Julien Temple | |
|---|---|
 Temple at a film festival in Mexico in March 2010 | |
| Born | Julien Temple (1953-11-26)26 November 1953 (age 71)[1] Kensington, London, England |
| Occupation | Director |
| Spouse | Amanda Temple |
| Children | 3, includingJuno Temple |
| Relatives | Nina Temple (sister) |
| Website | www |
Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director.[1] He began his career with short films featuring theSex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, includingThe Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle,[1]Absolute Beginners and a documentary film aboutGlastonbury.
Temple was born in Kensington, London, the son of Landon Temple, who organised the travel company Progressive Tours.[2] He was educated atSt Marylebone Grammar School (from which he was expelled),William Ellis School, andKing's College, Cambridge.[3] He grew up with little interest in film until, when a student at Cambridge, he discovered the works of French anarchist directorJean Vigo. This, along with his interest in the earlypunk scene in London in 1976, led to his friendship withThe Sex Pistols, leading him to document many of their early gigs.
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Temple's first film was a shortdocumentary calledSex Pistols Number 1, which set out to show the rise of the band from 1976 to 1977, in a series of short clips from television interviews and gigs. This led to Temple makingThe Great Rock And Roll Swindle, another documentary. As band membersJohnny Rotten andSid Vicious had left the band by this time, the story of the group is told from the viewpoint of theirmanager,Malcolm McLaren.
The Great Rock And Roll Swindle tells of the rise of The Sex Pistols, apparently as manipulated by McLaren, and how he had shaped the band throughout their short career. Many of the 'facts' given by McLaren were disputed by John Lydon (who had dropped the Johnny Rotten name after leaving the band), who accused McLaren of using the film to attack him personally. This helped split opinion on the film as, although it was praised for attempting to capture some of the punk scene of the time, it was seen as too skewed towards McLaren's vision. Controversy aside, Temple was praised[by whom?] for his mix of animated scenes, documentary footage, and specially shot footage which he used to tell McLaren's story. This helped launch Temple into a career makingmusic videos, something for which he would be best known for much of his career.
In 1983, Temple directed a film for the BBCArena series calledIt's All True, named after the 1942 unfinishedOrson Welles film.Compered by Welles himself, the film comprised many short segments about the state of the video industry, both real and imagined, many featuring cameos by celebrities includingMel Brooks,Grace Jones,[4]Ray Davies, andKoo Stark.[5] This was followed by Temple's next theatrical release, the short filmJazzin' for Blue Jean featuringDavid Bowie which was released as a support feature toThe Company of Wolves. By 1985, Temple was now well known for being a director of successful music videos by the Kinks, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and other British artists, several of which were early, groundbreaking, videos for the new MTV channel, but he was yet to direct a major film.
In 1986, Temple directed the film version ofColin MacInnes' bookAbsolute Beginners. One of the most expensive films in British history, the fate of thestudios involved (as well as several careers) were dependent on the success of the film. The film was critically panned in the UK. As it was a musical, rather than a straight adaptation of the book, it was attacked for a lack of narrative; it was also called "a series of badly-linked music videos".Absolute Beginners was financially unsuccessful and was partly responsible for theGoldcrest company goingbankrupt. Temple found himself being blamed personally for the failure. He moved to the United States, where he was offered the filmEarth Girls Are Easy, as well as a series of music videos for such artists asDuran Duran,Janet Jackson,Neil Young andTom Petty. He set up the Nitrate Film production company in 1986 with his wife, producer Amanda Temple.[6][7]
Temple returned to the UK in the late 1990s, where he continued to make films and music videos.Vigo: Passion for Life (1998) recounts the passionate relationship between French film makerJean Vigo (1905–34) and his wife Lydou, who both suffered fromtuberculosis. The film was not well received. A reviewer inSight & Sound commented that the film "although absolutely faithful to the facts, is absolutely dreadful".[8]
Films which followed includedPandæmonium (2001), a critically acclaimed film about the friendship betweenRomanticpoetsSamuel Taylor Coleridge andWilliam Wordsworth, andThe Filth and the Fury (2000), another documentary about The Sex Pistols. This time the film was made with the full cooperation of the surviving members of the band and told the story of the band from their viewpoint. This film mixed newly shot footage and interviews with footage culled fromThe Great Rock and Roll Swindle and previously unseen interviews. The film was a critical success and was seen as setting the record straight in regard to the history of The Sex Pistols.
Between 2002 and 2005, Temple completed a feature-length documentary about theGlastonbury Festival. This involved him shooting footage at the festival as well as drawing on the vast amount of archival footage, as well as footage sent in by fans of the festival. It was released in the UK in April 2006.
In 2006, Temple made a film of the life of his friend, inJoe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. It premiered in January 2007.
In November 2007, Temple filmed several of the Sex Pistols' comeback shows at the Brixton Academy in London. This was followed by several filming sessions with each member of the band as they re-visited their old London haunts. The footage was assembled into a new documentary film released on DVD in 2008 asThe Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be An England, bringing Temple's association with the Sex Pistols up to date.
In June 2008, Temple filmed three concerts byMadness at theHackney Empire. These concerts were previews of the band's forthcoming album,The Liberty of Norton Folgate.[9]
In 2009, Temple directed the third film in his punk trilogy,Oil City Confidential, which celebrated the Canvey Island legendsDr. Feelgood, and a hymn to theMotor City entitledRequiem For Detroit? (2010).
In 2010, Temple directed the biographyRay Davies: Imaginary Man. Previously, he had directed severalKinks videos. Also, he was referred to by name in The Kinks songToo Hot from theirWord of Mouth album: "Julien's on the street today/ Scouting out locations..."
In 2011, Temple returned to Glastonbury to further document the legendary festival. The resulting 75-minute film, titled"Glastonbury After Hours: Glastopia", was shot on location in the Shangri-La, Arcadia, the Unfair Ground, Strummerville, Block 9 and the Common areas. It was premiered on BBC4 on 15 June 2012.
On 4 March 2013, it was announced thatJesse L. Martin would replaceLenny Kravitz asMarvin Gaye inSexual Healing, directed by Temple, and produced by Vassal Benton and Fred Bestall.[10][11] With approximately 70% of the film completed[12] and only three weeks to go on a planned nine-and-a-half-week shoot, production was stopped on the biopic, primarily due to financial problems.[13] (Crew members were said to have not been paid fully for their work on the film.)[12]
With his wife, Amanda (Pirie) Temple,[14] Temple has a daughter, the actressJuno, and two sons.
His sister,Nina Temple, was the last General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Great Britain.[15]
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