Gangster No. 1

A native of Scotland, Paul McGuigan was a successful photographer in Glasgow before branching out into television commercials and documentary films, including Football, Faith and Flutes, about religion and soccer in Glasgow; and Playing Nintendo With God, about children with AIDS. In 1998 he won the Best Newcomer Award from the Royal Television Society for his short film, The Granton Star Cause. He expanded this into a trilogy based on stories by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh and released it as his first feature length film, The Acid House (1998). The movie won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Stockholm Film Festival, the AMC Audience Award and the Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver at Fantasporto and was named Best Film at the New York Underground Film Festival.

McGuigan next directed the controversial Gangster No. 1 (2000) starring Malcolm McDowell and Paul Bettany—which both dazzled and disturbed audiences with its darkly violent tale of a criminal in London. McGuigan’s third film, The Reckoning, is a murder mystery set in the Middle Ages, again starring Bettany.

Next for McGuigan was the romantic thriller Wicker Park (2004) starring Josh Hartnett. His next film, Lucky Number Slevin (2006) starring Hartnett and Bruce Willis, won Best Film and the Audience Award at the 2006 Milan International Film Festival.

In his spare time, McGuigan enjoys watching and playing soccer. —tribute.ca