Club Le Monde : Biographies


Simon Rumley (Writer, Producer and Director)
Having turned his back on a law degree, Rumley wrote, produced and directed a handful of low-budget shorts, (one of which, Laughter, was runner-up at the ICA's annual Dick Awards) before setting his targets on feature film production. He spent a couple of years writing unsolicited scripts before opting to shoot the low-budget youth cult classic Strong Language in 1996/1997, a talking heads/thriller/ensemble film with a surprise ending. It was finally released in 2000 through the bfi and received almost unanimous praise. Rumley was nominated for that year's inaugural British Independent Film Awards as Most Talented Newcomer and for Best Achievement in Production. He was also invited by the European Film Academy to an annual gathering of Europe's most promising young directors and producers.

By the time Strong Language had been released, Rumley had forged links with Screen Production Associates and completed his second low budget feature, The Truth Game, which was also released by the bfi in 2001. It features a group of late 20-somethings arguing about love, life and the universe and stars a bunch of young, up and coming actors including Stuart Laing (SW9, Lawless Heart), Paul Blackthorne (Lagaan) and Thomas Fisher (9 Lives of Thomas Katz, The Mummy Returns). Rumley's final instalment in his 90s youth culture trilogy, Club Le Monde, features 32 characters in one night in one nightclub on the periphery of London's West End, 1993.

Having recently completed this, Rumley is moving away from youth culture themes and currently has three different scripts in development, the most recent one of which, My Mate Charles, was invited onto the Moonstone writers' lab in Tuscany.

John Jaquiss (Executive Producer)
John Jaquiss is a merchant banker and media business consultant who is currently managing a $250 million specialist fund for Alliance Unichem plc. Jaquiss has worked for Lloyds Bank, British and Commonwealth Merchant Bank and FILMS (Film Investment & Loan Management Services), a joint venture between Berliner Bank AG and Banque International a Luxembourg. He was involved with the financing of Highlander II, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, The Man Without A Face, Only The Strong, Airborne, Annie II, and Screamers.

Douglas Abbott (Executive Producer)
Douglas Abbott is a film, media and communications investor with more than twenty years experience in venture capital management. He has had principal involvement in financing a huge number of films for Goldcrest Films International and Goldcrest Films & Television (Gandhi, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, The Plague Dogs, Another Country, Escape from New York); The National Video Corporation (Testament); Acorn Pictures (Educating Rita); Thorn-EMI Film Finance, Delta Ventures (joint venture between City funds and the BBC) and Gartmore Investment Management (Media). Abbott co-founded Screen Production Associates in 1984 with Lord Hussey, Sir Ian Trethowan and John Chittock OBE. He is also financial advisor and business development manager for the British Screen Advisory Council.

Piers Jackson (Producer)
Piers Jackson has worked extensively in film and television in the UK, the US and Australia. Over the years he has worked as film editor, director and producer. He has produced hundreds of hours of television programming including the critically acclaimed series 100 Great Paintings, a co-production between Warner TV and the BBC, and Alistair Cooke's fascinating documentaries on George III and Mark Twain. Since 1992 Jackson has worked exclusively in movie project development; commissions include The Last Charge (RKO Pictures), Wind In The Willows (Fortune Films), and The Silver Sword (Children's Film Foundation). In 1994 he set up 3DF Movie Development, merging with Screen Production Associates (SPA) two years later. In addition to Club Le Monde, Jackson has also produced The Truth Game and The Case and is set to produce Black Badge, directed by Alrick Riley for BBC Scotland. Piers Jackson was on the panel of assessors for the Arts Council of England Lottery Film Fund.

Author : ©2002 Screen Production Associates and 2M Films. All rights reserved