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John Collee John Collee i(A134311 works by)
Born: Established: 1955 ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

John Collee studied Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland, and subsequently worked as a doctor in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the Solomon Islands and the former Soviet Union. From 1991 to 1996 he wrote a weekly column for The Observer (United Kingdom). While practising medicine, he wrote the medical thriller Kingsley's Touch (1984). His second novel, A Paper Mask (1987) was later adapted, by Collee, for the 1990 film of the same name. His third film, The Rig appeared in 1991.

After marrying an Australian and becoming a full time Australian resident, he has collaborated as a screen writer with Australian directors Scott Hicks, Phil Noyce, George Miller, and Peter Weir. His scripts include Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Happy Feet (2006), Creation (2009), Tanna (215), The Patriarch (2016), and Hotel Mumbai (2017).

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • I made the switch from novel writing to film writing partly because films are structurally simpler, and I like simplicity, partly because film writing suited my lifestyle and my character. The degree of immersion that you require to write a novel is, as any novelist will tell you - borderline pathological.
    Source: John Collee The 2011 FOXTEL Address 'The Dream Machine'. You can read a transcript of his speech here.

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Hotel Mumbai ( dir. Anthony Maras ) New South Wales : Hotel Mumbai Productions , 2018 9521205 2018 single work film/TV

The Hotel Mumbai film project is based on the documentary, Surviving Mumbai which detailed the November 2008 attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
2020 nominated AFCA Film Awards — Best Screenplay
2020 nominated AFCA Film Awards — Best Film
2019 shortlisted AWGIE Awards — Film Award — Original
2019 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia — Best Screenplay - Original or Adapted
2019 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia — Best Director
2019 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia — Best Film
2019 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards — Best Original Screenplay
2019 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards — Best Film
form y separately published work icon The Patriarch ( dir. Lee Tamahori ) New Zealand : The Patriarch Limited , 2016 10271067 2016 single work film/TV
2016 shortlisted AWGIE Awards — Film Award — Adaptation
form y separately published work icon Tanna ( dir. Bentley Dean ) Australia : Contact Films , 2015 9021454 2015 single work film/TV

'In one of the last traditional tribes in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, but are pursued by enemy warriors intent on killing them. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom. Based on a true story and performed by the people of Yakel.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
2015 winner Venice Film Festival — International Critics' Week Award
2016 shortlisted AWGIE Awards — Film Award — Original
2017 shortlisted Academy Awards — Best Foreign Language Film
2016 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards — Best Film
VIEW ALL AWARDS
Last amended 27 Apr 2017 14:10:07
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