Ashley Sidaway

Early Life & Education

Sidaway was born in London, United Kingdom son of producer, writer, actor Robert Sidaway and actress Maggie Don.

He was educated at Brighton College and King's College London.

Early career

Ashley Sidaway trained as an Assistant Editor for editor John Daniels in London on sports and documentary TV programming between 1978-80.

In the summer of 1981 he was a production assistant in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico during the shoot of a pilot for the silent comedy series The Optimist and was subsequently assistant editor during post-production in Los Angeles. He then worked as a camera assistant / technical assistant for both the first season shot on location in Los Angeles during the summer of 1982 and the second season filmed in London during the summer of 1984. The series was first previewed on Channel 4’s opening night (2 November 1982) and the series commenced on 14 April 1983.

During 1984 and 1985 Sidaway worked for Crystal Film & Video in London as a freelance assistant cameraman to various independent production companies as well as on news / current affairs and documentary programmes for the BBC.

In 1986, Sidaway researched and contributed to the script of the BBC pilot on cinema newsreels Around The World In Seven Minutes And Four Times On Saturday, about the Pathé News and Movietone News cinema newsreels and their lead commentators Bob Danvers-Walker and Leslie Mitchell. and various pop-promos.

Best Of British / Winchester Pictures

In 1986 Sidaway co-created, wrote and edited the first season of the TV series Best Of British, 10 x 30 minute programs that examined some of the classic British films made by the Rank Organisation through an extensive use of clips. The first season commenced on 22 April 1987 on BBC One.

The success of the first season led to four further seasons and Sidaway worked in the same capacity on the further fifty seven episodes all of which premiered on BBC One. Narrated by John Mills and Anthony Quayle the programs provided a comprehensive look at British films from 1930s to the 1980s. The final season was originally shown in 1994.

He also co-wrote a book based on the first series.

Using the same format, in 1990 Sidaway subsequently co-created, wrote and edited the TV series The World Of Hammer which looked at the output of Hammer Film Productions. Narrated by Oliver Reed, thirteen episodes were produced and the series premiered on Channel 4 in the UK on 12 August 1994.

Best Of British Film & Television was established in 1986 and Sidaway became Creative Director for the company, overseeing the creative output of TV programs, documentaries and video specials. On a majority of these also directed, edited, wrote and supervised all stages of production.

In 1989 he formed Winchester Pictures with Robert Sidaway to handle the development of feature film projects. In 1995 took Winchester to the AIM market as Winchester Entertainment plc.

In 1990 commissioned by Channel 4 and director Phil Agland to write the screenplay adaptation of Thomas Hardy's The Woodlanders. Film shot during 1996 / 1997 and released 1998.

During 1991 wrote a screenplay loosely adapted from the 1957 Rank film Hell Drivers (film) for MGM and a remake of Four Sided Triangle in conjunction with Hammer Film Productions. He also wrote a new screenplay based on the 1961 sci-fi thriller The Day The Earth Caught Fire in conjunction with Schindler-Swerdlow Productions for 20th Century-Fox.

In late 1992 Sidaway wrote and directed a ten-part documentary series The Gurgling Gourmet for Granada TV.

He also completed the script Legacy, adapted from Nigel Kneale's classic 50’s Quatermass and the Pit (film). The project was developed with Trilogy Entertainment Group.

During 1994 and 1995 co-wrote and edited Rainbow, the family entertainment feature film starring Bob Hoskins, Dan Aykroyd and Terry Finn. Rainbow premiered at the CineMagic Film Festival in December 1995 and opened world-wide during 1996. It was the first theatrically distributed all digital feature film.

Independent Productions

During 1995 co-founded The International Football Hall Of Fame and worked over a four-year period to establish the brand and project. Developed in association with Granada Media and the Mirror Group.

In 1998 wrote, directed and produced the series, Witness - Events Of The 20th Century, introduced and narrated by David Frost for international television and video distribution by Primetime. The series was originally released in October 1999 and comprised thirteen 52 minute episodes.

During 1999 / 2000, Sidaway was a writer on the sword and sorcery television adventure The Dark Knight. Originally brought in to establish the tone of the series, he ended up writing seven scripts during the two seasons. Shot on location in New Zealand, the series was first shown on Channel 5 commencing July 1, 2000.

Between 2000 and 2008, Sidaway was involved as Producer, Executive Producer or Co-Producers on feature films including: Nouvelle France starring Gérard Depardieu, Irène Jacob, Vincent Pérez, Tim Roth and Jason Isaacs; My First Wedding starring Rachael Leigh Cook; Modigliani starring Andy Garcia; School for Seduction starring Kelly Brook and Emily Woof; Day Of Wrath starring Christopher Lambert; Joy Division starring Ed Stoppard and Bernard Hill; The Piano Player starring Christopher Lambert, Dennis Hopper and Diane Kruger; Silence Becomes You starring Alicia Silverstone and Sienna Guillory; Save Angel Hope starring Billy Boyd, Eva Birthistle and Bernard Hill; and Forest of the Gods based on the classic novel by Balys Sruoga and starring Steven Berkoff.

From 2008-10 acted as audio-visual producer for the Ultra Green Group, creating and producing over 60 films showing the green technologies the company was implementing worldwide.

In 2010 wrote and directed the first series of 13 episodes of the animated “Chuck the Eco Duck”. In addition wrote and produced the first audio series of 14 shows for audio / radio.

During 2011 and 2012 developed and wrote the film “Iron”, based on the birth of the industrial revolution at Ironbridge. During 2013 Sidaway was a editor and production consultant on the documentary “Medjugorge - Myth Or Miracle”.

Into The Rainbow / 奇迹：追逐彩虹 / The Wonder: Chasing Rainbows

In 2011, Sidaway created and wrote the story for the action fantasy feature film The Wonder and wrote the original drafts of the screenplay during 2012.

The film shot on location in Qingdao, China and Auckland, New Zealand between October and December 2015.

It stars Willow Shields, Wu Lei, Joe Chen, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Archie Kao and Christy Chung.

The film has been announced for a major release in China during the summer of 2017.

Sidaway has also co-written with Robert Sidaway the book based on the original story.