Tim Sullivan (British filmmaker)

Tim Sullivan
Born	(1958-02-21) 21 February 1958 Germany
Occupation(s)	Film and television director, screenwriter, novelist
Years active	1981–present

Timothy "Tim" Sullivan (born 21 February 1958) is a German-born British film and television director and screenwriter, known for his work with Granada Television and his feature film Jack and Sarah (1995). More recently, he is better known as a crime fiction writer, with a series of novels featuring an autistic detective, DS George Cross.

Early life and education

Tim Sullivan was born in Germany, where his father was stationed with the Royal Air Force. He attended Clifton College in Bristol, England, before gaining an exhibition scholarship to read English and Law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, Sullivan was a member of the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, and partnered with writer Richard Maher on the play Klev, which ran at the Crown Theatre, Hill Place in 1978. He also supplied extras to Chariots of Fire (1981).

Career

After leaving Cambridge Sullivan got a summer job as a chauffeur to Anthony Andrews on the production of Brideshead Revisited. The producer Derek Granger learned that Sullivan was writing a screenplay with Derek Jarman (Bob Upadown), and encouraged him to get a job as a researcher with Granada Television.

After working as a researcher on the first series of Alfresco, Sullivan and Richard Maher partnered to write their first television series, a sitcom entitled The Train Now Leaving, set in the dining carriage of an InterCity train running between London and Manchester. Granada commissioned seven 30-minute scripts for development.

Sullivan stayed at Granada for several more years, directing episodes of series such as Busman's Holiday, Stop That Laughing at the Back, Coronation Street and The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, as well as adapting A Handful of Dust as a feature film for London Weekend Television (1988) and directing Thatcher: The Final Days (1991). In 1995, Sullivan wrote and directed his first feature film, Jack and Sarah, starring Richard E. Grant and Samantha Mathis. The film was inspired by the attention a male colleague at Granada received when his childcare arrangements broke down and he had to bring his child into work.

Into the 2000s, Sullivan worked freelance on many television and film projects, including directing the final episode of Cold Feet for Granada, and the one-off comedy drama Catwalk Dogs for Shed Productions. In 2005, having worked on the film Flushed Away, Sullivan was hired by DreamWorks to write an initial script draft for Shrek 4, though his script was abandoned by the time production on the film began.

Sullivan wrote the film Letters to Juliet, starring Amanda Seyfried, which was released in the United States in 2010, taking over $80 million worldwide. He has been developing a film based on the London Marathon and another The Wedding Dress. He has worked with many notable directors and producers in the US including Ron Howard, Scott Rudin and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

In 2020, Sullivan self-published two crime novels featuring the detective DS George Cross, The Dentist and The Cyclist, within four months the two titles achieved over 200,000 downloads and he was signed by British publisher Head of Zeus. Further novels in the DS Cross series, The Patient' 'The Politician, 'The Monk and 'The Teacher' have now been published. The seventh in the series 'The Bookseller' will be published in January of 2025.

In June 2023 he was awarded an MLitt with distinction in Crime Fiction and Forensic investigation at the University of Dundee. He also won the Val McDermid dissertation prize.

Filmography

Year(s)	Title	Role	Description
1985	Wild Winter	Director	1 episode of television series
1985	Hank Wangford at Strangeways	Director	Television special
1985	Our Backyard	Director	26 episodes of television series
1985	TX	Director	4 episodes of television series
1985	Hold Tight	Director	1 series of television game show
1986	I Feel Fine	Director	6 episodes of television series
1986	Busman's Holiday	Director	14 episodes of television game show
1987	Stop That Laughing at the Back	Director	5 episodes of television series
1988	Coronation Street	Director	18 episodes of television series
1988	A Handful of Dust	Screenwriter	Feature film
1990–1992	El C.I.D.	Director	2 episodes of television series
1990	Made in Heaven	Director	2 episodes of television series
1991	Thatcher: The Final Days	Director	Television film
1991	Where Angels Fear to Tread	Screenwriter	Feature film
1993–1995	The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes	Director	3 episodes of television series
1995	Jack and Sarah	Director and screenwriter	Feature film
2003	Cold Feet	Director	1 episode of television series
2006	Flushed Away	Additional screenplay material	Feature film
2007	Catwalk Dogs	Director	Television film
2010	Letters to Juliet	Screenwriter	Feature film
2021	My Little Pony: A New Generation	Writer Co-producer	Feature film

References

• Tim Sullivan filmography". British Film Institute. Retrieved on 17 April 2010.

External links

• Tim Sullivan at United Agents
• Tim Sullivan at Peters Fraser and Dunlop
• Tim Sullivan at IMDb
• "Lights, camera, action" – Profile of Sullivan in Optima, the Fitzwilliam College alumni newsletter (p. 10).
• www.timsullivan.co.uk