Andrew Macdonald

This grandson of the famed Hungarian emigre screenwriter-director Emeric Pressburger worked his way up from low level jobs to become an important and influential film producer. Born in Glasgow, Andrew Macdonald was not interested in movies until he saw Franc Roddam's "Quadrophenia" (1979) and then turned to his famous grandparent for advice and inspiration. He began his career working on films made by students at London's National Film School in the mid-1980s and landed his first "professional" gig as a go-fer on Hugh Hudson's "Revolution" (1985). After studies at the American Film Institute, Macdonald worked as assistant to Zelda Barron on "Shag" (1988) before returning to his native Scotland. In the course of a few short years, he graduated from working as a location manager in film and TV to filmmaker, directing and/or producing a handful of shorts, some in tandem with his brother Kevin. A fortuitous introduction to John Hodge at the 1990 Edinburgh Film Festival led to a creative partnership that blossomed with 1993's quirky thriller "Shallow Grave." Macdonald debuted as producer, Hodge, a physician by trade, wrote the script and Danny Boyle joined the team as director.