Peter Cattaneo

British director Peter Cattaneo first captured critical attention for his whimsical short "Dear Rosie" (1990). Optioned for future rights by Sigourney Weaver, "Dear Rosie" earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short. After directing the BBC film "Loved Up" (1996), which created a sensation when shown at that year's Sundance Festival, Cattaneo made an auspicious feature debut with "The Full Monty" (1997), an endearingly offbeat look at how far some unemployed steel workers will go to make money--up to and including dancing naked for women. Cattaneo worked hard to get actors "with that working-class sensibility" who would also agree to doff their duds, and once rising Scottish actor Robert Carlyle committed to the project, the rest of the ensemble came on board and interacted famously, supporting each other in the stressful act of stripping. Though it's the stripping that sold the movie, deeper themes (i.e., being out of work is emasculating) propelled the film beyond cheap burlesque to more meaningful territory.