Ridley Scott

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Sir Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott in March 2012
Born	30 November 1937 (age 75) South Shields, Tyne & Wear,England, UK
Occupation	Film director and producer
Years active	1965–present
Notable work(s)	Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven,American Gangster, Prometheus,1984
Spouse(s)	Felicity Heywood, (m. 1964 – div. 1975) Sandy Watson (m. 1979 – div. 1989)
Children	With Felicity Heywood Jake (born 1965) Luke (born 1968) With Sandy Watson Jordan (born 1978)
Family	Frank Scott (brother, deceased) Tony Scott (brother, deceased)

Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. Following his commercial breakthrough with Alien (1979), his best-known works are sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), best picture Oscar-winner Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down(2001), Matchstick Men (2003), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), American Gangster (2007), Robin Hood (2010), and Prometheus (2012).

Scott is known for his atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style, which has influenced many directors. Though his films range widely in setting and period, they frequently showcase memorable imagery of urban environments, whether 2nd century Rome (Gladiator), 12th century Jerusalem(Kingdom of Heaven), contemporary Osaka (Black Rain) or Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down), or the future cityscapes of Blade Runner. Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing (for Thelma and Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down), plus two Golden Globe and two BAFTA Awards. In 2003, Scott was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for his "services to the British film industry".^[1] He is the elder brother of the late Tony Scott.

Early life and career [edit]

Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in the North East Tyneside coastal town of South Shields,^[2] England, the son of Elizabeth and Colonel Francis Percy Scott.^[3] He was raised in an Army family, so for most of his early life, his father — an officer in the Royal Engineers — was absent. His elder brother, Frank, joined the Merchant Navy when he was still young and the pair had little contact. During this time the family moved around, living in (among other areas) Cumbria, Wales and Germany. He had a younger brother, Tony, who also became a film director. After the Second World War, the Scott family moved back to their nativeNorth East England, eventually settling in Teesside (whose industrial landscape would later inspire similar scenes in Blade Runner), where he studied at Grangefield Grammar School and West Hartlepool College of Art from 1954 to 1958, obtaining a Diploma in Design.

Scott went on to study at the Royal College of Art, contributing to college magazine ARK and helping to establish the college film department. For his final show, he made a black and white short film, Boy and Bicycle, starring both his younger brother and his father (the film was later released on the 'Extras' section of The Duellists DVD). In February 1963 named in title credits as "Designer" for BBC television Tonight programme about the severe winter of 1963. After graduation in 1963, Scott secured a job as a trainee set designer with the BBC, leading to work on the popular television police series Z-Cars and science fiction series Out of the Unknown. He was originally assigned to design the second Doctor Who serial, The Daleks, which would have entailed realising the famous alien creatures. However, shortly before Scott was due to start work, a schedule conflict meant he was replaced on the serial by Raymond Cusick.^[4] In 1965, he began directing episodes of television series for the BBC, only one of which, an episode of Adam Adamant Lives!, is available commercially. (He directed two others, but these have been wiped.)

In 1968, Ridley and Tony Scott founded Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), a film and commercial production company.^[5] Working alongside Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, and cinematographer Hugh Johnson Ridley Scott made many commercials at RSA during the 1970s, including a notable 1974 Hovis advert, "Bike Round" (featuring the New World Symphony), filmed in Shaftesbury, Dorset.

Five members of the Scott family are directors, and all have worked for RSA.^[6] His brother Tony was a successful film director whose career spanned more than two decades; sons, Jake and Luke are both acclaimed commercials directors as is his daughter, Jordan Scott. Jake and Jordan both work from Los Angeles; Luke is based in London. In 1995, Shepperton Studios was purchased by a consortium headed by Ridley and Tony Scott, which extensively renovated the studios while also expanding and improving its grounds.^[7]