Garth Jennings | |
|---|---|
 Jennings in 2008 | |
| Born | |
| Occupation(s) | Director Screenwriter Actor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse | Louise Jennings |
Garth Jennings is an English director, screenwriter and actor. He has directed the feature filmsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,Son of Rambow, the animated filmSing and itssequelSing 2. He co-founded the production companyHammer & Tongs with his collaboratorNick Goldsmith.
Jennings was born inEssex, England.[1]
In 1993, Garth Jennings co-founded the production companyHammer & Tongs alongside Dominic Leung andNick Goldsmith. The production company was primarily responsible for directing and writing music videos.[2][3][4] Their music video forRadiohead's song "Lotus Flower" earned Jennings a nomination at the54th Annual Grammy Awards.
Garth Jennings directed a number of films including the 2005 science fiction comedy filmThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,[3] based upon previous works in themedia franchise of the same name, created byDouglas Adams. It starsMartin Freeman,Sam Rockwell,Mos Def,Zooey Deschanel and the voices ofStephen Fry,Helen Mirren andAlan Rickman.
Set over a summer during the dawn ofThatcher's Britain,Son of Rambow is acoming of age story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired byFirst Blood. The film premiered on 22 January 2007 at theSundance Film Festival.[5] It was later shown at theNewport Beach Film Festival,Seattle International Film Festival,Toronto International Film Festival andGlasgow Film Festival.[6] The film was also shown at the 51st BFILondon Film Festival.Son of Rambow was released in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2008 and opened inlimited release in the United States on 2 May 2008.[7]
In January 2014, it was announced that Garth Jennings would write and direct an animated comedy film forUniversal Pictures andIllumination Entertainment.[8] The resulting film,Sing, was released in December 2016.[9] He also provided the voice for Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana employed as an administrative assistant to Buster Moon.[10] A sequel, titledSing 2, was released on 22 December 2021.
Garth Jennings directed, wrote and co-produced a short film titledMadame that was released in 2019. This film takes place inside a grand Parisian apartment where lives an elegant elderly lady. And inside this lady lives a monster.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Yes | No |
| 2008 | Son of Rambow | Yes | Yes |
| 2016 | Sing | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Sing 2 | Yes | Yes |
Acting credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | 'Fun Dead' Zombie | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Frankie Mouse | Voice role |
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | Crack Addict | |
| 2009 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Bean's Son | Voice role |
| 2013 | The World's End | Man in Pub No. 5 | |
| 2016 | Sing | Miss Crawly | Voice role |
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2 | Hamster | |
| 2021 | Sing 2 | Miss Crawly |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Madame | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2024 | Sing: Thriller[11] | Yes | Yes | No |
Acting credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion | Fritz | |
| 2017 | Love at First Sight | Miss Crawly | Voice role |
| 2024 | Sing: Thriller |
| Year | Song | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Hit" | The Wannadies |
| "Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out" | Bentley Rhythm Ace | |
| "Help the Aged" | Pulp | |
| 1998 | "A Little Soul" | |
| "Cancer for the Cure" | Eels | |
| "Last Stop: This Town" | ||
| "Saint Joe on the School Bus" | Marcy Playground | |
| "The Flipside" | Moloko | |
| 1999 | "Coffee And TV" | Blur |
| "Pumping on Your Stereo" | Supergrass | |
| "Right Here, Right Now" | Fatboy Slim | |
| "Summertime Blues" | Guitar Wolf | |
| 2000 | "Theme from Gutbuster" | Bentley Rhythm Ace |
| "Disillusion" | Badly Drawn Boy | |
| 2001 | "Pissing in the Wind" | |
| "Imitation of Life" | R.E.M. | |
| 2002 | "Lost Cause" | Beck |
| 2005 | "Hell Yes" | |
| "Low C" | Supergrass | |
| 2007 | "Nude" | Radiohead |
| "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" | ||
| 2008 | "A-Punk" | Vampire Weekend |
| 2009 | "Cousins" | |
| 2011 | "Lotus Flower" | Radiohead |
| 2013 | "Ingenue" | Atoms For Peace |
| Year | Film | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Da Ali G Show | Royal Television Society UK | Best Graphic Design – Titles | Won |
| Supergrass: Pumping on Your Stereo | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Art Direction in a video | Nominated | |
| 2001 | R.E.M.: Imitation of Life | Best Direction in a video | Nominated | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | The Artios Award – Casting Society of AmericaArchived 2 November 2013 at theWayback Machine | Best Featured Film Casting-Comedy | Nominated |
| 2006 | Golden Trailer Award | Most Original[12] | Won | |
| OFTA Film Awards | Best Music, Original Song | Nominated | ||
| Empire Awards UK | Best British Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Comedy | Nominated | |||
| Golden Trailer Awards | Best Voice Over | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Son of Rambow | British Independent Film Awards | Best Director | Nominated |
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| Most Promising Newcomer for Bill Milner and Will Poulter | Nominated | |||
| Locarno International Film Festival | Audience Award | Won | ||
| Variety Piazza Grande Award | Nominated | |||
| National Board of Review USA | Top Independent Films | Won | ||
| 2009 | BAFTA Awards | Most Promising Newcomer | Nominated | |
| Empire Awards UK | Best Comedy | Won | ||
| Best British Film | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Radiohead: Lotus Flower | Grammy Awards | Best Short Form Music Video | Nominated |
| 2017 | Sing[13] | Golden Globe Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Nominated |
| Best Original Song "Faith" –Ryan Tedder,Stevie Wonder andFrancis Farewell Starlite | Nominated | |||
| Annie Awards | Music in an Animated Feature Production forJoby Talbot | Nominated | ||
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Song for an Animated Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Soundtrack Album | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Music Supervision for Jojo Villanueva | Won | |||
| Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Movie | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Voice from an animated movie for Reese Witherspoon | Nominated | |||
| Most wanted pet for Reese Witherspoon | Nominated | |||
| Favorite Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
| Behind the Voice ActorsAwards | Best Male Vocal Performance in a feature film in a supporting role as the voice of "Miss Crawly" | Nominated | ||
| British Academy Children's Awards | Feature Film | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Nominated | ||
| AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Movie for grownups who refuse to grow up | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Madame | Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival | Best Short Live Action / Best Short Animation | Won |
| Seattle International Film Festival | Best Film | Nominated | ||
| HollyShorts Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| DC Shorts FestivalArchived 8 March 2018 at theWayback Machine | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Thriller! Chiller! | Best Chill | Won | ||
| Screamfest Horror Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Santa Fe Independent Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Sapporo International Short Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Cambridge Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Aesthetica Short Film Festival | Best Thriller | Won | ||
| Foyle Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Druk International Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Shockfest Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Bahamas International Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated | ||
| Anchorage International Film Festival | Best Narrative Short | Won | ||
| Horror Bowl Movie AwardsArchived 20 September 2020 at theWayback Machine | Best Short | Won | ||
| London Short Film Festival | Official Selections | Nominated |
| Year | Title | Publishing house |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Deadly 7 | Pan Macmillan |
| 2017 | The Wildest Cowboy (illustrated by Sara Ogilvie) | Pan Macmillan |
| 2019 | The Good, The Bad and the Deadly 7 | Pan Macmillan |
| 2021 | The Curse of the Deadly 7 | Pan Macmillan |
