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Gareth Neame

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Gareth Neame
OBEDL
Neame at an event forDownton Abbeycast and creators, May 2014
Born(1967-03-08)8 March 1967(age 57)
Occupation(s)Television producer and executive

Gareth Elwin NeameOBEDL(born 8 March 1967) is a British television producer and executive. As an executive at theBBC,Neame presided over the development of the dramasSpooks,State of Play,Bodies,Hustle,New TricksandTipping the Velvet.He was executive producer of the historical drama seriesDownton Abbeyand originally proposed the idea to its writer and creatorJulian Fellowes.[1]He is a recipient of theEmmy,BAFTAandGolden Globeawards.

Early life[edit]

Neame is the fourth generation of a family whose involvement in cinema and television spanned the past century.[2]His great-grandparents were the photographer and pioneer filmmaker Elwin Neame (1885–1923) and the film actressIvy Close.Neame's grandfather was the director, producer, cinematographer and writerRonald NeameCBE, his great uncle was the author and screenwriter Derek Neame (1915–1979) and his father was the writer and producerChristopher Elwin Neame(1942–2011).

He attended the independentSeaford Collegein West Sussex.[3]He read English and Drama at theUniversity of Birmingham.

Career[edit]

Since 2004, he has been CEO ofCarnival Films,the British studio which has produced television series such asPoirot,Traffik,Jeeves and Wooster,Hotel Babylon,WhitechapelandStan Lee's Lucky Man.In 2008, Neame sold the company toNBCUniversal[4]as part of its new international TV studios, producing shows such asThe PhilanthropistforNBCand the historical drama seriesDownton Abbey.[5]

Neame executive produced all episodes of the show which has won numerous national and international awards, as well as receiving aGuinness World Recordfor the highest critical review ratings for a TV show ever. Neame was also honoured by theProducers Guild of Americawith theDavid L. Wolperaward for outstanding producer of long-form television. The subsequent movie released in September 2019, produced by Neame, was No.1 in the box office in North America and the UK, and is Focus Features' most successful release[6]grossing in excess of $200 million.[7]In August 2015, Neame accepted a BAFTA Special Award in recognition of Downton Abbey's global success, alongside Julian Fellowes and members of the cast.[8]A sequel to the first film,Downton Abbey: A New Era,was released in 2021, with much of the original cast returning. A third film was announced in May 2024.[9]

Other series which Neame has produced at Carnival includeBelgravia,JamestownandThe Hollow Crown,a filmed anthology of Shakespeare's history plays. He has collaborated withSir David Hareon hisWorrickertrilogy, and produced the BAFTA award-winning seriesThe Lost Honour of Christopher JefferiesandAny Human Heart.Carnival Films was recognised as best production company at both the Broadcast Awards[10]and Televisual Bulldog Awards in 2012. Neame also produced five seasons of the popular seriesThe Last Kingdomfor Netflix, with a spin-off movieSeven Kings Must Diereleased in April 2023. Also at Carnival Films, Neame has developed and producedThe Day of the Jackal (TV series)andLockerbie (TV series),and is the Executive Producer onHBO's seriesThe Gilded Age.

Neame was named byGQmagazine as one of the 100 most connected men in Britain in March 2014[11]and in December 2014 was announced by10 Downing Streetas an Ambassador of the GREAT Britain campaign.[12]Neame has also been interviewed as part of theArchive of American Television,[13]and has been listed in the Variety 500 index of most influential business leaders in the global entertainment industry.[14]

Personal life[edit]

Neame was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the2016 Birthday Honoursfor services to drama.[15]Neame is also aDeputy Lieutenant(DL) of Greater London.[16]He holds an honorary doctorate at the University of Birmingham, where he is Honorary Professor in the Creative Industries.[17]

When Neame discovered that a portrait of his great-grandmotherIvy Close– which had been painted bySir Arthur Hackerafter she won theDaily Mirror's contest to find the World's Most Beautiful Woman, exhibited at theRoyal Academyin London, and used to fill the newspaper's front page on 4 May 1908 – was in the collection of theFerens Art GalleryinHullbut not on display because it required restoration, he paid for the necessary work.[18]

Neame is a Life Patron of TheLandmark Trustand through his charitable foundation supports causes includingTogether for Short Lives,music and drama scholarships, youth organisations, conservation and the arts and veterans. He is a Freeman of The City of London and a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^Preston, John (16 September 2011)."Downton Abbey uncovered".Archivedfrom the original on 16 May 2020.Retrieved26 September2021– via telegraph.co.uk.
  2. ^Wilson, Stacey (19 June 2013)."Emmy Roundtable with the Cast and Crew of 'Downton Abbey'"(video interview).The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2013.Retrieved12 December2013.
  3. ^"news".oldseafordians.org.Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2017.Retrieved20 December2017.
  4. ^Neate, Rupert (21 August 2008)."NBC Universal snaps up Carnival Films".The Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2017.Retrieved12 December2013.
  5. ^Philiana Ng (31 July 2021)."'Downton Abbey': What to Expect From the Second Season ".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on 24 March 2021.Retrieved29 February2012.
  6. ^D'Alessandro, Anthony (17 October 2019)."'Downton Abbey' Becomes Focus Features' Highest-Grossing Pic at Domestic B.O. With $84M+, Unseating 'Brokeback Mountain'".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on 28 December 2019.Retrieved6 January2020.
  7. ^"Downton Abbey (2019) – Financial Information".The Numbers.Archivedfrom the original on 2 September 2019.Retrieved6 January2020.
  8. ^"Downton Abbey Receives BAFTA Tribute and Special Award".Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2016.Retrieved18 January2016.
  9. ^https:// focusfeatures /article/downton-abbey-3_announcement
  10. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20120311024230/http:// broadcastawards.co.uk/360671
  11. ^"GQ and ei's 100 Most Connected Men 2014".GQ.8 December 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 5 June 2017.Retrieved21 June2022.
  12. ^"HOME".GREAT Campaign.Archivedfrom the original on 18 August 2021.Retrieved26 September2021.
  13. ^"Gareth Neame".Television Academy Interviews.22 October 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2021.Retrieved26 September2021.
  14. ^Ramsay, Derek (8 December 2017)."Gareth Neame".Archivedfrom the original on 25 January 2021.Retrieved26 September2021.
  15. ^"No. 61608".The London Gazette(Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B14.
  16. ^"No. 63621".The London Gazette.18 February 2022. p. 3074.
  17. ^https:// birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/downton-abbey-producer-appointed-honorary-professor
  18. ^Youngs, Ian (14 January 2017)."Britain's first beauty queen Ivy Close is back in the frame".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 14 January 2017.Retrieved14 January2017.
  19. ^https://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/documents/g19767/Agenda%20frontsheet%2003rd-Dec-2019%2012.30%20Court%20of%20Aldermen.pdf?T=0

External links[edit]

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