David Heyman
David Jonathan Heyman is an English film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. In 1999, he secured the film rights to the Harry Potter film series and went on to produce all eight installments. Heyman has also received three Academy Award for Best Picture nominations for the films Gravity, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Marriage Story.
Early life
Heyman was born in London. He is the son of John Heyman, producer of the films The Go-Between and Jesus, and Norma Heyman, an actress, and Oscar-nominated producer of the films Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs Henderson Presents. His paternal grandparents were German Jews who left Nazi Germany and emigrated to England prior to World War II, while his mother's family was English. At age seven, he was a page boy in the wedding of his godmother, Diana Dors, to actor Alan Lake. Heyman went to Westminster School and, following graduation, he decided to study abroad. He earned a degree in art history from Harvard University in 1983.Career
Heyman started in the film industry as a production assistant on David Lean's A Passage to India, and in 1986, Heyman became a creative executive at Warner Brothers. In the late 1980s, he became vice president of United Artists and subsequently embarked on an independent producing career with his first film, Juice, in 1992, followed by the cult "stoner" film The Stoned Age and others.In 1997 Heyman returned to London and founded his own production company, Heyday Films. He has since produced a number of films including the Harry Potter film adaptations. Other notable productions during this time include the 2007 blockbuster I Am Legend and the 2008 films The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Is Anybody There?, and Yes Man.
After finishing work on the Harry Potter films, Heyman reunited with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón to produce the 2013 science fiction thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The film grossed more than $700 million worldwide and was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning seven including Best Director for Cuarón. He also produced the 2013 comedy We're the Millers and the 2014 family film Paddington, for which he was nominated for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film.
Heyman produced the Warner Bros. film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was released in November 2016, as well as its 2018 sequel. He is also set to produce Fables, based on the comic book series. He was announced as the producer of the fantasy film The Queen of the Tearling, starring Emma Watson and based on the novel written by Erika Johansen. Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights and will distribute the film.
Heyman is also currently developing projects with Potter director David Yates and has long been developing a film adaptation of Mark Haddon's 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves.
It was announced in 2016 that Heyman is partnering with China's Alibaba to produce a movie about Warrior Cats, feral cats who have a complex social hierarchy and take residence in a forest, originally written by Erin Hunter. The release date for the film is yet to be announced. As of April 2020 there are no trailers for the movie and none of the cast has been announced yet. As the movie is still in its early stages it may not be ready until 2023-2025. The amount of books from the Warriors series getting a film-adaptation will depend on the overall success and audience reviews on the first film adaptation. The first book to be getting an adaptation however will be Warrior cats: Into the wild.
In 2020, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino, and both of them were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. In addition, Heyman was also nominated for the same award for Marriage Story with Noah Baumbach.
Personal life
Heyman lives in Pimlico, London, and is married to interior designer Rose Uniacke. They have one son.Filmography
All films, he was producer unless otherwise noted.Film
;As an actor| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | Bloomfield | Eldad | |
| 1998 | Cookin' | Pinot NOir | Short film |
| 1999 | Ravenous | Mr. Janus | |
| 2000 | Whipped | Suit | |
| 2006 | Heartless | Ted | Short film |
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Healer in Portrait | Uncredited |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Dining Wizard in Painting | Uncredited |
;Thanks
| Year | Film | Notes |
| 2004 | My Summer of Love | Special thanks |