{{Short description|British screenwriter}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Use British English|date=September 2017}} {{Infobox person | name = John Collee | image = JC photo.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = John Gerald Collee | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1955}} | birth_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Screenwriter|novelist|doctor}} | known_for = | website = {{URL|http://www.johncollee.com/}} }}
'''John Gerald Collee''' (born 1955) is a Scottish/Australian doctor, novelist and screenwriter whose films have three times been nominated for Oscars. ''Master and Commander'' was nominated for Best Film in 2003, ''Happy Feet'' won Best Animation in 2006, and ''Tanna'' (2015) was nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature in 2015. His many other films, written or co-written, include ''Creation (2009)'', ''Hotel Mumbai (2018)'' and ''Lee''. His novels include ''Kingsley's Touch'', ''A Paper Mask'', and ''The Rig''. His TV adaptation of ''Boy Swallows Universe'' received critical acclaim upon release on Netflix in 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/boy-swallows-universe-netflix-2023#:~:text=Boy%20Swallows%20Universe%20will%20hit,release%20date%20when%20it%27s%20announced. | title=Netflix's Eagerly Awaited 'Boy Swallows Universe' Series is Coming to Your Streaming Queue in 2023 | date=3 March 2023 }}</ref>
==Background== Collee was born in 1955 to Isobel Galbraith and Prof J. Gerald Collee CBE,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-professor-j-gerald-collee-cbe-frcpath-frcpe-frse-microbiologist-2469442 | title=Obituary: Professor J Gerald Collee CBE FRCPath FRCPE FRSE, microbiologist | date=19 September 2013 }}</ref> who became professor of microbiology at the University of Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cornwell |first=Tim |date=6 December 2003 |title=Interviews – John Collee: Master of the High Seas |work=The Scotsman}}</ref> Collee grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and in India.<ref name="mcmullen122">{{cite journal | last=McMullen | first=Myles | title=Screenwriting 101 – Get a Life! John Collee thinks writers should get out more |journal=Metro Magazine |publisher=Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) |date=Spring–Summer 2005 | issue=146/147 | pages=122–126 |url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-148007792/screenwriting-101-get-a-life-john-collee-thinks |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and began practising medicine in Cambridge, Bath, and Bristol.<ref name="sun">{{cite news | last=Sragow | first=Michael |author-link=Michael Sragow | date=23 November 2003 | title=Man of the world wielded a pen for 'Master': Co-writer Collee can draw on his travels, medical-aid experiences | work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2003/11/23/man-of-the-world-wielded-a-pen-for-master/}}</ref> In his third year of practice, he wrote the medical thriller ''Kingsley's Touch'', which was published in 1984. Collee subsequently worked in emergency medicine at home and abroad in Gabon, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.<ref name="mcmullen122" /> His second novel titled ''A Paper Mask'' was published in 1987. Rights to the novel were acquired for a film adaptation, and Collee wrote the screenplay for director Christopher Morahan and Granada, who released the film ''Paper Mask'' in 1990. Around the time that his third novel ''The Rig'' was published, in 1991, Collee became a columnist for ''The Observer'' and wrote articles about travel, science and medicine, weekly for the next six years.<ref name="mcmullen122" />
While escorting medical supplies to Azerbaijan in the former Soviet Union, Collee met his wife Deborah Snow - Moscow-based correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The following year, and mid-way through writing a book about Soviet medicine called ''The Kingdom of the Blind'', Collee accepted a medical post in the Solomon Islands. The couple had their first child, Lauren, on the islands.<ref name="mcmullen122" /> then both worked in London for a short time before moving to Sydney, Australia where Collee joined forces with Australian directors Peter Weir and George Miller. With Weir, Collee wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-nominated ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', and with Miller he wrote the Oscar-winning ''Happy Feet''.<ref name="sun" /> He wrote an early (uncredited) draft of ''The Legend of Tarzan'' (2016) for Warner Bros.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/comment-property-investment-and-private-bankings-role-1418286|title=Comment: Property investment – and private banking's role|website=Scotsman.com|date=6 May 2019 }}</ref> with Guillermo del Toro slated to direct.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/513701-del_toro_directing_tarzan|title=Del Toro Directing 'Tarzan'?|date=15 December 2006|website=ComingSoon.net}}</ref> The movie was later directed by David Yates.
''Creation'' reunited him with Paul Bettany and he later executive-produced ''The Water Diviner'' with Russell Crowe directing. ''Tanna'' was a collaboration with anthropological film-makers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler which was shortlisted for an Oscar in the foreign language category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2015/03/12/australian-film-tanna-tell-romeo-and-juliet-tale-melanesia|title=Australian film Tanna to tell Romeo and Juliet-like tale in Melanesia|website=SBS Movies}}</ref> ''Wolf Totem'' with director Jean-Jacques Annaud made upwards of $100M at the Chinese box office. After co-writing ''Hotel Mumbai'', which starred actor Dev Patel, he collaborated with Patel on the actor's first film as director, ''Monkey Man''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/netflix-dev-patel-monkey-man-directorial-debut-deal-efm-1234713025/|title=Netflix Strikes $30M Deal For Dev Patel's Buzzed-About Directorial Debut 'Monkey Man'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first1=Andreas|last1=Wiseman|date=12 March 2021}}</ref> His most recent films are ''Lee'' (with co-writer Marion Hume), about war correspondent Lee Miller, starring Kate Winslet;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/awards-insider-kate-winslet-lee-miller-first-look | title=Kate Winslet Embodies an Unsung American Icon in 'Lee' | website=Vanity Fair | date=6 September 2023 }}</ref> and ''The Return'', taken from ''The Odyssey'', starring Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope.
John Collee was one of four co-founders of the Australian production company Hopscotch Features.<ref>{{cite news | last=George | first=Sandy | url=http://www.screendaily.com/hopscotch-features-john-collee-frank-cox-troy-lum-and-andrew-mason/5041648.article | title=Hopscotch Features: John Collee, Frank Cox, Troy Lum and Andrew Mason | work=Screen Daily | date=24 May 2012 | access-date=10 November 2015 }}</ref> He was also, for many years, a board member of the Australian branch of climate activist group 350.org.<ref>{{cite news | last=Collee | first=John | url=http://www.theage.com.au/comment/climate-change-we-shouldnt-ignore-the-predictive-models-20150822-gj59np.html | title=Betting against climate change not a smart punt | work=The Age | date=24 August 2015 | access-date=10 November 2015 }}</ref> and, until recently, vice-president of the Australian Writers Guild
==Filmography== '''Screenwriter''' {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} *''Bergerac'' - four TV episodes (BBC1, 1988–1990) *''Star Cops'' - three TV episodes (BBC2, 1987) *''Paper Mask'' (1990) - based on Collee's novel. *''The Heart Surgeon'' – two-part TV serial (BBC1 1997) *''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003) – with director Peter Weir; based on the novels by Patrick O'Brian. *''Happy Feet'' (2006) – credited with director and co-directors. *''Creation'' (2009) - based on the biography of Charles Darwin by Randal Keynes. *''Walking with Dinosaurs'' (2013) *''Wolf Totem'' (2015) – credited with director and two others; based on the novel by Jiang Rong. *''Tanna'' (2015) – credited with directors. *''The Patriarch'' (2016) – based on a novel by Witi Ihimaera.<ref>{{cite news | last=Goodfellow | first=Melanie | url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/afm-wild-bunch-findsfaithin-cuba-with-brugues-and-banderas/5096238.article | title=Wild Bunch finds 'Faith' in Cuba with Banderas | work=Screen Daily | date=2 November 2015 | access-date=23 November 2015 }}</ref> *''Hotel Mumbai'' (2018) *''Lee'' (2023) - credited with Marion Hume and two others. *''The Return'' (2024) - credited with Edward Bond and director Uberto Pasolini. {{div col end}} '''Executive producer''' *''Son of a Gun'' (2014) *''The Water Diviner'' (2014) *''The Guests'' (short) (2015) {| class="wikitable" !Year !Title !Role !Budget |- |1990 |''Paper Mask'' |Writer (novel, screenplay) | |- |2003 |''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' |Writer |$150 million |- |2006 |''Candy'' |Script Editor | |- |2006 |''Happy Feet'' |Writer |$100 million |- |2009 |''Creation'' |Writer (screen story, screenplay) |$10 million |- |2013 |''Walking with Dinosaurs 3D'' |Writer (screenplay) |$80 million |- |2014 |''Son of a Gun'' |Executive producer, script consultant, writer (additional material) | |- |2014 |''The Water Diviner'' |Executive producer |$22 million |- |2015 |''Wolf Totem'' |Writer |$38 million |- |2015 |''Tanna'' |Writer | |- |2016 |''The Patriarch'' |Writer (screenplay) | |- |2018 |''Hotel Mumbai'' |Executive producer, writer |$21 million |- |2023 |''Whale Nation'' |Writer (English adaptation) | |- |2023 |''Lee'' |Co-writer (story & screenplay), executive producer | |- |2024 |''Monkey Man'' |Writer |$30 million |- |2024 |''Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'' |Story consultant |$135 million |- |2024 |''Boy Swallows Universe'' (TV Series) |Writer (8 episodes), executive producer (8 episodes) |- |2024 |''The Return'' |Writer | | |}
==See also== *List of Scottish novelists
==Bibliography== *{{cite book | last=Collee | first=John | year=1984 | title=Kingsley's Touch | publisher=St. Martin's Press | isbn=978-0-312-45617-7 }} *{{cite book | last=Collee | first=John | year=1987 | title=A Paper Mask | publisher=Arbor House/William Morrow | isbn=978-1-55710-026-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/papermask00coll }} *{{cite book | last=Collee | first=John | year=1991 | title=The Rig | publisher=Morrow | isbn=978-0-688-11482-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/rig00coll }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.johncollee.com/}} *{{IMDb name|id=0171722|name=John Collee}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Screenwriter of the Year}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collee, John}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Scottish screenwriters Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:Writers from Edinburgh Category:Australian screenwriters