Richard Bell (director)
Richard Bell | |
|---|---|
| File:Arcand, bell.jpg Director Denys Arcand and Richard Bell at the TIFF Talent Lab, 2010 | |
| Years active | 2000-present |
Richard Bell (born March 17, 1975) is a Canadian writer and director.
From 1998 to 2000, Bell wrote, filmed and directed Two Brothers, a movie he shot with a borrowed video camera for a paltry 545.00 dollars. He spent two years travelling the world, promoting the flick and making appearances at whatever film festival would take his movie. After a screening went particularly well in Philadelphia, Bell was approached by TLA Releasing, which offered to release the film on DVD.
Two Brothers gave Bell the contacts, credibility and leverage he needed to raise $800, 000 to make his first feature, Eighteen. The film follows Pip, an eighteen year old runaway whose life is changed when he listens to a tape containing his grandfather's WWII memoirs. Bell stated in interviews that he was inspired to write the film after his older brother and he received the same gift from their grandad. Bell assembled British actors Ian McKellen (as the voice of the grandfather) and Alan Cumming, and Canadian stars Brendan Fletcher, Carly Pope and Thea Gill for the project. An encounter with Vancouver Symphony director Bramwell Tovey convinced the maestro to compose Eighteen’s soundtrack, and soon thereafter he and VSO president Jeff Alexander brought the entire symphony onboard. Eighteen did the film festival circuit and was released on DVD (also by TLAVideo.com) on June 27, 2006. It is currently screening on Here! Channel in the US, Movie Central and The Movie Network in Canada; it made its Canadian broadcast television premiere on City TV on March 1, 2008.
Bell is currently adapting Joanne Proulx's novel Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet for producer Michel Shane, the executive producer of Catch Me If You Can and I, Robot. The project is being developed by Telefilm and Astral Media, through the Harold Greenberg Fund.
In September, 2010, Bell was chosen out of 217 applicants to the Toronto International Film Festival Talent Lab.
As a screen-writer, Bell continues to be mentored by L.A. based scribe Donald Martin. He is represented by agent Perry Zimel at Oscars, Abrams and Zimel, in Toronto, Canada.
Awards
In 2007, Richard was nominated for a Genie Award for co-writing the song In a Heartbeat for his film Eighteen, with composer Bramwell Tovey. Vancouver newspaper Xtra! West awarded him the Best Visual Artist for the same film at their annual Hero Awards that year.
References
- Director beat odds to make uncoventional war movie Bruce DeMara, The Toronto Sun, Nov. 11th, 2006
- Eighteen Review Tom Steele, Out Magazine
- Where are all the war films? Pieta Wooley, Georgia Straight
- Bell's Eighteen with McKellen Voice-Over Gary Kramer, San Francisco Bay Times
- Tenderness Among Men Chris DeVito, Xtra! West
- Richard Bell Interview Christine Wach, Zed Careers, July 8, 2009
- Telefilm: Eighteen
- Xtra! West
- CBC Arts
- Hand Picked Film website
- Astral's The Harold Greenberg Fund Supports 27 New Projects Broadcaster Magazine, Jan. 19th, 2010
- Vancouver Celebrities July / Aug 2010 Malcolm Parry
- Working the festival Gordon Bowness / IN Toronto Magazine / September 2010
- Filmmakers gets a few pointers when heavy hitter Leno drops by Vancouver Sun, September 2010