Biografia
Michael Deeley, an Oscar-winning film producer, has produced over 20 films, including classics such as The Italian Job, The Deer Hunter, and Blade Runner. His work spans major studios like Universal, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Columbia, United Artists, EMI, HBO, CBS, and NBC.
Born in London in 1932, Deeley was educated at Stowe and served as a Second Lieutenant in the British Army in Malaya. He entered the film industry in 1952 as an assistant editor, working with Jacques Tati and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., before joining the editing team for several US TV series, including the popular Robin Hood.
In 1956, Deeley produced his first film featuring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. After two B-pictures, he joined MCA Universal in 1958 as head of TV film distribution in Great Britain.
By 1964, Deeley had become General Manager and producer at Woodfall Films, London’s most innovative production company, which produced a series of films culminating in the Oscar-winning Tom Jones. During his leadership, he oversaw the production of the swinging-sixties classic The Knack, which won the prestigious Palme d'Or.
In the late 1960s, working independently, Deeley produced several films for Paramount Pictures, including The Italian Job starring Michael Caine and Noël Coward, and Murphy's War starring Peter O'Toole. In 1967, he was involved in a successful bid for the British independent TV franchise covering Wales and the West of England.
In 1973, Deeley became managing director and later owner of British Lion Films, which produced eight successful films across Britain, Italy, and the USA, including Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth, as well as Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man, which later gained a cult following.
In the mid-1970s, Deeley sold British Lion to EMI and became Managing Director of EMI Films Ltd and President of EMI Films Inc. Notable films during this period included Sam Peckinpah's Convoy and Death On The Nile. In 1979, he won an Oscar as producer of The Deer Hunter, starring Robert De Niro. EMI Films Inc also invested in Columbia Pictures' Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and The Deep.
In 1982, Deeley completed work with Ridley Scott on Blade Runner, a four-year project that became the most significant film of his career.
From 1985 to 1990, he served as Head of Production for Consolidated Entertainment Inc, overseeing numerous TV movies, including the period drama Young Catherine starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Michael Deeley is Deputy Chairman of The British Screen Advisory Council and has recently finished his autobiography, Don't Shoot The Producer.
