Anthony Minghella's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Page to Screen Anthony Min…

Main Movie Roles 2007 - Atonement 2004 - The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

BIOGRAPHY:

Anthony Minghella was the son of immigrants from Italy, who own an ice-cream factory on the Isle of Wight, where Anthony was born on January 6, 1954. He and his two siblings, Edana Minghella and Dominic Minghella, grew up there, a popular British holiday spot. After graduating from the University of Hull, Minghella took a position as a university lecturer, but quit academia to focus on the theater and songwriting. He oversaw the music in many of his movies.

Minghella was employed as a scriptwriter on the British TV series "Maybury" (1981) and "Inspector Morse" (1987) and, as a script editor on the British TV series "Grange Hill" (1978), before succeeding as a dramatist in the West End, London's equivalent of Broadway. In 1984, the London Theatre Critics named him Most Promising Playwright of the Year and, two years later, his drama "Made in Bangkok" won the the London Theatre Critics' award for best play.

An Anthony Minghella film assured movie-goers would enjoy a film blessed with a literate script, superlative performances and first-rate production values. His great craftsmanship was apparent from the beginning, with the bittersweet 1990 comedy Truly Madly Deeply (1990), in which the ghost of Alan Rickman comes back to his lady love, Juliet Stevenson, with unintended consequences. The theme of a ghostly love also was present in The English Patient (1996) his greatest success.

It is for that film he will be best remembered. Minghella claimed that with The English Patient (1996), which won nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, that he had reached the heights of his directing career.

In addition to his theater and film awards, in 2001, Anthony Minghella was appointed a Commander of the British Empire, a step just below knighthood, in the Queen's Birthday Honors List.

Anthony Minghella died of a hemorrhage on the morning of March 18, 2008 at Charing Cross Hospital in London, England. The 54-year-old Minghella had undergone an operation to remove a growth on his neck the previous week. He was survived by his wife, Carolyn Choa, and their two children, Max Minghella, who is an actor, and Hannah Minghella, who worked as a production assistant.


TRIVIA:

• In 1984, the London Theatre Critics named him Most Promising Playwright of the Year.
• Father of 'Max Minghella' (qv) and 'Hannah Minghella' (qv), who worked as production assistant on the set of _The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)_ (qv).
• He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2001 Queen's Birhtday Honours List for his services to film drama.
• He directed 5 actors to Oscar nominations: 'Ralph Fiennes' (qv), 'Jude Law' (qv), 'Renée Zellweger' (qv), 'Juliette Binoche' (qv) and 'Kristin Scott Thomas' (qv). Binoche and Zellwegger won for their supporting turns in _The English Patient (1996)_ (qv) and _Cold Mountain (2003)_ (qv), respectively.
• In 2000, became partners with 'Sydney Pollack' (qv) in Mirage Enterprises.
• After attending the University of Hull (East Yorkshire/Humberside, England), he briefly worked as a university professor where he started writing music and plays. He won the London Theater Critics Award in 1984 for Most Promising Playwright and in 1986 for Best Play with "Made In Bangkok".
• 'Kate Winslet' (qv) dedicated her first Oscar win to Anthony Minghella and his partner in Mirage,'Sydney Pollack' (qv).
• Winner of the Giles Cooper Award in 1988 for "Cigarettes and Chocolate".