Masterclass Diary

27 November 2006

John Richards Masterclass

14.00 - 16.30
G511 Film Academy, University of Glamorgan
(20 spaces available to non Film Academy students)

John Richards is a Welsh film editor who has worked on a wide range of international projects covering many genres. From low budget horror to Hollywood romantic comedies, period drama through social realism, bio-pic, stop frame animation and science fiction. He has vast experience in dealing with visual effects, CGI, digital post production and all formats of film and video. As well as making films in Wales and all over the UK, John has worked in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. He is a member of the American Editors Union.

John began his cutting room career at BBC Wales in 1982, where he worked on many award winning productions. He edited a variety of network documentaries including Everyman’s “Tibet, The Lost Nation” and Michael Ignatieff’s “Blood and Belonging, The Road to Nowhere”. Moving into drama editing, he cut films in both Welsh and English. “Dafydd” for director Ceri Sherlock, S4C’s three part adaptation of “William Jones” and several BBC1 projects for writer Lucy Gannon including “Tender Loving Care” and “Trip Trap”.  While at the BBC, John also worked with one of  Britains most respected directors, Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Croupier) on G.F Newman’s “the Healer”. With Mike’s encouragement, John left the BBC to pursue a career in feature films.

The 1995 film “Stonewall”, directed by Nigel Finch, follows the birth of the gay rights movement in 1969 New York. With flamboyant drag queens lip-synching to songs of the period, it gives one version of the famous “riot” outside the Stonewall Inn. Nigel tragically died of an Aids related illness during post production but “Stonewall” went on to win a number of awards including the Audience Award at the London Film Festival. The film was a cult hit and still gets regular cinema screenings.

John then began a long-standing collaboration with director Nick Hurran, making the feature films “Girls Night” and “Virtual Sexuality”. These were followed by the Canal+ comedy “Room to Rent” for director Khalid El-Haggar and “One of the Hollywood Ten” by Welsh auteur Karl Francis. This film follows the black listed director Herbert Biberman on his quest to make the film Salt of the Earth.

Next came one of the biggest projects John has been involved with, Steven Spielberg’s international award winning “Band of Brothers” for HBO. The ten part mini series follows the men of  Easy Company from their first training to the end of World War Two. John edited episodes five and six, working with directors Tom Hanks and David Leland (Wish You Were Here, The Land Girls).

Returning to work with Nick Hurran, John edited the Miramax comedy “Plots with a View” before they both moved to Hollywood for the Revolution Studios movie “Little Black Book”. Staring Britany Murphy, Cathy Bates and Holly Hunter, the film opened in over 2,400 US cinemas and featured in the Top 50 DVD rental chart for over 20 weeks. The romantic comedy “It’s a Boy Girl Thing” (Kevin Zegers, Samaire Armstrong, Sharon Osbourne) is the fifth feature film John has edited for Nick Hurran. Shot in Toronto, and produced by Elton John’s Rocket Pictures, it is due for release late in 2006.

John has also been closely involved in the re launch of hit BBC Wales TV series “Doctor Who”. Editing the scene setting episodes of the first series and returning to cut the 2006 Christmas special.

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