Jonathan Stewart Cavendish (born 4 February 1959) is a British independent film producer. He is notable for his work on ''
Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' (2007), ''
Breathe'' (2017) and the
Bridget Jones
Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's '' Bridget Jones's Diary'' column in ''The Independent'' in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an ac ...
films. He is a member of the
Cavendish family
The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ; ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of ...
.
Early life
Jonathan Stewart Cavendish was born 4 February 1959, the son of
Robin Cavendish
Robin Francis Cavendish, Order of the British Empire, MBE (12 March 1930 – 8 August 1994), was a British advocate for people with disability, medical aid developer, and one of the longest-lived ''responauts'' in Britain. Born in Middleton-by- ...
and Diana Blacker Cavendish, who became advocates for the disabled following Robin's paralysis by
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
in December 1958.
[Renton, Alice; Renton, Tim (10 August 1994)]
"Obituary: Robin Cavendish"
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''.[Oaksey, John (17 August 2001)]
"Obituaries: Professor E T 'Teddy' Hall"
''The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
''.
Cavendish studied history at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.
Career
Cavendish began his career in advertising. He was part of the marketing team behind
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's launch in 1982. After joining Little Bird Productions in 1983, Cavendish has been responsible for acclaimed titles such as ''
In My Father's Den'' (2004), ''
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.
Origin of the word
Originally a "croupier" mean ...
'' (1998) and ''
Trauma'' (2004), as well as numerous TV projects.
[
In 2011, he founded The Imaginarium Studios with actor ]Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his motion capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Gollum in ''The Lo ...
. The Imaginarium is a creative digital studio based in Ealing, dedicated to the invention of believable, emotionally engaging digital characters using Performance Capture technology. Cavendish had his motion capture "epiphany" while watching ''King Kong
King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
''. "To the embarrassment of my children, I cried … and it was only afterwards when I looked up the movie and found out about it that I discovered that inside all of that was little Andy."
On 20 October 2012, the studio acquired rights to a new motion capture adaptation of ''Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...
''. Cavendish will produce along with Serkis.
Cavendish commissioned writer William Nicholson to write a screenplay on his father's life and work. The film, '' Breathe'', is directed by Serkis, and opened in October 2017. In it, Cavendish's father, Robin, is portrayed by Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. After his breakout role in '' Boy A'' (2007), he came to international attention with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in the drama ''The Social Network'' ...
, and his wife, Diana, is portrayed by Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series ''The Crown (TV series), The Crown'' (2016–2023), for which List of awards and nominations r ...
.[2016 Toronto International Film Festival
The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown.
Awards
The festival's final awards were ...]
Cavendish is married to Lesley Ann Rogers. They have
'' (2018)
Executive producer
* ''Dirty Tricks'' (2000)
* ''The Key'' (2003)
* ''