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Garth Jennings

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Garth Jennings
Jennings in 2008
Born
Occupation(s)Director
Screenwriter
Actor
Years active1990–present
EmployerIllumination (2007–present)
SpouseLouise Jennings

Garth Jennings is an English director, screenwriter and actor.

Films he has directed include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Son of Rambow, Sing, and Sing 2. He co-founded the production company Hammer & Tongs.

Early life

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Jennings was born in Essex, England.[1]

Career

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Hammer and Tongs

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In 1993, Garth Jennings co-founded the production company Hammer & Tongs alongside Dominic Leung and Nick Goldsmith. The production company was primarily responsible for directing and writing music videos.[2][3][4] Their music video for Radiohead's song "Lotus Flower" earned Jennings a nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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Garth Jennings directed a number of films including the 2005 science fiction comedy film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,[3] based upon previous works in the media franchise of the same name, created by Douglas Adams. It stars Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and the voices of Stephen Fry, Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman.

Son of Rambow

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Set over a summer during the dawn of Thatcher's Britain, Son of Rambow is a coming of age story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by First Blood. The film premiered on 22 January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival.[5] It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival.[6] The film was also shown at the 51st BFI London Film Festival. Son of Rambow was released in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2008 and opened in limited release in the United States on 2 May 2008.[7]

Sing

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In January 2014, it was announced that Garth Jennings would write and direct an animated comedy film for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment.[8] The resulting film, Sing, was released in December 2016.[9] He also provided the voice for Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana employed as an administrative assistant to Buster Moon.[10] A sequel, titled Sing 2, was released on 22 December 2021.

Madame

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Garth Jennings directed, wrote and co-produced a short film titled Madame that was released in 2019. This film takes place inside a grand Parisian apartment where lives an elegant elderly lady. And inside this lady lives a monster.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Writer
2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Yes No
2008 Son of Rambow Yes Yes
2016 Sing Yes Yes
2021 Sing 2 Yes Yes

Acting credits

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Shaun of the Dead 'Fun Dead' Zombie
2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Frankie Mouse Voice role
2007 Hot Fuzz Crack Addict
2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox Bean's Son Voice role
2013 The World's End Man in Pub No. 5
2016 Sing Miss Crawly Voice role
2019 The Secret Life of Pets 2 Hamster
2021 Sing 2 Miss Crawly

Short film

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Year Title Director Writer Producer
2019 Madame Yes Yes Yes
2024 Sing: Thriller[11] Yes Yes No

Acting credits

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion Fritz
2017 Love at First Sight Miss Crawly Voice role
2024 Sing: Thriller

Music video

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Year Song Artist
1997 "Hit" The Wannadies
"Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out" Bentley Rhythm Ace
"Help the Aged" Pulp
1998 "A Little Soul"
"Cancer for the Cure" Eels
"Last Stop: This Town"
"Saint Joe on the School Bus" Marcy Playground
"The Flipside" Moloko
1999 "Coffee And TV" Blur
"Pumping on Your Stereo" Supergrass
"Right Here, Right Now" Fatboy Slim
"Summertime Blues" Guitar Wolf
2000 "Theme from Gutbuster" Bentley Rhythm Ace
"Disillusion" Badly Drawn Boy
2001 "Pissing in the Wind"
"Imitation of Life" R.E.M.
2002 "Lost Cause" Beck
2005 "Hell Yes"
"Low C" Supergrass
2007 "Nude" Radiohead
"Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
2008 "A-Punk" Vampire Weekend
2009 "Cousins"
2011 "Lotus Flower" Radiohead
2013 "Ingenue" Atoms For Peace

Awards and nominations

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Year Film Award Category Result
2000 Da Ali G Show Royal Television Society UK Best Graphic Design – Titles Won
Supergrass: Pumping on Your Stereo MTV Video Music Awards Best Art Direction in a video Nominated
2001 R.E.M.: Imitation of Life Best Direction in a video Nominated
2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Artios Award – Casting Society of America Best Featured Film Casting-Comedy Nominated
2006 Golden Trailer Award Most Original[12] Won
OFTA Film Awards Best Music, Original Song Nominated
Empire Awards UK Best British Film Nominated
Best Comedy Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards Best Voice Over Nominated
2008 Son of Rambow British Independent Film Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Most Promising Newcomer for Bill Milner and Will Poulter Nominated
Locarno International Film Festival Audience Award Won
Variety Piazza Grande Award Nominated
National Board of Review USA Top Independent Films Won
2009 BAFTA Awards Most Promising Newcomer Nominated
Empire Awards UK Best Comedy Won
Best British Film Nominated
2012 Radiohead: Lotus Flower Grammy Awards Best Short Form Music Video Nominated
2017 Sing[13] Golden Globe Awards Best Animated Feature Film Nominated
Best Original Song "Faith" – Ryan Tedder, Stevie Wonder and Francis Farewell Starlite Nominated
Annie Awards Music in an Animated Feature Production for Joby Talbot Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards Best Song for an Animated Film Nominated
Best Soundtrack Album Nominated
Outstanding Music Supervision for Jojo Villanueva Won
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Animated Movie Nominated
Favorite Voice from an animated movie for Reese Witherspoon Nominated
Most wanted pet for Reese Witherspoon Nominated
Favorite Soundtrack Nominated
Behind the Voice Actors Awards Best Male Vocal Performance in a feature film in a supporting role as the voice of "Miss Crawly" Nominated
British Academy Children's Awards Feature Film Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Animated Feature Film Nominated
AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards Best Movie for grownups who refuse to grow up Nominated
2019 Madame Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival Best Short Live Action / Best Short Animation Won
Seattle International Film Festival Best Film Nominated
HollyShorts Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
DC Shorts Festival Archived 8 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Official Selections Nominated
Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia Official Selections Nominated
Thriller! Chiller! Best Chill Won
Screamfest Horror Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Sapporo International Short Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Cambridge Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Aesthetica Short Film Festival Best Thriller Won
Foyle Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Druk International Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Shockfest Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Bahamas International Film Festival Official Selections Nominated
Anchorage International Film Festival Best Narrative Short Won
Horror Bowl Movie Awards Best Short Won
London Short Film Festival Official Selections Nominated

Books

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Year Title Publishing house
2015 The Deadly 7 Pan Macmillan
2017 The Wildest Cowboy (illustrated by Sara Ogilvie) Pan Macmillan
2019 The Good, The Bad and the Deadly 7 Pan Macmillan
2021 The Curse of the Deadly 7 Pan Macmillan

References

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  1. ^ Hogan, Michael (29 January 2017). "Garth Jennings: 'I was so stressed, awake at 3am thinking: What have I done?'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ Jennings, Garth (13 December 2010). "Garth Jennings: Kanye killed my video". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b Hubert, Andrea (29 March 2008). "Boys in the mud". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  4. ^ Dee, Johnny (12 March 2011). "Internet picks of the week". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Son of Rambow". Sundance.org. Retrieved 2 May 2008. [verification needed]
  6. ^ "Son of Rambow (2007) – Release dates". IMDb. Retrieved 2 May 2008. [verification needed]
  7. ^ "Son of Rambow (2007) – Release dates". IMDb. Retrieved 2 May 2008. [verification needed]
  8. ^ "'Despicable Me 3' Set For June 2017 Release; 'Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas' Arrives Five Months Later". Deadline Hollywood. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  9. ^ Idelson, Karen (20 December 2016). "Director Garth Jennings Switches to a New Beat With 'Sing'". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  10. ^ Thomas, Sarah (9 December 2016). "Sing writer-director Garth Jennings on the feel-good magic of animals making music". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  11. ^ Richardson, Kalia (15 October 2024). "Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson Return as Singing Animals in 'Sing: Thriller'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Golden Trailer Awards for 2005 at IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 24 September 2018. [verification needed]
  13. ^ Borys Kit (15 January 2015). "Matthew McConaughey to Star in Illimination Animated Film (EXCLUSIVE)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
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