Discover the Best Books Written by Tim Sullivan

Tim Sullivan made his first short film before graduating from Cambridge University. His ambition to become a screenwriter was formed not so much by this experience but as an attempt to foil his father’s determination to turn him into a lawyer. Within weeks of leaving university armed with a law degree, Tim had met the filmmaker Derek Jarman. 

He persuaded him to commission an original screenplay from him entitled “BOB UPADOWN,” and so a career was born. A few months later, he joined Granada Television as a researcher. Here he was commissioned to write the first of many television scripts for the company. Two sitcoms are entitled THE TRAIN NOW LEAVING and THE GREASY SPOON, followed by the crime dramas MYSTERIOUS WAYS and MAIGRET.

While at Granada, he was selected for the prestigious Directors’ Training scheme when he was only 26. Previous incumbents had included Mike Newell, Roland Joffe, Michael Apted, and, more recently, Julian Farino. Among other credits, he directed CORONATION STREET, MADE IN HEAVEN, THATCHER THE FINAL DAYS, and THE CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES with Jeremy Brett.

During this time, he also co-wrote the screenplays for the movies A HANDFUL OF DUST, starring Kristen Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, and Alec Guinness, and WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD, starring Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter, both with producer the legendary TV producer Derek Granger (BRIDESHEAD REVISITED). Upon leaving the bosom of Granada and venturing into the wild wide world of freelance filmmakers, he wrote and directed the movie JACK AND SARAH starring Richard E Grant, Samantha Mathis, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, and Eileen Atkins.

This led to a commission from New Line Pictures to write the screenplay WALKING PAPERS based on the Jay Cronley novel of the same name. This screenplay came to the attention of execs at Universal and Imagine, who then asked Tim to do a page-one rewrite of a western for Ron Howard entitled THE PRETENDERS. Tim enjoyed working with Ron for over a year on this. He then wrote an original screenplay, PERSONAL SHOPPING, which Paramount promptly snapped up for producer Scott Rudin.

He spent four months working for and with Jeffrey Katzenberg at Dreamworks animation as a production writer on the movie FLUSHED AWAY. Impressed by his work, Katzenberg commissioned him to write a script for SHREK 4, which wasn’t used as a different storyline was decided upon as a director came on board. During this time, he was actively involved in British television, directing the last ever ninety-minute episode of the BAFTA award-winning series COLD FEET. As well as a TV movie for ITV called CATWALK DOGS, written by Simon Nye.

He was commissioned by the BBC to write a pilot for a TV series he invented called BACKSTORY, as well as another pilot for the ITV network entitled OFFSPRING. He also wrote HIS MASTER’S VOICE for the BBC as a radio play starring Rob Brydon broadcast in 2015.