Taylor Hackford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taylor Hackford
Born	Taylor Edwin Hackford December 31, 1944 (1944-12-31) (age 63) Santa Barbara, California
Spouse(s)	Georgie Lowres Lynne Littman Helen Mirren (1997 to present)
Awards won Academy Awards Best Live Action Short Film 1978 Teenage Father Grammy Awards Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media 2006 Ray

Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an Academy Award-winning American film director.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Filmography 2.1 Director and producer 2.2 Director 2.3 Producer 2.4 Actor 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Hackford was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Mary (née Taylor), a waitress, and Joseph Hackford.^[1] He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1968, where he was a pre-law major focusing on international relations and economics. After graduating, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, where he started using Super 8 film in his spare time. He decided that he did not want to pursue a career in law, and instead got a mailroom position at KCET-TV.^[2][3]

[edit] Career

Hackford received an Oscar in 1979 for the short film Teenage Father. He received two Oscar nominations in 2004 for the Ray Charles biopic Ray. He was awarded the 2005 Film Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing.

Richard Gere balked at shooting the ending of Hackford's movie An Officer and a Gentleman where his character arrives at his lover's factory wearing his naval dress whites and carries her off from the factory floor. Gere thought the ending wouldn't work because it was too sentimental. Hackford was initially inclined to agree with Gere until during a rehearsal the extras playing the workers began to cheer and cry. When Gere saw the scene later with the music underneath it at the right tempo, he said it sent chills up the back of his neck. Gere is now convinced Hackford made the right decision.^[4] Hackford kept Lou Gossett Jr. in separate living quarters from the other actors during An Officer and a Gentleman so he could intimidate them more during his scenes as a drill instructor.^[5]

About his film, The Idolmaker, Hackford stated: "I make films about working-class people; show business is one of those things through which people can get themselves out of the lower rung of society. To me, the compelling story in "The Idolmaker" is the guy with a wonderful talent and a fairly strong ego has [that] to make it happen through puppets."^[6] Hackford stated about his movie Ray: "My proudest moments in "Ray" were in those 'chitlin' clubs. Ray Charles ended his life in concert halls, where people would go in tuxedos and quietly listen to a genius perform. But in these clubs, he had to get people up dancing. What I tried to create was a little of that energy and exuberance. The great thing about music is when you can get people on their feet."^[7]

In a recent interview, he confirmed that he never watched his own films, "When I finish a film, I put it away and I never look at it again. Occasionally I do now because of the DVDs and the commentary tracks. I usually put it aside and go onto the next. I never went to film school. I worked for the KCET public television station in L.A. I worked in concerts. I have done a lot of music. I feel very comfortable shooting music, and I think you can see that."^[8]

On April 11, 2006, Hackford announced that he would be making his directorial debut on Broadway by bringing the 1992 Steve Martin film Leap of Faith to the stage as a Broadway musical. The score was written by Alan Menkin with lyrics by Glenn Slater, and is aiming for a 2007-2008 season debut. Hackford chose "Leap of Faith" even though he had previously been offered the opportunity to bring his film Ray to the stage. "What got me here was Alan Menken's score and how it so beautifully fit the book," Hackford said.^[9]

[edit] Personal life

Hackford has been married to Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren since 1997. Hackford met Mirren when he was directing her in White Nights and their first meeting did not go well. He kept her waiting to audition for White Nights, and she was icy. “It was a strange way to meet Helen, because she is a lovely person,” says Hackford, “but she didn’t hold back her fury.”^[10] Hackford and Mirren wed in 1997 after 12 years together. As a young woman Mirren had vowed never to marry.^[11]

Hackford has two grown children from his two previous marriages.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Director and producer

• Bukowski—1973
• Against All Odds—1984
• White Nights—1985
• Everybody's All-American—1988
• Dolores Claiborne—1995
• Devil's Advocate—1997 (executive producer)
• Proof of Life—2000
• Ray—2004

[edit] Director

• Teenage Father—1978
• The Idolmaker —1980
• An Officer and a Gentleman—1982
• Roll Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll—1987
• Blood In Blood Out—1993
• Smooth Criminal: The Michael Jackson Story—2007

[edit] Producer

• La Bamba—1987
• The Long Walk Home—1990 (executive producer)
• When We Were Kings—1996
• G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time—1999

[edit] Actor

• Bukowski: Born into This—Himself (2003)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Taylor Hackford at the Internet Movie Database
• Peace Corps biography of Taylor Hackford news clips
• "Notable Former Volunteers / Arts and Literature". Peace Corps official site. Accessed 5 January 2007.

Persondata
NAME	Hackford, Taylor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hackford, Taylor Edwin
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Film director
DATE OF BIRTH	1944-12-31
PLACE OF BIRTH	Santa Barbara, California
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

v • d • e Films directed by Taylor Hackford Bukowski • Teenage Father • The Idolmaker • An Officer and a Gentleman • Against All Odds • White Nights • Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll • Everybody's All-American • Blood in Blood Out • Dolores Claiborne • The Devil's Advocate • Proof of Life • Ray

v • d • e Golden Orange Honorary Award Ömer Lütfi Akad (1983) · Sezer Sezin (1984) · Metin Erksan (1987) · Helen Mirren-Taylor Hackford-Norman Jewison (2006) · Shekhar Kapur-Francis Ford Coppola-Hanna Schygulla (2007)