Peter Shaw (born 6 November 1942) is a British film producer, known for Champions, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Water Babies, The Will to Work, and Enigma.
Early life Shaw was born on 6 November 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire, the son of Thomas William and Margaret Aylwen. He was educated at Eton College, followed by a three-year short service commission in the British Army serving with the Royal Green Jackets.
Career In 1970 Shaw identified a pressing need for new, up-to-date management training films. Between 1970 and 1973 he produced eight industrial training films, distributed worldwide by the Rank Organisation, winning a Grierson for "The Will to Work"; meanwhile he expanded his film interests. From 1970 to 1980 he co-produced a 12 part TV series Let's Face It and a number of TV documentaries and cinema shorts, including: The World of Miss World, Race for the Double Helix, Maharajahs, Victorians, Display, Sport of Kings, Wind in the Wires.
In 1971 Shaw acquired the screen rights to Nicholas Monsarrat's novel Something to Hide, which went into production in 1972 starring Peter Finch and Shelley Winters, directed by Alistair Reid. In 1975 he teamed up with producer Joseph Shaftel to produce a remake of the 1945 movie The Spiral Staircase directed by Peter Collinson and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Plummer distributed by Warner Bros. Then in 1978 he produced The Water Babies and Eagles Wing for The Rank Organisation in 1979. In 1982 Shaw produced Enigma in Paris as an Anglo/French co-production; with screenplay by John Briley, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Martin Sheen, Bridget Fosse, Sam Neill.
In 1984 he formed and became CEO of United British Artists Ltd (UBA). Shortly after formation he negotiated "first look" deals for UBA with MGM/UA in Hollywood and with TESE in UK.
In 2017, he acted as executive producer on The Ninth Passenger, which was shot and produced in Canada and which he had previously developed with Lionsgate (UK) in London.
Filmography +YearTitleRoleNotes ref1972Something to HideAssociate producerThriller film directed by Alastair Reid1974The World of Miss WorldProducerDocumentary directed by Tony Palmer1975The Spiral StaircaseProducerHorror mystery thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and a remake of the 1945 film of the same name1978The Water BabiesProducerLive action-animated feature film directed by Lionel Jeffries1979Eagle's WingExecutive producerEuro-Western Eastmancolor film directed by Anthony Harvey1982EnigmaProducerAnglo-American drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc1984ChampionsProducerBased on the true story of jockey Bob Champion and directed by John Irvin1986CastawayExecutive producerAdventure-drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and adapted from its namesake 1984 book by Lucy Irvine1988TaffinProducerIrish thriller film directed by Francis Megahy 1997 Keep the Aspidistra Flying Producer The Tale of Sweeney Todd Executive producer and story Crime-drama/horror television film directed by John Schlesinger2017The Ninth PassengerExecutive producerHorror Movie
Awards +YearFilmAwardResult1971Will to WorkJohn Grierson Award for best Industrial documentary filmWinner1984ChampionsBerlin International Film Festival Golden Bear AwardNominated
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