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Geoffrey Sax (sometimes credited as Geoff Sax) is a British film and
television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the pro ...
, who has worked on a variety of drama productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States.


Life and career

He began his directing career in the late 1970s, initially working in comedy, directing episodes of a number of sketch shows such as '' Cannon and Ball'' and '' End of Part One''. He made the move into directing drama in the early 1980s, working on episodes of popular BBC dramas such as '' Bergerac'' and ''
Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
''. Later in the decade he worked on ITV programmes such as ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...
'' and '' The New Statesman''. In the early 1990s he worked for a time in America, directing
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
s and
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
for various networks there. His most noted production during this time was the BBC /
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
/
Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...
TV movie version of the popular
science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univer ...
series '' Doctor Who'', screened in 1996 and starring
Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which was ...
as the
Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles * ...
. In 1998 Sax returned to the UK. He helmed
Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the ''Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...
's adaptation of her own novel ''Killer Net'' that year, and later gained credits on Paul Abbott's acclaimed ''
Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an ...
'', a
Red Production Company Red Production Company is a British independent television production company owned by StudioCanal. Background Red Production Company was formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, a television producer who had worked on '' Our Friends in the North' ...
series for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
. In 2001 he directed a modern-day adaptation of the story of ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...
'', produced by
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...
for the ITV network and starring
Eamonn Walker Eamonn Roderique Walker (born 12 June 1962) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. In the United States he is known for playing Kareem Saïd in the HBO television series '' Oz'', for which he won a CableACE Award, and (since 2012 ...
,
Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series ...
and
Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including '' Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and '' Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), H ...
. The adaptation was written by Andrew Davies, who Sax worked with again the following year when he directed Davies' adaptation of
Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sa ...
' novel '' Tipping the Velvet'' for Sally Head Productions and
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...
. This was not the only connection between the two productions: Keeley Hawes also co-starred in ''Tipping the Velvet'' with
Rachael Stirling Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977).. is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama '' Tipping the Velvet'', an ...
, who had a smaller role in ''Othello''. Sax's first theatrically released feature film, ''
White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
'', was released in January 2005, entering the US Box Office top ten at No. 2. His second feature, '' Stormbreaker'' — based on
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include '' The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and ...
's '' Alex Rider'' novel of the same name — was released in the summer of 2006. He also directed the film '' Frankie & Alice'' in 2010. In 2011, Sax directed a television film entitled ''
Christopher and His Kind ''Christopher and His Kind'' is a 1976 memoir by Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood, first printed in a 130-copy edition by Sylvester & Orphanos, then in general publication by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In the text, Isherwood candidly ex ...
''. He directed the
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
television film television film adaptation of the
M. C. Beaton Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of he ...
novel ''
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death ''The Quiche of Death'' (1992) is the first Agatha Raisin mystery novel by Marion Chesney Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published ...
''.


Filmography


Films

* ''
The Disputation ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1986) * ''
Circle of Deceit Circle of Deceit may refer to: * ''Circle of Deceit'' (1981 film), German film * ''Circle of Deceit'' (1998 film), American TV film * '' Circles of Deceit'', British television thriller series {{disamb ...
'' (1993) * '' Doctor Who'' (1996) * ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...
'' (2001) * ''
Margery and Gladys ''Margery and Gladys'' is a one-off television drama/film, broadcast on 21 September 2003. Starring Penelope Keith and June Brown as the title characters, it was produced by Carlton Television for ITV and directed by Geoffrey Sax. Upon first ...
'' (2003) * ''
White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
'' (2005) * '' Stormbreaker'' (2006) * '' Frankie & Alice'' (2010) * ''
Christopher and His Kind ''Christopher and His Kind'' is a 1976 memoir by Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood, first printed in a 130-copy edition by Sylvester & Orphanos, then in general publication by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In the text, Isherwood candidly ex ...
'' (2011)


Television

* ''
Canned Laughter A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
'' (1979) * '' End of Part One'' (1979–1980) * ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British satire, satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productio ...
'' (1986) * '' The New Statesman'' (1987–1990) * '' Bergerac'' (1988–1990) * '' Sleepers'' (1991) * '' Framed'' (1992) * ''
Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
'' (1992–1993) * '' Killer Net'' (1998) * '' Tipping the Velvet'' (2002) * '' Murder on the Home Front'' (2013) * '' Blandings'' (2014) * ''
Endeavour Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...
'' (2014, 2018) * ''
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death ''The Quiche of Death'' (1992) is the first Agatha Raisin mystery novel by Marion Chesney Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published ...
'' (2014) * '' Us'' (2020)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sax, Geoffrey British film directors British television directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)