Mark Shelmerdine, the BAFTA L.A. co-founder and producer who is credited with reviving Alexander Korda’s London Films, died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness. He was 78.
Shelmerdine was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016. After being treated in a trial program between Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital, he received a liver transplant in 2018 and became the longest living survivor among those in the program. Friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman confirmed the news of Sherlmerdine’s death to Variety.
Shelmerdine got his start in the entertainment industry after joining the Taylor Clark group, led by the Scottish businessman Robert Clark. As the group’s company secretary and finance director, Shelmerdine was placed in charge of preparing weekly reports and analyses on the box office returns of the Caledonian Associated Cinema and ABC Cinema chains, which Clark owned.
Shelmerdine was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016. After being treated in a trial program between Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital, he received a liver transplant in 2018 and became the longest living survivor among those in the program. Friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman confirmed the news of Sherlmerdine’s death to Variety.
Shelmerdine got his start in the entertainment industry after joining the Taylor Clark group, led by the Scottish businessman Robert Clark. As the group’s company secretary and finance director, Shelmerdine was placed in charge of preparing weekly reports and analyses on the box office returns of the Caledonian Associated Cinema and ABC Cinema chains, which Clark owned.
- 12/2/2023
- by Valerie Wu
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Shelmerdine, the veteran producer who revived London Films as an indie powerhouse and played a pivotal role in the development of the international TV distribution market, died October 26 in Santa Barbara surrounded by his family. He was 78.
Among his achievements, he was among the first UK indie TV producers to retain rights to a broadcast production and was a founder of the LA branch of BAFTA.
Shelmerdine’s death was confirmed to Deadline by his friend Brian Eastman. The producer had survived a rare and potentially deadly form of bile duct cancer by receiving a life-saving liver transplant in 2018 through a trial in Houston, and was one of the longest living survivors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital program.
Born on March 27, 1945, Shelmerdine spent part of his childhood in Singapore before moving to the UK. He was awarded a place to attend Sidney Sussex College...
Among his achievements, he was among the first UK indie TV producers to retain rights to a broadcast production and was a founder of the LA branch of BAFTA.
Shelmerdine’s death was confirmed to Deadline by his friend Brian Eastman. The producer had survived a rare and potentially deadly form of bile duct cancer by receiving a life-saving liver transplant in 2018 through a trial in Houston, and was one of the longest living survivors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital program.
Born on March 27, 1945, Shelmerdine spent part of his childhood in Singapore before moving to the UK. He was awarded a place to attend Sidney Sussex College...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Mark Shelmerdine, the Emmy-nominated producer who remade Alexander Korda’s dormant London Films label into an independent production powerhouse behind projects including I, Claudius, has died. He was 78.
Shelmerdine died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness, friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman told The Hollywood Reporter. After being diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016, he had a life-saving liver transplant in 2018.
In the 1980s, Shelmerdine co-founded the Los Angeles branch of BAFTA and the Association of Independent Television Producers, which helped shape the sector that now dominates British TV production. He also published self-help books written by his late wife, Susan Jeffers.
The first of three children, Shelmerdine was born on March 27, 1945, in Buckinghamshire, England. His father, Dick, worked as a police office in Singapore and the Bahamas and as a postmaster in Gloucestershire, England.
Shelmerdine started out as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand and Taylor Clark Ltd.
Shelmerdine died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness, friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman told The Hollywood Reporter. After being diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016, he had a life-saving liver transplant in 2018.
In the 1980s, Shelmerdine co-founded the Los Angeles branch of BAFTA and the Association of Independent Television Producers, which helped shape the sector that now dominates British TV production. He also published self-help books written by his late wife, Susan Jeffers.
The first of three children, Shelmerdine was born on March 27, 1945, in Buckinghamshire, England. His father, Dick, worked as a police office in Singapore and the Bahamas and as a postmaster in Gloucestershire, England.
Shelmerdine started out as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand and Taylor Clark Ltd.
- 11/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking to Carnival Films executive chairman Gareth Neame, the producer behind the global British hit franchise Downton Abbey. The company, which Neame sold to NBC Universal in 2008, continues to be one of the heavy hitters when it comes to producing high-end dramas that have global reach.
Nothing in Gareth Neame’s career has been an accident. The veteran British producer is perhaps best known for the global phenomenon Downton Abbey, which he exec produced through his banner Carnival Films. The series, which won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards with 69 nominations (making it the most nominated non-u.S. show in Emmy history), has spawned six series and two films, the latest of which, Downton Abbey: A New Era, will begin its global rollout in the UK...
Nothing in Gareth Neame’s career has been an accident. The veteran British producer is perhaps best known for the global phenomenon Downton Abbey, which he exec produced through his banner Carnival Films. The series, which won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards with 69 nominations (making it the most nominated non-u.S. show in Emmy history), has spawned six series and two films, the latest of which, Downton Abbey: A New Era, will begin its global rollout in the UK...
- 2/23/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Alastair Stewart Mar 2, 2017
Arguably, British tech ensemble Bugs paved the way for the likes of Spooks, Sherlock, Torchwood and more...
It feels a long time ago that watching Saturday night TV with the family was the norm, but back in the 1990s, millions crowded around the box for the likes of Noel's House Party, Due South, The Generation Game, and of course, Bugs. The latter ran for four series between 1995 and 1999 and arguably holds the distinction of being embryonic of later, more intensive, tech-heavy UK shows including Spooks and Sherlock.
See related Deadpool: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick interview Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds on channeling the character
The general Bugs premise involved a team of crime-fighting gadget experts facing a range of modern (now charmingly redundant), technology-centred threats. The main triptych of regulars included Nick Beckett (Jesse Birdsall), Ros Henderson (Jaye Griffiths) and Ed (Neighbours alumnus Craig McLachlan in series...
Arguably, British tech ensemble Bugs paved the way for the likes of Spooks, Sherlock, Torchwood and more...
It feels a long time ago that watching Saturday night TV with the family was the norm, but back in the 1990s, millions crowded around the box for the likes of Noel's House Party, Due South, The Generation Game, and of course, Bugs. The latter ran for four series between 1995 and 1999 and arguably holds the distinction of being embryonic of later, more intensive, tech-heavy UK shows including Spooks and Sherlock.
See related Deadpool: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick interview Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds on channeling the character
The general Bugs premise involved a team of crime-fighting gadget experts facing a range of modern (now charmingly redundant), technology-centred threats. The main triptych of regulars included Nick Beckett (Jesse Birdsall), Ros Henderson (Jaye Griffiths) and Ed (Neighbours alumnus Craig McLachlan in series...
- 2/25/2017
- Den of Geek
It's pretty hard to fathom now that BBC One is on the verge of celebrating the show's 50th anniversary in spectacular fashion, but there was a time when (whisper it) Doctor Who wasn't on television.
If you ignore that one night in May 1996 when Paul McGann lit up our screens, Who was in absentia for 16 years, but that doesn't mean that the BBC weren't looking for another sci-fi or fantasy hit to replicate the show's success...
This week's Friday Fiver takes a look at a few such attempts - not programmes like The Tomorrow People inspired by the show's original run, or series like Primeval and Merlin which launched in the wake of the new show's success.
These are the shows that tried - with varying degrees of success - to fill that Doctor Who-shaped hole in our hearts between 1989 and 2005.
> Doctor Who: 11 golden moments from 50 years of...
If you ignore that one night in May 1996 when Paul McGann lit up our screens, Who was in absentia for 16 years, but that doesn't mean that the BBC weren't looking for another sci-fi or fantasy hit to replicate the show's success...
This week's Friday Fiver takes a look at a few such attempts - not programmes like The Tomorrow People inspired by the show's original run, or series like Primeval and Merlin which launched in the wake of the new show's success.
These are the shows that tried - with varying degrees of success - to fill that Doctor Who-shaped hole in our hearts between 1989 and 2005.
> Doctor Who: 11 golden moments from 50 years of...
- 11/22/2013
- Digital Spy
DVD Playhouse—August 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Watchmen—Director’S Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...
By
Allen Gardner
Watchmen—Director’S Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...
- 8/10/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
NEW YORK -- Michael London's Groundswell Prods. has named Daniel Pipski senior vp production.
Joining Pipski is Janice Williams, Groundswell's new head of physical production. The pair will work on the company's expanding film slate with founder and CEO London and president of production Bruna Papandrea.
Pipski arrives from LivePlanet, which is Sean Bailey, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Disney-based production outfit, where he was senior vp production for three years. Among the projects he oversaw was Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone.
"As we look to bring more comedies as well as youth-oriented films into our slate, Daniel will be a real key to that effort," London said.
Pipski gained traction in the industry at Working Title Films, joining its Los Angeles office in 1999, becoming director of development in 2000 and vp in 2003 before joining LivePlanet. He became friendly with London while he was involved with such films as "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and About a Boy.
Williams began her film career in 1995 working at Carnival Films and with British producer Brian Eastman (Shadowlands). Beginning in 1998, she was production supervisor on many New York-based features, including several Woody Allen films as well as Lasse Hallstrom's The Hoax and James Gray's We Own the Night.
The new appointments come at a busy time for Groundswell.
Joining Pipski is Janice Williams, Groundswell's new head of physical production. The pair will work on the company's expanding film slate with founder and CEO London and president of production Bruna Papandrea.
Pipski arrives from LivePlanet, which is Sean Bailey, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Disney-based production outfit, where he was senior vp production for three years. Among the projects he oversaw was Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone.
"As we look to bring more comedies as well as youth-oriented films into our slate, Daniel will be a real key to that effort," London said.
Pipski gained traction in the industry at Working Title Films, joining its Los Angeles office in 1999, becoming director of development in 2000 and vp in 2003 before joining LivePlanet. He became friendly with London while he was involved with such films as "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and About a Boy.
Williams began her film career in 1995 working at Carnival Films and with British producer Brian Eastman (Shadowlands). Beginning in 1998, she was production supervisor on many New York-based features, including several Woody Allen films as well as Lasse Hallstrom's The Hoax and James Gray's We Own the Night.
The new appointments come at a busy time for Groundswell.
- 1/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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