Tim Bevan

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Tim Bevan

Bevan in 2019
Born
Timothy John Bevan

(1957-12-20) 20 December 1957 (age 66)[1]
Queenstown, New Zealand
EducationCheltenham College
Sidcot School
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1984–present
Spouses
(m. 1992; div. 2001)
Amy Gadney
(m. 2001)
Children3, including Daisy Bevan

Timothy John Bevan, CBE (born 20 December 1957) is a New Zealand-British film producer,[2] the co-chairman (with Eric Fellner) of the production company Working Title Films. Bevan and Fellner are the most successful British producers of their era. Through 2017, the films he has co-produced have grossed a total of almost $7 billion worldwide.[3] As of 2017, films by Working Title Films have won 12 Academy Awards and 39 British Academy Film Awards.[4][5][6]

Early life and education[edit]

Bevan was born in 1957 in Queenstown, New Zealand.[7][1] From 1969—1974, he was educated at Sidcot School,[8] a Quaker boarding independent school in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Winscombe in North Somerset, in South West England. He then attended Cheltenham College,[9] a boarding independent school in the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, in the West of England.

Life and career[edit]

Bevan co-founded Working Title Films in London with Sarah Radclyffe in 1983.[2][10] Radclyffe left the company in 1991 and Eric Fellner joined to partner Bevan.[10] Among Bevan's more than 40 films as producer or executive producer include Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Elizabeth (1998), Notting Hill (1999), Billy Elliot (2000), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Atonement (2007), Frost/Nixon (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), and Darkest Hour (2017). Working Title are also notable for their long-time collaboration with American filmmakers the Coen brothers, having produced Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? among others.

Working Title signed a deal with Universal Studios in 1999 for a reported US$600 million, which gave Bevan and Fellner the power to commission projects with a budget of up to $35 million without having to consult their paymasters.[11]

Bevan is a co-producer of the West End musical Billy Elliot.[12]

Bevan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2005 Birthday Honours for services to the British film industry.[13]

In 2013, he and Fellner received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures from the Producers Guild of America.[14]

Along with Fellner, Lisa Bryer, David Heyman, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, he founded the London Screen Academy in September 2019, a sixth form school teaching behind the camera skills to a student body of 800. [15]

Personal life[edit]

Bevan is divorced from English actress Joely Richardson; the two have a daughter, Daisy, born in 1992. Bevan is now married to Amy Gadney, and they have a daughter Nell, born 2001, and a son Jago, born 2003.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Producer

Executive producer

As an actor

Thanks

Television[edit]

Executive producer

Year Title Notes
1988 Echoes
1992 The Borrowers
1993 Tales of the City
1998 More Tales of the City
2001 Further Tales of the City
2003 About a Boy Television pilot
2008 Frontline Documentary
2007−10 The Tudors
2011 Love Bites
The Borrowers Television film
2012 Birdsong
True Love
2013 Mary and Martha Television film
2014 The Secrets
About a Boy
2015 You, Me and the Apocalypse
London Spy
2013−16 Yonderland
2017 Gypsy
2019 The Case Against Adnan Syed Documentary
Tales of the City
2020 The Luminaries
2019−20 Hanna
2021 We Are Lady Parts

Awards and honours[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
  2. ^ a b "The Media 100, 2008: 51. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner". The Guardian. UK. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  3. ^ Thompson, Anne (10 July 2017). "Why Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner Are the Best Indie Producers in the World Right Now". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  4. ^ Adler, Tim (9 August 2010). "Working Title: Why UK's Most Successful Film Production Company Is Back In Its Wheelhouse". Deadline. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. ^ Higgins, Charlotte (16 April 2005). "Interview: Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan, co-chairmen Working Title Films". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  6. ^ "About". Working Title Films. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Mountain Films Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Alumni of Sidcot School". Sidcot School, Somerset. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Cheltenham College". Tatler. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  10. ^ a b "WT milestones". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 106.
  11. ^ "Producers give backbone to industry". BBC. 16 February 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  12. ^ Knight, Christina (14 September 2015). "Billy Elliot the Musical Live ~ Preview the Musical | Great Performances | PBS". Great Performances. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  13. ^ "No. 57665". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2005. p. 7.
  14. ^ King, Susan (14 November 2012). "Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner to receive Producers Guild honor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Eon, Working Title, and Heyday Launch London School Specializing in Industry Skills". Variety. 10 October 2018.
  16. ^ The University of York: Graduation Ceremonies Central Hall, 10, 11 and 12 July 2013

External links[edit]