Joel Hopkins (born 6 September 1970) is a British

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

film director and screenwriter best known for his films ''

Jump Tomorrow ''Jump Tomorrow'' is a 2001 British independent romantic comedy film written and directed by Joel Hopkins, starring Tunde Adebimpe, Hippolyte Girardot, and Natalia Verbeke. It concerns George (Adebimpe), a shy, bespectacled man who is about to m ...

'' (2001) and ''

Last Chance Harvey ''Last Chance Harvey'' is a 2008 American romantic drama film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. The screenplay focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship during two days. Dustin Hoffman plays the title character, Harvey ...

'' (2008).

Career

Hopkins was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to attend university. His first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, 2001's ''

'', was based on his 1998

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

"Jorge", which he filmed in New York while attending

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's (NYU)

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. For "Jorge", Hopkins won NYU's Wasserman Award—a

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100,000 grant towards filming another project—which went towards the production budget for ''Jump Tomorrow''. The film received positive reviews from critics, but was only granted a limited release and never reached a wider audience. Hopkins was nominated for two

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

for his work on the film: The Douglas Hickox Award for debuting filmmakers and the Best Screenplay Award. He won 2002's

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA) Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, as well as a number of other awards at

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

s where the film was screened. After writing and directing ''Jump Tomorrow'', Hopkins said, "I'd been attached to films that haven't happened, as a director. I've had scripts I've written that have almost happened." When Hopkins was being considered to direct the 2005 children's film ''

Nanny McPhee ''Nanny McPhee'' is a 2005 comedy drama fantasy film based on the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand. It was directed by Kirk Jones, coproduced by StudioCanal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Working Title Films, Three Strange Angel ...

'', for which he was ultimately unsuccessful, he met with Emma Thompson, who had written the script and would star as the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

. After seeing her in a

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production opposite

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

, Hopkins decided to write a script to emulate the interpersonal chemistry which he had seen between the two actors. He has said that the story was inspired by one of his parents' friends who was ageing but still "finding his feet". Overall, ''Last Chance Harvey'' was received favourably by critics. His film '' The Love Punch'' was selected to be screened in the Gala Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Personal life

Hopkins' wife is Nicola Usborne, who is also his producing partner and has produced both ''Jump Tomorrow'' and ''Last Chance Harvey''. Hopkins is the son of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and Patricia Hopkins of the prominent British architectural firm

Hopkins Architects Hopkins Architects (formerly Michael Hopkins and Partners) is a prominent British architectural firm established by architects Sir Michael and Patricia, Lady Hopkins. Background The practice was established in 1976 by Michael and Patty Hopkins ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Joel 1970 births Living people English film directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer BAFTA Award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Writers from London