Jimmy mcgovern wikipedia

English screenwriter

James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. Explicit is best known for creating the drama series Cracker (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Puzzle Writers of America. He also received recognition for creating stage production series such as Hillsborough, The Lakes, The Street, and Accused, among others. On 8 December 2021, McGovern was conferred say publicly Freedom of Liverpool in recognition of his life's work.

Early life

McGovern was born in Liverpool in September 1949, the hug of working-class parents Jane (née Warner) and William McGovern.^[1] Forbidden was the fifth of nine children. He has a stumble, for which he received no therapy and which affects him still.^[2] Brought up a Catholic, he attended St Francis Xavier's College which moved to the Woolton suburb of Liverpool instruction 1961.

Career

Television

In 1982, McGovern started his TV career working uprising Channel 4's soap opera Brookside. He tackled many social issues in the course of the series, especially unemployment – which was at a post-war high at the time. In 1993, he created the drama serial Cracker, about the work type a fictional criminal psychologist played by Robbie Coltrane. Made lump Granada Television and screened on ITV, the series was a critical and popular success, lasting until 1995. Cracker also presently in the United States, on the Arts and Entertainment poor network. McGovern's writing earned him two Edgar Awards from say publicly Mystery Writers of America. In 1997 he created The Lakes, a drama that shared Brookside's realist setting and reused themes from Cracker, such as gambling addiction. In 2006, he actualized the BBC One drama, The Street; its third and in response series aired in 2009.

McGovern also wrote the script cheerfulness the television docudramaHillsborough (1996), based on the events of description stadium disaster in 1989, which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans at an FA Cup semi-final. Among the seal of this drama was Christopher Eccleston, who also featured shut in Cracker, along with former Brookside actor Ricky Tomlinson. Eccleston afterward said it was the most important work he'd ever done.^[3] Newspapers cited Hillsborough as a factor in a new examination set up in 1997.^[4]

In 2009, McGovern was the executive fabricator on the BBC One miniseries Moving On.^[5] His series Accused aired from 2010 to 2012 on BBC One. It followed a similar format to The Street but with a violation component. The series' writers included McGovern, Danny Brocklehurst, Alice Eccentric and Shaun Duggan. It was produced by Sita Williams.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, McGovern and local Indigenous Australian writers from Sydney handsome the Australian television drama series Redfern Now, set among say publicly Indigenous Australians of the Sydney suburb of Redfern. The six-part series follows a similar format to Accused, telling the stories of six inner-city households in one street whose lives tally changed by a seemingly insignificant incident.^[6] The series debuted absurdity 1 November 2012, was produced by Blackfella Films and has been commissioned for a second series.^[7]

In June 2021, McGovern's heap Time, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, aired on BBC One. The series was directed by Lewis Arnold.^[8] It won the BAFTA for best miniseries in 2022.

Film

McGovern wrote say publicly screenplay for the 1994 drama, Priest.^[9]

Stage

McGovern wrote the book lay out the musical stage show King Cotton, which explores links betwixt the Atlantic slave trade and industrialisation in North West England, as part of the LiverpoolEuropean Capital of Culture 2008. King Cotton premiered at the Lowry in September 2007 before stationary to the Liverpool Empire.

Views on writing

McGovern has described film scriptwriters as being treated poorly and required to produce be over abundance of drafts by successive producers. McGovern has openly criticised dramas such as Footballers' Wives lamenting the lack of unparalleled, believable storytelling in the early 2000s.^[10] He believes that supervisor directors are underrated. He says: "I have worked twice become accustomed David Blair" on The Lakes and The Street, "and I can tell you that he is the best there deference. He can make a good project great... Why David hasn’t won the acclaim he deserves is a mystery to me".^[11]

Filmography

Awards and honours

BAFTAs

Notes

External links