Nationality British Role Author Name Simon Astaire | Children 1 Years active 1980–present Education Harrow School | |
Full Name Simon Jack Astaire Born 3 June 1961 (age 62) ( 1961-06-03 ) London, UK Occupation Author,screenwriter, media advisor | ||
Simon Astaire on Harry Potter
Simon Jack Astaire is a novelist, screenwriter, media advisor and film producer.
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Career
Astaire was recruited by the talent agency International Creative Management (ICM) UK, where he became the youngest agent yet to be employed by the firm. During his ten-year career as head of young artists (clients included Oscar Winner Rachel Weisz) and international signings at ICM, Simon established a thriving music department.
In 1997 he became Chief Executive of Protocol Multimedia with diverse media divisions that included personal representation, product and celebrity endorsement and PR, working with companies such as Bvlgari, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Alfred Dunhill and Saatchi & Saatchi. Charlize Theron was contracted to Bvlgari as Lady Helen Taylor was to Armani and Calvin Klein. Astaire negotiated an unprecedented deal between writer Fay Weldon and Bvlgari; she was commissioned to write a novel The Bvlgari Connection in what was the first commission of its kind.
Among Astaire's clients are members of the Hollywood establishment and the British Royal Family, including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Astaire appears as a pundit regularly on CNN, Sky News, Five and other networks commenting upon all key media and celebrity stories.
Publications
His first novel, Private Privilege, was published in 2008 by Quartet Books. The story is a rites of passage through the eyes of a public school boy. The sequel And You Are? was published the following year. It is set in Hollywood, Las Vegas and London. His third novel, Mr Coles, was published in May 2011. It takes place in an English Prep School and follows the tortured life of one of its masters. It was described in one review as "illuminating the dark alleys of the human condition". His fourth novel, The Last Photograph, is set on 21 December 1988; the day Pan Am Flight 103 crashed into Lockerbie. It was Hello Magazine's book of the week and the review described it as being 'emotionally eloquent and a searing study of loss and love.' His first authorised biography is of soccer star Sol Campbell. It was published in March 2014 and was serialized in The Sunday Times. The biography became The Times critic's choice of the week. Astaire was nominated as best 'new' writer at The Best Sports Book Awards of the Year 2015.
Film
Astaire co produced the movie The Last Photograph based on his novel of the same title. He also wrote the screenplay. The film was shot in Central London and Lockerbie, Scotland. It is directed by Danny Huston and stars Danny Huston, Sarita Choudhury, Stacy Martin.The world premiere was at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2017. It was shortlisted for The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film.
Personal life
He was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, to stockbroker Edgar Astaire and interior designer Lesley Jacklin. He was educated at Wellesley House School in Kent, Harrow School and Edward Greene's Tutorial Establishment (now Green's Tutorial College), Oxford. Astaire's son, Milo Astaire, was born in June 1993. Milo's mother is model Saffron Aldridge. His uncle is the sport and property entrepreneur Jarvis Astaire. Astaire has lived much of his working life in London and Los Angeles.