Simon Wincer (born 1943) is an Australian film and television director, who has worked extensively in both Australia and the United States since the early 1970's. He is a two-time AACTA/AFI Award nominee for Best Direction, for the films Harlequin (1980) and Phar Lap (1983), and won a Primetime Emmy Award for directing the miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989).
Early life Wincer was born in Sydney in 1943. He attended Cranbrook School from 1950 to 1961. On leaving school he worked as a stagehand at HSV Channel 7, which his cousin Eric Pearce was a presenter. He gradually worked his way up to floor manager, then fill-in director. He also spent several years in London, England, where he studied drama and directed theatre.
Career Wincer began his television directing career on dramas like Matlock Police, Ryan, and Homicide. By the 1980s he had directed over 200 hours of television.
He made his feature directorial debut with 1979's thriller Snapshot. He followed this with 1980's Harlequin, a modern-day retelling of the Rasputin story set in the world of Washington D.C. politics. The film earned him his first AACTA/AFI Award nomination for Best Direction, and he was nominated again for his next film, Phar Lap.
Wincer subsequently directed the American sci-fi film D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) and the Australian World War I drama The Lighthorsemen (1987). His work on the latter helped him secure the job directing Lonesome Dove, an 4-part-miniseries for CBS, based on the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry. The series was a considerable commercial and critical success, and Wincer won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series. In 2008, he directed the prequel miniseries Comanche Moon.
His subsequent film directing credits have included the Tom Selleck-starring Western Quigley Down Under (1990), the buddy action-comedy Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), the family film Free Willy (1993), the superhero film The Phantom (1996), the IMAX film The Young Black Stallion (2003), and the Damien Oliver biopic The Cup (2011).
Personal life Wincer is a supporter of the KIDS Foundation of Australia.
Filmography Film Year TitleNotes 1979 Snapshot 1980 Harlequin 1983 Phar Lap 1985 D.A.R.Y.L. 1987 The LighthorsemenAlso producer 1990 Quigley Down Under 1991 Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man 1993 Free Willy 1994 Lightning JackAlso producer 1995 Operation Dumbo Drop 1996 The Phantom 2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles 2003 The Young Black Stallion 2011 The CupAlso writer and producer
Television Year Title Notes 1971–1975 Matlock Police 17 episodes;Also writer and assistant director 1972 Division 4 15 episodes 1973 Ryan 4 episodes 1974–1976 Homicide 5 episodes;Also assistant director 1975 Cash and Company 4 episodes 1976 The Sullivans 4 episodes The Lost Islands 1 episode Tandarra 7 episodes The Box 1 episode 1977–1978 Chopper Squad 5 episodes;Also writer 1977–1980 Young Ramsay 5 episodes 1979 Skyways 2 episodes Bailey's Bird 1979–1980 Prisoner: Cell Block H 4 episodes 1986 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color 1 episode 1992–1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles 6 episodes 2001 Ponderosa 1 episode
TV films, miniseries, and specials Year Title1976The Haunting of Hewie Dowker 1978 Against the Wind 1986 The Last Frontier1988Bluegrass 1989 Lonesome Dove1997Flash1998Escape: Human CargoThe Echo of ThunderMurder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery1999P.T. Barnum2001Crossfire Trail2003Monte Walsh 2005 Into the West 2008 Comanche Moon
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Work ResultAustralian Film Institute Award1980Best DirectionHarlequin 1983Phar Lap Directors Guild of America Award1990Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited SeriesLonesome Dove Online Film & Television Association Award2005Best Direction of a Motion Picture or MiniseriesInto the WestPrimetime Emmy Award1989Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a SpecialLonesome Dove Sitges Award1980Prize of the International Critics' JuryHarlequin Western Heritage Award2002Best Television Feature FilmCrossfire Trail
References
External links