David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter series and the three films of its prequel series, Fantastic Beasts.[3][4] His work on the Harry Potter series brought him critical and commercial success along with accolades, such as the British Academy Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing.[4]
Yates is a founding member of Directors UK.[7] He has had a close partnership with Warner Bros. as a director and producer.[8]
Early life
David was born on 8 October 1963 in St Helens, Lancashire, England.[n 1] His parents died when he was young.[9] Raised in the village of Rainhill, Yates was inspired to pursue a career in filmmaking after watching Steven Spielberg's 1975 movie Jaws.[1] Yates's mother bought him a Super 8mm camera. He used this to shoot various films in which his friends and family featured.[10] One such film, The Ghost Ship, was shot on board the vessel where his uncle worked as a cook.[11] He attended Grange Park High School,[12]St Helens College and then the University of Essex.[13][14][15] Yates said that he "used to skive off college all the time" and never expected to attend university before being surprised by his A-Level exam results. While at the University of Essex, Yates formed the Film and Video Production Society.[16] He graduated with a BA in Government in 1987.[17]
In 1988, Yates made his first film When I Was a Girl in Swindon. The film entered the festival circuit where it was named Best Short Film at the San Francisco International Film Festival. It contributed towards Yates's acceptance into the National Film and Television School in 1989 and led to the BBC hiring him to direct Oranges and Lemons, a short drama film in 1991. Before completing film school, he began to direct, produce and write the screenplay to the dramatic short The Weaver's Wife. He also made his fourth short film, Good Looks, which was presented at the Chicago International Film Festival. After graduating in 1992, Yates directed an episode of the film studies programme Moving Pictures.[10][13][19][20][21][22]
One year later, Yates attended the 56th BAFTA Awards with a British Academy Film Award nomination for Best Short Film for the fourteen-minute production, Rank, which expressed the social elements of racism, friendship and adolescence through the story of a street gang that cross Glasgow to witness the arrival of a group of Somali refugees.[29][30] Yates said that even though The Way We Live Now was "a very big production" and "enormous fun to do", Rank was an opportunity to "shake all that off" and "get back to [his] roots". Of the casting, Yates said that he "wanted to use non-actors to tell the story, to create a reality ... the kids we cast in Glasgow had never done a film before."[10] The film was noted for its gritty style and cinematography, with a review from Eye For Film stating that "such intelligent use of camera and cast lifts Yates out of the pool of promising young directors into the front line of genuine hopefuls. This work demands respect."[19][31]
Yates directed the television adaptation of nine-year-old Daisy Ashford's novel The Young Visiters, starring Jim Broadbent alongside Hugh Laurie. According to a review by Variety magazine for BBC America, Yates and his team yielded "a warm and surprisingly unsentimental production that has 'evergreen' written all over it".[38]
In 2004, Yates's two-part drama Sex Traffic was broadcast on Channel 4. It won eight BAFTA Awards including Best Editing for Mark Day, who regularly worked with Yates on many of his television projects and short films. Day commented on his collaboration with Yates saying that "we are very good friends because we have spent so much time together". He also said, "David shoots in a similar style from piece to piece, although this wasn’t quite as frantic as State of Play."[39] Yates was nominated for another Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for his direction of Sex Traffic and won his second BAFTA for Best Drama Serial at the British Academy Television Awards.[40] Being a British-Canadian production, Sex Traffic gained four wins at Canada's annual television award ceremony, the Gemini Awards, including Best Dramatic Miniseries. Spanning across two parts, the three-hour-long drama reveals how the trafficking of young women into slavery is a big business which operates throughout Europe; both parts were acclaimed for their "shocking" portrayal of such a sensitive topic.[41][42][43]
During the period of working on plans for Brideshead Revisited, Yates was told by his agent that he had made the director shortlist for the fifth film in the Harry Potter series and that Warner Bros. was eyeing him to direct. Shortly after, he was confirmed to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Warner Bros. Pictures, with production scheduled to begin in early 2006.[45][48] When asked how Yates got the job, producer David Heyman ("a big fan" of Yates's television work)[49] said that "actors in David's television projects give their best performance, often of their career. It's important to keep pushing the actors, particularly the young ones on each Potter film. This is a political film, not with a capital P, but it's about teen rebellion and the abuse of power. David has made films in the U.K. about politics without being heavy handed."[50]
Before production began, Yates invited Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell to a pub and "picked his brains about what it was going to be like to step into someone's shoes on a movie of this scale".[3] The first scene that Yates shot featured a giant interacting with human characters. The scene was the very first high-scale visual effects piece Yates filmed in his career.[3][51] After the film's post-production material was well received by the studio, Yates was chosen to direct the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which according to Yates was going to be "a cross between the chills of Prisoner of Azkaban [the third film in the series] and the fantastical adventure of Goblet of Fire".[6][44]
In 2007, Order of the Phoenix opened to positive reviews and commercial success. Yates won the title of Best Director at the Empire Awards and collected the People's Choice Award from the European Film Academy.[52] However, the film was criticised by fans of the series for having the shortest running time out of the five released instalments; Yates said that the original director's cut was "probably over three hours", resulting in much footage being cut, condensed and edited to fit within the studio's preferred time frame.[53][54]
During production of Half-Blood Prince, Warner Bros. executive Alan F. Horn announced that the seventh and final novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was to be split into two cinematic parts with Yates, once again, as the director.[55] Yates spoke of the decision to appoint him as the director of the final films, remarking that "they wanted to do a Harry Potter that felt ... more grown up. What's smart about the studio and the producers is they have always wanted to push it a bit. Chris Columbus did a wonderful job of casting and making this world incredibly popular. But rather than do more of the same, they said, 'Let's bring in Alfonso Cuarón and let him run with it. Then later, let's bring in David Yates, who's done all this hard-hitting stuff on TV.' It's a testament to their ambition to try to keep the franchise fresh. The bizarre thing is, I did one [film] and they asked me to stay for three more, so obviously they liked something."[3]
Half-Blood Prince was released in 2009 and became the only film in the series to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.[56][57] Yates worked alongside French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel on, what Yates called, extensively colour grading the "incredibly rich" picture by making it look "very European" and drawing influences from the Dutch painter Rembrandt.[58][59][60] The film garnered a mix of accolades and was acclaimed for its stylised character-driven approach, but some fans complained about the script's deviation from the novel and the film's slight romantic comedy nature.[61] In response to this criticism, BAFTA member and film critic Mark Kermode praised Yates's direction and ranked the film "second best" in the series, behind Prisoner of Azkaban.[62]
Part 1 was released worldwide in November 2010 to commercial success along with generally positive reviews, some of which reflected on Yates's directing style. The Dallas Morning News affirmed that "David Yates' fluid, fast-paced direction sends up the crackling tension of a thriller" and The New York Times analysed Yates's approach to J. K. Rowling's character development by saying that he has "demonstrated a thorough, uncondescending sympathy for her characters, in particular the central trio of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter himself."[68][69] The film was praised for its "dark" atmosphere and its loyalty to the source material, but it was criticised for its slow middle act, the handling of exposition, and the somewhat disjointed pacing.[70][71]
Part 2 was screened in July 2011 and became an instant record-breaking success with critical acclaim.[72][73]The Daily Telegraph described Part 2 as "monumental cinema awash with gorgeous tones" and Total Film wrote that Yates combines "spectacle and emotion into a thrilling final chapter."[74][75] Author J. K. Rowling remarked that "everyone who watches Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is going to see that he's steered us home magnificently. It's incredible."[76][77] Part 2 is one of two Harry Potter films to pass the $1 billion mark during its original theatrical run; it became the highest-grossing film in the series and the highest-grossing film of 2011, making Yates the director of the highest-grossing non-James Cameron film of all time in August 2011.[78][79] Amongst other accolades, Yates won his second Empire Award for Best Director and joined the principal creative team of Harry Potter in receiving the 2012 ADG Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery for their work on Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and the series in general.[80]
By 2012, Yates was working on a few Warner Bros. projects, including a Tarzan feature film and an Al Capone biopic called Cicero.[82][83] He also controversially said that he was working with BBC Worldwide on plans to develop a Doctor Who film,[84] although this was denied by the showrunner, Steven Moffat, in July 2012.[85] Because of production delays, Yates began to explore other projects including television work.[86]
Yates directed the 2018 sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald which received mixed critical reception but emerged a box office success having grossed $654 million. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he stated he was open to directing all five planned films in the Fantastic Beasts series.[91] He returned to direct the third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in 2022 which also received mixed critical reception and grossed $407 million worldwide, making it a box office disappointment and the lowest-grossing film in the Wizarding World franchise.
Yates has a younger brother and an elder sister.[9] He is married to Yvonne Walcott.[12] He is the uncle of former professional footballer Theo Walcott.[94]
Directorial style
Commenting on their work on Harry Potter, Emma Watson stated that Yates liked to push the cast and crew to physical and emotional extremes, with Gary Oldman confirming Yates's preference for working slowly by shooting numerous takes to draw the finest performances out of the cast.[95][96] Yates has been influenced by such directors as Steven Spielberg, David Lean, and Ken Loach.[10] Yates's style of work includes social and political themes, character-driven narratives, realism, and atmospheric drama.[97][98][99]
^Yates was born in Lancashire, 1963, and was raised in the village of Rainhill. This was before the creation of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside in April 1974, in which Rainhill is now included.
^ ab"BAFTA Honors John Lasseter and David Yates 11/30". Broadway World (Los Angeles). 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011. The worldwide success of Mr. Lasseter for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and Mr. Yates's contribution to the final four parts of the 'Harry Potter' franchise makes them global wizards in their own right, and are delighted to honor these remarkable filmmakers with this year's Britannia Award.
^ ab"Ten Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince facts". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011. Director David Yates, one of British TV's most respected director (thanks to the drama series State of Play)...
^"The Tichborne Claimant". Philip Kemp, Sight and Sound. December 1999. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. Yates, making his feature-film debut after directing television documentaries about British seaside towns...
^"Cast & Creative ... Honor Blackman". My Fair Lady. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011. Honor presented a documentary for Workhouse TV/Meridian about Brighton which formed part of A TALE OF THREE SEASIDE TOWNS.
^"PUNCH". British Board of Film Classification. 9 February 1996. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
^"Movie: The Tichborne Claimant". Movie Station. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011. Filming Locations: Croxteth Hall, Croxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK ... Isle of Man ... Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
^"The tichborne claimant". British Board of Film Classification. 23 November 2000. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
^"Rank ... 4.5/5 stars". Angus Wolfe Murray, Eye for Film. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
^"TV Spielfilm Award 2004 "State of Play" by David Yates". Cologne Conference. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011. This year's TV Spielfilm Award goes to David Yates' "State of Play". The Cologne Conference congratulates David Yates.
^Tim Lusher (12 January 2010). "The Guardian's top 50 television dramas of all time". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2011. Our TV critics have voted, debated and decided on a top 50 of classic TV drama series
^Hurst, Greg (19 December 2009). "The top 50 TV shows of the Noughties". The Times. UK: Andrew Billen, David Chater, Tim Teeman, Caitlin Moran. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2011. Fists fly as The Times's frontline TV critics argue out the best 50 programmes of the decade
^ ab"Exclusive Interview: David Yates for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"". Paul Fischer, Dark Horizons. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011. He had been developing a version of Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited in 2004 for the studio's art house division, Warner Independent Pictures, with husband-and-wife actors Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly negotiating to play the leads, but after finally landing the highly coveted "Potter" job and with budget issues stalling "Brideshead," Yates transitioned into his new assignment.
^ abHarvey, Dennis (18 July 2008). "Variety Reviews: Brideshead Revisited". Variety. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2011. Reportedly, Paul Bettany, Jude Law and Jennifer Connelly were attached until helmer David Yates was poached for last year's 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.' One can say, in this case, that settling for the B team turned out well.
^Amy Raphael (24 June 2007). "How I raised Potter's bar". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2011. Without wishing to sound rude, how did he get the job? 'You're not the first to ask,' he laughs...
^D'Alessandro, Anthony (9 July 2007). "WB Wild For Harry Potter". Variety. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
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