James Ivory | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ivory at the1991 Venice International Film Festival | |
| Born | Richard Jerome Hazen (1928-06-07)June 7, 1928 (age 97) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1953–present |
| Partner | Ismail Merchant (1961–2005; Merchant's death) |
| Awards | Full list |
James Francis Ivory (bornRichard Jerome Hazen; June 7, 1928) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a principal inMerchant Ivory Productions along with Indian film producerIsmail Merchant (his domestic and professional partner) and screenwriterRuth Prawer Jhabvala. The trio made film adaptations of stories by authors such asE.M. Forster andHenry James. Their body of work is celebrated for its elegance, sophistication, literary fidelity, strong performances, complex themes, and rich characters.[1]
Merchant–Ivory was established in 1961 inIndia where they made modestly budgeted films includingThe Householder (1963),Shakespeare Wallah (1965), andBombay Talkie (1970). Ivory began adapting films from classic novels such asThe Europeans (1979),Quartet (1981),Heat and Dust (1983),The Bostonians (1984),Maurice (1987), andMr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990). During this period he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director forA Room with a View (1985),Howards End (1992), andThe Remains of the Day (1993). At the age of 89, Ivory won theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work onLuca Guadagnino'sCall Me by Your Name (2017), becoming the oldest competitiveAcademy Award winner.[2]
Ivory'saccolades also include threeBAFTAs, and aWriters Guild of America Award as well as nominations for threeGolden Globe Awards. He received theDirectors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. Ivory released his autobiographySolid Ivory: Memoirs (2021) and directed the documentaryA Cooler Climate (2022).
James Ivory was born Richard Jerome Hazen on June 7, 1928, inBerkeley, California, and adopted shortly after birth by Hallie Millicent (née de Loney) and Edward Patrick Ivory, a sawmill operator; they renamed himJames Francis Ivory.[3][4] He grew up inKlamath Falls, Oregon.[5] He attended theUniversity of Oregon, where he received a degree in fine arts in 1951. Ivory is a recipient of the Lawrence Medal, UO's College of Design's highest honor for its graduates. His papers are held by UO Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives.[6] He was UO's 2019-2020 honorary degree recipient.[7]
Ivory then attended theUniversity of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts,[8] where he directed the short filmFour in the Morning (1953). He wrote, photographed, and producedVenice: Theme and Variations, a half-hour documentary submitted as his thesis film for his master's degree in cinema. The film was named byThe New York Times in 1957 as one of the ten best non-theatrical films of the year. He graduated from USC in 1957.[citation needed]
Ivory met producerIsmail Merchant at a screening of Ivory's documentaryThe Sword and the Flute in New York City in 1959. In May 1961, Merchant and Ivory formed the film production companyMerchant Ivory Productions. Merchant and Ivory became long-term life partners.[9][10] Their professional and romantic relationship commenced in 1961 and continued until Merchant's death in 2005.[9]
Ivory's professional partnership with Merchant has a place in theGuinness Book of World Records for the longest partnership in independent cinema history. Before Merchant's death in 2005, they produced 40 films, including a number of films that receivedAcademy,BAFTA andGolden Globe awards. Ivory directed 17 theatrical films for Merchant Ivory, and novelistRuth Prawer Jhabvala was the screenwriter for 22 of their productions in addition to another film produced by Merchant Ivory after Merchant's death.[citation needed]
Ismail Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory ... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!"[11]
In 1985, Ivory directed a film adaptation of the classicE. M. ForsternovelA Room with a View. The film starredHelena Bonham Carter who was 18 years old at the time, in her first major film role. The film also co-starredJulian Sands,Maggie Smith,Judi Dench,Denholm Elliott,Simon Callow, andDaniel Day-Lewis. The film received universal praise withThe Chicago Sun-Times film criticRoger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, writing: "It is an intellectual film, but intellectual about emotions: It encourages us to think about how we feel, instead of simply acting on our feelings."[12] The film received eightAcademy Award nominations includingBest Director for Ivory. He also received Best Director nominations from theBritish Academy Film Awards, theGolden Globes Awards, and theDirectors Guild of America.[citation needed]
The following year Ivory directed another Forsteradaptation, the romantic dramaMaurice (1987). The film is agay love story in the restrictive and repressed culture ofEdwardian England. The story follows its main character, Maurice Hall, through university, a tumultuous relationship, struggling to fit into society, and ultimately being united with his life partner. The film starsJames Wilby andHugh Grant in their first major film appearances, and also featuresRupert Graves,Simon Callow,Denholm Elliott,Mark Tandy,Billie Whitelaw,Judy Parfitt,Phoebe Nicholls, andBen Kingsley. In a 2017 retrospective inThe New Yorker, Sarah Larson wrote, "...For many gay men coming of age in the eighties and nineties,Maurice was revelatory: a first glimpse, onscreen or anywhere, of what love between men could look like".[13] Director James Ivory has added to the legacy on the film saying, "So many people have come up to me sinceMaurice and pulled me aside and said, 'I just want you to know you changed my life.'"[13] Ivory won theVenice Film Festival'sSilver Lion for Best Director.[citation needed]
This was followed in 1990 byMr. & Mrs. Bridge, which was adapted by Jhabvala from the novels byEvan S. Connell. According to Ivory, "the world ofMr. and Mrs. Bridge is the world I grew up in...It's the only film I've ever made that was about my own childhood and adolescence."[14] The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (Joanne Woodward), as well as twoNew York Film Critics Circle awards. Ivory would later callMr. & Mrs. Bridge a personal favorite, adding that it was the one film he would most like to see reappraised.[15]
In 1992,Merchant-Ivory tackled their third Forster adaptation,Howards End, based on theacclaimed novel and starringEmma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter,Anthony Hopkins, andVanessa Redgrave. The film premiered at the 1992Cannes Film Festival where it competed for thePalme d'Or and went on to critical acclaim. Ivory received his secondAcademy Award for Best Director nomination. The film also received threeAcademy Awards forBest Actress (Emma Thompson),Best Adapted Screenplay, andBest Production Design. The film also received elevenBritish Academy Film Award nominations, and fourGolden Globe Award nominations. In 2016, the film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the2016 Cannes Film Festival,[16] and was released theatrically after restoration on August 26, 2016.[17]
The following year, Merchant-Ivory directed the period dramaThe Remains of the Day (1993), adapted from the acclaimednovel of the same name byKazuo Ishiguro. American filmmakerMike Nichols served as one of the film's producers, and the film reunitedAnthony Hopkins andEmma Thompson. Supporting performances includedJames Fox,Christopher Reeve,Hugh Grant, andLena Headey. The film revolved around a dedicated butler who serves an English landlord in the years leading up to thesecond World War. The film was a commercial and critical success withVincent Canby ofThe New York Times said, in another favorable review, "Here's a film for adults. It's also about time to recognize that Mr. Ivory is one of our finest directors, something that critics tend to overlook because most of his films have been literary adaptations."[18] The film received eightAcademy Award nominations with Ivory receiving his third nomination forBest Director. He also received nominations from theBritish Academy Film Awards,Golden Globe Awards, andDirectors Guild of America.[citation needed]
In 1999, theBritish Film Institute rankedThe Remains of the Day the64th-greatest British film of the 20th century.[19]
In 1995 he directed the filmJefferson in Paris starringNick Nolte asThomas Jefferson,Thandiwe Newton asSally Hemings, andGwyneth Paltrow asPatsy Jefferson.[20] The following year he directed the filmSurviving Picasso starringAnthony Hopkins as the painterPablo Picasso.[21] In 1998 he directed and co-wrote the filmA Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, a film divided into three segments each named after a different protagonist.[22] In 2000 he directed the romantic period dramaThe Golden Bowl which was adapted from theHenry Jamesnovel of the same name.[23] He directed the romantic comedyLe Divorce starringKate Hudson andNaomi Watts.[24]
In 2005 he directed the filmThe White Countess written byKazuo Ishiguro starringRalph Fiennes,Natasha Richardson, andVanessa Redgrave.[25] In 2009, Ivory reunited withAnthony Hopkins for the romantic dramaThe City of Your Final Destination co-starringLaura Linney.[26] The film is the first Merchant Ivory film production without the participation of producer Ismail Merchant due to his death in 2005.[27]
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In 2017, Ivory wrote and co-produced the film adaptation ofCall Me by Your Name, a 2007coming-of-age novel byAndré Aciman.The film, aromantic drama, was directed byLuca Guadagnino and is the final installment in his thematic "Desire" trilogy, followingI Am Love (2009), andA Bigger Splash (2015). Set in 1983 in northern Italy, the story chronicles the romantic relationship between a 17-year-old,Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), and Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate-student assistant to Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an archaeology professor.[28]
Ivory originally was to co-direct the film based on Guadagnino's suggestion; however, there was no contract to that effect.[29][30] Ivory accepted the offer to co-direct on the condition that he would also write the film;[30] he spent "about nine months" on the screenplay.[31][32] Ivory stepped down from a directorial role in 2016, leaving Guadagnino to direct the film alone.[33][29] According to Ivory, financiers from Memento Films International did not want two directors involved with the project because they "thought it would be awkward ... It might take longer, it would look terrible if we got in fights on the set, and so on."[31][32] Guadagnino said Ivory's version would have likely been "a much more costly [and] different film" that would have been too expensive to make.[34][35] Ivory retained the sole credit as screenwriter.[36] The film was the only narrative feature he has written but not directed.[36] Despite stepping aside as director, he continued to remain involved with other aspects of the production.[36]
The film premiered at theSundance Film Festival and garnered huge critical success. Ivory's screenplay brought himnumerous awards and nominations. Ivory won awards for Best Adapted Screenplay from theAcademy Awards,British Academy Film Awards,Writers Guild of America, theCritics' Choice Awards, and theScripter Awards, among others. Upon winning the Oscar and BAFTA at the age of 89, Ivory becamethe oldest-ever winner in any category for both awards.[37][38]
In 2018, Ivory took part in the filmDance Again with Me Heywood!directed by Michele Diomà.[39] At 94 he directed the documentary film,A Cooler Climate (2022), about boxes of film footage he shot during a life-changing trip toAfghanistan in 1960, which had its world premiere at theNew York Film Festival in 2022.[40] Raymond Ang ofGQ wrote that the project "might be the most personal" film of his career.[41] In May 2023, an upcoming biographical documentary portrait titled,James Ivory: In Search of Love and Beauty, directed by Christopher Manning was announced. The film chronicles the life and work of Ivory and featuresHelena Bonham Carter,Emma Thompson,Hugh Grant,Wes Anderson and others.[42]
Ivory is gay. His memoir,Solid Ivory, gives details of his relationships with his business partner,Ismail Merchant; their composer,Richard Robbins; and others such asBruce Chatwin.[43] Merchant was Ivory's long-term life partner.[9][10] Their professional and romantic partnership lasted 44 years, from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005.[9]
Ivory has owned several homes, including theJacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex inClaverack, New York.[44][45][10]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Four in the Morning | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1957 | Venice: Theme and Variations | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1959 | The Sword and the Flute | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1963 | The Householder | Yes | Yes | No | Feature directorial debut Co-screenwriter (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 1964 | The Delhi Way | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary Also cinematographer and editor |
| 1965 | Shakespeare Wallah | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 1969 | The Guru | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 1970 | Bombay Talkie | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 1972 | Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization | Yes | Yes | No | BBC TV documentary |
| 1972 | Savages | Yes | Idea | No | Screenplay based on an original idea by Ivory |
| 1973 | Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls | No | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1975 | Autobiography of a Princess | Yes | No | No | |
| 1975 | The Wild Party | Yes | No | No | |
| 1977 | Roseland | Yes | No | No | |
| 1978 | Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures | Yes | No | No | |
| 1979 | The Europeans | Yes | No | No | |
| 1979 | The Five Forty-Eight | Yes | No | No | TV film |
| 1980 | Jane Austen in Manhattan | Yes | No | No | |
| 1981 | Quartet | Yes | Uncredited | No | Co-screenwriter (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) (uncredited) |
| 1983 | Heat and Dust | Yes | No | No | |
| 1984 | The Bostonians | Yes | No | No | [46] |
| 1985 | A Room with a View | Yes | No | No | |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | No | No | Executive | Episode: "Noon Wine" Co-executive producer (withIsmail Merchant) |
| 1987 | Maurice | Yes | Yes | No | Co-screenwriter (withKit Hesketh-Harvey) |
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Yes | No | No | |
| 1990 | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | Yes | No | No | |
| 1992 | Howards End | Yes | No | No | |
| 1993 | The Remains of the Day | Yes | No | No | |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Yes | No | No | |
| 1995 | Lumière and Company | Yes | No | No | Anthology film: co-director of Segment #31:Merchant Ivory/Paris (withIsmail Merchant) |
| 1996 | Surviving Picasso | Yes | No | No | |
| 1998 | A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries | Yes | Yes | No | Co-screenwriter (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 2000 | The Golden Bowl | Yes | No | No | |
| 2003 | Le Divorce | Yes | Yes | No | Co-screenwriter (withRuth Prawer Jhabvala) |
| 2005 | The White Countess | Yes | No | No | |
| 2005 | Heights | No | No | Uncredited | Co-producer (withIsmail Merchant and Richard Hawley) (uncredited) |
| 2009 | The City of Your Final Destination | Yes | No | No | |
| 2010 | Arcadia Lost | No | No | Executive | |
| 2017 | Call Me by Your Name | No | Yes | Yes | Co-producer (withÉmilie Georges,Luca Guadagnino,Marco Morabito,Howard Rosenman,Peter Spears and Rodrigo Teixeira) |
| 2019 | American Marriage | No | Collaboration | Executive | Short film Written in collaboration with Giorgio Arcelli Fontana |
| 2022 | A Cooler Climate | Yes | Yes | No | Documentary Co-director (with Giles Gardner) Co-writer (with Giles Gardner) |
| 2022 | Chinese Laundry | No | No | Yes | Short film |
| 2023 | The Way It Was: Paris Restaurants in the 1970s | No | No | Executive | |
| 2024 | Merchant Ivory | No | No | Executive | Documentary Also appears in the film as a subject as well as an interviewee |
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In 1985A Room with a View was nominated for eightAcademy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, for Jhabvala's adaptation of Forster's novel as well as for Best Costume and Best Production Design.A Room With a View was also voted Best Film of the year by the Critic's Circle Film Section of Great Britain, theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts, theNational Board of Review in the United States and in Italy, where the film won theDonatello Prize for Best Foreign Language Picture and Best Director. In 1987,Maurice received a Silver Lion Award for Best Director at theVenice Film Festival as well as Best Film Score forRichard Robbins and Best Actor Awards for co-starsJames Wilby andHugh Grant. 1990'sMr. and Mrs. Bridge would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (Joanne Woodward), as well as Best Actress and Best Screenplay from theNew York Film Critics Circle.[citation needed]
In 1992 Ivory directed another film adapted from Forster,Howards End. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three: Best Actress (Emma Thompson), Best Screenplay – Adaptation (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Luciana Arrighi/Ian Whittaker). The film also won Best Picture at theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, as well as awards for Best Picture, Best Actress for Emma Thompson and Best Director for Ivory from theNational Board of Review. TheDirectors Guild of America awarded theD.W. Griffith award, its highest honor, to Ivory for his work. At the1992 Cannes Film Festival the film won the 45th Anniversary Prize.[47]Howards End was immediately followed byThe Remains of the Day, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.[citation needed]
For his work inCall Me by Your Name (2017), Ivory received anAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, aCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,[48]Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, andUSC Scripter Award for Best Screenplay.[49] He was also nominated for theAACTA International Award for Best Screenplay, and theGotham Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay.[50][51][52] At 89, Ivory is the oldest person to ever win anAcademy Award in competition.[53]
In 2022, Ivory was honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at the17th Rome Film Festival.[54]
