English screenwriter, novelist, and actor
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
[1]
(born 23 September 1959)
[2]
is an
English
screenwriter
,
novelist
and occasional actor, known for his
children's fiction
and for his collaborations with film director
Michael Winterbottom
. He has achieved fame as the writer for the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
and for sequels to
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car
, a children's classic by
Ian Fleming
.
[3]
Cottrell-Boyce has won two major British awards for children's books, the 2004
Carnegie Medal
for
Millions
, which originated as a film script, and the 2012
Guardian Prize
for
The Unforgotten Coat
, which was commissioned by a charity.
[3]
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Cottrell-Boyce was born in 1959 in
Bootle
near Liverpool to a
Catholic
family. He moved to
Rainhill
,
[5]
while still at primary school.
[
clarification needed
]
[6]
He attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill
[7]
and
West Park Grammar School
.
[5]
He was greatly influenced by reading
Moomins
growing up.
[8]
He read English at
Keble College, Oxford
, where he went on to earn a
doctorate
. He wrote criticism for the magazine
Living Marxism
. As a result, there was supposedly always a copy of the magazine on sale in the newsagent set of long-running British soap
Coronation Street
, while Cottrell-Boyce was on the writing staff of that programme.
He met Denise Cottrell, a fellow Keble undergraduate, and they married in Keble College chapel. Together they have seven children.
[9]
He is also a patron of the
Insight Film Festival
,
[10]
a biennial, interfaith festival held in
Manchester
, UK, to make positive contributions to understanding, respect and community cohesion.
[11]
Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, one of the couple's sons, is also a writer.
[12]
Career
[
edit
]
He was a leading light in the Liverpool band "Dead Trout" in 1979.
After he met
Michael Winterbottom
, the two collaborated on
Forget About Me
. Winterbottom made five further films based on screenplays written by Cottrell-Boyce,
Butterfly Kiss
,
Welcome to Sarajevo
,
The Claim
,
24 Hour Party People
and
Code 46
. Their 2005 collaboration,
A Cock and Bull Story
, is their last according to Cottrell-Boyce, who asked that his contribution be credited to "Martin Hardy", a
pseudonym
. He told
Variety
, "I just had to move on ... what better way to walk away than by giving Winterbottom a good script for free?"
[13]
Other film directors Cottrell-Boyce has worked with include
Danny Boyle
(
Millions
),
Alex Cox
(
Revengers Tragedy
), Richard Laxton (
Grow Your Own
) and
Anand Tucker
(
Hilary and Jackie
).
Cottrell-Boyce has been praised by
Roger Ebert
as one of the few truly inventive modern-day screenwriters. He has spoken against the "three-act structure" and the "hero's journey" formulas, which are often regarded as axiomatic truths in the business
[14]
[
clarification needed
]
. perhaps his most famous example of this is in
24 Hour Party People
where the character of
Anthony Wilson
states that “Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. This is Manchester. We do things differently. This is the second act” which Cottrell-Boyce has stated was due to criticism of the script not following the three act structure.
[15]
In addition to original scripts, Cottrell-Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction. His first novel
Millions
was based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name; it was published by
Macmillan
in 2004. Cottrell-Boyce won the annual
Carnegie Medal
from the
British librarians
, recognising it as the year's best children's book published in the U.K.
[16]
[17]
His next novel
Framed
, he made the shortlist for both the Carnegie
[18]
and the
Whitbread Children's Book Award
. He adapted it as a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. He made the Carnegie shortlist again for
Cosmic
(2008).
[18]
In 2011, he was commissioned to write a sequel to the Ian Fleming children's book
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
,
[19]
which was published in October 2011 as
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again
.
[20]
In addition to
Coronation Street
, he wrote many episodes of the soap opera
Brookside
, as well as its spin-offs
Damon and Debbie
and
South
.
He wrote and staged his first original theatre production
Proper Clever
at the Liverpool Playhouse during the city's European Capital of Culture Year, in 2008. On 18 September 2010, he co-presented the Papal Visit at Hyde Park with TV personality
Carol Vorderman
. In June 2012, he assumed the position of Professor of Reading (the first such professorship) at
Liverpool Hope University
.
[21]
Cottrell-Boyce was the writer
[5]
[22]
[23]
of the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
, whose storyline he based on
Shakespeare
's
The Tempest
.
[21]
He collaborated with director
Danny Boyle
and other members of the creative team, including designer
Mark Tildesley
,
[22]
in the development of the story and themes, and wrote "short documents that told the story of each segment"
[24]
to provide context for choreographers, builders and other participants. He also wrote the brochure,
[22]
[24]
the stadium announcements
[22]
and the media guide for presenter
Huw Edwards
.
[5]
[24]
Three months later, Cottrell-Boyce won the 2012
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
for
The Unforgotten Coat
.
[4]
That story of a crosscultural friendship was inspired by a
Mongolian
girl he met as a writer visiting her school, whose family was subsequently deported by the British immigration office. It was commissioned by Reader Organisation of Liverpool and 50,000 copies were given away.
[25]
The Guardian Prize is judged by a panel of British children's writers and recognises the year's best book by an author who has not yet won it. Interviewed by the sponsoring newspaper, Cottrell-Boyce told
The Guardian
that "I'm definitely a children's writer[;] that's what I want to be. I'm always trying to get rid of everything else. ... The movies I'm doing are ones that have been on the blocks for a long time."
[3]
Cottrell-Boyce was made an Honorary Doctor of Literature at
Edge Hill University
on 16 July 2013.
[26]
In 2014, Cottrell-Boyce wrote an episode of
Doctor Who
, titled "
In the Forest of the Night
". He also wrote the second episode of the
tenth series
, "
Smile
".
[27]
In September 2015, Cottrell-Boyce held the
keynote speech
at the Children´s and Young Adult Program of the 15th
Berlin International Literature Festival
.
[28]
In January 2018, he was on the victorious
Keble College
, Oxford
University Challenge
"famous alumni" team; he got almost all of the points scored by Keble (total score 240) and was lionized on social media as a consequence;
Reading University
scored 0 in that game, thus making television history.
[29]
Cottrell-Boyce is an advocate for reading aloud and patron of
The Reader Organisation.
a charity that works through volunteers to bring literature to everyone, through reading aloud in prisons, care homes and other community spaces.
[30]
Novels
[
edit
]
- Millions
(2004)
- Framed
(2005)
- Cosmic
(2008)
- Desirable
(2008)
- The Unforgotten Coat
(2011)
[31]
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again
(2011)
[32]
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time
(2012)
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon
(2013)
- The Astounding Broccoli Boy
(2015)
- Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth
(2016)
- Runaway Robot
(2019)
- Noah's Gold
(2021)
[33]
Appearances
[
edit
]
Writing credits
[
edit
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
Year
|
Award
|
Work
|
Category
|
Result
|
Reference
|
1993
|
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award
|
Coronation Street
|
TV - Original Drama Serial (with
Paul Abbott
,
Martin Allen
, Ken Blakeson, Tom Elliott,
Barry Hill
,
Stephen Mallatratt
, Julian Roach,
Adele Rose
,
Patrea Smallacombe
,
John Stevenson
,
Peter Whalley
,
Mark Wadlow
and
Phil Woods
)
|
Won
|
|
1999
|
British Academy Film Awards
|
Hilary and Jackie
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
|
Nominated
|
|
Golden Satellite Award
|
Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Adaption
|
Nominated
|
|
2001
|
British Independent Film Award
|
The Claim
|
Best Screenplay
|
Nominated
|
|
2004
|
Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival
|
Code 46
|
Best Screenplay
|
Won
|
|
2005
|
British Independent Film Award
|
Millions
|
Best Screenplay
|
Won
|
|
Humanitas Prize
|
Feature Film Category
|
Nominated
|
|
2007
|
Chlotrudis Awards
|
A Cock and Bull Story
|
Best Adapted Screenplay
|
Won
|
|
2014
|
Australian Film Critics Association Awards
|
The Railway Man
|
Best Screenplay (with
Andy Paterson
)
|
Nominated
|
|
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
|
Best Script (with Andy Paterson)
|
Won
|
|
2015
|
Australian Film Institute Award
|
Best Adapted Screenplay (with Andy Paterson)
|
Won
|
|
Awards
[
edit
]
- 2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts fur Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature (Germany),
Millions
- 2004:
Carnegie Medal
,
Millions
[16]
[17]
- 2004: Luchs des Jahres (Germany),
Millions
- 2004: Eule des Monats (Germany),
Millions
- 2005:
Branford Boase Award
, shortlist,
Millions
- 2005: Carnegie Medal, shortlist,
Framed
[18]
- 2006: Die besten 7 (Germany),
Framed
- 2008: Guardian Prize, shortlist,
Cosmic
- 2009: Carnegie Medal, shortlist,
Cosmic
[18]
- 2011:
Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award
, Honors,
Cosmic
- 2011:
Costa Book Awards
, shortlist,
The Unforgotten Coat
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Cottrell-Boyce"
.
Twitter
.
- ^
"COTTRELL-BOYCE, Frank",
Who's Who 2010
, A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 2009
[1]
. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
- ^
a
b
c
"A life in writing: Frank Cottrell Boyce"
. Susanna Rustin.
The Guardian
26 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
- ^
a
b
Guardian children's fiction prize 2012
(top page).
theguardian
. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kilmurray, Andrew (2 August 2012).
"Frank Cottrell-Boyce: 'St Helens' DNA was woven into Olympic Games Opening Ceremony'
"
.
Times Online
. Retrieved
2 August
2012
.
- ^
Craig, Amanda (6 June 2008).
"Screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce's new children's book Cosmic is his best yet. Amanda Craig meets him"
.
Times Online
. London. Archived from
the original
on 15 June 2011
. Retrieved
20 May
2010
.
- ^
"Authorgraph No.170 ? Frank Cottrell Boyce"
.
Books for Keeps
. Archived from
the original
on 21 March 2009.
- ^
"great lives"
.
Radio 4
. BBC.
- ^
"Harper Collins Authors & Illustrators: Frank Cottrell-Boyce biography"
. Harpercollinschildrens.com. 27 May 2010
. Retrieved
29 July
2012
.
- ^
"People - Insight Film Festival - Faith in Film"
. Archived from
the original
on 11 September 2016
. Retrieved
11 September
2016
.
- ^
'Five questions with… John Forresst,
Creative Times
, 6 March 2013
Archived
4 December 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Bowman, Jamie (27 March 2015).
"Merseyside author's son reveals bid to become MP"
.
Liverpool Echo
. Retrieved
29 July
2022
.
- ^
Dawtrey, Adam.
"Phantom scribe gets BIFA nom"
.
Variety
. Archived from
the original
on 28 June 2006
. Retrieved
29 July
2012
.
- ^
"How to write a screenplay"
. rogerebert.com. 9 November 2008. Archived from
the original
on 21 December 2010
. Retrieved
9 August
2012
.
- ^
@frankcottrell_b (19 August 2021).
"@hobopop @sharpegirl The line comes half way through. "Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American l…"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
a
b
(Carnegie Winner 2004)
Archived
8 June 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners.
CILIP
. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
- ^
a
b
"Press releases for the 2004 Awards, presented in 2005 "
Archived
6 January 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
. Press Desk. CILIP. 2012-08-18.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Press Desk
Archived
2 October 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
(directory). CILIP. Retrieved 2012-08-18. Quote: "media releases relating to the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards in date order." (2002 to 2006 releases concern 2001 to 2005 awards.)
- ^
Brown, Mark (23 March 2011).
"Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to fly again"
.
The Guardian
. London.
- ^
Lacey, Josh (15 October 2011).
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce ? review"
.
The Guardian
. London.
- ^
a
b
Martin Wainwright (18 June 2012).
"Cosmic professor"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
29 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Frank Cottrell Boyce (29 July 2012).
"The night we saw our mad, fantastical dreams come true"
.
The Observer
. London
. Retrieved
29 July
2012
.
- ^
Tracy McVeigh and Owen Gibson (28 July 2012).
"London 2012: Danny Boyle thrills audiences with inventive Olympics opening ceremony"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
29 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
Cottrell Boyce, Frank (28 July 2012). "An Interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce".
Today
(Interview). Interviewed by
John Humphrys
.
- ^
Alison Flood (24 October 2012).
"Frank Cottrell Boyce wins Guardian children's fiction prize"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
24 October
2012
.
- ^
"GFrank Cottrell-Boyce receives honorary award"
. 16 July 2013. Archived from
the original
on 11 October 2013
. Retrieved
2 January
2014
.
- ^
Fullerton, Huw (14 June 2016).
"Matt Lucas returns to Doctor Who for series 10"
.
Radio Times
. Retrieved
14 June
2016
.
- ^
"Children´s and Young Adult Program ? internationales literaturfestival berlin"
. Retrieved
11 September
2016
.
- ^
Smyth, Chris (2018).
"Universally challenged: Reading alumni team gets zero"
.
The Times
.
ISSN
0140-0460
. Retrieved
11 January
2018
.
- ^
"Frank Cottrell Boyce - reading aloud"
.
Just Imagine
. Retrieved
27 May
2023
.
- ^
Walker Books
ISBN
978-1-4063-3385-5
- ^
Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN
978-0-230-75773-8
- ^
Macmillan Children's Books
ISBN
978-1529048261
External links
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]
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