Michael Apted, the award-winning British filmmaker behind the groundbreaking work 7 op documentaries and such feature films as Coal miner’s daughter, The world is not enough, Gorillas in the mist and Gorky Park, died. He was 79. The Gersh Agency confirmed the news but did not immediately provide information on Apted’s death.
From 2003-09, Apted served three terms as DGA president, the longest consecutive presidential service since the 1960s.
“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of the esteemed director, longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted,” said DGA President Thomas Schlamme. ‘His legacy will forever be woven into the fabric of the theater and our guild. Michael was a fearless visionary as a director and unparalleled guild leader and saw the course of things when others did not, and we were all the beneficiaries of his wisdom and lifelong dedication. ”
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Apted has had dozens of film and TV credits during his half-century career – ranging from the long British soap opera Kroningsstraat and ITV Playhouse on Mavericks chase and Masters of sex. Along the way, he also has features such as Agatha, Continental Divide, Thunderheart, Class Action, Critical Condition, Wonderful Grace, Extreme Measures and Enigma.
Winner of three BAFTA Awards and several DGA Awards – including some of the guild’s career nods – Apted gained international fame for the 7 op documentaries filming 14 British children every seven years aged 7-63. He takes over the series with the second installment – 1970s 7 Plus Seven – and helped all the subsequent iterations that were titled thereafter 21 Op, 28 Op, etc.
28 Op and 35 Op Won BAFTA awards, and the next two deliveries garnered group nominations.
One of Apted’s most famous films is Coal miner’s daughter (1980), who played Sissy Spacek in her Oscar-winning role as country music legend Loretta Lynn. The film also won five other Oscars, including Best Picture, but Apted is overlooked. He did receive a DGA nomination for the film.
Apted also helped the 1999s The world is not enough, the 19th James Bond film and Pierce Brosnan’s third of four as Agent 007.
His numerous other credit directors include Unlock, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Nell and Enough. His documentaries are also included Incident at Oglala, Bring on the Night, Moving the Mountain, Isaac Newton and I and Power of the game.
Apted joined the DGA in 1978 and became active in guild service in 1997, when he was first elected to the Western Board. In 2001 he was elected to the National Council and became the fifth vice-president the following year. Together with Steven Soderbergh, he also founded the guild’s independent directors’ committee in 1998 and served as chairman until he was elected president of the guild. In the years following his presidency, he promoted DGA’s efforts in Washington as co – chair of the Political Action Committee Leadership Council and to teach the world about the history of the guild as chair of the Advisory Committee for the 75th anniversary.
“I have spent countless hours literally two meters from Michael and loved every minute of it,” said Soderbergh, a former national president of the DGA and co-chair of the Creative Rights Committee, who worked with Apted in both roles in the served throughout Apted’s presidency. “Apart from his own exceptional work, he cannot measure what he has given to the DGA; he put his whole being into the guild and inspired us all to follow his example. We were happy to have him and to know him. ”
DGA negotiations during Apted’s tenure as president included the 2004 round that successfully protected health benefits and the 2007 round that established the jurisdiction and compensation formulas in new media. Following his presidency, Apted, along with the current president of DGA President Schlamme, served as co-chair of the DGA Negotiating Committee in the 2014 and 2017 cycles – most recently making unprecedented gains in subscription videos on demand residues that set the pattern for the industry. He also served as secretary in the National Council until 2019.
“Whether he had the foresight as a young man to conceptualize the revolutionary documentary series 7 OP Whether he showed great support for large-scale features, whether negotiating rights during the digital revolution of our industry, or advocating for independent filmmakers and inclusion, Michael’s search for the truth and what is right was evident in everything he tried. , ”Said Schlamme. “With his steadfast hand, keen mind and keen eye for the future, he has led our guild through times of great change, paving the way for our industry and benefiting thousands and thousands. He always generously extends a hand to those who stand behind him and understand how important it is to activate leadership in the next generation. What I considered an innocent lunch with him twenty years ago changed my lifelong commitment to this guild, all thanks to his passion and faith in me. I, like so many others, will forever be grateful for his mentorship. Words cannot express how much he is going to be missed. Our wife goes out to his wife Paige and his children Jim, John and Lily. ”
Here are some more tributes from Apted’s DGA colleagues:
Jay Roth, former national executive director of DGA, who worked with Apted at the guild for more than 20 years:
“Michael led with strength, tremendous sensitivity and heart,” he said. ‘He became a passion for the guild after his creative rights battle for the removal of 30 minutes from his thoroughly researched film. Thunderhart, about Native Americans. He continues to create our Independent Directors Committee, to bring new blood into the guild, and quickly becomes involved in management and leadership. And although he was an independent filmmaker, creative rights and documentary filmmaker, he did not long become president of the DGA.
“Michael has helped define our guild for the past two decades,” Roth added, “and through it all, he has been my friend, my confidant, and my comrade. While he was a ‘boyfriend’, we traveled the world full, shared books and stories, enjoyed good wine and food, and stood the hardest times in the most difficult times. He has enriched the lives of us all. ”
Former DGA president Paris Barclay, with whom Apted also served as secretary-treasurer:
‘Michael had a deep and profound influence on the Guild and on me. His cleverness in negotiations, how he encouraged the Guild’s efforts for inclusion, and how he led the Guild with a faster and more elegant, inspired me and so many others to participate in leadership. He was my teacher, my mentor, my advisor and my friend. We owe him so much – to lose him leaves a hole in the heart of the guild. ”
Former DGA President Taylor Hackford, who succeeded Apted as DGA President, and who also served on Apted with Secretary Treasurer:
‘Michael Apted was the definition of’ human ‘. Just like the amazing director he was, you could always count on him to deliver a clear and well-thought-out point of view, usually with a bunch of dry sourdough leaven. He was my trusted colleague at the DGA for over thirty years, and I was privileged to follow him as president of our large organization – he was a lot of shoes to fill. I will miss him very much. ”