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Heathcote Williams is a Actor and Scriptwriter British born on 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Heathcote Williams (born 15 November 1941) is an English poet, actor and dramatist. He has written a number of best-selling book-length polemical poems including Autogeddon, Falling for a Dolphin and Whale Nation, which in 1988 became, according to Philip Hoare "the most powerful argument for the newly instigated worldwide ban on whaling.". Williams invented his idiosyncratic 'documentary/investigative poetry' style which he continues to put to good purpose bringing a diverse range of environmental and political matters to public attention. In June 2015, he published a book-length investigative poem about the 'Muslim Gandhi', Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 'Badshah Khan'
As well as being a prolific playwright and screen writer, Williams has appeared in a number of well-known Independent and Hollywood films and was among the celebrity guests in the final 'Friends' episode, 'The One Where Ross Gets Married'. He played Prospero in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest and has appeared in several ‘arthouse’ films, including Orlando, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Basic Instinct 2.Al Pacino played the part of a Williams fan in a spoof arts documentary, Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get Into Trouble.
Williams also writes lyrics, collaborating with Marianne Faithfull among others.
Williams is a keen naturalist and discovered a new species of honey-producing wasp in the Amazon jungle, an event he recorded in a book of poems called 'Forbidden Fruit'
Williams is a member of the Magic Circle and a skilful magician. He wrote a TV play called What the Dickens! about Charles Dickens’s penchant for performing magic shows. Bob Hoskins taught him fire eating. When he went to demonstrate his new found talent to then girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, he accidentally set himself alight on her door step.
Williams was a leading activist in the London squatting scene in the 1970s and ran a squatters 'estate agency' called the 'Rough Tough Cream Puff'. In 1977 he and a couple of hundred fellow squatters established the ‘state’ of Frestonia in Notting Hill and declared independence from Britain. Then Shadow Chancellor, Geoffrey Howe, wrote to express his support and Williams was appointed UK Ambassador. Frestonia lasted almost a decade and had its own institutions and postage stamps.
Williams spray-painted graffiti on the walls of Buckingham Palace as a protest against the Queen signing Michael X's death warrant while there was no capital punishment in the UK. In the early 1970s, his agitational graffiti were a feature on the walls of the then low-rent end of London's Notting Hill district.
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Heathcote Williams
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Birth name John Henley Heathcote-Williams
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Death 1 july 2017 (at 75 years)
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 15 november 1941 at Helsby (United-kingdom)
Death 1 july 2017 (at 75 years)
Heathcote Williams (born 15 November 1941) is an English poet, actor and dramatist. He has written a number of best-selling book-length polemical poems including Autogeddon, Falling for a Dolphin and Whale Nation, which in 1988 became, according to Philip Hoare "the most powerful argument for the newly instigated worldwide ban on whaling.". Williams invented his idiosyncratic 'documentary/investigative poetry' style which he continues to put to good purpose bringing a diverse range of environmental and political matters to public attention. In June 2015, he published a book-length investigative poem about the 'Muslim Gandhi', Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 'Badshah Khan'
As well as being a prolific playwright and screen writer, Williams has appeared in a number of well-known Independent and Hollywood films and was among the celebrity guests in the final 'Friends' episode, 'The One Where Ross Gets Married'. He played Prospero in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest and has appeared in several ‘arthouse’ films, including Orlando, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Basic Instinct 2.Al Pacino played the part of a Williams fan in a spoof arts documentary, Every Time I Cross the Tamar I Get Into Trouble.
Williams also writes lyrics, collaborating with Marianne Faithfull among others.
Williams is a keen naturalist and discovered a new species of honey-producing wasp in the Amazon jungle, an event he recorded in a book of poems called 'Forbidden Fruit'
Williams is a member of the Magic Circle and a skilful magician. He wrote a TV play called What the Dickens! about Charles Dickens’s penchant for performing magic shows. Bob Hoskins taught him fire eating. When he went to demonstrate his new found talent to then girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, he accidentally set himself alight on her door step.
Williams was a leading activist in the London squatting scene in the 1970s and ran a squatters 'estate agency' called the 'Rough Tough Cream Puff'. In 1977 he and a couple of hundred fellow squatters established the ‘state’ of Frestonia in Notting Hill and declared independence from Britain. Then Shadow Chancellor, Geoffrey Howe, wrote to express his support and Williams was appointed UK Ambassador. Frestonia lasted almost a decade and had its own institutions and postage stamps.
Williams spray-painted graffiti on the walls of Buckingham Palace as a protest against the Queen signing Michael X's death warrant while there was no capital punishment in the UK. In the early 1970s, his agitational graffiti were a feature on the walls of the then low-rent end of London's Notting Hill district.
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Filmography of Heathcote Williams (26 films)
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City of Ember (2008)
, 1h30Directed by Gil Kenan
Origin USA
Genres Fantastic, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes Post-apocalyptic films, Films about religion, Films set in the future, Political films, Dystopian films, Children's films, Disaster films
Actors Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Martin Landau, Mackenzie Crook
Roles Sadge Merrall
Rating63%
In the midst of an unspecified catastrophe, an underground city is constructed to shelter a large group of survivors, with secret instructions to future generations in a small box timed to open 200 years later. This box is entrusted to the mayor of the City of Ember. Each mayor, in turn, passes the box on to his or her successor. Over time, the significance of the box is forgotten, and the succession is broken when the seventh mayor dies before revealing the importance of the box. The box opens at the allotted time, but goes unnoticed. 41 years after the box opens, Ember's electric generator begins to fail, and the reserves of canned goods and light bulbs are depleted.
Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
, 1h50Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror, Crime, Romance, Erotic thriller
Themes Films about writers, Medical-themed films, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about psychiatry, Erotic thriller films
Actors Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis, Charlotte Rampling, Hugh Dancy, Heathcote Williams
Roles Jakob Gerst
Rating44%
Set in London, the film opens with American best-selling author Catherine Tramell in a speeding car with her companion, Kevin Franks, a famous English football star. Tramell takes the man's hand and begins masturbating with it, all the while increasing her vehicle's speed. At the point of orgasm, Tramell veers off the road and crashes into the West India Docks in Canary Wharf. She attempts to save her partner but, as she says while being questioned by the police, "When it came down to it, I guess my life was more important to me than his".
The Reckoning (2004)
, 1h52Directed by Paul McGuigan
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe, Tom Hardy, Gina McKee, Brian Cox, Luke de Woolfson
Roles Undertaker
Rating63%
In 1380 England, a priest, Nicholas (Bettany), flees his village when found in flagrante delicto with a married woman. During flight he comes upon witnesses a group that unknown to Nicholas has euthanized a member to give relief from his long recurring internal pain. He becomes known to the group and is captured. The group is a travelling acting troupe who think he is a robber and they explain the killing. Reluctantly, they allow him to join their troupe to replace the member killed. On their journey to the next town they are forced to travel to a new district after a collapsed bridge stops them taking their normal route and to mend the cart that carries their goods although they have no money. The troupe reach a strange town with castle under reconstruction and find a woman being sentenced to death for killing a boy upon the testimony of a Benedictine Monk (Ewen Bremner). The troupe perform a biblical passion play, but, as told by the group's leader Martin (Willem Dafoe), so few attend they are unable to bury the dead troupe member and fix their cart.
Hotel (2001)
, 1h33Directed by Mike Figgis
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors Salma Hayek, Saffron Burrows, Lucy Liu, Valentina Cervi, Burt Reynolds, George DiCenzo
Roles Bosala
Rating41%
While a British film crew are shooting a version of The Duchess of Malfi in Venice, they in turn are being filmed by a sleazy documentary primadonna while the strange hotel staff share meals which consist of human meat. The story expands to involve a hit man, a call girl and the Hollywood producer.
Revelation (2001)
, 1h51Directed by Stuart Urban
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Historical, Crime
Themes Films about religion
Actors Natasha Wightman, James D'Arcy, Udo Kier, Terence Stamp, Liam Cunningham, Manuel Cauchi
Roles New Age Man
Rating47%
In two flashbacks a relic is created in 50 AD and then hidden by Jews from a Crusader mob in medieval Rennes-le-Château. In present-day Rennes-le-Château an academic under instructions from Magnus Martel is seen with the relic - the Loculus - researching on the ground to find the right place to hide it. Magnus's son Jake, an ace cryptographer, is released from Wormwood Scrubs and recruited by his father for research on the Loculus. Magnus reveals that the Loculus relates to the Knights Templar and its sinister successor organisation known as "the order", and in secret receives calls from this organisation threatening him if he does not accelerate his research - in spite of this, Magnus realises the Loculus' massive power for good or evil and has hidden it to ensure it does not fall into the order's hands. After breaking a code on the Loculus to reveal the word "palingenesis", Jake hides whilst members of the organisation kill and flay his father. Jake then flees with another researcher on the project (the occultist Mira) and seeks help from the Roman Catholic priest Father Ray Connolly.
Lover's Prayer (2001)
, 1h46Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Kirsten Dunst, Nick Stahl, Julie Walters, Geraldine James, Nathaniel Parker, James Fox
Roles Dr. Looshin
Rating48%
Au début de l'été 1833, Vladimir Petrovitch, âgé alors de seize ans, prépare sans zèle excessif ses examens d'entrée à l'université dans la propriété de ses parents, non loin de Moscou. Il tombe éperdument amoureux de Zénaïde, jeune femme de vingt-et-un ans d'une singulière beauté, qu'il observe de derrière la palissade séparant son jardin du parc. C'est en fait sa voisine fraîchement installée dans la maison attenante et qui vit là avec sa mère, la princesse Zassékine, personne désargentée réduite à une existence misérable.
Honest (2000)
, 1h45Directed by Dave Stewart
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Crime
Themes Heist films
Actors Nicole Appleton, Natalie Appleton, Melanie Blatt, Derek Deadman, Lynn Ferguson, Peter Facinelli
Roles Professor
Rating41%
The plot follows the antics of three gun-toting, streetwise, saucy sisters in Swinging London in the late 1960s. The film is most notable for the topless scenes by the Appleton sisters. Blatt and the Appletons also contributed to three songs on the film's soundtrack.
The Sandman (2000)
Directed by Frères Quay
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Dance films
Actors Heathcote Williams, Alice Krige
Rating65%
The Escort (1999)
, 1h40Directed by Michel Blanc
Origin France
Genres Drama
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Erotic thriller films
Actors Daniel Auteuil, Stuart Townsend, Liza Walker, Noah Taylor, Frances Barber, Claire Skinner
Roles Ann's Father
Rating61%
Un professeur de lettres, la quarantaine (donc crise), se rend à Londres pour chercher l'inspiration pour son nouveau roman. Loin de sa famille, une nouvelle vie s'ouvre à lui. Il rencontre Tom, un gigolo. Il le suit dans la voie de la prostitution.
Miss Julie (1999)
, 1h43Directed by Mike Figgis
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Eileen Walsh, Heathcote Williams, Joanna Page
Roles Servant
Rating61%
Midsummer night, 1894, in northern Sweden. The complex structures of class bind a man and a woman. Miss Julie, the inexperienced but imperious daughter of the manor, deigns to dance at the servants' party. She's also drawn to Jean, a footman who has traveled, speaks well, and doesn't kowtow. He is engaged to Christine, a servant, and while she sleeps, Jean and Miss Julie talk through the night in the kitchen. For part of the night it's a power struggle, for part it's the baring of souls, and by dawn, they want to break the chains of class and leave Sweden together. When Christine wakes and goes off to church, Jean and Miss Julie have their own decisions to make.
Alice in Wonderland (1999)
, 2h9Directed by Nick Willing
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, Films about cats, Mise en scène d'un lapin ou d'un lièvre, Films based on Alice in Wonderland, Children's films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Tina Majorino, Miranda Richardson, Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Simon Russell Beale, Robbie Coltrane
Roles Mr. Eaglet
Rating62%
The film follows the storyline of the book closely, save for adding some scenes from Through the Looking-Glass. It also changes the opening real world scene from Alice and her sister sitting at a riverbank to Alice in her bedroom, reluctantly practicing the song "Cherry Ripe", which she is expected to perform at a garden party. (The party guests are played by the same actors as the Wonderland characters, and are shown as resembling them in appearance and personality, in a similar manner to the MGM version of The Wizard of Oz. The toys in Alice's room also reflect the residents of Wonderland). Thanks to stage fright, and constant nagging from her confident music teacher, Alice runs out of the house and hides herself in the woods nearby until the party has ended. However, an apple floats down from the tree and seems to hover in Alice's face. She is suddenly distracted by a human-sized White Rabbit (voiced by Richard Coombs) rushing by. Curious, Alice follows the White Rabbit, falling down his rabbit hole and ending up in Wonderland.
Cousin Bette (1998)
, 1h48Directed by Desmond McAnuff
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance
Actors Jessica Lange, Elisabeth Shue, Hugh Laurie, Bob Hoskins, Geraldine Chaplin, Kelly Macdonald
Roles Nucingen
Rating61%
At the deathbed of her wealthy cousin Adeline (Chaplin), poor seamstress Bette Fischer (Lange) promises to take care of her cousin's family. However Baron Hector Hulot (Laurie), her late cousin's husband, still knowingly treats her as a "housekeeper", giving her charge over his daughter Hortense (Kelly Macdonald). Refusing the offer to stay in Hulot's home, Bette returns to her apartment in a rundown poorer district of Paris, where she makes costumes for a Burlesque theatre. She becomes friends with the headliner of the show, famed courtesan Jenny Cadine (Shue). Bette finds a source of comfort in Count Wenceslas Steinbach (Aden Young), a young but promising artist who has fallen on hard times. Besotted by the young man, Bette does everything possible to provide for him such as buying him food and motivating him to continue with his work. One day, Bette tells Hortense of her "sweetheart" Wenceslas.
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
, 2h3Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Piano, Films based on plays
Actors Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Mélanie Thierry, Bill Nunn, Clarence Williams III, Peter Vaughan
Roles Doctor Klauserman
Rating80%
The story is told in medias res as a series of flashbacks. Max Tooney, a musician, enters a secondhand music shop just before closing time, broke and badly in need of money. He has only a Conn trumpet, which he sells for less than he had hoped. Clearly torn at parting from his prized possession, he asks to play it one last time. The shopkeeper agrees, and as the musician plays, the shopkeeper immediately recognizes the song from a broken record matrix he found inside a recently acquired secondhand piano. He asks who the piece is by, and Max tells him the story of 1900.
, 1h40Directed by John Henderson
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy
Actors Jane Horrocks, Rik Mayall, Danny Aiello, Ronald Pickup, Mark Heap, Philip Martin Brown
Roles Jeff
Rating52%
Record-company owner Marty Starr (Rik Mayall) concludes that Marla Dorland, aka Mavis Davis (Jane Horrocks) is a fading star. Meanwhile he has to meet alimony payments to his ex (Jaclyn Mendoza), while he's forced to promote the untalented son of a mobster, Rathbone (Danny Aiello). To get out from under, Marty decides that the death of Marla/Mavis could jolt record sales by turning her into a legend. He hires hitman Clint (Marc Warren), but eliminating Mavis turns out to be more difficult than they thought.
The Tango Lesson (1997)
, 1h41Directed by Sally Potter
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Dance films, Musical films, Tango films
Actors Sally Potter, Géraldine Maillet, Anne Fassio, Guillaume Gallienne, Heathcote Williams, Peter Eyre
Roles Builder
Rating66%
The film tells of Sally, a filmmaker and screenwriter suffering from writer's block. She is dissatisfied with her film project, a murder mystery called Rage, which features the fashion industry. Taking a break, she travels to Paris, where she sees the dancer Pablo (Pablo Verón) performing tango.