Andy Picheta

Infobox actor
name = Andy Picheta


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1959|10|21|df=y
birthplace = Ealing, London, England
occupation = TV Director, film director and Producer
othername =
spouse = Rebecca Ferrand (1995-present)
yearsactive = 1980-present
homepage =
awards = 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing of Comedy, Entertainment or variety Show. Nominated for Grammy Award, 1994, for 'Best Live Performance of Year' for 'Bon Jovi: Live in London.

Andy Picheta is a Film and TV director and producer, who in March 2007 added hotelier to his credits when he became the co-owner of the Scottish country-house Muckrach Lodge Hotel.

Picheta has worked alongside some of entertainment's greatest names, such as Sir Ian McKellen, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bon Jovi, ACDC, Michael Flatley, Lionel Richie, Donny Osmond and many more.

Career

Picheta started his media career directing music videos as MTV was taking off. He worked with Bon Jovi, Madonna, Iron Maiden and many other bands and artists. He then filmed a few theatre productions for Andrew Loyd Webber's musicals, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat", and "Cats". He also directed musicals such as "Oklahoma!" and "Kiss Me Kate". In 2004, he was nominated for an Emmy Award, for his directing of "Elaine Strich at Liberty."

Andy didn't stop his television/film career after he bought Muckrach. In early 2008, Picheta was line director in the latest television adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, which will be screened on Channel 4 on Christmas Day/Boxing Day (Date TBC). Picheta worked alongside Sir Ian McKellen and director Trevor Nunn, in the production filmed primaliry at Pinewood Studios. Picheta, when asked his feelings on his great success in the late 1990s, described it as "Better than straight sex."`

Picheta was praised highly for having the leading role in bringing theatrical and musical events onto the small screen.

Personal life

Picheta was born in Ealing, West London in the late 1950s. He studied at Gunnersbury Grammar School before attending Harrow Film School.

After leaving film school, Picheta drove a minicab. Like many film personalities, Picheta started out as a runner for music videos, before becoming an assistant director. He met his partner Rebecca Ferrrand in 1995 on a film set, after finalising a divorce. The pair lived in Kensington and Fulham together before moving to the country in 2000, and moving again in 2002 to Haddenham.

Picheta added fame value to the small village of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire when he moved their with his long-term partner Rebecca Ferrand, herself a well-established television and film personality who has produced the infamous Popetown and worked with comedy icons such as David Mitchell and Vic Reeves. The couple moved there in 2002 before leaving at Christmas 2006 to pursue their careers in hoteliering.

Picheta has two teenage children who currently live in his hometown of Ealing in West London.

Awards & Reviews

Awards

Picheta was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Live Performance of the Year' for his work on Bon Jovi: Live in London, a concert hosted a Wembley Stadium, the ceremony was hosted in New York City.

In 2004, Picheta was again nomiated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for his work on 'Elaine Stritch: Live at Liberty'. The ceremony was hosted in Los Angeles, and Picheta took home the award which sits in the hotel currently.

Reviews

Matt Tobey of the All Movie Guide said Picheta's 1998 production of Cats "captures all the music and movement of the original stage production with an uncommon intimacy and depth." [ [http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-synopsis/cats.1/ Cats (1998) - Synopsis - MSN Movies ] ] The same production received average ratings of over 4.5/5 on Amazon.com.

'Oklahoma!' received successful reviews after it was released in 1999 and on DVD in 2003, and 'Cats' received ratings of over 4.5/5 on Amazon.com and the same site described 'Manheim SteamRoller' as 'excellent.' Alex Vasqeut of 'FilmNow' said Picheta's performance as director on 'Manheim Steamroller' was brilliant. "Picheta combined a festive spirit with a gripping tale and managed to portray both masterfuly."

Muckrach Lodge

[http://www.http://wikitravel.org/en/Dulnain_Bridge Muckrach Lodge on wikitravel.com]

Picheta, and his partner Rebecca Ferrand decided in 2006 to buy a hotel. At first they looked abroad before deciding a move north to Scotland from their country house in Buckinghamshire was the best choice. They bought Muckrach Lodge Hotel and Restaurant in the Caingorms National Park, Scottish Highlands, just outside Grantown-on-Spey, in Morayshire, in March 2007. The Emmy Award is on display at the hotel. In a career spanning nearly twenty years, he has experienced many different aspects of the Film and TV industry.

He now commutes between the highlands and London where he continues to play an active part in TV production, most recently line producing King Lear for The Royal Shakespeare Company Channel 4 and PBS

Muckrach Lodge has been transformed by the pair into a high-class, elegant hotel and restaurant, which has been successful since they purchased the property. Picheta was asked about how he saw the hotel business in 2008, to which he simply replied; "It's a performance."

Filmography

As Producer

King Lear (2008) (TV) (post-production) (line producer)
Kiss Me Kate (2003) (TV) (producer)

The Merchant of Venice (2001) (TV) (line producer)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999) (V) (line producer) ... aka Great Performances: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (USA: series title)
Oklahoma! (1999) (TV) (producer) "Great Performances" (line producer) (1 episode, 1998)

Cats (1998) TV episode (line producer)
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (1998) (TV) (producer)
Lord of the Dance (1997) (V) (producer)

Bon Jovi: Live from London (1995) (V) (producer)

Performance (1991) (V) (line producer)

As Director

Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (2002) (TV)

(1998) (TV)
Mannheim Steamroller: Christmas Live (1997) (V)
Anthea Turner Body Basics (1996) (V)

As Production Manager

Secret World Live (1994) (TV) (production manager)

Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) (production manager: concert, U.K.) ... aka In Bed with Madonna (Australia) (UK) ... aka Truth or Dare

As Actor

"Open Road (Short Film)" - Working Title (2008)

Picheta is set to make his acting debut in a short film set for release in 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.muckrach.com Muckrach Lodge Hotel and Restaurant]