# Peter Shaw (producer, born 1942)

Peter Shaw (born 6 November 1942) is a British film producer, known for Champions, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Water Babies, The Will to Work, and Enigma.

## Early life

Shaw was born on 6 November 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire, the son of Thomas William and Margaret Aylwen. He was educated at Eton College, followed by a three-year short service commission in the British Army serving with the Royal Green Jackets.

## Career

In 1970 Shaw identified a pressing need for new, up-to-date management training films. Between 1970 and 1973 he produced eight industrial training films, distributed worldwide by the Rank Organisation, winning a Grierson for "The Will to Work"; meanwhile he expanded his film interests. From 1970 to 1980 he co-produced a 12 part TV series Let's Face It and a number of TV documentaries and cinema shorts, including: The World of Miss World, Race for the Double Helix, Maharajahs, Victorians, Display, Sport of Kings, Wind in the Wires.
In 1971 Shaw acquired the screen rights to Nicholas Monsarrat's novel Something to Hide, which went into production in 1972 starring Peter Finch and Shelley Winters, directed by Alistair Reid. In 1975 he teamed up with producer Joseph Shaftel to produce a remake of the 1945 movie The Spiral Staircase directed by Peter Collinson and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Plummer distributed by Warner Bros. Then in 1978 he produced The Water Babies and Eagles Wing for The Rank Organisation in 1979. In 1982 Shaw produced Enigma in Paris as an Anglo/French co-production; with screenplay by John Briley, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Martin Sheen, Bridget Fosse, Sam Neill.
In 1984 he formed and became CEO of United British Artists Ltd (UBA). Shortly after formation he negotiated "first look" deals for UBA with MGM/UA in Hollywood and with TESE in UK.
In 2017, he acted as executive producer on The Ninth Passenger, which was shot and produced in Canada and which he had previously developed with Lionsgate (UK) in London.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972 | Something to Hide | Associate producer | Thriller film directed by Alastair Reid |
| 1974 | The World of Miss World | Producer | Documentary directed by Tony Palmer |
| 1975 | The Spiral Staircase | Producer | Horror mystery thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and a remake of the 1945 film of the same name |
| 1978 | The Water Babies | Producer | Live action-animated feature film directed by Lionel Jeffries |
| 1979 | Eagle's Wing | Executive producer | Euro-Western Eastmancolor film directed by Anthony Harvey |
| 1982 | Enigma | Producer | Anglo-American drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc |
| 1984 | Champions | Producer | Based on the true story of jockey Bob Champion and directed by John Irvin |
| 1986 | Castaway | Executive producer | Adventure-drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and adapted from its namesake 1984 book by Lucy Irvine |
| 1988 | Taffin | Producer | Irish thriller film directed by Francis Megahy |
| 1997 | Keep the Aspidistra Flying | Producer | Romantic/comedy film directed by Robert Bierman and based on the eponymous novel by George Orwell Also known as A Merry War in the United States and New Zealand |
| 1997 | The Tale of Sweeney Todd | Executive producer and story | Crime-drama/horror television film directed by John Schlesinger |
| 2017 | The Ninth Passenger | Executive producer | Horror Movie |

## Awards

| Year | Film | Award | Result |
| 1971 | Will to Work | John Grierson Award for best Industrial documentary film | Winner |
| 1984 | Champions | Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Award | Nominated |