David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is an English film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. In 1999, Heyman secured the film rights to the Harry Potter film series and went on to produce all eight installments. He is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture as the producer of Gravity in 2013.
Life and career[]
Heyman was born in London, England. He is the son of John Heyman, producer of films such as The Go-Between and Jesus, and Norma Heyman (née Parnell), an actress and Oscar-nominated producer of Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs Henderson Presents. His paternal grandparents were German Jews who left Nazi Germany and emigrated to England prior to WWII, while his mother's family was English. He went to Westminster School, London, and following graduation he decided to study abroad, earning a degree in Art History from Harvard University in the U.S. in 1983.
He got his start in the film industry as a production assistant on David Lean's A Passage to India, and in 1986, Heyman became a creative executive at Warner Brothers. In the late '80s, he became vice president of United Artists and subsequently embarked on an independent producing career with his first film, Juice, in 1992, followed by the cult "stoner" film The Stoned Age (1994) and others.
In 1997, Heyman returned to London and founded his own production company, Heyday Films, and since then produced a number of notable films, including the popular Harry Potter film adaptations, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Heyman makes a cameo appearance as a wizard featured in a magical moving portrait on the DVD of the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
In 2005, Heyman was the executive producer of the CBS television series Threshold, while notable recent productions include the 2007 blockbuster I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, holocaust drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, starring David Thewlis, and Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock. He has also produced the John Crowley movie Is Anybody There?, starring Michael Caine.
After finishing work on the Harry Potter films, Heyman produced film adaptations of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, directed by Steve Kloves, and Paddington Bear, directed by Paul King. He is also developing projects with Potter director David Yates. Heyman will also be producing Fables, based on the comic book series.
Heyman is set to produce the fantasy film franchise Queen of the Tearling, teaming up with Emma Watson to star lead in the film as Kelsea Glynn. The film is an adaptation of an upcoming 2014 eponymous book written by Erika Johansen.
Personal life[]
Heyman lives in Pimlico in central London, and is married to interior designer Rose (Batstone) Uniacke. They have one son.
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