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Stephen Woolley
Stephen Woolley
Born	3 September 1956 (age 68); London, England
Occupations	Film producer; Film director;
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Elizabeth Karlsen

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Stephen Woolley (born 3 September 1956 in London)^[1] is an English film producer and director, whose prolific career has spanned over three and a half decades, for which he was awarded the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2019.^[2] As a producer he has been Oscar-nominated for The Crying Game (1992), and has also produced multi-Academy Award nominated films including Mona Lisa (1986), Little Voice (1998), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Interview with a Vampire (1993), and Carol (2016). He currently runs the production company Number 9 Films with his partner Elizabeth Karlsen.^[3]^[4]

Woolley’s first film as a producer was The Company of Wolves (1984), but his career began earlier in 1976 as an usher at London’s art-house cinema The Screen on the Green in Islington, run by Romaine Hart (OBE).^[5]^[6] He then joined the exhibition arm of film collective The Other Cinema in Charlotte Street in the West End of London, before going on to own and run his own repertory cinema, The Scala Cinema, on the same premises.^[7]^[8]^[9] In 1981 it relocated to near King’s Cross railway station.^[5]^[6]^[10]^[11] At the same time he established Palace Video in partnership with Nik Powell, in the early 1980s to distribute the types of cult cinema and international art films that had been the core of his cinema programmes.^[5]^[6]^[10]^[11] Palace Video titles included David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977), Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979), and Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo (1982).^[12] It later grew into a theatrical distribution company, retitled Palace Pictures, where Woolley was behind the UK releases of French cult film Diva (1981), Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981), Nagisa Ōshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984), the Coen brothers' Blood Simple (1984), Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally (1988) – as well as films by John Cassavetes, John Waters, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Peter Greenaway, Fassbinder, and Bertolucci.^[13] Palace Pictures moved into film production in 1984 with its first feature The Company of Wolves – directed by Neil Jordan (the first of many films Woolley and Jordan would later make together).^[14]^[15]^[16] Many of Palace Pictures projects were first supported by Channel 4, and Woolley also helped establish many first-time directors including Michael Caton-Jones and Richard Stanley.^[17] Woolley established an association with Miramax, which distributed a number of Palace films in the United States, including Scandal (1989), A Rage in Harlem (1991), Hardware (1990) and The Crying Game (1992).^[18]

Woolley had established his reputation with a series of low budget but high production value releases, but began developing more ambitious projects. After a some box-office disappointments and the recession which weakened Nik Powell’s parent company in 1992 Palace Pictures was forced to close.^[19]^[20]^[21] A year later, The Scala Cinema’s twelve-year lease expired simultaneously as its defeat in a court case caused by an illegal screening of A Clockwork Orange, whose screening rights had been withdrawn in the UK by Stanley Kubrick in 1971, and the financial collapse of Palace precipitated its closure in 1993.^[22]^[23]^[24]

Woolley and Powell went on to found Scala Pictures, where they made Backbeat (1994), Little Voice (1998),Twenty Four Seven (1997), and a series of low budget UK features. Simultaneously, he secured a three-picture deal with Warner Brothers and made three films with Jordan after the worldwide box office hit of Interview with the Vampire.^[14] Woolley and Jordan formed a company, Company of Wolves funded by DreamWorks, where In Dreams (1999), The Actors (2003), Intermission (2003), and Not I (2000) were produced under this banner.

Number 9 films was set up in 2002, with longstanding producing partner Elizabeth Karlsen, whose films include Breakfast on Pluto (2005), How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), Made in Dagenham (2010), Great Expectations (2012), Their Finest (2015) The Limehouse Golem (2016), and On Chesil Beach (2017).^[11]

Woolley's directorial debut, the 2005 film Stoned, was a biopic of Brian Jones.^[25]^[26]

Personal life

Woolley is married to fellow film producer Elizabeth Karlsen,^[27]^[28] with whom he co-founded Number 9 Films in 2002.^[11]

Filmography

As producer

Colette (2018)
On Chesil Beach (2017)
The Limehouse Golem (2017)
Their Finest (2016)
Carol (2015)
Hyena (2014)
Great Expectations (2012)
Byzantium (2012)
Midnight's Children (2012) - co-producer
Made in Dagenham (2010) - also second unit director
Perrier's Bounty (2009)
Freebird (2008)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Sounds Like Teen Spirit (2008) - a documentary
And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
Stoned (2005) - also director
Intermission (2003)
The Actors (2003)
The Good Thief (2002)
Not I (2000) - a short
The End of the Affair (1999)
In Dreams (1999)
B. Monkey (1998)
The Butcher Boy (1997)
Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)
Michael Collins (1996)
The Pope Must Die (1991)
A Rage in Harlem (1991)
The Miracle (1991)
Crossing the Line (1990)
Shag (1989)
Scandal (1989)
High Spirits (1988)
Absolute Beginners (1986)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Company of Wolves (1984) - also executive producer
The Worst of Hollywood (1983) - TV series

As executive producer

Dark Blood (2012) - executive producer
Return to Sender (2004) - executive producer
Purely Belter (2000) - executive producer
History Is Made at Night (1999) - executive producer
The Last September (1999) - executive producer
The Lost Son (1999)
Little Voice (1998)
Divorcing Jack (1998)
Downtime (1997)
Twenty Four Seven (1997)
Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)
Fever Pitch (1997)
Hollow Reed (1996)
The Neon Bible (1995)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Backbeat (1994)
The Crying Game (1992)
Waterland (1992)
Dust Devil (1992)
A Woman at War (1991) - TV movie
Red Hot and Blue (1990) - TV AIDS benefit, co-executive producer
Beyond the Groove (1990) - TV series
Dancin' Thru the Dark (1990)
Hardware (1990)
The Courier (1988)
Letter to Brezhnev (1985)
Chinese Boxes (1984)

References

^ Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ "Elizabeth Karlsen & Stephen Woolley – Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema". www.bafta.org. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ "Overview for Stephen Woolley". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Stephen Woolley Biography". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ Woolley, Stephen (5 August 2010). "Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ "BFI Screenonline: Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b Woolley, Stephen. "Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Stephen Woolley". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ "BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b Fitzherbert, Henry. "Box office success in Stephen Woolley's undead end jobs". Daily Express. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Byzantium Metropole Press Kit" (PDF). Metropole Films. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Woolley, Stephen. "How to close a movie deal at Cannes: a producer's guide". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "VIP GUESTS & SCHOOLS". National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Woolley, Stephen. "British producer Stephen Woolley says independents have a powerful friend called Harvey". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "The rise and fall of the film production company Palace Pictures". CINEPHILIA and FILMMAKING. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Coleman, Caryn. "Darren Banks: The Palace Collection". Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Picardie, Ruth. "Golden girl, producer, mother, babe". The Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Scala Cinema". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "Building History". Scala. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ "La Scala". Total Production International. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Bradshaw, Peter. "Stoned". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Sandall, Robert. "Sex and drugs and Brian Jones". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (14 May 2015). "Passion project: meet the indie super-producer behind Cannes hot ticket Carol". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
^ Jaafar, Ali (2 March 2016). "'Carol' Producers Elizabeth Karlsen And Stephen Woolley On Turning Good Taste Into A Business". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

External links

[1] Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[2] "Elizabeth Karlsen & Stephen Woolley – Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema". www.bafta.org. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[3] "Overview for Stephen Woolley". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[4] "Stephen Woolley Biography". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[:0-5] "Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[:1-6] Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[7] Clarke, Donald. "How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[8] Woolley, Stephen (5 August 2010). "Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[9] "BFI Screenonline: Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[:2-10] Woolley, Stephen. "Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[huffpost-11] "Stephen Woolley". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[12] "BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[13] "BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[express.co.uk-14] Fitzherbert, Henry. "Box office success in Stephen Woolley's undead end jobs". Daily Express. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[15] "Byzantium Metropole Press Kit" (PDF). Metropole Films. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[16] Woolley, Stephen. "How to close a movie deal at Cannes: a producer's guide". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[17] "VIP GUESTS & SCHOOLS". National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[18] Woolley, Stephen. "British producer Stephen Woolley says independents have a powerful friend called Harvey". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[19] "The rise and fall of the film production company Palace Pictures". CINEPHILIA and FILMMAKING. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[20] Coleman, Caryn. "Darren Banks: The Palace Collection". Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[21] Picardie, Ruth. "Golden girl, producer, mother, babe". The Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[22] "Scala Cinema". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[23] "Building History". Scala. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[24] "La Scala". Total Production International. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[25] Bradshaw, Peter. "Stoned". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[26] Sandall, Robert. "Sex and drugs and Brian Jones". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

[27] Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (14 May 2015). "Passion project: meet the indie super-producer behind Cannes hot ticket Carol". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

[28] Jaafar, Ali (2 March 2016). "'Carol' Producers Elizabeth Karlsen And Stephen Woolley On Turning Good Taste Into A Business". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

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-'''Stephen Woolley''' (born 3 September 1956 in [[London]]){{Citation needed|reason=WP:DOB requires private information such as birth date to be supported by sources considered reliable per WP:BLPSOURCES.|date=October 2017}} is an [[England|English]] [[film producer]] and [[film director|director]].  He is best known for his work with director [[Neil Jordan]], which has resulted in a number of critically acclaimed films, including the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning ''[[The Crying Game]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Overview for Stephen Woolley|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/209371%7C0/Stephen-Woolley/|website=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/477663/|website=BFI Screenonline|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Woolley Biography|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/stephen_woolley/biography|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
+'''Stephen Woolley''' (born 3 September 1956 in [[London]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/how-a-cinema-ticket-tearer-teamed-up-with-neil-jordan-and-helped-save-an-industry-1.658666|title=How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry|last=Clarke|first=Donald|website=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> is an [[England|English]] [[film producer]] and [[film director|director]], whose prolific career has spanned over three and a half decades, for which he was awarded the [[BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award|BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema]] in February 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/film/features/outstanding-british-contribution-to-cinema-2019|title=Elizabeth Karlsen & Stephen Woolley – Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema|date=2019-02-08|website=www.bafta.org|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> As a producer he has been [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-nominated for ''[[The Crying Game]]'' (1992), and has also produced multi-[[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominated films including ''[[Mona Lisa (1986 film)|Mona Lisa]]'' (1986), ''[[Little Voice (film)|Little Voice]]'' (1998), ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]'' (1996), ''[[The End of the Affair (1999 film)|The End of the Affair]]'' (1999), [[Interview with the Vampire (film)|''Interview with a Vampire'']] (1993), and ''[[Carol (film)|Carol]]'' (2016). He currently runs the production company [[Number 9 Films]] with his partner [[Elizabeth Karlsen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/209371%7C0/Stephen-Woolley/|title=Overview for Stephen Woolley|website=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Woolley Biography|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/stephen_woolley/biography|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
-After programming [[The Screen On The Green]] cinema in [[Islington]], North London, and managing [[Scala (club)|The Scala Cinema]] near [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross railway station]], Woolley established Palace Video in the early 1980s to distribute the types of cult cinema and international art films that had been the core of his cinema programmes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clarke|first1=Donald|title=How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/how-a-cinema-ticket-tearer-teamed-up-with-neil-jordan-and-helped-save-an-industry-1.658666|website=The Irish Times|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|title=Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/05/scala-cinema-vintage-goodwood|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=huffpost>{{cite web|title=Stephen Woolley|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-woolley/|website=[[The Huffington Post]]|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> The company then moved into cinema distribution, becoming Palace Pictures; and then film production in 1984, with many projects being supported by [[Channel 4]]. His successes as a producer include ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'', ''[[Mona Lisa (1986 film)|Mona Lisa]]'', and ''[[The Crying Game]]'' (nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]), and ''[[Interview with the Vampire (film)|Interview with the Vampire]]'', all directed by Neil Jordan.<ref name="express.co.uk">{{cite web|last1=Fitzherbert|first1=Henry|title=Box office success in Stephen Woolley's undead end jobs|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/400847/Box-office-success-in-Stephen-Woolley-s-undead-end-jobs|website=Daily Express|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Byzantium Metropole Press Kit|url=http://www.metropolefilms.com/data/ftp/Byzantium/BYZANTIUM%20metropole%20press%20kit.pdf|website=Metropole Films|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|title=How to close a movie deal at Cannes: a producer's guide|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/18/cannes-film-festival-producers-guide|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> He also helped established director [[Michael Caton-Jones]] as a major directing talent.<ref>{{cite web|title=VIP GUESTS & SCHOOLS|url=http://nahemi.org/eatourshorts_2006/vips.html|website=National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> Woolley established an association with [[Miramax Films|Miramax]], which distributed a number of Palace films in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|title=British producer Stephen Woolley says independents have a powerful friend called Harvey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jan/18/features.review1|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
+Woolley’s first [[film]] as a [[producer]] was ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984), but his career began earlier in [[1976]] as an usher at London’s art-house cinema [[The Screen On The Green|The Screen on the Green]] in [[Islington]], run by [[Romaine Hart]] ([[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]).<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/477663/|title=Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography|website=BFI Screenonline|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He then joined the exhibition arm of film collective [http://www.contemporaryfilms.com/other/other.html The Other Cinema] in [[Charlotte Street]] in the [[West End of London]], before going on to own and run his own repertory cinema, [[Scala (club)|The Scala Cinema]], on the same premises.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/how-a-cinema-ticket-tearer-teamed-up-with-neil-jordan-and-helped-save-an-industry-1.658666|title=How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry|last=Clarke|first=Donald|website=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/05/scala-cinema-vintage-goodwood|title=Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca|last=Woolley|first=Stephen|date=2010-08-05|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-03-18|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/477663/|title=BFI Screenonline: Woolley, Stephen (1956-) Biography|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> In [[1981]] it relocated to near [[King's Cross railway station|King’s Cross railway station]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name="huffpost" /> At the same time he established [https://www.discogs.com/label/52661-Palace-Video Palace Video] in partnership with [[Nik Powell]], in the early 1980s to distribute the types of cult cinema and international art films that had been the core of his cinema programmes.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{cite web|last1=Clarke|first1=Donald|title=How a cinema ticket-tearer teamed up with Neil Jordan and helped save an industry|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/how-a-cinema-ticket-tearer-teamed-up-with-neil-jordan-and-helped-save-an-industry-1.658666|website=The Irish Times|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|title=Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/05/scala-cinema-vintage-goodwood|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=huffpost>{{cite web|title=Stephen Woolley|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-woolley/|website=[[The Huffington Post]]|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> Palace Video titles included [[David Lynch]]’s ''[[Eraserhead]]'' (1977), [[Derek Jarman]]’s ''[[The Tempest (1979 film)|The Tempest]]'' (1979), and [[Werner Herzog]]’s ''[[Fitzcarraldo]]'' (1982).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/588228/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> It later grew into a theatrical distribution company, retitled [https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b96a23030 Palace Pictures], where Woolley was behind the UK releases of French cult film [[Diva (1981 film)|''Diva'' (1981)]], [[Sam Raimi]]’s ''[[The Evil Dead]]'' (1981), [[Nagisa Oshima|Nagisa Ōshima]]’s ''[[Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence]]'' (1983), [[Wim Wenders]]’ ''[[Paris, Texas (film)|Paris, Texas]]'' (1984), [[Coen brothers|the Coen brothers]]' ''[[Blood Simple]]'' (1984), [[Rob Reiner]]'s ''[[When Harry Met Sally...|When Harry Met Sally]]'' (1988) – as well as films by [[John Cassavetes]], [[John Waters]], [[Mike Leigh]], [[Ken Loach]], [[Peter Greenaway]], [[Rainer Werner Fassbinder|Fassbinder]], and [[Bernardo Bertolucci|Bertolucci]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/588228/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Letter to Brezhnev (1985)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref> Palace Pictures moved into film production in [[1984]] with its first feature ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' – directed by [[Neil Jordan]] (the first of many films Woolley and Jordan would later make together).<ref name="express.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/400847/Box-office-success-in-Stephen-Woolley-s-undead-end-jobs|title=Box office success in Stephen Woolley's undead end jobs|last1=Fitzherbert|first1=Henry|website=Daily Express|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metropolefilms.com/data/ftp/Byzantium/BYZANTIUM%20metropole%20press%20kit.pdf|title=Byzantium Metropole Press Kit|website=Metropole Films|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/18/cannes-film-festival-producers-guide|title=How to close a movie deal at Cannes: a producer's guide|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> Many of Palace Pictures projects were first supported by [[Channel 4]], and Woolley also helped establish many first-time directors including [[Michael Caton-Jones]] and [[Richard Stanley (director)|Richard Stanley]].<ref>{{cite web|title=VIP GUESTS & SCHOOLS|url=http://nahemi.org/eatourshorts_2006/vips.html|website=National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> Woolley established an association with [[Miramax Films|Miramax]], which distributed a number of Palace films in the [[United States]], including ''[[Scandal (1989 film)|Scandal]]'' (1989), ''[[A Rage in Harlem]]'' (1991), ''[[Hardware (film)|Hardware]]'' (1990) and ''[[The Crying Game]]'' (1992).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Woolley|first1=Stephen|title=British producer Stephen Woolley says independents have a powerful friend called Harvey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jan/18/features.review1|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
-Woolley had established his reputation with a series of low budget but high production value releases, but began developing more ambitious projects. In 1992, Palace Pictures became bankrupt.<ref>{{cite web|title=The rise and fall of the film production company Palace Pictures|url=http://cinearchive.org/post/96789649310/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-film-production-company|website=CINEPHILIA and FILMMAKING|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Coleman|first1=Caryn|title=Darren Banks: The Palace Collection|url=https://caryncoleman.com/darren-banks-the-palace-collection/|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Picardie|first1=Ruth|title=Golden girl, producer, mother, babe|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/golden-girl-producer-mother-babe-1361956.html|website=The Independent|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> A year later, The Scala Cinema closed down after it entered into receivership following its defeat in a court case caused by an illegal screening of ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', whose screening rights had been withdrawn in the UK by [[Stanley Kubrick]] in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scala Cinema|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2498|website=Cinema Treasures|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Building History|url=http://scala.co.uk/about/building-history/|website=Scala|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=La Scala|url=http://totalproduction.designandgo.net/production-profiles/installprofiles/83050/la_scala.html|website=Total Production International|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> Since then, Woolley has concentrated on producing Jordan's films in association with Hollywood studios. By securing a three-picture deal with [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] after the worldwide box office hit of ''[[Interview with the Vampire]]'', Woolley was able to fund the controversial historical drama ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]''.<ref name="express.co.uk"/> His directorial debut, the 2005 film ''[[Stoned (film)|Stoned]]'', was a biopic of [[Brian Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bradshaw|first1=Peter|title=Stoned|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/107537/stoned|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sandall|first1=Robert|title=Sex and drugs and Brian Jones|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3647853/Sex-and-drugs-and-Brian-Jones.html|website=The Telegraph|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
+Woolley had established his reputation with a series of low budget but high production value releases, but began developing more ambitious projects. After a some box-office disappointments and the recession which weakened Nik Powell’s parent company in 1992 Palace Pictures was forced to close.<ref>{{cite web|title=The rise and fall of the film production company Palace Pictures|url=http://cinearchive.org/post/96789649310/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-film-production-company|website=CINEPHILIA and FILMMAKING|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Coleman|first1=Caryn|title=Darren Banks: The Palace Collection|url=https://caryncoleman.com/darren-banks-the-palace-collection/|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Picardie|first1=Ruth|title=Golden girl, producer, mother, babe|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/golden-girl-producer-mother-babe-1361956.html|website=The Independent|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref> A year later, The Scala Cinema’s twelve-year lease expired simultaneously as its defeat in a court case caused by an illegal screening of ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', whose screening rights had been withdrawn in the UK by [[Stanley Kubrick]] in 1971, and the financial collapse of Palace precipitated its closure in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scala Cinema|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2498|website=Cinema Treasures|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Building History|url=http://scala.co.uk/about/building-history/|website=Scala|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=La Scala|url=http://totalproduction.designandgo.net/production-profiles/installprofiles/83050/la_scala.html|website=Total Production International|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
+Woolley and Powell went on to found Scala Pictures, where they made ''[[Backbeat (film)|Backbeat]]'' (1994), ''[[Little Voice (film)|Little Voice]]'' (1998)'',[[Twenty Four Seven (film)|Twenty Four Seven]]'' (1997), and a series of low budget UK features. Simultaneously, he secured a three-picture deal with [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] and made three films with Jordan after the worldwide box office hit of ''[[Interview with the Vampire]]''.<ref name="express.co.uk" /> Woolley and Jordan formed a company, [[Company of Wolves]] funded by [[DreamWorks]], where ''[[In Dreams (film)|In Dreams]]'' (1999), ''[[The Actors]]'' (2003), ''[[Intermission (film)|Intermission]]'' (2003), and ''[[Not I]]'' (2000) were produced under this banner.
-In 2019 he was awarded the [[BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award]], together with his wife, film producer [[Elizabeth Karlsen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/film/features/outstanding-british-contribution-to-cinema-2019|title=Elizabeth Karlsen & Stephen Woolley – Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema|website=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]|date=8 February 2019|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref>
+[[Number 9 Films|Number 9 films]] was set up in 2002, with longstanding producing partner [[Elizabeth Karlsen]], whose films include ''[[Breakfast on Pluto (film)|Breakfast on Pluto]]'' (2005), ''[[How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)|How to Lose Friends and Alienate People]]'' (2008), ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'' (2010), ''[[Great Expectations (2012 film)|Great Expectations]]'' (2012), ''[[Their Finest]]'' (2015) ''[[The Limehouse Golem]]'' (2016), and ''[[On Chesil Beach (film)|On Chesil Beach]]'' (2017).<ref name="huffpost" />
+Woolley's directorial debut, the 2005 film ''[[Stoned (film)|Stoned]]'', was a biopic of [[Brian Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bradshaw|first1=Peter|title=Stoned|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/107537/stoned|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sandall|first1=Robert|title=Sex and drugs and Brian Jones|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3647853/Sex-and-drugs-and-Brian-Jones.html|website=The Telegraph|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
 ==Personal life==

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