The Sunday Conversation: Michael Apted keeps 'Up' series up and running

Director Michael Apted is known for such diverse films as "Gorillas in the Mist," "Coal Miner's Daughter" and the James Bond romp "The World Is Not Enough," but it's the "Up" series of documentaries following a small group of Britons every seven years, starting at age 7, that carries his most distinctive signature. His latest entry, "56 Up," exploring their lives well into middle age, is now at the Nuart Theatre. And at the DGA Awards on Feb. 2, Apted (British-born and now a citizen of both Britain and the U.S.) is slated to receive the Directors Guild of America's Robert B. Aldrich Award in honor of his tenure as guild president from 2003 to 2009.

By Irene Lacher

January 19, 2013