Interview with Scott Hicks

Scott Hicks earned international acclaim for the 1996 box office sensation Shine, which grossed well over $100 million worldwide following its triumphant premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.  The film received seven Academy Award nominations in all major categories (including Best Film), with Hicks nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. It also received eight BAFTA nominations, won nine Australian Film Institute Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), was named Best Film by the U.S. National Board of Review, earned five Golden Globe nominations as well as nominations from both the Directors Guild and Writers Guild of America.  Hicks’ feature film Sebastian and the Sparrow, which he also wrote and produced, was a winner in three international film festivals for children, including the 1990 LUCAS Award in Frankfurt, Germany. His first Hollywood film, Snow Falling on Cedars, starred Oscar nominees Ethan Hawke, Max von Sydow, Sam Shepard and James Cromwell.  Hicks also directed Hearts In Atlantis, starring Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, David Morse, Hope Davis and Mika Boorem, based on novellas by Stephen King. Hicks’ latest feature No Reservations, starring Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, is currently in theatrical release.

 

Born in Uganda and raised in Kenya until age 10, Hicks and his family moved to England, then Australia.  Poised to pursue a ...

Scott Hicks earned international acclaim for the 1996 box office sensation Shine, which grossed well over $100 million worldwide following its triumphant premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.  The film received seven Academy Award nominations in all major categories (including Best Film), with Hicks nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. It also received eight BAFTA nominations, won nine Australian Film Institute Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), was named Best Film by the U.S. National Board of Review, earned five Golden Globe nominations as well as nominations from both the Directors Guild and Writers Guild of America.  Hicks’ feature film Sebastian and the Sparrow, which he also wrote and produced, was a winner in three international film festivals for children, including the 1990 LUCAS Award in Frankfurt, Germany. His first Hollywood film, Snow Falling on Cedars, starred Oscar nominees Ethan Hawke, Max von Sydow, Sam Shepard and James Cromwell.  Hicks also directed Hearts In Atlantis, starring Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, David Morse, Hope Davis and Mika Boorem, based on novellas by Stephen King. Hicks’ latest feature No Reservations, starring Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, is currently in theatrical release.

 

Born in Uganda and raised in Kenya until age 10, Hicks and his family moved to England, then Australia.  Poised to pursue a Law/Arts degree, a chance encounter with an inspirational Philosophy professor turned him instead toward English, Drama and Cinema at Flinders University of South Australia, from which he graduated with honors in 1975 (receiving an honorary doctorate in 1997). Hicks is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He lives with his wife and collaborator/producer Kerry Heysen in Adelaide, South Australia where they maintain their own Yacca Paddock Vineyards. Also an accomplished photographer, Hicks has had three exhibitions of his work, which can be viewed at scotthickspix.com.