Phillip Noyce

Phillip Noyce
Noyce at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego
Born	29 April 1950 (1950-04-29) Griffith, New South Wales Australia
Spouse	Vuyo Dyasi (2006 - present) Jan Sharp (1979 - 2004) Jan Chapman (1971 - 1977)

Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian film director.

Life and career

Noyce was born in Griffith, New South Wales, attended Barker College, Sydney, and began making short films at the age of 18, starting with Better to Reign in Hell, using his friends as the cast. He joined the Australian Film & Television School in 1973, and released his first professional film in 1977. Many of his films feature espionage, as Noyce grew up listening from his father's stories with the Z Special Force during World War II, and has an interest in the theme.

After his debut feature, the medium-length Backroads (1977), Noyce achieved commercial and critical success with Newsfront (1978), which won Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards for Best Film, Director, and Screenplay.

Noyce worked on two miniseries for Australian television with fellow Australian filmmaker George Miller: The Dismissal (1983) and The Cowra Breakout (1984).

Miller also produced the film that brought Noyce his greatest acclaim in the United States — the thriller Dead Calm (1989) which turned Nicole Kidman into a star. His greatest commercial success to date has been the Tom Clancy spy thriller Clear and Present Danger (1994) starring Harrison Ford.

After 1998's The Bone Collector, Noyce decided to take a break from Hollywood. He made in his native Australia the "stolen generation" picture Rabbit-Proof Fence, which achieved great acclaim and won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film in 2002. Noyce also achieved great acclaim in the United States for The Quiet American, a 2002 film which gave Michael Caine an Academy Award Best Actor nomination. After doing Catch a Fire (2006) in South Africa, Noyce decided to make another big budget studio film with 2010's Salt.

He was married to film producer Jan Chapman from 1971–1977, then producer Jan Sharp from 1979 - 2004 with whom he has two children, and he is presently married to Vuyo Dyasi with whom he has two children. A son, Luvuyo and a daughter, Ayanda.

He has described Rabbit-Proof Fence as "easily" his proudest moment as a director: "Showing that film to various Aboriginal communities around the country and seeing their response, because it gave validity to the experiences of the stolen generations."

Noyce was also responsible for a video which formed part of the Australian bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Noyce was an avid supporter of the Whitlam Labor Government.

In Spring 2011, Noyce directed and executive produced the ABC pilot Revenge, which went on to be picked-up to series. The show premiered on September 21, 2011. He remains a consulting producer on the program.

Filmography

• That's Showbiz (1973) (short)
• Castor and Pollux (1973) (short)
• God Only Knows Why, But it Works (1975) film docudrama about Dr Archie Kalokerinos and aboriginal healthcare
• Backroads (1977)
• Newsfront (1978)
• Heatwave (1982)
• The Dismissal (1983) (mini) TV Series
• The Cowra Breakout (1984) (mini) TV Series
• The Hitchhiker TV Series (episodes in 1985):
  • Episode "Nightshift"
  • Episode "The Martyr"
  • Episode "Man's Best Friend"
  • Episode "Man of Her Dreams"
  • Episode "The Curse"
• Echoes of Paradise (1987) (aka Shadows of the Peacock)
• Dead Calm (1989)
• Blind Fury (1989)
• Nightmare Cafe (1992) TV Series (pilot)
• Patriot Games (1992)
• Sliver (1993)
• Clear and Present Danger (1994)
• The Saint (1997)
• The Repair Shop (1998) (pilot - unreleased)
• The Bone Collector (1999)
• Patriot Games: Up Close (2002) (TV) (uncredited)
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (aka Long Walk Home [ge]) (2002)
• The Quiet American (2002)
• Tru Calling (2003) TV Series (episode 1.01 "Pilot")
• Welcome to São Paulo (2004) (segment "Marca Zero")
• Brotherhood (2006) TV Series
• Catch a Fire (2006)
• Salt (2010)
• Lights Out (2011) TV Series (executive producer)
• Revenge (2011-present) TV series (consulting producer)

Further reading

• Maltin, Leonard. Phillip Noyce Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, imdb.com. Retrieved 16 August 2005.
• Brian McFarlane, Geoff Mayer, Ina Bertrand (Ed.) (1999). The Oxford companion to Australian film. Melbourne, Australia ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553797-1. 
• Petzke, Ingo: Backroads To Hollywood - Phillip Noyce. Pan Macmillan (Sydney) 2004
• Petzke, Ingo. Great Directors - Phillip Noyce Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
• Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide By Yoram Allon, Hannah Patterson, Del Cullen. Entry on Phillip Noyce Look inside at Google Book search

External links

• Phillip Noyce at the Internet Movie Database