Colin Callender

Sir Colin Nigel Callender CBE (born May 1952) is an English television, film and theater producer. He is the CEO at Playground Entertainment, a production company with offices in New York and London.

Sir Colin Callender

CBE
BornMay 1952 (age 68)
London
Alma materUniversity of East Anglia
OccupationFilm executive and executive producer
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Gaine
Children3

Early life and education

Callender was born to an Orthodox Jewish family[1] in London, the son of Lydia and Martin Callender.[2] He has a brother, Neeman, and a sister, Claire.[2] Callender holds a BA with Honors in Philosophy and Politics from the University of East Anglia.[3]

Career

Early career

Callender started in the entertainment industry as a member of Britain's National Youth Theatre and began his production career in 1974 at the Royal Court Theatre in London as stage manager working with directors such as Mike Leigh, David Hare and Sam Shepard.[4] Later he joined Granada Television as a graduate trainee where he worked on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the Granada co-production with NBC starring Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner and Laurence Olivier.

Primetime Television

In 1978 Callender founded Primetime Television where he quickly established himself as one of the UK's leading television and film producers.[3] At Primetime he pioneered the pre-selling and co-producing of UK drama with foreign broadcasters. When the UK's fourth network Channel Four was created, Primetime was the first independent production company to be commissioned by the new channel with the television adaptation of the RSC's groundbreaking nine-hour stage play The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby. It was Callender's first credit as a producer and he went on to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries in a category that included other nominees The Winds Of War and The Thorn Birds.[5]

Other Primetime productions included D.H.Lawrence's The Captain’s Doll starring Jeremy Irons for the BBC and ARD Germany, Separate Tables starring Alan Bates and Julie Christie directed by John Schlesinger.[6]

The Callender Company

He later created The Callender Company and during this time, with productions like Peter Greenway's The Belly Of An Architect which was the official British entry to the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, John Schlesinger's Madame Sousatzka starring Shirley MacLaine; The Bretts a 13-hour mini-series for Masterpiece Theatre, Prisoner Of Honour starring Richard Dreyfuss and Mr. Halpern And Mr. Johnson starring Laurence Olivier and Jackie Gleeson, Callender was in the forefront of bringing together talent from the UK and the U.S., which has gone on to become one of the hallmarks of his career.[6]

During this time Callender also created and produced the British cult hit The Last Resort which changed the face of late night television in the UK and launched the career of British TV personality Jonathan Ross.[7]

HBO

In 1987, Callender moved to the U.S. to become executive producer of HBO's newly formed East Coast production unit.[8] HBO Showcase produced 27 films receiving widespread critical acclaim and earning HBO its first Emmy Award for drama. In 1996 Callender and HBO CEO Jeffrey Bewkes created the film division HBO NYC. Shortly thereafter he was appointed president of HBO Films, based in LA, which rapidly developed a reputation for consistently producing an award-winning slate of sophisticated and provocative television and feature films.

During his tenure Callender oversaw the production of over 115 award-winning movies and mini-series, among them:[9]

Callender was also responsible for HBO's theatrical films such as the breakout indie hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Gus Van Sant’s provocative movie Elephant about a Columbine like high-school shooting which won him the Best Director Award as well as the coveted Palm d’Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.[14]

Under Callender's stewardship, HBO Films received:

Picturehouse

Callender was also the driving force behind HBO's joint venture with New Line Cinema – the distribution company Picturehouse[15] whose slate included Robert Altman’s highly acclaimed Prairie Home Companion, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, Run Fatboy Run, Rocket Science, Last Days, Mary Harron’s The Notorious Bettie Page, JA Bayona’s The Orphanage, Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose for which Marion Cotillard won the Academy Award for Best Actress,[16] and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth that won three Oscars at the 2006 Academy Awards.[17]

Playground

In 2009, Callender left HBO Films and moved to New York to produce theatre. He founded Playground in 2012.[18]

Theatre

Playground's first stage production was Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks by the late Nora Ephron, which tells the story of tabloid reporter Mike McAlary, winner of a 1998 Pulitzer Prize.[19] It won two Tony Awards and had six nominations.[20] In 2014, Callender produced Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina, which was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Play,[21] and Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris, which won four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical.[22] Callender also produced the production of Kenneth Branagh’s New York stage debut in Macbeth at the Park Avenue Armory,[23] and was a co-producer of Jez Butterworth's The River starring Hugh Jackman.[24]

Recent Broadway productions include Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tony Awards including Best Musical,[25] and Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan’s 1984, based on the novel by George Orwell.[26] Recent West End productions include Dreamgirls and The Glass Menagerie, both produced alongside Sonia Friedman Productions.[27]

Alongside Sonia Friedman Productions and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, Callender is one of the producers of the two-part stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, an expansion of the Harry Potter franchise, which opened on July 30, 2016 in London's Palace Theatre.[28] In 2017, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child won nine Olivier Awards, the biggest single win ever for one production in the history of the awards.[29] Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened on Broadway on April 22, 2018 in the newly renovated Lyric Theatre and was nominated for ten Tony Awards and went on to win six, including Best Play.[30] Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in Melbourne's Princess Theatre in early 2019,[31] in San Francisco's Curran Theatre in the Fall of 2019,[32] and in Hamburg's Mehr! Theatre in 2020.[33]

Television

Playground company has produced over 90 hours of television since inception. Series include the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated miniseries Dancing On The Edge for BBC and Starz,[34] the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated miniseries The White Queen[35] for BBC and Starz and its sequel The White Princess for Starz, the Golden Globe nominated anthology series The Missing for BBC and Starz, Dracula for NBC,[36] Wolf Hall,[37] a Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning six-part miniseries starring Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis and Claire Foy for BBC and Masterpiece, which was an adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker prize winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and The Dresser,[38] a television adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s classic play starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins for BBC and Starz.[39]

In 2017, Callender produced Academy Award winner Kenneth Lonergan’s adaptation of Howards End for the BBC and Starz, Heidi Thomas’s adaptation of Little Women for the BBC and Masterpiece, and Richard Eyre’s adaptation of King Lear starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson for the BBC and Amazon Prime Video.[40]

Callender produced Lucy Kirkwood’s adaptation of her play Chimerica for Channel 4,[41] and The Spanish Princess, a sequel to The White Queen and The White Princess, for Starz.[42]

Callender's upcoming projects include an adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small for Channel 5 [43] and a reimagining of the classic novel Dangerous Liaisons for Starz.[44]

Credits

Television
  • Swallows and Amazons (1984)
  • Separate Tables (1983)
  • Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (1983)
  • The Captain’s Doll (1983)
  • The Deadly Game (1982)
  • The Life and Adventure of Nicholas Nickleby (1982)
  • Brendon Chase (1980–1981)

Television
  • Prisoner of Honour (1991)
  • The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross (1987–1997)
  • The Bretts (1987)
  • Timeslip (1985)
  • White City (1985)
  • Arch of Triumph (1984)
  • Scrabble (1984–1985)

Feature Films

HBO

Television Films

Television Miniseries

Feature Films

Playground

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
1983 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Limited Series The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby Won
2002 Writers Guild of America Awards Evelyn F. Burkey Award Colin Callender Won
2003 Anti-Defamation League Humanitarian Award Colin Callender Won
2003 Creative Coalition Visionary Award Colin Callender Won
2006 Geffen Playhouse Distinction in Theater Award Colin Callender Won
2006 Jacob Burns Film Center Vision Award Colin Callender Won
2006 Humanitas Prize Kiezer Award Colin Callender Won
2013 Tony Award Best Play Lucky Guy Nominated
2013 Satellite Award Best Miniseries or Television Film The White Queen Nominated
2013 Satellite Award Best Miniseries or Television Film Dancing on the Edge Won
2013 Golden Globe Award Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Dancing on the Edge Nominated
2013 Golden Globe Award Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television The White Queen Nominated
2014 Golden Globe Award Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television The Missing Nominated
2014 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Lucky Guy Nominated
2014 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Casa Valentina Nominated
2014 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Won
2014 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Lucky Guy Nominated
2014 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Casa Valentina Nominated
2014 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Revival of a Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Won
2014 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Won
2014 Tony Award Best Play Casa Valentina Nominated
2014 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Won
2014 Critic's Choice Television Award Best Miniseries Dancing on the Edge Nominated
2014 People's Choice Award Favorite TV Movie / Miniseries The White Queen Nominated
2014 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Limited Series The White Queen Nominated
2015 BAFTA Television Award Best Drama Series The Missing Nominated
2015 BAFTA Television Award Audience Award The Missing Nominated
2015 Golden Nymph Award Best Long Form Fiction Series The Missing Nominated
2015 Golden Globe Award Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Wolf Hall Won
2015 Peabody Award Entertainment Programming Wolf Hall Won
2015 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Limited Series Wolf Hall Nominated
2015 Critic's Choice Television Award Best Miniseries Wolf Hall Nominated
2015 Satellite Award Best Miniseries or Television Film Wolf Hall Nominated
2016 BAFTA Television Award Best Drama Series Wolf Hall Won
2016 Broadcasting Press Guild Award Best Drama Series Wolf Hall Won
2016 Royal Television Society Award Best Drama Serial Wolf Hall Nominated
2016 Golden Nymph Award Best Long Form Fiction Series Wolf Hall Nominated
2016 Television Critics Association Award Outstanding Achievement in Movie or Miniseries Wolf Hall Nominated
2016 Golden Globe Award Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television The Dresser Nominated
2016 Satellite Award Best Miniseries or Television Film The Dresser Nominated
2016 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2016 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical Dear Evan Hansen Won
2016 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Dear Evan Hansen Nominated
2017 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Dear Evan Hansen Won
2017 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Musical Dear Evan Hansen Nominated
2017 Tony Award Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen Won
2017 WhatsOnStage Award Best New Musical Dreamgirls Nominated
2017 WhatsOnStage Award Best New Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2017 South Bank Sky Arts Award Theatre Award Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2017 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2017 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical Dreamgirls Nominated
2017 Laurence Olivier Award Best Revival The Glass Menagerie Nominated
2018 Drama League Award Best Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2018 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2018 Tony Award Best Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2018 WhatsOnStage Award Best West End Show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Won
2018 South Bank Sky Arts Award Television Award Howards End Won
2018 BAFTA Television Award Best Miniseries Howards End Nominated
2018 Golden Nymph Award Best Long Form Fiction Series Howards End Nominated
2018 Television Critics Association Award Outstanding Achievement in Movie or Miniseries Howards End Nominated
2019 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie King Lear Nominated

Personal life

He is married to attorney Elizabeth Gaine with whom he has two daughters, Caroline and Charlotte. He also has a son Ian from a previous marriage.

Callender was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2003 Birthday Honours for services to the UK film and television industries in the USA[45][46] and was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the British creative industries.[47]

Callender is a trustee and supporter of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, the New York Public Theater and The Creative Coalition. In the past, he has also been a trustee of the New York branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.[48]

References
  1. Jackman, Josh (25 January 2016). "Golden Globe winner compares outside status of growing Jewish in Britain to Harry Potter". The Jewish Chronicle. And he said his childhood, as an Orthodox Jew in post-war London, shared many of the themes in Harry Potter
  2. Callender, Colin (1 January 2016). "Lydia Callender". The Jewish Chronicle.
  3. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 July 2018. Cite uses generic title (help)
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (4 April 2014). "Q&A: Producer Colin Callender On His Next Chapter, Converging Theater, Film & Television And Taking On Harry Potter". Deadline. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. "Spotlight: Colin Callender". Television Academy. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  6. "Colin Callender". IMDb. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  7. "The Callender Company". BFI. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  8. Nancy Mills (30 September 1990). "Shooting Their Own In a war for viewers, cable channels and the networks are producing their own movies in record numbers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  9. Schneider, Michael (14 October 2008). "Colin Callender exits HBO". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  10. "John Adams". HBO. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  11. Variety Staff (12 May 2005). "HBO premieres 'Empire Falls' miniseries". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  12. Roshanian, Arya (18 August 2016). "'All the Way' Director Jay Roach Remembers First Emmy Wins For 'Recount'". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  13. Greene, Hanh Nguyen,Ben Travers,Liz Shannon Miller,Steve (24 April 2018). "The Best Limited Series of the 21st Century, Ranked". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  14. "'Elephant' trumpets Palme d'Or surprise". The Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  15. "New Line, HBO open Picturehouse for business". Screen. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  16. Editorial, Reuters. "Marion Cotillard wins Oscar for best actress". U.S. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  17. "Pan's Labyrinth – 2006 Academy Awards Profile". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  18. Jeremy Kay (15 October 2008). "Colin Callender leaves HBO Films after 21 years at the company". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  19. "Producer remains 'committed' to bringing Nora Ephron's 'Lucky Guy' to Broadway". Entertainment Weekly. Associated Press. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  20. Desk, BWW News. "LUCKY GUY Recoups; Becomes Highest Grossing Play in Broadway History". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  21. "Harvey Fierstein's Casa Valentina Closes Its Doors June 29 | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  22. Gerard, Jeremy (30 May 2014). "Ex-HBO Film Chief Colin Callender Plays Tony Poker With 'Hedwig' 'Casa Valentina', 'Harry Potter'". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  23. Brantley, Ben. "A Fast and Furious 'Macbeth' at Park Avenue Armory". Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  24. "Hugh Jackman Rushes 'The River' Into Profit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  25. "DEAR EVAN HANSEN | A New Musical On Broadway | Official Site". Dear Evan Hansen. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  26. "Playground USA". Playground Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  27. "Casting confirmed for Lucy Kirkwood's 'Chimerica' – Channel 4 – Info – Press". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  28. "About The Show | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child London". Harry Potter and the Cursed Child London. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  29. Tartaglione, Nancy (9 April 2017). "Olivier Awards: 'Harry Potter And The Cursed Child' Wins Record 9 – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  30. Walters, Joanna (11 June 2018). "Tony awards: The Band's Visit and Harry Potter triumph in politically charged ceremony". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  31. "Melbourne Tickets On Sale This August | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Melbourne". Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Melbourne. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  32. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | San Francisco". Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | San Francisco. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  33. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child comes to Hamburg, Germany | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child London". Harry Potter and the Cursed Child London. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  34. "ANCHOR BAY FILMS ACQUIRES SEEKING JUSTICE STARRING NICOLAS CAGE, JANUARY JONES AND GUY PEARCE". 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  35. Andreeva, Nellie (4 September 2012). "Starz Picks Up 'White Queen' Drama Series, Colin Callender To EP In 2-Year Starz Deal". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  36. Tartaglione, Nellie Andreeva,Nancy (28 November 2012). "BBC Two Preps 'Howards End' Miniseries Produced By Colin Callender". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  37. "Why Americans Will Fall For "Wolf Hall" And The Latest Complicated Hero, Thomas Cromwell". Fast Company. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  38. Tartaglione, Nancy (20 March 2015). "Anthony Hopkins & Ian McKellen Talk Tyrannical Directors, State Of TV & Finally Working Together On 'The Dresser'". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  39. "Productions". Playground Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  40. Tartaglione, Nancy (5 October 2017). "'King Lear': Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson To Reunite For BBC2 & Amazon". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  41. White, Peter (26 January 2018). "Lucy Kirkwood's U.S./China Drama 'Chimerica' Set For C4 Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  42. Otterson, Joe (15 March 2018). "Starz Greenlights Limited Series 'Spanish Princess' Based on Philippa Gregory Novels". Variety. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  43. Wiseman, Andreas (27 June 2019). "'All Creatures Great And Small': Viacom's C5 Teams With 'Howards End' Producer Playground & PBS's Masterpiece For UK Series Reboot". Deadline. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  44. White, Peter (26 July 2019). "'Dangerous Liaisons' Series Lands At Starz; Harriet Warner To Write, Colin Callender's Playground Entertainment & Tony Krantz's Flame Ventures To Produce". Deadline. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  45. "No. 56963". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2003. p. 25.
  46. Gary Susman (16 June 2003). "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  47. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N2.
  48. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0130456/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm]]
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