Bruce Beresford | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Beresford in 2016 | |
| Born | (1940-08-16)16 August 1940 (age 85) Paddington, New South Wales, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970–present |
| Spouse | Virginia Duigan |
Bruce Beresford (/ˈbɛrɪsfərd/; born 16 August 1940[1]) is an Australian film director,opera director,[2] screenwriter, and producer. He began his career during theAustralian New Wave, and has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. He is a two-timeAcademy Award nominee, and a four-timeAACTA/AFI Awards winner out of 10 total nominations
Beresford's films includeBreaker Morant (1980),Tender Mercies (1983),Crimes of the Heart (1986),Driving Miss Daisy (1989) – which won four Oscars includingBest Picture,[3][4]Black Robe (1991),Silent Fall (1994),Double Jeopardy (1999),Mao's Last Dancer (2009), andLadies in Black (2018). He was nominated for Academy Awards forBest Adapted Screenplay forBreaker Morant, andBest Director forTender Mercies. He wonAACTA/AFI Awards –Best Direction (2) forDon's Party (1976) andBreaker Morant, andBest Screenplay (2) forBreaker Morant andThe Fringe Dwellers (1986).
In addition, four of Beresford's films have been nominated for thePalme d'Or, and four have been nominated for theGolden Bear. He has also been nominated for twoBAFTA Awards, aGolden Globe Award, aDirectors Guild of America Award, and won aGenie Award.
Beresford was born inPaddington, New South Wales, the son of Lona (née Warr) and Leslie Beresford, who sold electrical goods.[5] He grew up in the then outer-western suburb ofToongabbie, and went to The Meadows Public School and thenThe King's School, Parramatta. He made several short films in his teens includingThe Hunter (1959).[6]
He completed aBachelor of Arts majoring in English at theUniversity of Sydney, where he graduated in 1964. While at university he made the short filmThe Devil to Pay (1962) starringJohn Bell andRon Blair,It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain (1963) co-directed byAlbie Thoms and starringGermaine Greer,Clement Meadmore (1963) with Bell andKing-size Woman (1965).[7]
Beresford then moved to England in search of film work. He could not break into the British film scene, so he answered an advertisement for an editing job inNigeria, where he worked for two years, inEnugu.[6]
He then returned to England and worked for theBritish Film Institute as a producer of short films by first-time directors, includingMagritte: The False Mirror (1970) andParadigm (1970).
Beresford directed the documentaryLichtenstein in London (1968) aboutRoy Lichtenstein, andExtravaganza (1968),Barbara Hepworth at the Tate (1970),The Cinema of Raymond Fark (1970), andArts of Village India (1972).
Beresford returned to Australia to make his first feature film,The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), which he also wrote withBarry Humphries. The film, produced byPhillip Adams, was a box office success in England and Australia, but Beresford later said making the film was a "mistake" because reviews were so bad that he had trouble finding other work.[8]
Beresford directed a documentary for TV,The Wreck of the Batavia (1973) and did some other TV films,Poor Fella Me (1973), andMonster or Miracle? Sydney Opera House (1973). These were financed byReg Grundy who also financed Beresford's second feature as director,Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974), a sequel toBarry McKenzie.
Stranded in London without funds, Beresford agreed to direct and co-write a comedy,Side by Side (1975) starring Humphries andTerry-Thomas (this poorly received film was released on DVD in 2013).[9] The money he received enabled him to return to Australia where, Beresford says, Phillip Adams "saved my life" by offering him the job of directing an acclaimed version ofDavid Williamson's playDon's Party (1976).[8]
Soon afterwards, Beresford directed an adaptation ofHenry Handel Richardson's novelThe Getting of Wisdom (1977), also produced by Adams.
Beresford signed a contract with theSouth Australian Film Corporation for whom he wrote and directed a thriller,Money Movers (1979), which was a box office disappointment. He did some uncredited directing on the SAFC'sBlue Fin (1978), then co-wrote and directedBreaker Morant (1980).[10] The latter film was a notable success at the box office and earned Beresford an Oscar nomination. It was widely seen in Hollywood and Beresford began to receive US offers.
Beresford directedThe Club (1980), from another Williamson play, andPuberty Blues (1981).
Beresford received an offer fromEMI Films to directHorton Foote'sTender Mercies (1983). StarRobert Duvall won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance and Beresford earned a Best Director nomination.
He followed it withKing David (1985) starringRichard Gere, which was a notable box office failure.[8]
Beresford returned to Australia to directThe Fringe Dwellers (1986), co-written with his first wife, Rhoisin Beresford.[11] In the US he directedCrimes of the Heart (1986) from the play byBeth Henley, did a segment of the filmAria (1987), and did the comedy thrillerHer Alibi (1989) withTom Selleck.
Beresford directedDriving Miss Daisy (1989) withMorgan Freeman andJessica Tandy, based on the play byAlfred Uhry. It won theAcademy Award for Best Picture, although Beresford was not nominated as director. The film was a commercial and critical success.
Asked if he minded not even being nominated for the Best Director Oscar forDriving Miss Daisy, Beresford said: "No, not at all. I didn't think it was that well directed. It was very well written. When the writing's that good, you've really just got to set the camera up and photograph it."[12]
He directedMister Johnson (1990) in Nigeria, withEdward Woodward;Black Robe (1991), an Australian-Canadian film based on the novel by Brian Moore;Rich in Love (1992), co-written by Uhry;A Good Man in Africa (1994) withSean Connery from a novel by William Boyd, which in 2015 Beresford called his worst film;[13]Silent Fall (1994), which was nominated for theGolden Bear at the45th Berlin International Film Festival;[14] andLast Dance (1996) withSharon Stone.
He adapted but did not directCurse of the Starving Class (1994).[15]
Beresford returned to Australia to directParadise Road (1997), which was a commercial disappointment. He directed a documentary,Sydney: A Story of a City (1999), then had a hit with the thrillerDouble Jeopardy (1999).
Beresford madeBride of the Wind (2001);Evelyn (2002) with Pierce Brosnan; andAnd Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) withAntonio Banderas.
He spent several years looking for financing for various projects before makingThe Contract (2006) with Freeman and Cusack. He followed it with a TV filmOrpheus (2006) and returned to Australia to makeMao's Last Dancer (2009) which was also filmed in Houston, Texas.
Beresford's later credits includePeace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011) with Jane Fonda, the documentaryH.H. Dalai Lama: Essence of Mahayana Buddhism (2011), the mini seriesBonnie & Clyde (2013),Mr. Church (2016) withEddie Murphy, an episode of the remake ofRoots (2017), the TV movieFlint (2017) and the Australian filmLadies in Black (2018).[16]
In addition to films, Bruce Beresford has also directed several operas and theatre productions. In 1996, he directed aPortland Opera (Oregon) production of theStephen Sondheim musicalSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.[17]
In 2016, he directedBenjamin Britten's operaAlbert Herring for the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, in a production conducted byNicholas Cleobury.
He often works with film editorMark Warner. (See:List of film director and editor collaborations)
In 2012, he directed a production ofErich Wolfgang Korngold's operaDie tote Stadt forOpera Australia.
In 2018, he directed the Australian premiere of Rossini'sOtello forMelbourne Opera.
Beresford is a contributor toThe Spectator Australia.[18]
In August 2007, he published a memoir,Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants To Do This... True Stories From A Life in the Screen Trade.[19]
Beresford's second wife is novelist Virginia Duigan, sister of film director and editorJohn Duigan.[20] He has five adult children and now works both in Australia and the United States.[citation needed]
Beresford attended theUniversity of Sydney with critic and documentary makerClive James, art critic and aficionadoRobert Hughes, activist and authorGermaine Greer, journalistBob Ellis, poetLes Murray, and writerMungo McCallum. His contemporary and friend, actor and theatre directorJohn Bell, shared a house and also did some film acting. Beresford was close friends with Australian comedian, satirist and character actorBarry Humphries, best known for his on-stage/television alter egoDame Edna Everage, and his family.
| Film Award | Year | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards | 1977 | Don's Party | Best Direction | Won |
| 1980 | Breaker Morant | Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted | Won | |
| Best Direction | Won | |||
| 1981 | The Club | Best Direction | Nominated | |
| 1986 | The Fringe Dwellers | Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted | Won | |
| Best Direction | Nominated | |||
| 1992 | Black Robe | Best Direction | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | Best Direction | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Ladies in Black | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |
| Best Direction | Nominated | |||
| 2026 | The Travellers | Best Direction | Nominated | |
| N/a | Longford Lyell Award | Honoured | ||
| Academy Awards | 1981 | Breaker Morant | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 1984 | Tender Mercies | Best Director | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Film Awards | 1991 | Driving Miss Daisy | Best Direction | Nominated |
| Best Film | Nominated | |||
| David di Donatello | 1981 | Breaker Morant | Best Foreign Screenplay | Nominated |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 1984 | Tender Mercies | Outstanding Directing - Feature Film | Nominated |
| Genie Awards | 1991 | Black Robe | Best Director | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1984 | Tender Mercies | Best Director - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| Year | Film | Academy Awards | BAFTAs | Golden Globes | AACTAs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | ||
| 1976 | Don's Party | 8 | 6 | ||||||
| 1977 | The Getting of Wisdom | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| 1978 | Money Movers | 3 | |||||||
| 1980 | Breaker Morant | 1 | 1 | 13 | 10 | ||||
| The Club | 7 | ||||||||
| 1983 | Tender Mercies | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||||
| 1986 | The Fringe Dwellers | 7 | 1 | ||||||
| Crimes of the Heart | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 1989 | Driving Miss Daisy | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1991 | Black Robe | 10 | 1 | ||||||
| 2009 | Mao's Last Dancer | 8 | 1 | ||||||
| 2018 | Ladies in Black | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 18 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 72 | 24 | |
Directed Academy Award Performances
Under Beresford's direction, these actors have receivedAcademy Award nominations and wins for their performances in these respective roles.
| Year | Performer | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Award for Best Actor | |||
| 1984 | Robert Duvall | Tender Mercies | Won |
| 1990 | Morgan Freeman | Driving Miss Daisy | Nominated |
| Academy Award for Best Actress | |||
| 1987 | Sissy Spacek | Crimes of the Heart | Nominated |
| 1990 | Jessica Tandy | Driving Miss Daisy | Won |
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |||
| 1990 | Dan Aykroyd | Driving Miss Daisy | Nominated |
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |||
| 1987 | Tess Harper | Crimes of the Heart | Nominated |
| International | |
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| Academics | |
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| Other | |
