Legendary director Tony Scott consistently creates landmark films, establishing him as one of the most reliable and stylish filmmakers in the industry. With a keen eye for blending material and talent, Scott has secured his place in the group of billion dollar-grossing directors. Scott is currently in pre-production on HELL’S ANGELS, based on the story of the infamous biker gang.
Scott directed the box office hit UNSTOPPABLE marking his fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington. Previously the two worked together on THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123, MAN ON FIRE, the acclaimed CRIMSON TIDE, and DÉJÀ VU – which also marked Scott’s sixth collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Scott’s first collaboration with Bruckheimer was the mega-blockbuster classic, TOP GUN, which Scott directed starring Tom Cruise. The next year, Scott directed BEVERLY HILLS COP II, starring Eddie Murphy, followed by DAYS OF THUNDER (1990), reuniting Scott with Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall. Scott solidified his place as one of Hollywood's top directors with the critically acclaimed TRUE ROMANCE (1993), starring Christian Slater, Roseanna Arquette and Christopher Walken, with a script by Quentin Tarantino. Scott also released one of the biggest hits of 1998 – reuniting him with Jerry Bruckheimer and Gene Hackman in ENEMY OF THE STATE, starring Will Smith.
Scott made his feature debut in 1983 with the modern vampire story THE HUNGER, starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon. Scott’s other film credits include: REVENGE (1988), with Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn; THE LAST BOY SCOUT (1991), with Bruce Willis; THE FAN (1996), starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes; SPY GAME (2001) starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt; and DOMINO (2005) starring Keira Knightley as real life bounty hunter Domino Harvey.
Born in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England, Scott attended the Sunderland Art School, where he received a fine arts degree in painting. While completing a yearlong post-graduate study at Leeds College, he developed an interest in cinematography and made ONE OF THE MISSING, a half hour film financed by the British Film Institute and based on an Ambrose Bierce short story. He then went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Royal College of Arts, completing another film for the British Film Institute, LOVING MEMORY, from an original script financed by Albert Finney.
In 1967, Scott partnered with his brother Ridley to form the London-based commercial production company, RSA. Over the next decade, Scott created some of the world’s most entertaining and memorable commercials, honing his film vocabulary and picking up every major honor in the field, including: a number of Clio awards, several Silver and Gold Lion Awards from the Cannes International Television/Cinema Commercials Festival, and London’s prestigious Designers & Art Directors Award. While working as a commercial director, Scott also made three movies for television: two documentaries and a one-hour special entitled “Author of Beltraffio” from the story by Henry James. In 2002, under the RSA banner, Scott produced a series of stylish short film adver-tainments for automaker BMW starring Clive Owen. Scott himself directed one of these shorts entitled “Beat The Devil” that featured Owen, James Brown and Gary Oldman.
In 1995, the two brothers went on to form the film and television production company Scott Free. With offices in Los Angeles and London, the Scott’s have produced such films as IN HER SHOES, THE A-TEAM, CYRUS, and the Academy Award-nominated THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES. They also executive produced the Emmy®, Peabody, and Golden Globe® winning hit TV show “The Good Wife” for CBS, as well as the hit long-running series, “Numbers,” which ran for six seasons also on CBS. In addition, Ridley and Tony also served as executive producers on the company’s long-form projects including the Starz miniseries “The Pillars of The Earth”; the A&E miniseries “The Andromeda Strain,” based on the book by Michael Crichton; the TNT miniseries “The Company”; and the award-winning HBO movies RKO 281, THE GATHERING STORM, and INTO THE STORM.
Open Road Films
