Simon Channing Williams. Photograph: Thin Man Films via Guardian
Legendary British film producer, Simon Channing Williams passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2009 due to complications with cancer.
Film London reports Simon Channing Williams: 1945 – 2009
The long-time collaborator of Mike Leigh and co-founder of Thin Man Films (established in 1988) was a well respected fixture in the film industry and his loss will be felt by many. Over the years he has brought many iconic films to our screens, including Palme D’Or winning Secrets & Lies, Oscar®-nominated Topsy-Turvy and critically acclaimed Vera Drake.
The Guardian UK writes Simon Channing Williams: an appreciation
Simon Channing Williams’s success as the producer of Mike Leigh’s films was grounded in his ability to work around the director’s uncompromisingly unorthodox methods. He will be sorely missed.
Simon Channing Williams may not have been the most immediately recognisable name outside the British film industry, but his partnership with Mike Leigh created one of the most significant and influential bodies of work to have emerged from this country. Channing Williams produced High Hopes, Leigh’s 1988 “return” to the cinema after a decade making TV films, and thereafter produced every one of Leigh’s films. But it was the 1996 film Secrets & Lies that was the undoubted high point of their collaboration; it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, was nominated for five Oscars, and won for Channing Williams himself Bafta’s Alexander Korda award for best British film.
More:
Simon Channing Williams 1945-2009 – indieWIRE
Simon Channing Williams: film producer | Times Online Obituary
Brit producer Simon Channing Williams dies Hollywood Reporter
Simon Channing Williams dies Variety
