Paul Weiland

PAUL WEILAND

Date of Birth: July 11, 1953

Raised in a working class family in Golders Green, England, Paul Weiland left home at 15 to pursue a career in the world of advertising. He went on to direct over 600 commercials and formed his own company, Weiland, which represents most ad-makers in Britain.

Having received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for his short film, Keep Off the Grass (1983), it was surprising that his first feature, Leonard Part 6 (1987) starring Bill Cosby, was so bad that Cosby himself reportedly advised people not to see it. For his part, Weiland earned a Razzie nomination for Worst Director.

Weiland then turned to TV, making The Storyteller (1988) and Living with Dinosaurs (1989), both for Jim Henson’s company, followed by several Mr. Bean episodes. His second feature film, City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994) was a box office hit. In 2001, Weiland received a BAFTA TV Award nomination for the TV production Blackadder Back & Forth.

He came up with the story idea for the feature film Sixty Six (2006) from his own life—about the day only three people showed up for his bar mitzvah because it was the same day as the 1966 World Cup final. Starring Helena Bonham Carter as his mother, the film was well received by audiences and critics alike, so much so that he was invited to direct the Columbia major motion release Made of Honor (2008), starring Patrick Dempsey.

Weiland lives in north London with his wife and their four children.

Filmography:


Made of Honor (2008)
Sixty Six (2006)
Roseanna’s Grave (1997)
Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994)
Leonard Part 6 (1987)