Stephen Woolley has spent a lifetime steeped in movies and filmmaking. His career began in 1976 at the Screen on the Green cinema in London where he tore tickets, sold ice cream, projected films and helped manage the cinema. After working with The Other Cinema, he programmed and subsequently owned his own cinema, The Scala, which won acclaim for its diverse, original and alternative programming. In 1982 Woolley launched Palace Video in partnership with Nik Powell, releasing titles such as Eraserhead and Mephisto. Establishing a theatrical arm a year later, Palace acquired, marketed and distributed some 250 independent and European movies from The Evil Dead, Diva, and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence to When Harry Met Sally.
During this period Woolley's producing career flourished, with a diverse range of critically acclaimed and successful films including the controversial Absolute Beginners starring David Bowie, Ray Davies, Patsy Kensit and James Fox, and Golden Globe nominated dance comedy Shag starring Bridget Fonda. Scandal starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, John Hurt and Bridget Fonda attracted phenomenal critical acclaim and box office success on both sides of the Atlantic. Other Palace productions included The Big Man starring Liam Neeson and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer; A Rage in Harlem with Forest Whitaker and Danny Glover, and The Pope Must Die starring Robbie Coltrane.
Breakfast on Pluto, starring Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson, continued Woolley's long-term partnership with director Neil Jordan which began with The Company of Wolves in 1983. His other collaborations with Jordan include The Miracle, The Butcher Boy, The Good Thief, the Oscar-nominated The End of The Affair, Michael Collins, Interview With The Vampire, and Oscar-winning The Crying Game, for which in 1992 Woolley was awarded Producer of The Year by the Producers Guild of America. Woolley also produced Jordan's Oscar nominated Mona Lisa which won numerous international awards. Stephen also has over twenty executive producer credits, which include The Neon Bible, The Hollow Reed, Fever Pitch, Purely Belter and Little Voice starring Sir Michael Caine and Jane Horrocks.
In 2005 Woolley made his directorial debut with Stoned. Other recent projects as producer from Number 9 Films with co-owner Elizabeth Karlsen include And When Did You Last See Your Father? directed by Anand Tucker; UK box office number one, How To Lose Friends & Alienate People starring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges and Megan Fox; and the upcoming Perrier's Bounty which stars Cillian Murphy and Jim Broadbent. 2009 will see the release of Sounds Like Teen Spirit...A Popumentary, Number 9 Films' first feature documentary. Forthcoming projects include The Lonely Doll and We Want Sex.
