Producer of The Pianist

Background:

After working on America, where he was behind a few of TV series and feature films, Polish producer Gene Gutowski made a name for himself as a victorious producer for a number of Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski’s British efforts, most notably the 2002 biopic The Pianist, starring the Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. Gutowski also contributed to the screenplay and produced Adventures of Gerard (1970).

Currently, Gutowski resides in London, England.


From US to England

Childhood and Family:

In Poland, Gene Gutowski was born May 7, 1925. He spent several years working on a few television shows and feature films in America, before moving to London, where he found success as producer for some of Roman Polanski’s British vehicles.


Polanski’s Colleague

Career:

Polish-born producer Gene Gutowski got his start in the entertainment world by working on some feature films and television shows in the U.S. from 1954 to 1960. He then relocated to London, and in 1962 produced his first British movie, Station Six-Sahara, which starred Carroll Baker. The indie-drama earned a BAFTA nomination for Best British Cinematography.

His big break arrived two years later, when Gutowski collaborated with noted French filmmaker Roman Polanski for the brilliant thriller/horror Repulsion, starring Catherine Deneuve. He reunited with the director for the notable vehicles Cul-de-sac in 1966 and The Fearless Vampire Killers in 1967, which starred Jack MacGowran and Polanski himself.

An independent film, A Day at the Beach, followed in 1970, which was helmed by Simon Hesera and written by Polanski, before Gutowski produced and co-wrote The Adventures of Gerard (1970). The adventure starred Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale and Claudia Cardinale, and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. After producing the based-on-novel film Romance of a Horsethief (1971), Gutowski took a long-term hiatus from producing.

In 2002, Gutowski made an auspicious comeback with director Roman Polanski’s highly acclaimed musical The Pianist, serving as co-producer. The movie won a number of recognitions, including three Oscars for Best Director (Polanski), Best Actor (Adrien Brody), and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood).


Awards:
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