34-581: Jonathan Glazer (born 26 March 1965) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career in theatre before transitioning into film, directing the features Sexy Beast (2000), Birth (2004), Under the Skin (2013), and The Zone of Interest (2023). Glazer accepted the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film on behalf of the United Kingdom for The Zone of Interest. Glazer's work
68-505: A first time talent... The dialogue as you see in this film is exceptional. I had never read a script like it, and I thought, this has got to be made. It was very difficult to get insurance on the film actually. When the American studio bought the film, their legal department said: "You cannot make this." It has something like 300 uses of the word "cunt", and 400 "fucks", but somehow it passed the censorship and got out there." Technical elements of
102-546: A loose adaptation of the 2000 novel by Michel Faber , starring Scarlett Johansson . It premiered at the 2013 Telluride Film Festival and received a theatrical release in 2014. The film was named the best film of 2014 by numerous critics and publications, was included in many best-of-the-decade lists, and ranked 61st on the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century list, an international poll of 177 top critics. Glazer's fourth feature film, The Zone of Interest , based loosely on
136-611: Is a 2000 black comedy crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer (in his feature film directorial debut ) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars Ray Winstone , Ben Kingsley , and Ian McShane . It follows Gary "Gal" Dove (Winstone), a retired criminal visited by a sociopathic gangster (Kingsley) who demands that he take part in a bank robbery in London. Sexy Beast was critically acclaimed, and Kingsley's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor . In 2004, Total Film named Sexy Beast
170-435: Is aggressive to staff and other passengers, and is ejected, but avoids punishment by claiming that a flight attendant sexually assaulted him. He returns to the villa screaming obscenities and attacks Gal with a glass. DeeDee emerges with Gal's hunting shotgun and shoots Don, incapacitating him; the group beat him to death and bury him under the swimming pool. To avoid raising suspicion with Don's disappearance, Gal decides to do
204-515: Is defined by depictions of flawed and desperate characters; themes such as alienation , loneliness and individualism ; and a bold visual style uses an omniscient perspective and dramatic music. He has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards and two Academy Awards . For the historical drama The Zone of Interest , he won the Grand Prix and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival , and
238-589: Is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. His ancestors were Ukrainian Jews and Bessarabian Jews who fled the Kishinev pogrom and arrived in the United Kingdom in the 1900s. He said: "My great-grandparents were born in Vilnius and Odesa . One was a tailor. His wife, a seamstress." His family lived in Hadley Wood , near Barnet , and was Reform Jewish : "Synagogue three times a year, and Friday-night dinners every week." His father
272-585: The 2014 novel by Martin Amis , premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival to acclaim. It competed for the Palme d'Or , and won the Grand Prix and FIPRESCI Prize . At the 96th Academy Awards , The Zone of Interest won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film . In his acceptance speech, Glazer addressed the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip : All our choices are made to reflect and confront us in
306-651: The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction in 1997 for his work on "Karma Police" and Jamiroquai 's " Virtual Insanity " (1996). He was unsatisfied with his "Karma Police" video, saying he had "missed emotionally and dramatically". He described his video for the 1998 single " Rabbit in Your Headlights ", by Unkle and the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke , as a more successful "partner" to the "Karma Police" video. Glazer's 1999 television advert "Surfer", for Guinness ,
340-562: The National Board of Review . Original music for the film was composed by Spanish composer/saxophonist Roque Baños and English electronic band UNKLE in collaboration with South . Dean Martin 's version of " Sway " accompanies the film's end credits. The soundtrack also includes " Peaches " by The Stranglers , " Cuba " by The Gibson Brothers , "G-Spot" by Wayne Marshall , "Daddy Rollin' Stone" by Derek Martin, and Henry Mancini 's "Lujon". Brian Sella of The Front Bottoms attributes
374-816: The Toronto Film Critics Association . He also was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award (losing to Ian McKellen for his performance in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ), a Golden Globe and an Academy Award (losing both to Jim Broadbent for his performance in Iris ). The film also won Best Director and Best Screenplay from the British Independent Film Awards and Special Recognition ("For excellence in film making") from
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#1732876017968408-609: The United Kingdom . It is the fourth piece of the Good things come to those who wait campaign, following on from Swimblack , Surfer , and Bet on Black . As with the previous pieces of the campaign, Dreamer was handled by advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and comprised appearances in print, posters, and television and cinema spots. The centrepiece of the campaign was the sixty-second television and cinema commercial directed by Jonathan Glazer , who had also directed two of
442-577: The 15th best British film . It was the final film to feature Cavan Kendall , who died of cancer shortly after filming ended. British ex-criminal Gary "Gal" Dove is happily retired on the Costa del Sol with his beloved wife DeeDee, his best friend Aitch, and Aitch's wife Jackie. An old criminal associate, the feared sociopath Don Logan, arrives at Gal's villa, intent on enlisting Gal for a bank robbery in London planned by crime lord Teddy Bass. Teddy has learned about
476-703: The F-word into the atmosphere like anti-aircraft fire for 10 solid minutes" as the film's "one guilty pleasure". Sexy Beast grossed $ 10.2 million on a budget of $ 4.3 million, making it a relative box office success. Kingsley's performance received a majority of the accolades given to Sexy Beast , winning Best Supporting Actor awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association , Boston Society of Film Critics , Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association , Florida Film Critics Circle , San Diego Film Critics Society , Southeastern Film Critics Association and
510-443: The band's name to a line spoken by Ben Kingsley in the film. Another line spoken by Kingsley inspired The Kooks ' song "Jackie Big Tits". A prequel television series based on the film was in development at Paramount Network , which was being produced by Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content . However, the series was scrapped by Paramount Network. On 15 February 2022, ViacomCBS Networks UK And Australia announced that
544-407: The bank vault from Harry, the bank's chairman, whom he met at an orgy . Gal declines, but Don continues to pressure Gal, growing increasingly aggressive and violent. After Gal suggests that Don's real reason for visiting is his infatuation with Jackie, with whom he had a brief affair, Don grows furious and leaves. On the plane back to England, Don refuses to extinguish his cigarette prior to takeoff,
578-505: The gangster film Sexy Beast . Ben Kingsley was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . In 2004, Glazer directed his second feature film, Birth , starring Nicole Kidman . In 2001, Glazer directed the "Odyssey" spot for Levi Strauss jeans. In 2006, he directed the second Sony BRAVIA TV advertisement, which took ten days and 250 people to film. It was filmed at an estate in Glasgow, and featured paint exploding all over
612-501: The heist have been compared with those in the 1979 film Sewers of Gold , which also starred McShane in the central role. As of June 2024 , the film has an approval rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes , based on 141 reviews with an average rating of 7.30/10. The site's critical consensus states, " Sexy Beast rises above other movies in the British gangster genre due to its performances—particularly an electrifying one by Ben Kingsley—and
646-429: The job in London - preparing for the heist. When Teddy questions Gal about Don's whereabouts, Gal lies and claims that Don returned to London and called him from Heathrow Airport. The heist involves using diving gear to drill into the bank vault from a pool in a neighbouring bath house. The pool water muffles the sound of the drilling equipment and also floods the vault and shorts its security system. As Teddy's crew empties
680-626: The job. Gal returns to his friends and family in Spain, where DeeDee wears the earrings and life has returned to normal. Gal still hears Don's voice in his head; he responds that Don is dead now and can "shut up". Sexy Beast was shot in London and Spain in the summer of 1999. Ray Winstone travelled to Spain two weeks before filming commenced to get as deep a tan as he could in the time possible and to eat as much as he could to bulk up considerably. He later called this "the best rehearsal time I've ever had in my life". Winstone had originally been considered for
714-588: The only thing he was good at". After graduating with an emphasis in theatre design from Nottingham Trent University , Glazer began his career directing theatre and making film and television trailers. In 1993, Glazer wrote and directed three short films ("Mad", "Pool" and "Commission"), and joined Academy Commercials, a production company based in Central London. He directed campaigns for Guinness ( Dreamer , Swimblack and Surfer ) and Stella Artois ( Devil's Island ). Glazer directed two music videos for
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#1732876017968748-528: The present. Not to say, 'Look what they did then,' rather 'Look what we do now.' Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza , all
782-412: The rock band Radiohead , " Street Spirit " (1996) and " Karma Police " (1997). He named "Street Spirit" as a turning point in his work: "I knew when I finished that, because [Radiohead] found their own voices as an artist, at that point, I felt like I got close to whatever mine was, and I felt confident that I could do things that emoted, that had some kind of poetic as well as prosaic value." Glazer won
816-465: The role of Don, along with Anthony Hopkins . The producer Jeremy Thomas remembered his experience making the film: "Sexy Beast was the beginning of a new phase for me of working with first-time filmmakers. Jonathan Glazer was a television commercials director in the UK, and a wonderful talent. We were sent this script which he was attached to, and out came this wonderful film. It was very stimulating having
850-593: The script's attention to character development." On Metacritic , it has a rating of 79/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It received praise from writers at the San Francisco Chronicle , Entertainment Weekly , Slate , Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times . Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post was less enthusiastic, describing the plot as "preposterous" and highlighting "Ben Kingsley spraying saliva-lubricated variants of
884-461: The series was revived for Paramount+ , but would instead be produced by Train a Comin' Productions, Familystyle, Chapter One, Solas Mind, Anonymous Content and Paramount Television International Studios. The eight-episode series was released on 25 January 2024. Dreamer (advertisement) Dreamer (also known as Dream Club ) is an integrated advertising campaign launched by Diageo in 2001 to promote Guinness -brand draught stout in
918-438: The three previous ads. Post-production work was completed by The Computer Film Company which animated the squirrel sequence. The piece was premiered on SKY television on 6 April 2001, appearing on terrestrial television channels the following day. Dreamer was a middling success, with Guinness sales figures and market share holding steady during the period that the piece was broadcast, but failing to improve figures in
952-504: The tower blocks. Later the same year, he was commissioned to make a television advert for the new Motorola Red phone. The advertisement, showing two naked black bodies emerging from a lump of flesh rotating on a potter's wheel, was due to air in September 2006 but was shelved by Motorola. The advertisement was to benefit several charities in Africa. In 2013, Glazer directed Under the Skin ,
986-569: The vault's safe deposit boxes , Gal secretly pockets a pair of ruby and diamond earrings. After the job, Teddy insists on driving Gal to the airport. He stops at Harry's home, where he shoots Harry and demands that Gal tell him where Don is. Gal responds that he is "not into this any more". While dropping Gal off, Teddy indicates that he knows that Gal was involved in something happening to Don, and implies that Gal would be severely punished if Teddy cared at all about Don. He suggests he may visit Gal in Spain and humiliates him by paying him only £10 for
1020-560: The victims of this dehumanization — how do we resist? Known to be discreet about his private life, Glazer is married to the visual effects supervisor Rachael Penfold. They live in Camden, North London with their three children. He is Jewish. Glazer named Stanley Kubrick as his favourite director and said he was close to Italian and Russian cinema . His influences include Ingmar Bergman , Rainer Werner Fassbinder , Federico Fellini , and Pier Paolo Pasolini . Sexy Beast Sexy Beast
1054-544: Was a cinephile , with whom he frequently watched David Lean , Sidney Lumet , Sydney Pollack , and Billy Wilder movies. Glazer attended the Jewish Free School , then located in the borough of Camden . During his childhood, he participated in the Givat Washington programme, spending five months in a religious boarding school in Israel. After finishing high school, he went to art school, "because drawing was...
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1088-423: Was a little boy. Many of them were East End Jews who had moved to the suburbs for a better quality of life, not super-intellectual people, but incredible entertainers – vaudeville musicians, writers and the like. As a child, I loved and absorbed the richness of that culture." – Glazer about the artistic Jewish community in which he was raised Jonathan Glazer was born on 26 March 1965 in London , England, and
1122-584: Was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay . Glazer has directed music videos for acts including Radiohead , Massive Attack , Richard Ashcroft and Jamiroquai . He received nominations for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction for his videos for Jamiroquai's " Virtual Insanity " (1996) and Radiohead's " Karma Police " (1997). He has also directed commercials for brands including Kodak , Sony , Nike , Barclays and Alexander McQueen . "There were all these fantastic characters, who were in and out of my house when I
1156-424: Was voted the best of all time in a poll conducted by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times the following year. Glazer was set to direct the film Gangster No. 1 , written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto, but was replaced after disagreements with the producers regarding casting. Glazer left the production along with Mellis and Scinto. In 2000, Glazer worked with Mellis and Scinto again, directing his first feature,
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