John Collee

JOHN COLLEE is a Scottish/Australian doctor, novelist and screenwriter whose films have three times been nominated for Oscars. MASTER AND COMMANDER was nominated for Best Film 2003, HAPPY FEET won Best Animation in 2006, and TANNA was nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature in 2015. Recent credits include HOTEL MUMBAI (2018) , MONKEY MAN ( Dev Patel) (2024), LEE ( Kate Winslet) (nominated for Outstanding British Film of the Year at BAFTA 2025), multi-award winning BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE (Netflix/Anonymous Content – 2025 AACTA Award for Best Series ) and THE RETURN ( Ralph Fiennes/Juliette Binoche) (2024- Gala Selection at Toronto International Film Festival).

Film

Production
Company
Notes

THE RETURN
Heretic
Directed by Uberto Pasolini, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche

LEE
55 Films
Co-written with Liz Hannah and Marion Hume, starring Kate Winslet

MONKEY MAN
Thunder Road/ Xeitgeist Entertainment Group
Co-written with director/ lead actor Dev Patel

HOTEL MUMBAI
Thunder Road / Xeitgeist Entertainment Group
Co-written with director Anthony Maras Starring Dev Patel and Armie Hamer Australian Academy (AACTA) awards, 12 nominations

TANNA
Contact Films
Co-written with directors Bentley Dean & Martin Butler Academy award shortlisted 2017 – Best Foreign Language Film Winner Audience Award – Venice International Film Critics’ Week

MAHANA
Adapted from the novel by Witi Ihimaera Director: Lee Tamahori Starring Temuara Morrison Eight nominations including best film NZ Film and TV awards

WOLF TOTEM
China Film Group
From the Novel by Jiang Rong Co-written with Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Awards include Beijing International Film Fest. Best Director, Golden Rooster awards Best Film

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS
Evergreen Pty Ltd/Reliance Big Pictures/BBC Worldwide
Feature length animation

CREATION
Recorded Picture Company
Director: Jon Amiel Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Benedict Cumberbatch Opening Film, Toronto Film Festival 2009

HAPPY FEET
Kennedy Miller / Warner Bros
Co-written with George Miller and co-directors Winner: Academy award - best animated feature

MASTER AND COMMANDER
Fox 2000
Co-written with director Peter Weir 8 Bafta nominations – including Best Film, London Film Critics’ Circle Awards – Best Scriptwriter and 10 Academy award nominations including Best Picture

A PAPER MASK
Granada Films
Adapted from the novel by John Collee Director Christopher Morahan Stars Paul McGann, Amanda Donohue

About John Collee

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Books