David Jonathan Heyman, British film producer. Named one of 50 Smartest People in Hollywood, Entertainment Weekly, 2007; recipient Producer of the Year, Showest, 2003. Member of Academy Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, British Academy Film & Television Arts.
Background
Heyman was born in London. He is the son of John Heyman, producer of films such as The Go-Between and Jesus, and Norma Heyman (née Parnell), an actress and Academy Award-nominated producer of Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs Henderson Presents.
Education
Harvard University; Westminster School.
Career
He went to Westminster School and, following graduation, he decided to study abroad. He earned a degree in Art History from Harvard University in the United States. in 1983. Heyman got his start in the film industry as a production assistant on David Lean"s A Passage to India, and in 1986, Heyman became a creative executive at Warner Brothers.
In the late "80s, he became vice president of United Artists and subsequently embarked on an independent producing career with his first film, Juice, in 1992, followed by the cult "stoner" film The Stoned Age (1994) and others
In 1997, Heyman returned to London and founded his own production company, Heyday Films. He has since produced a number of films including the popular Harry Potter film adaptations, beginning with 2001"s Harry Potter and the Philosopher"s Stone and ending with 2011"s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Participant 2.
Other notable productions during this time include the 2007 blockbuster I Am Legend and the 2008 films The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Is Anybody There?, and Yes Manitoba After finishing work on the Harry Potter films, Heyman reunited with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón to produce the 2013 space thriller Gravity starring Sandra Bullock.
The film grossed more than United States$700 million worldwide and was nominated for 10 Academy including Best Picture.
He also produced the 2013 comedy We"re the Millers and the 2014 family film Paddington, for which he was nominated for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. In 2013, it was announced that Heyman will produce the upcoming Warner Brothers film adaptation of J.K. Rowling"s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which will be released on November 18, 2016. He is also set to produce Fables, based on the comic book series.
He was announced as the producer of the fantasy film Queen of the Tearling, starring Emma Watson and based on the book written by Erika Johansen.
Warner Brothers has acquired the film rights and will distribute the film. Heyman is also currently developing projects with Potter director David Yates and has long been developing a film adaptation of Mark Haddon"s 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves.
Membership
In 1999, he secured the film rights to the Harry Potter film series and went on to produce all eight installments, becoming the most important member of the crew to be involved in all the films.