Versatile film craftsman Mike Newell alternated between London and Hollywood, from film to TV, before securing his reputation as a leading British filmmaker in the early 1990s. He learned his craft as a production trainee at Granada Television after graduating in English from Cambridge and went on to direct numerous plays for TV including "Ready When You Are Mr. McGill" (1976), a comedy about a TV extra who panics when given two lines to speak. Newell made his feature debut stateside with "The Awakening" (1980), a moth-eaten mummy flick adapted from a Bram Stoker novel and starring the redoubtable Charlton Heston. Newell's critical fortunes improved with the acclaimed "Dance With a Stranger" (1985). Starring Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett, "Stranger" was a powerful and finely observed account of the life and death of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be sentenced to death in England. Newell's next film, "The Good Father" (1986), a Brit TV-movie released theatrically in the USA, though dramatically uneven, allowed Anthony Hopkins to shine as an embittered, bereft parent.
Newell enjoyed a critical and commercial triumph with the multi-Oscar-nominated "Enchanted April" (1991), a romantic comedy remake also starring Miranda Richardson, and followed up with "Into the West" (1993), a charming children's adventure set in Ireland. The surprising success of his "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994), which starred Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, shocked even Newell, who had no confidence in his rough version at all until a test audience began laughing almost immediately during the first screening. His American TV debut had come directing the NBC movie "Man in the Iron Mask" (1977), and he helmed the ambitious two-part TV-movies "Blood Feud" (syndicated, 1983) and "Common Ground" (CBS, 1990). The former dramatized the conflict between Jimmy Hoffa and Robert Kennedy while the latter was a powerful docudrama about the court-ordered desegregation of Boston schools in the 1970s.
Just when it seemed he was settling into the light romantic genre, Newell reinvented himself with his entry into 'Mob' pictures, "Donnie Brasco" (1997). As much a father-son story as a Mafia movie, the film delivered outstanding, uncharacteristic performances from stars Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. Depp, known for his wide-eyed innocence, displayed unexpected physicality and menace as undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, and Pacino, who has spent much of his career well over-the-top, chose understatement instead, weighing in with considerable pathos as Lefty, the small-time but kind-hearted Mafioso who takes Pistone/Brasco under his wing. Like Pistone, Newell had infiltrated a gang (with the help of a location scout) to steep himself in the rhythms of mob language. His homework paid off, and the success of "Donnie Brasco" established his credentials as a director of big-budget American movies.
For his next feature, “Pushing Tin” (1999), Newell returned to more familiar territory—somewhat. While the romantic comedy about two rival air traffic controllers was played for laughs, Newell also chose to dwell on the more dramatically intense moments of working at New York’s Terminal Radar Approach Control Center. At the center of attention are Nick (John Cusack) and Russell (Billy Bob Thornton), two alpha-males both good at their jobs competing against each other to see whose better at it. Their rivalry extends beyond the workplace and into their personal lives when Nick takes an interest in Russell’s beautiful, hard-drinking wife (Angelina Jolie), while Nick’s wife (Cate Blanchett) takes a shine to Russell. Despite Newell’s typically sure-handed direction, “Pushing Tin” suffered under the weight of an inconsistent tone and a sitcom ending. The resulting unevenness was reflected in its poor box office performance.
In between directing gigs, Newell served as executive producer on several projects, including “200 Cigarettes” (1999), “Traffic” (2000), “High Fidelity” (2000) and “I Capture the Castle” (2002). He then returned to the director’s chair for “Mona Lisa Smile” (2003), an historical drama set in 1953 about Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a free-spirited art history teacher from Berkley who takes a teaching job at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, a place where women’s roles are rigidly defined and the female collegians seem more content with trying to nab a husband than asserting their individuality. Encouraging the women to strive for an enlightened future, Katherine challenges the school administration and inspires her students—who include a sexually promiscuous rebel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a beautiful and intelligent girl (Julia Stiles) caught between studying law at Yale or marrying her sweetheart, and a smug rich kid (Kirsten Dunst) on the verge of domestic bliss—to look beyond the image of what is and consider the possibilities of what could be. Though reviews were mixed, “Mona Lisa Smile” faired far better than Newell’s previous directing effort, taking in over $63 million at the box offices.
Newell made the rare jump from film to television with a stint as executive producer on the medical drama, “Huff” (Showtime, 2004- ), starring Hank Azaria as a successful psychiatrist who gets a wake-up call—both professionally and personally—after a patient commits suicide during a session. For his next feature, Newell was set to hit pay dirt when he signed on to “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005), becoming the first British director to helm an installment of the successful franchise. In this fourth movie featuring the bespectacled young magician, Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) mysteriously finds himself the fourth contestant in the Triwizard Tournament, a deadly gladiatorial competition hosted by Hogwarts. While being trained by the eccentric new Defense Against the Black Arts professor (Brendan Gleeson), someone is murdered on school grounds, an ominous turn of events that propels Potter towards an unavoidable encounter with true evil. Even before the film was released, fans and critics alike were declaring it to be the best of the series to date.