Stewart Raffill is a British writer and director.
Biography
Raffill was born in England and grew up near Stratford before immigrating to the US and working in the motion picture industry. His writing and directing work in film and TV spans several genres including science fiction, family, comedy and drama.
Film
Raffill made his feature debut as director with ''
The Tender Warrior'', starring
Dan Haggerty and sold to Warner Brothers. It was filmed on location in
Okefenokee Swamp
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Ref ...
in Georgia.
He sold his next script, ''
Napoleon and Samantha'', to Disney. Raffill also worked on the film as a producer. The film starred
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
and Michael Douglas.
He wrote and directed ''
When the North Wind Blows''.
Raffill wrote and directed ''
The Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' with Robert Logan, leading to two sequels.
He followed it with two films with Logan, ''
Across the Great Divide'' and ''
The Sea Gypsies''.
Raffill wrote and directed ''
High Risk'', shot in Mexico, starring James Brolin which he later described as a personal favorite.
The film got him the job of writing and directing ''
The Ice Pirates'', made for John Forman and
David Begelman
David Begelman (August 26, 1921 – August 7, 1995) was an American film producer, film executive and talent agent who was involved in a studio embezzlement scandal in the 1970s.
Life and career
Begelman was born to a Jewish family in New Yor ...
at MGM.
Raffill directed and did uncredited writing on ''
The Philadelphia Experiment'' that won Best Science Fiction Film at the Rome Film Festival.
Raffill directed and wrote ''
Mac and Me'', made to provide royalties to the McDonald's Foundation and starred Jade Calegory, who had
spina bifida
Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...
. The film is frequently cited as
one of the worst ever made, but it later attained cult status and was re-released in 2019.
Begelmen hired Raffill to direct ''
Mannequin Two: On the Move''. Raffill wrote the original screenplay for ''
Passenger 57
''Passenger 57'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne, with Snipes portraying a security consultant who finds himself forced to foil a plot to free a captive terrorist durin ...
''.
[DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: AMONG THE ESPRESSO MAKERS AND PATIO FURNITURE OF WANAMAKERS IN CENTER CITY, A MANNEQUIN HAS COME TO LIFE AGAIN. WHAT'S SHE DOING? WHY, MAKING A MOVIE, OF COURSE. Rea, Steven. Philadelphia Inquirer16 June 1990: D.1.]
Raffill wrote and directed ''
Lost in Africa'' made for the Tusk charity. He also wrote and directed ''
Tammy and the T-Rex,'' which was re-released in 2019 and was the official selection for the Fantastic Fest and premiered at Beyond Fest. It starred Paul Walker, Denise Richards and Terry Kiser.
Other credits include ''
A Month of Sundays,'' starring Rod Steiger, Sal Sapienza and Dee Wallace Stone; ''
Survival Island,'' starring Billy Zane and Juan Pablo DiPace; ''
Mysterious;'' and the family musical ''
Standing Ovation.''
Television
He moved into directing for TV with ''
The New Adventures of Robin Hood'' and the TV movie ''
The New Swiss Family Robinson
''The New Swiss Family Robinson'' is a 1999 American adventure film directed by Stewart Raffill. The film is based on the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' by Johann David Wyss, and stars Jane Seymour, David Carradine, James Keach, Jo ...
'' with
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
and
David Carradine, which he also wrote. He directed ''
Grizzly Falls'' that won the Heartland Award and starred
Bryan Brown.
Raffill directed episodes of ''
Pensacola: Wings of Gold'' and ''
18 Wheels of Justice'', and the TV movie ''
Croc
JSC CROC incorporated () is an technology company operating in the Russian IT market. CROC was established by Boris Bobrovnikov in 1992. The company provides systems integration and managed B2B services, off-the-shelf products and promising end- ...
'' (2007).
Filmography
TV credits
References
External links
*
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffill, Stewart
1942 births
Living people
British film directors
British male screenwriters
British science fiction film directors