28 Facts About Michael Winterbottom

Michael Winterbottom was born on 29 March 1961 and is an English film director.

Michael Winterbottom began his career working in British television before moving into features.

Michael Winterbottom's television directing career began with a documentary about Ingmar Bergman and an episode of the children's series Dramarama in 1989.

Michael Winterbottom followed this with the television film Forget About Me in 1990, starring Ewen Bremner, which followed two British soldiers who become involved in a love triangle with a young Hungarian hitch-hiker on their way to Budapest for a Simple Minds concert.

Michael Winterbottom next directed the 1994 mini-series Family, written by Roddy Doyle.

Michael Winterbottom's final early television project was a 1995 episode of the documentary series Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood, focusing on Scandinavian silent cinema.

In 1996, Michael Winterbottom adapted his favourite novel, Thomas Hardy's bleak classic Jude the Obscure, the tale of forbidden love between two cousins which had so scandalized British society on its release in 1895 that Hardy gave up novel-writing.

Michael Winterbottom followed that project up with his biggest budgeted film, The Claim, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge set in 1860s California.

Michael Winterbottom followed that with 2006's A Cock and Bull Story, which was released in the United States and Australia as Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.

Michael Winterbottom's The Road to Guantanamo is a docu-drama about the "Tipton Three", three British Muslims captured by US forces in Afghanistan who spent two years as prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as alleged enemy combatants.

Michael Winterbottom was reunited with his The Road to Guantanamo co-director Mat Whitecross on a documentary based on Naomi Klein's bestselling book The Shock Doctrine.

Michael Winterbottom's film of Jim Thompson's 1952 noir novel, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba is a period film which follows a small town Texas sheriff, who is a psychotic killer, through his descent into complete madness.

Michael Winterbottom's modern retelling of Tess of the d'Urbervilles is his third Thomas Hardy film.

Michael Winterbottom filmed a second series of the hit BBC show in the summer of 2013, this time taking Coogan and Brydon on a culinary driving tour through Italy.

Michael Winterbottom returned to Italy in November 2013 to shoot The Face of an Angel, starring Daniel Bruhl, Kate Beckinsale, and Cara Delevingne.

Michael Winterbottom traveled to Perugia, Italy in 2010 and attended court hearings in the Knox case for research on the project.

Michael Winterbottom said at the time that the film would be fictionalized and focus on journalists and the media circus surrounding the trial more than on the actual events in dispute.

Michael Winterbottom reunited with Coogan and Brydon for a third six-episode series in which the duo travel through Spain, visiting Cantabria, the Basque region, Aragon, La Rioja, Castile-La Mancha and Andalusia.

Michael Winterbottom began filming his portion of this film on 5 September 2020.

Michael Winterbottom co-directed the 2022 documentary Eleven Days in May The film focuses on the deaths of over 60 Palestinian children who were killed by Israel during its bombing of Gaza over an eleven day period in May 2021.

Originally titled This Sceptred Isle, Michael Winterbottom was set to direct every episode of the miniseries, which he co-wrote with Kieron Quirke.

However, after filming began in February 2021, Michael Winterbottom stepped down from directing in March, reportedly due to health issues.

In 2017, it was announced that Michael Winterbottom was developing a 10-part TV series with Annapurna Pictures about the war in Syria, focusing on the involvement of foreign journalists and Non-governmental organizations.

Michael Winterbottom first announced in May 2017 that he was researching the project.

Michael Winterbottom was attached in May 2014 to direct a feature adaptation of Richard Hammer's 1982 book The Vatican Connection, the true story of how NYPD detective Joe Coffey uncovered connections between the Vatican and the Mafia while investigating a local New York mobster, leading to a global investigation.

Michael Winterbottom was attached in October 2011 to direct an adaption of Richard DiLello's 1973 book, The Longest Cocktail Party.

Michael Winterbottom was attached in May 2011 to direct this adaptation of author Jess Walter's novel The Financial Lives of the Poets, which Walter adapted for the screen.

Michael Winterbottom was married to Sabrina Broadbent, with whom he has two daughters.