David Rose (producer)
Encyclopedia
David E. Rose is a retired television producer and commissioning editor.
Following war service as a RAF pilot of Lancaster Bombers on 34 missions, he trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Drama
, but following graduation pursued a career in stage management. He became an Assistant Floor Manager for BBC television in London in 1954, working on the television adaptation of 1984
in his first week, but by the end of the 1950s he was a director of dramatised documentaries for the BBC, including Black Furrow (1958) about open cast mining in South Wales.
It is as a producer and production executive though that he has had the greatest prominence. Rose was the original producer of Z-Cars
(1962–65). Broadcast live at Rose's insistence thinking the excitement generated by avoiding pre-recording was integral to the production. Rose was responsible for ending its original run thinking the format had become exhausted. Softly, Softly
(1966–69) was a spin off series also produced by Rose.
Appointed by David Attenborough
in 1971 to be head of the newly established autonomous English Regional Drama department at BBC Pebble Mill
in Birmingham in 1971, Rose produced work by established writers like Alan Plater
and encouraged new creative talent such as playwrights Alan Bleasdale
, Willy Russell, David Hare and Mike Leigh
. Some of this work appeared in the Play for Today
(Peter Terson
's The Fishing Party, 1972) or Second City Firsts anthology series.
In 1981 Rose left the BBC for Channel 4
where he was appointed the Commissioning Editor for Fiction by Jeremy Isaacs
, the channel's founding Chief Executive. In particular he is identified with the Film on Four
strand. With an initial overall budget of £6million a year, Rose invested £300,000 in twenty films annually. Originally the project's films were intended for television screenings alone; the "holdback" system prevented investment in theatrical films by television companies because of the length of time (then three years) before broadcasters could screen them. An agreement soon concluded with the Cinema Exhibitors Association though, allowed a brief period of cinema exhibition if the budget of the films was below £1.25 million. During his time at Channel 4, Rose approved the making of 136 films, half of which received cinema screenings, investing in a third of the feature films made in the UK during 1984. By 1987, Channel 4 had an interest in half the films being made in the United Kingdom. Rose remained in his post as Commissioning Editor until March 1990. Rose is credited by many as being a significant figure in the regeneration of British cinema and particularly remembered for films such as My Beautiful Laundrette
, Wish You Were Here
, Dance With a Stranger
, Mona Lisa
, Letter to Brezhnev
, Hear My Song
and many others.
David Rose was awarded a special prize for services to the cinema at Cannes in 1987 and in April 2010 the BFI Fellowship, whose other recipients include Martin Scorsese
and Orson Welles
.
Following war service as a RAF pilot of Lancaster Bombers on 34 missions, he trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
, but following graduation pursued a career in stage management. He became an Assistant Floor Manager for BBC television in London in 1954, working on the television adaptation of 1984
Nineteen Eighty-Four (TV programme)
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a British television adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Orwell, originally broadcast on BBC Television in December 1954. The production proved to be hugely controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over its supposed...
in his first week, but by the end of the 1950s he was a director of dramatised documentaries for the BBC, including Black Furrow (1958) about open cast mining in South Wales.
It is as a producer and production executive though that he has had the greatest prominence. Rose was the original producer of Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
(1962–65). Broadcast live at Rose's insistence thinking the excitement generated by avoiding pre-recording was integral to the production. Rose was responsible for ending its original run thinking the format had become exhausted. Softly, Softly
Softly, Softly (TV series)
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern - supposedly in the Bristol and Chepstow area of the UK...
(1966–69) was a spin off series also produced by Rose.
Appointed by David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
in 1971 to be head of the newly established autonomous English Regional Drama department at BBC Pebble Mill
Pebble Mill Studios
The BBC 's Pebble Mill Studios were located in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham, England. The views from the roof overlooked Cannon Hill Park, a nature centre, as well as Birmingham's city centre...
in Birmingham in 1971, Rose produced work by established writers like Alan Plater
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
and encouraged new creative talent such as playwrights Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
, Willy Russell, David Hare and Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
. Some of this work appeared in the Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
(Peter Terson
Peter Terson
Peter Terson is a British playwright whose plays have been produced for stage, television and radio. His early work in the 1960s focused on growing up in the dead-end working-class culture of industrial England. He was born as Peter Patterson. He was a schoolteacher for 10 years before writing...
's The Fishing Party, 1972) or Second City Firsts anthology series.
In 1981 Rose left the BBC for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
where he was appointed the Commissioning Editor for Fiction by Jeremy Isaacs
Jeremy Isaacs
Sir Jeremy Isaacs is a British television producer and executive, winner of many BAFTA awards and international Emmy Awards. He was also General Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden .-Early life:...
, the channel's founding Chief Executive. In particular he is identified with the Film on Four
Film4 Productions
Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel 4. The company has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom. The company's first production was Walter, directed by Stephen Frears, which was released in 1982.- History :Before 1998, the...
strand. With an initial overall budget of £6million a year, Rose invested £300,000 in twenty films annually. Originally the project's films were intended for television screenings alone; the "holdback" system prevented investment in theatrical films by television companies because of the length of time (then three years) before broadcasters could screen them. An agreement soon concluded with the Cinema Exhibitors Association though, allowed a brief period of cinema exhibition if the budget of the films was below £1.25 million. During his time at Channel 4, Rose approved the making of 136 films, half of which received cinema screenings, investing in a third of the feature films made in the UK during 1984. By 1987, Channel 4 had an interest in half the films being made in the United Kingdom. Rose remained in his post as Commissioning Editor until March 1990. Rose is credited by many as being a significant figure in the regeneration of British cinema and particularly remembered for films such as My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
, Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...
, Dance With a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger is a 1985 British drama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson...
, Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa (film)
Mona Lisa is a 1986 British film about a petty criminal who becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a high-class call girl. The movie was written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Jordan. It was produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films...
, Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British comedy film about working class life in contemporary Liverpool. It was written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Lea, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke amongst others...
, Hear My Song
Hear My Song
Hear My Song is a 1991 film, written by the actors Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar , based on the story of Irish tenor Josef Locke...
and many others.
David Rose was awarded a special prize for services to the cinema at Cannes in 1987 and in April 2010 the BFI Fellowship, whose other recipients include Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
.