ÜProducers & Directors


New Zealand in the early 1990s and her credits include the award-winning film Backbeat (1994), as well as inter- national TV productions Tsunami: The Aftermath (BBC/HBO) and The Hamburg Cell (C4/HBO).


Debra Hayward Founder, Monumental Pictures


Although she left her role as presi- dent of production at Working Title more than six months ago, Debra Hayward is still basking in the success of a vintage 2011. Films exec produced on her watch at the Uni- versal-owned company include the Bafta-winning Senna and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, as well as Johnny English Reborn and the forthcoming big-screen treatment of Les Misera- bles. After a 23-year career at WT (early credits include Four Weddings And A Funeral), Hayward left to launch her own outfit, Monumental Pictures, last September, securing a two-year first-look deal with her former company. She acknowledges that through Working Title co- founders Eric Feller and Tim Bevan she has learned “from the best in the business”, and says it is her ambition to “continue to bring quality com- mercial British films to the inter- national marketplace”.


Elizabeth Karlsen Producer and co-director, Number 9 Films


Karlsen’s production company Number 9 Films – co-founded with her business partner and husband Stephen Woolley in 2002 – currently has a trio of films in production, all of which tap into celluloid’s obses- sions with Dickens, vampires and British gangsters. As Britain cele- brates Dickens’ bicentenary, the much-anticipated big-screen adapta- tion of Great Expectations – penned by David Nicholls and directed by


Elizabeth Karlsen


stories recently, from Tamara Drewe to Jane Eyre to Toast, and her winning streak looks set to con- tinue in 2012. She is executive pro- ducing Dancing On The Edge, which is destined for a BBC2 airing. It’s a coup because it is writer and director Stephen Poliakoff ’s first drama series, rather than the one-off dramas for which he is better known. Owen is also pushing boundaries when it comes to financing productions – master- minding a clever collaboration with fellow production company See- Saw. This saw the duo approach investors together in February on the back of the Enterprise Invest- ment Scheme (EIS). In October, Owen was also invited to join the Creative England board, showing her commitment to supporting the sustainable growth of independent creative businesses and their talent outside London.


Phyllida Lloyd


Mike Newell – is due for release this autumn. Number 9 is also producing Irish director Neil Jordan’s vampire picture Byzantium, as well as low- budget thriller Hyena, which explores how Albanian gangsters are muscling in on London’s underworld. The co-producer of The Crying Game, Karlsen has many British film credits to her name, including Little Voice, Ladies In Lavender and Made In Dagenham. The mother of three also champions women film-makers in her role as chair of the Bird’s Eye View Film Festival.


Phyllida Lloyd Director


Lauded opera and stage director Phyllida Lloyd’s (above) film debut Mamma Mia! is credited as being the most financially successful British film ever released. And the Bristol-


born director’s second effort, The Iron Lady, is garnering plaudits at every major award ceremony going. Both films prove beyond doubt that there is an enormous audience for female-led films, including those featuring women over 50. With Meryl Streep scooping the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, the CBE- awarded director is set to be lionised in Hollywood and inspire a new generation of women directors. Her advice for them is: “Have confidence that directing is a very suitable job for a woman – with our gift for col- laboration, listening and reading the nuance of things.”


Alison Owen Producer, Ruby Films


Alison Owen’s (below) name has been linked to a string of success


Nira Park Producer, Big Talk Productions


Nira Park’s (below) name, and that of the production company she founded in 1995, Big Talk, is now firmly associated with high-quality comedy – following a string of big hits, most recently Rev, Him & Her and Friday Night Dinner. Some of her projects have also earned cult status, such as Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead. Others have done well on the awards circuit, such as sci-fi film Attack The Block, which was nominated for a Bafta for the out- standing directorial debut of Joe Cornish. Commentators have described her as a nurturing, sup- portive character, which surely explains the loyalty of actors like Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, who continue to work with her after achieving Hollywood fame. Not satisfied with only cornering the comedy market, Park has her sights on scripted drama.


Debra Hayward www.broadcastnow.co.uk | www.screendaily.com


Alison Owen


Nira Park March 2012 | The Power List | 13


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