles including at 17 a man of 85.
; the juvenile lead in Arthur Hopcraft
's TV series The Nearly Man
directed by John Irvin
and playing Stuart Sutcliffe
in Richard Marquand
's film Birth of the Beatles
.
He won a best actor theatre award for playing Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer
's Equus
.
In 1982 he pioneered, with Keith Williams, the former BBC Head of Drama, the "Reverse Drama Co-Production" with the BBC. This was a new break-through for independent producers working with the BBC
Films include- Adam & Paul',' Taking Sides, Two Men Went To War, Puckoon, Urban Ghost Story, Bob's Weekend, Fakers, Nine Dead Gay Guys, Ruby Blue, The Calling, Special People, Small Time Obsession, Small Engine Repair, Wild Country, Gamerz, Out of Bounds, " The Good Father", Soursweet", "Laughterhouse", " Paper Mask", " We Think The World Of You", " Red Monarch" etc. .
From 1989–1998, Wilkinson had the UK distribution rights to over fifty films from one of France's top independent production company's Les Films du Losange
. These films directed by some of France's most eminent filmmakers – Éric Rohmer
, Barbet Schroeder
, Claude Chabrol
, Jean-Luc Godard
, Jacques Rivette
, Roger Planchon
etc. However he wound these down to concentrate on British and Irish films.
Wilkinson has acted as a consultant to film financiers, producers and others on over 300 feature films in development. A reasonable percentage of these have been produced. Wilkinson has also written numerous articles on the film industry for a variety of books and trade magazines.
's Today Programme
& Front Row
, BBC 5 Live Weekend News and other radio programmes as an expert on aspects of the film industry. He devised, and organises Meet The Experts for new filmmakers, an annual event at the Edinburgh Film Festival. He also regularly appears on film panels for various organisations and educational establishments, over 60 to date and has been a judge at many film festivals around the world
Wilkinson has also produced numerous pop videos
The Nicholas is a middle name and he started to use it when he stopped acting to avoid confusion with John Cleese's agent David Wilkinson.
Early life
Wilkinson grew up in Horsforth now part of Leeds.At age 14 he started his career as an actor. He was discovered from over 500 boys by Binkie Beaumont
Binkie Beaumont
Hugh 'Binkie' Beaumont was a British theatre manager and producer, referred to as the "Eminence Grise" of the West End Theatre. He was one of the most successful manager-producers in the West End during the middle of the 20th century...
in 1970, for the title role in H M Tennant's West End revival production of The Winslow Boy
The Winslow Boy
thumb|1st edition cover The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.-Performance History:...
.
He continued acting in theatre plays and television returning to school for short periods. On leaving school he joined Harrogate Rep for a year as an acting assistant stage manager doing everything from sweeping the stage, making the tea and playing all manner of small roles including at 17 a man of 85.
Career
He moved to London in 1974 and played many leading roles in the theatre, television and film productions including the lead in Jack Flea's Birthday Celebration - Ian McKewan's screen debut, directed by Mike NewellMike Newell (director)
Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...
; the juvenile lead in Arthur Hopcraft
Arthur Hopcraft
Arthur Hopcraft was an English scriptwriter, well known for his TV plays such as The Nearly Man, and for his small-screen adaptations such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Hard Times, Bleak House, and Rebecca...
's TV series The Nearly Man
The Nearly Man
The Nearly Man was a UK TV series from the mid-1970s created by Arthur Hopcraft about a middle-class Labour MP. Originally screened on ITV on 4 August 1974, the series won the Broadcasting Press Guild award for the best single play on British television in 1974. The series was filmed in London by...
directed by John Irvin
John Irvin
John Irvin is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy...
and playing Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was a Scottish artist and musician, best known as the original bass player of The Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career as an artist, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art...
in Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand was a Welsh film director best known for directing the 1983 blockbuster Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi.-Early life:...
's film Birth of the Beatles
Birth of the Beatles
Birth of The Beatles is a 1979 biopic motion picture, produced by Dick Clark's company and directed by Richard Marquand. The film was released into cinemas worldwide except in parts of the United States, where it was shown as a TV movie.-The film:The film focuses on the early history of 1960s rock...
.
He won a best actor theatre award for playing Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
's Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
.
In 1982 he pioneered, with Keith Williams, the former BBC Head of Drama, the "Reverse Drama Co-Production" with the BBC. This was a new break-through for independent producers working with the BBC
Distribution
Wilkinson has also set up a small UK cinema/video/DVD/ TV distribution division for some of his own and other producers' films. Since 1998, he has specialised in releasing British & Irish films especially the ones that others consider difficult. Guerilla currently distributes over 60 feature films. In 1996 an American magazine thought Guerilla Films first UK distributor/producer to use the Internet to promote and sell films.Films include- Adam & Paul',' Taking Sides, Two Men Went To War, Puckoon, Urban Ghost Story, Bob's Weekend, Fakers, Nine Dead Gay Guys, Ruby Blue, The Calling, Special People, Small Time Obsession, Small Engine Repair, Wild Country, Gamerz, Out of Bounds, " The Good Father", Soursweet", "Laughterhouse", " Paper Mask", " We Think The World Of You", " Red Monarch" etc. .
From 1989–1998, Wilkinson had the UK distribution rights to over fifty films from one of France's top independent production company's Les Films du Losange
Les films du losange
Les films du losange is a film production company founded by Barbet Schroeder and Éric Rohmer in 1962. The company funds and distributes many films from the French nouvelle vague era, directed by Rohmer, Schroeder, Roger Planchon, Jacques Rivette, and later on Michael Haneke and Jacques Doillon.-...
. These films directed by some of France's most eminent filmmakers – Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....
, Barbet Schroeder
Barbet Schroeder
Barbet Schroeder is a Franco-Swiss movie director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working together with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette.-Life and career:...
, Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
, Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
, Roger Planchon
Roger Planchon
Roger Planchon , was a French playwright, director, filmmaker.-Biography:...
etc. However he wound these down to concentrate on British and Irish films.
Publishing
Wilkinson moved into publishing in 2006. Guerilla Books first publication was Ronald Harwood's Adaptations, which is the first book about screenwriting by someone who has won an Oscar for screenwriting. Other books included Made in Yorkshire, The Rise And Rise of the Independents - a TV History, Charles Dickens's England.Wilkinson has acted as a consultant to film financiers, producers and others on over 300 feature films in development. A reasonable percentage of these have been produced. Wilkinson has also written numerous articles on the film industry for a variety of books and trade magazines.
Publicity
He has also appeared BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today Programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
& Front Row
Front Row (radio)
Front Row is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The BBC describes the programme as a "live magazine programme on the world of arts, literature, film, media and music." It is broadcast each week day between 7.15 and 7.45 and has a of highlights available for download. Shows usually include...
, BBC 5 Live Weekend News and other radio programmes as an expert on aspects of the film industry. He devised, and organises Meet The Experts for new filmmakers, an annual event at the Edinburgh Film Festival. He also regularly appears on film panels for various organisations and educational establishments, over 60 to date and has been a judge at many film festivals around the world
Established
- Founder, Chairman, guerilla films limited 1995–Present
- Founder, Chairman, guerilla books limited 2006–Present
- Founder, Chairman, GuerillaDocs limited 2010-present.
- Founder, Chairman Britannia Entertainment Limited 1982-1992
- Patron of the Bradford International Film Festival
Production list
- Charles Dickens's EnglandCharles Dickens's EnglandCharles's Dickens's England is a feature documentary written and produced by David Nicholas Wilkinson, directed by Julian Richards and presented by Derek Jacobi...
- (2009) (producer) also (co-screenplay), starring Sir Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
. - To the LighthouseTo the LighthouseTo the Lighthouse is a novel by Virginia Woolf. A novel set on the Ramsays and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, it skilfully manipulates temporal and psychological elements....
- (1983) - for TV (producer), a production based upon the Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
novel. Starring Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
, Michael GoughMichael GoughMichael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
, Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
, Suzanne BertishSuzanne BertishSuzanne C. Bertish is an English actress.A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bertish has appeared in many productions with them, including their marathon eight-and-a-half hour version of Charles Dickens's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, in which she played three roles...
, Pippa GuardPippa GuardPhilippa Ann Guard is a British actress.Guard was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and belongs to a well-known theatrical family, whose members include her uncle Philip Guard, cousins Christopher Guard and Dominic Guard, and younger brother Alex Guard. Her father was an engineer who moved the family to...
, T P McKenna & Lynsey BaxterLynsey BaxterLynsey Baxter is an English actress. Born in London, she began as a child actress in 1974 and later trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
. *It won a Silver Medal, International Film & TV Festival New York, Nominated for Best Single Drama – Bafta for Best Performance Award: Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
; Locarno Film Festival. - Coast to CoastCoast to Coast (1987 film)Coast to Coast is a 1987 comedy thriller starring Lenny Henry, John Shea, with cameos from Peter Vaughan, Pete Postlethwaite and Cherie Lunghi. It was directed by Sandy Johnson from a script by Stan Hey...
- for T.V (1987) (executive producer), starring Lenny HenryLenny HenryLenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, John SheaJohn SheaJohn Victor Shea III is an American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and also starred in the short lived 1990s TV series WIOU as Hank Zaret...
, Cherie Lungi, Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
, George BakerGeorge Baker (actor)George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...
& Pete PostlethwaitePete PostlethwaitePeter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
(Lenny Henry's acting debut) - Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
: Return Journey - (1990) (producer). Sir Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
' directorial debut. Starring Bob Kingdom as Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
. A British/Dutch/American co-production. - The Weather in the Streets - (1984) (producer)
- Retrebution - (2005) (executive producer)
- Zero - (2006) (a British/Lithuanian co-production)
- Le Cirque Imaginaire - TV series (1989) (executive producer) (British/French co-production)
- Elements of Acting - (1990) (producer)
- The Wanderer - (1991) (executive producer)
- London Underground - (1992) (TV) (producer) (British/German co-production)
- A Very English Madam - (1995) (producer)
- Small Time Obsession - (2000) (executive producer)
- Fred TruemanFred TruemanFrederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
Bowls You Over (producer) - James Herriot's Yorkshire - (1993) (producer)
- I Is a Long Memoried Woman - (1990) (executive producer)
Wilkinson has also produced numerous pop videos