Merchant Ivory Productions

Merchant Ivory Productions (1961- ) is a film company founded by director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. Their films were for the most part directed by the former, produced by the latter and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (a noted exception of a few films). The films were often based upon novels or short stories, particularly the work of Henry James, E. M. Forster, and two novels by Jhabvala herself. The initial goal of the company was "to make English-language films in India aimed at the international market," but the company ended up making many films set in England and America. Some Hollywood actors and producers associated with the tightly-knitted Merchant Ivory film family include Uma Thurman, Madhur Jaffrey, Aparna Sen, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal, Hugh Grant, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Anthony Hopkins, Glenn Close, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Ayca Sadikoglu and Kai Wong. Of this collaboration, Merchant once commented: "It is a... full article at wikipedia