View source for Garth Jennings

{{short description|English filmmaker}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = File: 2008-0419-GarthJennings.jpg
| caption            = Jennings in 2008
| birth_place        = [[Epping, Essex|Epping]], [[England]]
| occupation         = Director<br>Screenwriter<br>Actor
| years_active       = 1990–present
| employer           = [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]] (2007–present)
| spouse             = Louise Jennings
}}

'''Garth Jennings''' <!-- Valid citation required for date of birth for BLP. (WP:BLPPRIVACY) --> is an English director, screenwriter and actor.

Films he has directed include ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', ''[[Son of Rambow]]'', ''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]'', and ''[[Sing 2]]''. He co-founded the production company [[Hammer & Tongs]].

== Early life ==
Jennings was born in [[Essex]], England.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hogan |first=Michael |date=2017-01-29 |title=Garth Jennings: 'I was so stressed, awake at 3am thinking: What have I done?' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/29/garth-jennings-writer-director-sing-illumination-interview |access-date=2024-07-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Career ==
=== Hammer and Tongs ===
{{Main|Hammer & Tongs}}
In 1993, Garth Jennings co-founded the production company [[Hammer & Tongs]] alongside Dominic Leung and [[Nick Goldsmith]]. The production company was primarily responsible for directing and writing music videos.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jennings|first1=Garth|title=Garth Jennings: Kanye killed my video|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/12/garth-jennings-unmade-videos-kanye|access-date=24 April 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite news|last1=Hubert|first1=Andrea|title=Boys in the mud|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/1|access-date=24 April 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|date=29 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dee|first1=Johnny|title=Internet picks of the week|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/12/internet-picks-of-the-week|access-date=24 April 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 March 2011}}</ref> Their music video for [[Radiohead]]'s song "[[Lotus Flower (song)|Lotus Flower]]" earned Jennings a nomination at the [[54th Annual Grammy Awards]].

=== ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' ===
Garth Jennings directed a number of films including the 2005 science fiction comedy film ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'',<ref name="auto" /> based upon previous works in the [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|media franchise of the same name]], created by [[Douglas Adams]]. It stars [[Martin Freeman]], [[Sam Rockwell]], [[Mos Def]], [[Zooey Deschanel]] and the voices of [[Stephen Fry]], [[Helen Mirren]] and [[Alan Rickman]].

=== ''Son of Rambow'' ===
Set over a summer during the dawn of [[Thatcherism|Thatcher's Britain]], ''[[Son of Rambow]]'' is a [[coming of age]] story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by ''[[First Blood]]''. The film premiered on 22 January 2007 at the [[2007 Sundance Film Festival|Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=4662 |title=Son of Rambow |access-date=2 May 2008 |publisher=Sundance.org}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/907666204 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/904624377 cite #4 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> It was later shown at the [[Newport Beach Film Festival]], [[Seattle International Film Festival]], [[Toronto International Film Festival]] and [[Glasgow Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0845046/releaseinfo |title=Son of Rambow (2007) – Release dates |access-date=2 May 2008 |publisher=[[IMDb]]}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/907666204 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/904624377 cite #5 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> The film was also shown at the 51st BFI [[London Film Festival]]. ''[[Son of Rambow]]'' was released in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2008 and opened in [[limited release]] in the United States on 2 May 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0845046/releaseinfo |title=Son of Rambow (2007) – Release dates |access-date=2 May 2008 |publisher=[[IMDb]]}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/907666204 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/904624377 cite #5 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>

=== ''Sing'' ===
In January 2014, it was announced that Garth Jennings would write and direct an animated comedy film for [[Universal Pictures]] and [[Illumination (company)|Illumination Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Despicable Me 3' Set For June 2017 Release; 'Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas' Arrives Five Months Later|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/despicable-me-3-release-date-dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-universal-665013/|access-date=16 January 2014|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|date=15 January 2014}}</ref> The resulting film, ''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]'', was released in December 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Idelson|first1=Karen|title=Director Garth Jennings Switches to a New Beat With 'Sing'|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/spotlight/sing-illumination-garth-jennings-1201943651/|access-date=24 April 2017|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=20 December 2016}}</ref> He also provided the voice for Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana employed as an administrative assistant to Buster Moon.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Sarah|title=Sing writer-director Garth Jennings on the feel-good magic of animals making music|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sing-review-927674|access-date=24 April 2017|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=9 December 2016}}</ref> A sequel, titled ''[[Sing 2]]'', was released on 22 December 2021.

=== ''Madame'' ===
Garth Jennings directed, wrote and co-produced a short film titled ''Madame'' that was released in 2019. This film takes place inside a grand Parisian apartment where lives an elegant elderly lady. And inside this lady lives a monster.

== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
|-
|2005
|''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
|2008
|''[[Son of Rambow]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
|2016
|''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
|2021
|''[[Sing 2]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|}

'''Acting credits'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year 
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|2004
|''[[Shaun of the Dead]]''
|'Fun Dead' Zombie
|
|-
|2005
|''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''
|Frankie Mouse
|Voice role
|-
|2007
|''[[Hot Fuzz]]''
|Crack Addict
|
|-
|2009
|''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)|Fantastic Mr. Fox]]''
|Bean's Son
|Voice role
|-
|2013
|''[[The World's End (film)|The World's End]]''
|Man in Pub No. 5
|
|-
| 2016
|''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]''
|Miss Crawly
|rowspan=3|Voice role
|-
|2019
|''[[The Secret Life of Pets 2]]''
|Hamster
|-
|2021
|''[[Sing 2]]''
|Miss Crawly
|}

===Short film===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Producer 
|-
|2019
|''Madame''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
|2024
|''Sing: Thriller''<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Richardson|first=Kalia|title=Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson Return as Singing Animals in 'Sing: Thriller'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/matthew-mcconaughey-scarlett-johansson-sing-thriller-1235134226/|date=October 15, 2024|access-date=October 16, 2024|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|}

'''Acting credits'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year 
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2016
|''[[Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion]]''
|Fritz
|
|-
|2017
|''Love at First Sight''
|rowspan=2|Miss Crawly
|rowspan=2|Voice role
|-
|2024
|''Sing: Thriller''
|}

=== Music video ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Song
!Artist
|-
| rowspan="3" |1997
|"[[Hit (The Wannadies song)|Hit]]"
|[[The Wannadies]]
|-
|"Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out"
|[[Bentley Rhythm Ace]]
|-
|"[[Help the Aged (song)|Help the Aged]]"
| rowspan="2" |[[Pulp (band)|Pulp]]
|-
| rowspan="5" |1998
|"[[A Little Soul]]"
|-
|"[[Cancer for the Cure]]"
| rowspan="2" |[[Eels (band)|Eels]]
|-
|"[[Last Stop: This Town]]"
|-
|"[[Saint Joe on the School Bus]]"
|[[Marcy Playground]]
|-
|"[[The Flipside]]"
|[[Moloko]]
|-
| rowspan="4" |1999
|"[[Coffee & TV|Coffee And TV]]"
|[[Blur (band)|Blur]]
|-
|"[[Pumping on Your Stereo]]"
|[[Supergrass]]
|-
|"[[Right Here, Right Now (Fatboy Slim song)|Right Here, Right Now]]"
|[[Fatboy Slim]]
|-
|"Summertime Blues"
|[[Guitar Wolf]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2000
|"Theme from Gutbuster"
|[[Bentley Rhythm Ace]]
|-
|"Disillusion"
| rowspan="2" |[[Badly Drawn Boy]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2001
|"Pissing in the Wind"
|-
|"[[Imitation of Life (song)|Imitation of Life]]"
|[[R.E.M.]]
|-
|2002
|"[[Lost Cause (Beck song)|Lost Cause]]"
| rowspan="2" |[[Beck]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|"[[Hell Yes (Beck song)|Hell Yes]]"
|-
|"Low C"
|[[Supergrass]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2007
|"[[Nude (song)|Nude]]"
| rowspan="2" |[[Radiohead]]
|-
|"[[Jigsaw Falling Into Place]]"
|-
|2008
|"[[A-Punk]]"
| rowspan="2" |[[Vampire Weekend]]
|-
|2009
|"[[Cousins (song)|Cousins]]"
|-
|2011
|"Lotus Flower"
|[[Radiohead]]
|-
|2013
|"[[Amok (Atoms for Peace album)|Ingenue]]"
|[[Atoms for Peace (band)|Atoms For Peace]]
|}

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! | Year !! Film
!Award
! | Category !! | Result
|-
| rowspan="2" |2000
|''Da Ali G Show''
|Royal Television Society UK
|Best Graphic Design – Titles|| {{won}}
|-
|''[[Supergrass]]: Pumping on Your Stereo''
| rowspan="2" |[[MTV Video Music Award]]s
|Best Art Direction in a video
|Nominated
|-
|2001
|''[[R.E.M.]]: Imitation of Life''
|Best Direction in a video
|Nominated
|-
|2005
| rowspan="6" |''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''
|[http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios The Artios Award – Casting Society of America]
|Best Featured Film Casting-Comedy
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="5" |2006
|[[Golden Trailer Awards|Golden Trailer Award]]
|Most Original<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Golden_Trailer_Awards/2005|title=Golden Trailer Awards for 2005 at IMDb|publisher=IMDb|access-date=24 September 2018}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/907785024 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/907689479 cite #15 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>|| {{won}}
|-
|[http://www.oftaawards.com/film-awards/ OFTA Film Awards]
|Best Music, Original Song
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Empire Awards]] UK
|Best British Film
|Nominated
|-
|Best Comedy
|Nominated
|-
|[[Golden Trailer Awards]]
|Best Voice Over
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="6" |2008
| rowspan="9" |''[[Son of Rambow]]''
| rowspan="3" |[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0002704/2016/1/ British Independent Film Awards]
|Best Director
|Nominated
|-
|Best Screenplay
|Nominated
|-
|Most Promising Newcomer for Bill Milner and Will Poulter
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Locarno Festival|Locarno International Film Festival]]
|Audience Award|| {{won}}
|-
|Variety Piazza Grande Award
|Nominated
|-
|[[National Board of Review]] USA
|Top Independent Films|| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |2009
|[[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Awards]]
| Most Promising Newcomer
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Empire Awards]] UK
|Best Comedy|| {{won}}
|-
|Best British Film
|Nominated
|-
|2012
|''[[Radiohead]]: Lotus Flower''
|[[Grammy Award]]s
|Best Short Form Music Video
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="14" |2017
| rowspan="14" |''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]''<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine | url = http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/895915 | title = Matthew McConaughey to Star in Illimination Animated Film (EXCLUSIVE) | author = Borys Kit | magazine = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date = 15 January 2015 | access-date = 15 January 2015 | archive-date = 18 January 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150118114304/http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/895915 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |[[Golden Globe Awards]]
|Best Animated Feature Film
|Nominated
|-
|Best Original Song "[[Faith (Stevie Wonder song)|Faith]]" – [[Ryan Tedder]], [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Francis Farewell Starlite]]
|Nominated
|-
|[[Annie Award]]s
|Music in an Animated Feature Production for [[Joby Talbot]]
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Hollywood Music in Media Awards]]
|Best Song for an Animated Film
|Nominated
|-
|Best Soundtrack Album
|Nominated
|-
|Outstanding Music Supervision for Jojo Villanueva|| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="4" |[[Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards]]
|Favorite Animated Movie
|Nominated
|-
|Favorite Voice from an animated movie for Reese Witherspoon
|Nominated
|-
|Most wanted pet for Reese Witherspoon
|Nominated
|-
|Favorite Soundtrack
|Nominated
|-
|Behind the Voice Actors [https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/btva-awards/2017/ Awards]
|Best Male Vocal Performance in a feature film in a supporting role as the voice of "Miss Crawly"
|Nominated
|-
|[[British Academy Children's Awards]]
|Feature Film
|Nominated
|-
|[[Saturn Award]]s
|Best Animated Feature Film
|Nominated
|-
|[[AARP The Magazine|AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards]]
|Best Movie for grownups who refuse to grow up
|Nominated
|-
| rowspan="19" |2019
| rowspan="19" |''Madame''
|[http://educationexpo.tv/dadasahebphalkefilmfestival/ Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival]
|Best Short Live Action / Best Short Animation|| {{won}}
|-
|[http://educationexpo.tv/dadasahebphalkefilmfestival/ Seattle International Film Festival]
|Best Film
|Nominated
|-
|[[HollyShorts Film Festival]]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[http://festival.dcshorts.com/ DC Shorts Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308064620/http://festival.dcshorts.com/ |date=8 March 2018 }}
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://www.thrillerchiller.com/ Thriller! Chiller!]
|Best Chill|| {{won}}
|-
|[https://screamfestla.com/ Screamfest Horror Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://www.santafeindependentfilmfestival.com/ Santa Fe Independent Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://sapporoshortfest.jp/ Sapporo International Short Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/ Cambridge Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[http://www.film-festival.org/Vortex.php Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://www.asff.co.uk/ Aesthetica Short Film Festival]
|Best Thriller|| {{won}}
|-
|[https://www.foylefilmfestival.org/ Foyle Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://diff-bt.com/ Druk International Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[https://www.shockfilmfest.com/ Shockfest Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[http://www.bintlfilmfest.com/ Bahamas International Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|-
|[[Anchorage International Film Festival]]
|Best Narrative Short|| {{won}}
|-
|[https://www.horrorbowlmovieawards.com/ Horror Bowl Movie Awards]
|Best Short|| {{won}}
|-
|[https://shortfilms.org.uk/ London Short Film Festival]
|Official Selections
|Nominated
|}

== Books ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Publishing house
|-
|2015
|''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/garth-jennings/the-deadly-7/9781509887644 The Deadly 7]''
|[[Pan Macmillan]]
|-
|2017
|''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/garth-jennings/the-wildest-cowboy/9781447231479 The Wildest Cowboy (illustrated by Sara Ogilvie)]''
|Pan Macmillan
|-
|2019
|''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/garth-jennings/the-good-the-bad-and-the-deadly-7/9781509887651 The Good, The Bad and the Deadly 7]''
|Pan Macmillan
|-
|2021
|''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/garth-jennings/the-curse-of-the-deadly-7/9781509899364 The Curse of the Deadly 7]''
|Pan Macmillan
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|1134029}}

{{Garth Jennings}}
{{Illumination (company)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Garth}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:British comedy film directors]]
[[Category:English film directors]]
[[Category:English television directors]]
[[Category:English screenwriters]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:British animated film directors]]
[[Category:English film actors]]
[[Category:English television actors]]
[[Category:English voice actors]]
[[Category:English video game actors]]
[[Category:Illumination (company) people]]
[[Category:1972 births]]