Paul King
Paul King at BAFTA Children
Child interviews King at British Academy Children's Awards 2015
Born
Paul Thomas King

July 1978 (age 44)
EducationSt Catharine's College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupations
  • Writer
  • director
Years active1999–present
Notable workPaddington

Paul King (born 1978) is a British writer and director. He works in television, film and theatre, and specialises in comedy. His work on the family comedy films Paddington (2014) and its 2017 sequel both earned him BAFTA nominations for Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Career

King graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge with first-class honours in English in 1999.[1] While at Cambridge he met Richard Ayoade, Matthew Holness and Alice Lowe, and went on to direct them at the Edinburgh Festival in "Garth Marenghi's FrightKnight" (nominated for the Perrier Award in 2000), and "Netherhead" (Perrier Award winner 2001). King worked as associate director on the subsequent TV transfer, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a six-part series for Channel 4. In 2002, King garnered another Perrier Award nomination for directing Noel Fielding's Edinburgh Festival show, "Voodoo Hedgehog".

King is also the director of BBC's The Mighty Boosh.[2] He has directed all three series (earning a BAFTA nomination as Best New Director in 2005[3]), as well as their live tour shows in 2006 and 2008. King was originally brought in after the director of the pilot, Steve Bendelack, was unavailable to direct the first series. He also directed Matt Lucas and David Walliams' 2011 airport mockumentary Come Fly With Me.

Bunny and the Bull, which King wrote and directed, was released in 2009. The film stars Simon Farnaby and Edward Hogg, with cameos from Noel Fielding, Richard Ayoade and Julian Barratt.[4]

King's follow-up feature was the book-to-screen adaptation Paddington (2014), which he directed and co-wrote with Hamish McColl.[5][6] The film was a critical and commercial success,[7][8] earning King nominations for both the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the BAFTA Award for Best British Film (shared with the film's producer David Heyman).[9]

The positive reception for Paddington resulted in the green-lighting of a sequel. King returned to direct and write Paddington 2 (2017). The film received a theatrical release on 10 November 2017 in the U.K.[10] and 12 January 2018 in the U.S.[11] King's upcoming projects include a film about the origins of Willy Wonka and a documentary film on the Artemis 1 mission called Kensal Town which will be shown on Disney+.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer
2009 Bunny and the Bull Yes Yes
2014 Paddington Yes Yes
2017 Paddington 2 Yes Yes
2023 Wonka[13] Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2004 Garth Marenghi's Darkplace Associate No 6 episodes
2004–2007 The Mighty Boosh Yes No 20 episodes
2007 Dogface Yes Yes 5 episodes
2009 The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour Yes No Live show
2010–2011 Come Fly with Me Yes No 6 episodes
2011 Little Crackers Yes No 2 episodes
2020 Space Force Yes No 2 episodes

References

  1. ^ "Congregations of the Regent House on 25 and 26 June 1999". Cambridge University Reporter. CXXIX (5781). 7 July 1999. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. ^ "The Mighty Boosh: the production team". BBC Press Office. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Television Craft: New Director - Fiction in 2005". BAFTA. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  4. ^ Bunny and the Bull at IMDb
  5. ^ Singh, Anita (14 May 2012). "David Heyman: Paddington Bear is a story about an outsider finding a home". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  6. ^ Jacob, Stolworthy. "Paddington 2 recruits Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson as filming begins". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Paddington (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Paddington (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Film in 2015". BAFTA. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  10. ^ Keslassy, Elsa. "Studiocanal Signs Licensing Deals Ahead of 'Paddington 2' Release". Variety. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  11. ^ Busch, Anita. "TWC Schedules 'Paddington 2' For Wide Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (12 February 2018). "'Paddington' Director Paul King in Talks for 'Willy Wonka' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Warner Bros. Sets 'Wonka' Prequel for 2023 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

External links

Films directed by Paul King
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