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Simon Channing Williams

Simon Channing Williams

Producer · Died April 12, 2009, aged 63 · Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK

Simon Channing Williams (10 June 1945 – 11 April 2009) was a British film producer. After having worked as a production assistant and producer of TV films and TV series in the 1970s and early 1980s, he and Mike Leigh formed the film production company Thin Man Films in 1988. This company has produced all of Mike Leigh's films since then, among them the double Oscar-winning Topsy-Turvy, the Oscar-nominated Vera Drake and the Palme d'Or-winning Secrets & Lies. In addition to his collaborations with Mike Leigh, he also produced other films, including teen suicide drama New Year's Day (2001 film) in 1999. He co-produced Nick Love's first film Goodbye Charlie Bright in 2000, and the same year he formed Potboiler Productions with producer Gail Egan (who also works closely with Mike Leigh and has been involved in the production of several of his films). Through Potboiler Productions Channing Williams produced Douglas McGrath's Nicholas Nickleby and Fernando Meirelles' Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener. Channing Williams died aged 63, in Cornwall on 11 April 2009, five years after being diagnosed with cancer. Leigh paid tribute saying "His great phrase was 'let's just get on with things' and right almost to the last he was still working. He was a very extraordinary big man and he will be missed universally." Leigh dedicated his 2010 film Another Year to the memory of Simon Channing Williams. Following Channing Williams' death, Mike Leigh started to collaborate with producer Georgina Lowe, who in 2011 took over Channing Williams' half of Thin Man Films. A Most Wanted Man was dedicated to both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Simon Channing Williams in the closing credits. Description above from the Wikipedia article Simon Channing Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 10, 1945
Died
April 12, 2009 (aged 63)
From
Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK
Works as
Producer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 31 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 14% in 30 days

What are Simon Channing Williams' films like?

Across their 18 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 88th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 75th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
23%
Self
22%
Morality
15%
Survival
12%
Society
11%
Ideas
8%
Power
8%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 18 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 12 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 8 · Intense 6

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 9 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 5

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 9 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
10
Tense
7
Contemplative
8
Warm
7
Bittersweet
4
Other
14

How their films linger

Bittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet9
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Simon Channing Williams' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Simon Channing Williams' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

31 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • A Most Wanted Man(2014)

    In Memory Of

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Another Year(2010)

    In Memory Of

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Lezione 21(2008)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Blindness(2008)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Happy-Go-Lucky(2008)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Shrooms(2007)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Flannel Pajamas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Executive Producer

  • The Last King of Scotland(2006)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Brothers of the Head(2005)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • The Constant Gardener(2005)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Vera Drake(2004)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Man About Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Producer

  • De-Lovely(2004)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Nicholas Nickleby(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • All or Nothing(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • New Year's Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Producer

  • Goodbye Charlie Bright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Producer

  • Topsy-Turvy(1999)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Career Girls(1997)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Secrets & Lies(1996)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Great Kandinsky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Producer

  • Jack & Sarah(1995)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Naked(1993)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Two Mikes Don't Make a Wright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Producer

  • A Sense of History (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Producer

  • Life Is Sweet(1990)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • When the Whales Came(1989)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • High Hopes(1988)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Short & Curlies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Co-Producer

  • Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes(1984)

    First Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Breakthrough (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Production Assistant

Career shape

A full career of 29 titles from 1975 to 2014.

Biggest box office

The Constant Gardener (2005)

$82M worldwide

Highest rated

Secrets & Lies (1996)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Blindness (2008)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Producing24 of 29: 24 only producing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score86thOther crew5 of 29: 5 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1970s1 · crew1980s4 · crew1990s9 · crew2000s13 · crew2010s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Simon Channing Williams' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 22; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 82nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Approval · how many liked their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Reach · how many have seen their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up13
  • 50th to 74th8
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

15 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser15
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · producer

Lezione 21 (2008)

57th percentile spread · 22% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Secrets & Lies (1996)

Midcredits 98th · 87% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Simon Channing Williams' work okay for kids?

Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles19–72 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity11 titles32–76 · median 50 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity6 titles52–87 · median 65 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles28–67 · median 44 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles39–84 · median 63 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Simon Channing Williams work with?

People who share at least 2 of Simon Channing Williams' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mike Leigh shares the most, 9.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles