London Plus 1

London Plus Covers

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May 2006

YOUR EUROPEAN PRODUCTION CENTRE www.londonplus.org

STUDIOS

LOCATIONS

PRODUCTION

POST

issue 1 ALSO

INSIDE …

Set design and construction

Post production and innovations

CRACKING THE CODE How The Da Vinci Code got the best of the UK

Locations galore

London Plus Covers

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CONTENTS

EDITORIAL TEAM Ron Prince: has many years experience working in the film, TV, CGI and visual effects industries. He is the editor of British Cinematographer magazine and runs an international communications company.

Kevin Hilton: is a freelance journalist who writes about the people and technology involved in film and broadcast production.

He contributes reviews and interviews to publications worldwide.

Madelyn Most: is an e x p e r i e n c e d camerawoman, filmmaker and journalist who writes about production and cinematography for a variety of European and US magazines.

C O N T E N T S

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PUBLISHERS Produced on behalf of London Plus

by Laws Publishing Ltd, Pinewood Studios Iver Heath, Bucks SL0 0NH Alan Lowne Tel:01753 650101 Stuart Walters Tel: 0121 608 2300

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What is London Plus?: expertise plus locations equals movies

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Making The Da Vinci Code: the inside track on the year’s biggest movie

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In My View: Variety’s Steven Gaydos on LA and London

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Production Close-up: the joy of set construction

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Film Finance: Pounds, Dollars and Sense

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Post and Innovations: high-tech news

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Q&A: with The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP

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Location Location Location: great places to shoot

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Who’s Shooting Where?: the low-down on the latest productions

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London Plus News: news from around the region

Design: Paul Roebuck Editor: Ron Prince Email: ronny@princepr.com SALES Open Box Publishing Limited Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300 Email: sales@openboxpublishing.co.uk

cover: How The Da Vinci Code got the best out of the UK The Da Vinci Code © 2006 Columbia Tristar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Thank you to everyone who has given their time, energy and enthusiasm to this project. Special thanks to Steven Gaydos for inspirational insights.

WHAT IS LONDON PLUS?

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride © 2005 Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

V for Vendetta © 2006 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Expertise plus locations equals movies

by Kevin Hilton

ondon Plus is the gateway to an entire world of film, a region of beautiful countryside, stunning coastlines, and fantastic architecture offering the best studios, facilities and technicians in Europe. Through the London Plus partners, filmmakers now have an easy route to all of these resources, which have already been exploited by directors such as Tim Burton, Woody Allen and Alfonso Cuarón, to deliver Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Match Point, Children of Men, V for Vendetta and Harry Pottter, with more to come.

find any location, deal with any official procedures, offer advice and active support with rules and regulations, and generally make a production happen.

In the past visiting producers and directors had to deal with numerous industry bodies and companies on an individual level to get what they needed for their films. Now London Plus provides a single portal to locations, studios, post-production facilities and creative skills, bringing together some heavy-weight partners: 3 Mills, Ealing, Pinewood and Shepperton studios, the Production Guild, regional agencies Film London, Screen East and Screen South and post-production trade association UK Post.

The four studio partners have an impressive combined portfolio: from 3 Mills in London’s East End to Pinewood and Shepperton and Ealing in the west, the best part of 70 stages are available, with extensive back lots, workshops, dressing rooms, post-production suites and such specialist facilities as a digital animation studio. Among recent credits for the trio are: Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, Sunshine, Creep, Scoop, Imagine Me and You, Match Point, Pierrepoint, Stardust, The Golden Age, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Da Vinci Code, Children of Men and the new James Bond film, Casino Royale.

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From the dramatic cliffs of Sussex to the sand dunes of Norfolk, the London Plus area has every aspect of English life and countryside that filmmakers could hope for. The architecture and dignity of university cities like Oxford and Cambridge, brash modernism in Milton Keynes and Croydon, the quaint village life of Buckinghamshire and Kent and the diversity and grandeur of London. London Plus can help

When you are tired of making films in London you are tired of making films

Screen East, have information on all available locations and assist in obtaining the necessary permissions, permits and licences, and liaise with local councils and police authorities.

A lot can be done in London itself, as Stanley Kubrick proved when he recreated the Vietnam War in Beckton for Full Metal Jacket. But the city doesn’t have everything, so it’s likely that the location a director is looking for can be found somewhere in the London Plus area. After all, London is doubling for Los Angeles in the upcoming Amy Heckerling film I Could Never Be Your Woman and when Kevin Spacey wanted a Malibu beach scene for his Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, he went to the south coast.

As big a draw as the countryside and studios, is the large pool of skilled technicians in the London Plus region. Look at the credits of any major international film since the 1950s and there is a good chance that the set designer, production manager, director of photography, picture editor, visual effects supervisor, audio editor or dubbing mixer is a Brit.

Expertise, expertise, expertise Location location location Real places are as important as studios, and the film agencies are well placed to promote what is on offer. When people talk of filming in London they invariably mean filming in the capital and the surrounding areas. Film London and its neighbouring organisations, Screen South and

Key to sourcing and contracting this breadth of UK know-how is the Production Guild based at Pinewood Studios. With over 600 members, ranging from line producers through to production co-ordinators, location managers and post-production supervisors, plus the largest group of UK financial controllers,

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WHAT IS LONDON PLUS?

London Plus Partners The Production Guild

Last year, Guild members were responsible for the physical management of, and reporting on, more than £545 million of qualifying British film spend on the most commercially and creatively successful features made. Production Guild members are kept up to date on the latest issues affecting film and TV production, and through their company affiliate programme, producers have access to over 50 of the essential film and TV supply companies in the UK.

Post haste UK Post represents many of the leading post houses in the country. While there are many good regional centres the majority of facilities are located in London - to be more precise, in Soho. The UK film postproduction sector is second only to that of the US and is rapidly expanding. According to a report commissioned last year by UK Post for the visual effects sector turnover and employment have quadrupled since 1997.

Post-production employs 4,400 personnel directly and indirectly supports a further 4,400. Over the past five years the sector has seen £100 million invested in

technology, R&D and training. In Soho alone there are 15 companies offering Digital Intermediate post production and, thanks to British ingenuity, high-resolution digital assets are now exchanged daily via secure, high-speed networks between Soho and Burbank, Rome, New York, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

From Alien to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Harry Potter series, British visual expertise has created new worlds and images. It has also taught us what those worlds sound like too, as London boasts some of the most creative and bestequipped audio-for-picture suites in the world, supported by leading musicrecording studios.

By using British expertise and facilities overseas productions are able to qualify as a UK production and obtain useful financial advantages under the new tax credit system for filmmaking introduced earlier this year.

Away from such practicalities as staff, locations and money, many filmmakers just like shooting their films in the UK, and in the southeast of England in particular. There is the old cliché that London’s shopping centres and nightlife are a big draw, and that could be as good a reason for coming here as any. Had Dr. Johnson known about cinema he might have quipped, “When you are tired of making films in London you are tired of making films.”

Filmmaking present and future London and the southeast are alive with filmmaking, both domestic and from overseas. At the centre of activity is the Harry Potter series, reportedly the most successful film series of all time. The trainee wizard is almost stereotypically English, but being fantasy the films could have been shot in Hollywood. Instead, locations at Kings Cross station, Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire and the Bodlian Library in Oxford have blended with intricate studio sets to create the magical world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The lure of England has even touched the once travel-shy Woody Allen. After an unhappy location experience in Paris and Budapest for his 1975 film Love and Death, Allen confined himself to the island of Manhattan. But as the Hollywood system encroached on his autonomy the director looked elsewhere and came to London for Match Point. Allen apparently loves living in the city and enjoys the co-operation he gets

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from those he works with, although he backhandedly complimented London by saying its grey skies and flat light gave “a colour saturation to everything that’s rich and very beautiful for photography”.

Allen has gone on to make Scoop in London and after being frustrated again in Paris will be back to make a third film here. The much anticipated The Da Vinci Code was shot extensively in the London Plus region, as were Separate Lives, V for Vendetta and Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction.

Filmmakers have long known about the facilities around London, and today the city and surrounding counryside are more film-friendly with the Police, local councils and agencies well organised to support filmmaking. Apparently filmmakers are now daring each other as to how far they can go when they shoot in capital. After V for Vendetta blew up great chunks of London the mind boggles at what might happen next.

The leading industry association representing and servicing the interests of the largest and most experienced group of senior production personnel in the UK’s Feature Film & TV industry.

Screen East Locations Katie Macdonald, Film Liaison Officer Tel: 01923 495051 Email: locations@screeneast.co.uk Web: www.screeneast.co.uk Promoting the East of England as the ideal location for film and TV production and attracting inward investment by marketing the region’s locations, facilities and skills.

Ealing Studios Jeremy Pelzer, Studio Director Tel: 020 8567 6655 Fax: 020 8758 8658 Email: info@ealingstudios.com Web: www.ealingstudios.com Popular for its convenient central location, extensive facilities, warm atmosphere and rich film heritage. As well as providing stages and services to film producers, the Ealing Studios community includes a wide range of companies that can assist with all productions.

Pinewood Studios Group Julia Kenny Tel: 01753 651700 Email: info@pinewoodgroup.com Web: www.pinewoodgroup.com Our facilities are used for major national and international film production, filmed television, studio television recording, the filming of commercials and post production sound services.

3 Mills Studios Melanie Faulkner, Bookings & Marketing Manager Tel: 020 7363 3336 Email: info@3mills.com Web: www.3mills.com 3 Mills Studios is central London's largest studio complex. Set on a secure 20-acre island, we deliver a first-class service and extensive on-site resources. Facilities include 16 stages, rehearsal room, production officers, locations opportunities and many more.

UK Post Gaynor Davenport, CEO Tel: 020 7734 6060 Email: gaynordavenport@ukpost.org.uk Web: www.ukpost.org.uk UK Post is the trade association representing the post-production, audio and visual effects sector. We provide a single entry point for studios and producers to engage with facilities and services in the UK.

Film London Sue Hayes, London Film Commissioner Tel 020 7613 7676 Fax 020 7613 7677 Email: sue.hayes@filmlondon.org.uk www.filmlondon.org.uk Film London is the capital's film and media agency. Film London sustains, promotes and develops London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital.

Screen South Jenny Cooper, Film Commissioner Kristen Platt, Information Manager Email: jenny.cooper@screensouth.org Email: kristen.platt@screensouth.org Web: www.screensouth.org Screen South is passionate about nurturing and promoting talent and production in the South East. There is an incredible wealth of locations, crew and facilities, which provides an unrivaled UK base for any production.

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accountants and their assistants, the Guild and its top-level members are on speed dial of the most successful execs of the US majors and key independents when they look at coming to the UK.

David Martin, Chief Executive Lynne Hames, General Manager Tel: 01753 651 767 Fax: 01753 652 803 Email: info@productionguild.com Web: www.productionguild.com

PRODUCTION FEATURE

Making The Da Vinci Code

by Madelyn Most

As the biggest film of the year opens in Cannes, and on thousands of screens across the globe, London Plus looks at how the region cracked the code.

The Da Vinci Code © 2006 Columbia Tristar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

an Brown’s bestseller, published in 2003, has sold over 46 million copies in 44 languages – so Ron Howard’s opening night film of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival could be expected to have a captive audience. Easter messages from the Pope in the Vatican, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, warned of the film’s dangerous message, while the Roman Catholic Opus Dei, (that some call an ecclesiastical Cosa Nostra), hired a religious PR firm to discredit the film and deal with ‘damage control’ to their society after the release of The Da Vinci Code.

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But for anyone involved in the making of the film, there is a different story. “In all the years I have been making films, I’ve never had a happier time

as in the UK on The Da Vinci Code,” says director Ron Howard.

In March 2005, Imagine Entertainment, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s company, set up their production base at Shepperton Studios, UK, where set construction began on many stages, along with the 007 stage, exterier tank and underwater stage at Pinewood Studios.

“We needed a huge amount of stage space and all the workshops and facilities that go with such a large production,” says unit production manager Nigel Gostelow. “The management at Pinewood and Shepperton responded brilliantly; everyone went out of their way to accommodate

us. Suppliers to the film and TV industry in the UK generally are quite remarkable, they always deliver a quality product on time and on budget - exactly what such a prestigious project required.”

Unrivalled experience and cooperation Some of the UK’s most experienced technicians and craftspeople (fresh from big productions like Basic Instinct 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, V for Vendetta and Batman Begins) crewed up the two large units that filmed over five months in areas of France, England, Scotland and Malta.

Director Ron Howard continued his cinematographic collaboration with director of

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PRODUCTION FEATURE

The Da Vinci Code © 2006 Columbia Tristar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

“In all the years I have been making films, I’ve never had a happier time as in the UK

After a two-week shoot in France, the company moved back to England for location work. The Da Vinci Code’s location manager Sam Breckman says, “The level of cooperation in London and the counties was unrivalled. We had almost total access to everything.

Westminster Special Events Department and the London Plus Partners were brilliant and pulled out all the stops. People realized the nature and value of this project and the success it will bring, but I also think it had to do with the way we approached it. We assured the authorities of our intentions and we were very open about all aspects of the filming. Everyone we dealt with, without exception, was fantastic.”

on The Da Vinci Code” Ron Howard, director The majority of Dan Brown’s story takes place in France, but for many reasons (logistical, legal, cultural, religious and financial), filming in France became more complicated, and more scenes were rescheduled back to the UK. Under the 2005 UK tax laws, The Da Vinci Code qualified as a British film, as an “inward investment production” – a large percentage of the film was shot in the UK, using British talent in front of and behind the camera, with a considerable part of the film’s budget spent in the UK on staff and services. The producers also gained considerable tax advantages under the then ‘sales and leaseback’ agreement.

Shooting began in Paris in mid-July 2005, and although setting a precedent for being the first time a movie crew was allowed to film inside The Louvre, the French government authorities severely restricted what could be filmed at France’s most precious cultural landmark during the height of the summer tourist season.

Despite many constraints, a Napoleonic Armysized crew and an artillery of equipment, Ron Howard succeeded in filming scenes with Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno in The Louvre and at Château de Villette, that would be completed later under more controlled conditions in the two UK studios.

Shooting the exteriors at Westminster Abbey in London meant shutting down the road during the weekend. The scene in the original book where Sophie and Langdon escape on the tube has been changed to a bus for the movie. With the aid of a rolling road block the production gained control of a three-mile strip of road (Fleet Street, Cannon Street, Bishopsgate, Threadneedle Street and London Wall) in the City of London on a Saturday.

“That was a thrilling day,” adds Breckman.

“The Corporation of London, the Metropolitan Police, and Film London were all absolutely incredible. Locations such as Tower Bridge, Temple Church and the Inner Temple all proved beyond doubt that filming in London on such a massive scale can be achieved with the right amount of planning and communication.”

staged at other locations in the London Plus region which included: Biggin Hill Airport, Kent; Dunsfold Airfield and Shoreham Airport, Sussex; Rotherhithe Tunnel; The London Assay office; The Farmiloe Building, Clerkenwell; Fairfield Hall, Croydon; The Ark, Hammersmith; and Bryants Lane Quarry, Leighton Buzzard. Surrey locations Minley Manor Forrest, Longcross Test Track, and Hawley Lakes all doubled for scenes in the French countryside.

After location work was completed, the two units moved back into the stages at Shepperton and Pinewood. On the voluminous 007 Stage at Pinewood, production designer Allan Cameron created the Grand Gallery of The Louvre, which is said to be one of most magnificent sets ever built at Pinewood.

“We were going to shoot a lot of it in the Louvre, says Cameron, “but for various logistical reasons, and particularly for Sal’s creativity (DP Salvatore Totino) – he wanted to light The Louvre in a certain way – we decided to build it back at Pinewood. We used the entire 350ftlong stage, (one of the largest stages in Europe) to build the Grand Gallery, which at the Louvre is 1,800ft. long, and then used visual effects to extend it.”

This level of a c h i e v e m e n t continued with some spectacular scenes The Da Vinci Code © 2006 Columbia Tristar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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photography, Salvatore Totino from the US, whilst the 2nd unit was directed by executive producer Todd Hallowell, and photographed by Fraser Taggart in the UK, with Alex Lamarque in France. Award-winning British production designer Allan Cameron built over 100 sets with his small team of art directors.

PRODUCTION FEATURE

Director Ron Howard on the set of The Da Vinci Code

David White of Altered States FX at Shepperton Studios was tasked with creating a naked, photo-real silicone body

“We all truly had such an amazing experience in the UK, it’s a hard one to top” Louisa Velis, co-producer

Todd were so appreciative, you just wanted to give it your all for them.”

I should give it my own look, which made it personally satisfying.

Cathedrals are always a gift to light and we had a huge shoot at Lincoln Cathedral with 300 extras for the flashback to Newton’s funeral at Westminster Abbey. I think this was the nicest project I’ve ever worked on. Both Ron and

VFX supervisor on The Da Vinci Code was Angus Bickerton. He worked closely with visual effects producer Barry Hemsley, who says, “The Da Vinci Code was a dream project from start to finish.

They had an amazing production team and crew, and we had a great team from five London VFX vendors who created 480 VFX shots in the 140-minute film: Moving Picture Company, Double Negative, The Senate, Rainmaker UK, and Cinesite Europe. Their artistry and creativity was vital to solving all the puzzles Ron Howard and Dan Brown devised for us.”

The 2nd unit was directed by Todd Hallowell and lensed by Fraser Taggart who says, “The 2nd unit did the historical reconstruction scenes, and Ron Howard added a lot more to what is in the book.

Normally 2nd unit matches to 1st unit, but Sal liked my work and said

Harmonious crew Speaking about his experience of working in the UK with a mainly British crew on The Da Vinci Code, US executive producer Todd Hallowell comments , “It was the most satisfying work experience

I’ve had in some 20 odd years of doing this. What made it really different for me was the attitude of the crew. Not only were they really positive, but also really collaborative. You never got a sense of ‘my department does this, or my department does that...’, we were always sitting down in a room, figuring out how we collaboratively were going to solve a problem. I found that it not only led to much more interesting and sometimes unexpected solutions, but it also made it a lot more fun.

These people take such care and such pride in what they do and the results reflect that. It has been such a pleasure for me right from pre-production through to post. It was a big deal for me to work at Pinewood because it is such a piece of history – for Americans it’s almost mythic.

“Overall, it was a phenomenal filmmaking experience. I look forward to doing it again.”

Supplying The Da Vinci Code: RRI Media supplied eight, at times 13, ARRICAM cameras, with Alpha Grip and ARRI Grips supplying up to five SuperTechnocranes for the Lincoln Cathedral shoot, and Lee Lighting providing a huge lighting package. Stunt coordinator Greg Powell (of the famous stunt family dynasty) supervised the drowning of his team of stuntwomen in Pinewood’s newly-built underwater stage (used earlier in 2005 on Basic Instinct 2), and the ‘burning at the stake’ of his stuntmen in the forests of Hertfordshire.

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Special effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy’s team was landed with many more shots than planned for the plane scenes. Dick George Associates was responsible for creating ‘real’ props that were true works of art, including the famous ‘Cryptex’. David White of Altered States FX created the photo-real silicone body of Jacques Sauniere, while Artem Ltd produced a quite remarkable ‘offspring’ that is as ‘holy’ as it is ‘perfect’. Action Vehicle Supplies Ltd and Land Rover provided the vehicles for the stunt and action sequences.

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IN MY VIEW

Escape from LA (to London)

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It’s the land of “go for it,” where crass ambition and flaunting the first sign of wealth come as naturally as never admitting desires of any kind, artistic, financial, sexual or otherwise, as whingeing about the weather and housing prices (etc. etc.) and as dressing down for success come to the average London showbizzer.

bustling life that’s not automatically hot-wired to movie grosses, Bev Hills interior designers and studio deck chair shuffling.

Maybe it’s bracing to see major actors (even...MOVIE/TV STARS!!!) working on stage for a few hundred quid a week, just for the sheer joy of getting their pampered asses kicked by the critics.

“It’s worth crossing the globally warming pond just to sit down with a (bad) cup of coffee to read the wicked, wild prose jockeys of

So then, one wonders, why are most LA industryites happy (read: ecstatic) for the chance to work in London?

Well, perhaps to get away, just for a few weeks, from all of the gleaming wonders of American dentistry, the relentless sunnyness in the face of abject poverty and rejection that begins to form the first definite stages of outright madness, to flee the rigors of toning up and tuning into showbiz gossip at the expense of any recognition (read: IQ above poolwater temperature) that the world is in a right mess, even perhaps more so than the latest disappointing box office billions or perilous state of the union and studios’ less than connubial relations.

Maybe it’s a great relief to hit the stones of Piccadilly Circus and find there’s a boisterous,

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the British press”.

Which leads us to my own personal joy, the absence of which has sent me in mourning though my five years in London ended last fall: READING!!!!

Imagine the shock of the jaded Hollywoodite who comes to London to discover a city (note to newcomers: CITY, not a slapdash compendium of bedroom bergs packed with suburban thatched huts at $4 million per) with a half-dozen sharp, funny, edgy, at times clinically loony, while alternately brilliantly incisive and vital news publications instead of...the LA/NY Times. Let someone else extol the virtues of the talent base, the crafts pool, the spectacular facilities, the historic locales.

I would also mention the joys of The Heath, the piano player at the Groucho (especially around 2am), London cabbies, gin and tonic at the Savoy, anywhere Bill Wyman shows up and has time to tell me his latest filthy joke and the views of London from Waterloo Bridge at night, but I’m afraid too many of Variety’s readership of industryites might flee to Blighty, which could harm our daily Variety circulation here in LA and alter London’s personality, not necessarily for the better. Perish the thought.

No, Churchill didn’t need a tummy-tuck, the Queen looks Queenly sans Botox and you don’t spoil George Michael’s charm with something silly like driving lessons. Too many Wolfgang Puck-imitating Angelenos might just spoil that wonderfully inedible English broth we Yanks charmlessly refer to as Blighty. I remember every taste and smell (including Soho’s more pungent odors) and trust me, I miss them all.

So London, don’t go changin’, just to please us, as you might become us and then nobody would ever escape the permanent bliss of this Lotus and Lasik-enhanced paradise.

And LA: please don’t jump the queue. Tut, tut.

Steven Gaydos is executive editor – features, Variety & Daily Variety

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et’s review the key differences. LA is sunny, perky, fit as surgery-assisted fiddles, tanned and tan-lined. It’s the land of a million miles of wide roads and millions of wide smiles from the folks (read: out of work actors, directors, screenwriters, studio chiefs) who do everything from serve up your Café Americano to break down your new screenplay.

I’m here in my Californio cubicle to tell my fellow showbizzers that it’s worth crossing the globally warming pond just to sit down with a (bad) cup of coffee to read the wicked, wild prose jockeys of the British press. I’m jealous of anyone anywhere near Holborn station who’s reading page one of the London Times and muttering, sputtering, laughing (quietly in that lovely English way) as the grandest and most venerable of daily news orgs thoroughly takes the piss out of a story that our sanctimonious, irony-challenged Stateside Grey Print Ladies of NYC and LA wouldn’t dare to try.

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Forget the sweater vs jumper, TV vs telly, suspenders vs braces, humor vs humour, knickers vs panties differences between the English and the Yanks. When it comes to a real cultural chasm, nothing runs deeper or wider than LA River vs The Thames.

Which makes the American film industry’s fondness, if not outright lust, for production time in London all the more amazing, says Steven Gaydos

PRODUCTION CLOSE-UP

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory © 2005 Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

V for Vendetta © 2006 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Harry Potter © 2005 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

The London Plus region abounds with locations for authenticity and realism and studios for more stylised productions, not to mention the experienced people who can make it happen.

The joy of set construction The Da Vinci Code resorted to sets at Shepperton and Pinewood Studios as stand-ins for several French locations. When it came to England and the London Plus region, the production made full use of Temple Church in Holborn amongst various sites around London, as well as Winchester Cathedral.

Whitehall or bust

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V for Vendetta required actual London locations to give weight to its futuristic, fascist state storyline. With the help of Film London, the London Filming Partnership, the Special Events and Filming Team of Westminster Council and several government departments, the production took over Whitehall, with the art department removing advertising placards, bus stops and any colour that would detract from the greyness of the film’s totalitarian world. For the climax, scale models of The Old Bailey and The Houses of Parliament were painstakingly built on Shepperton’s H Stage and then blown to bits.

Often, sets come into their own for creating places that do not exist. Tim Burton’s Batman film built Gotham City on the backlot and sound stages at Pinewood, and the latest incarnation

of the Caped Crusader, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, used what is claimed to be the biggest ever indoor film set at Cardington Airship Hangar in Bedfordshire. This was found through Screen East’s locations library and dwarfs the biggest studio on Warner Bros.’

Burbank lot. Many other sets built at Shepperton were carefully matched to locations found in the south east.

Out of this world At 3 Mills Studios, the Universe was created entirely in-studio for Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, a futuristic tale involving a spaceship’s mission to rekindle the dying Sun. The east London studio is also currently home to the physical and CG manifestation of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld for Sky One’s production of Hogfather. 3 Mills Studios also houses the standing set of the interior of Larkhall prison for ITV1 series Bad Girls.

TV drama requires sets and locations to the same level as film and London and the south east provide the necessary settings. Oxford’s spires shimmered in melancholy sunlight for several series of Inspector Morse and recently made a one-off return in a spin-off, Lewis. Fans

by Kevin Hilton

of the series looking for the grumpy detective’s north Oxford flat are disappointed not to find it, largely because the location and set used is in Ealing, west London.

David Martin, chief executive of the Production Guild, who was one of the key producer-rep negotiators on the current three-year deal with UK construction crafts grades, says, “The art and craft of set construction, design and build is an area of international excellence for the UK. Our line producer members are responsible for working with the top production designers, construction managers and their teams in ensuring that the visual aspirations of directors like Tim Burton, Ron Howard and Alfonso Cuaron are realised on time and on budget.”

Film London, Screen East, Screen South and the Production Guild each have databases of contacts and details for crew including leading production designers, line producers and construction managers. A supervising production designer will liaise with the director and then assemble a team, sometimes 250 strong, of visual artists, model builders, carpenters and set decorators to build the set.

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PRODUCTION CLOSE-UP

Terry Ackland-Snow, who worked on Burton’s Batman film as well as Superman and the James Bond series, now runs a production design training school at Pinewood Studios. He sees studios such as Pinewood offering the greatest flexibility, with different stage sizes and the vital technical expertise of the crews. “If I had a choice between a studio in Spain and Pinewood I’d come to Pinewood every time,” he says.

stage sets, Craig combined the looks and architecture of European cathedrals with those of Durham Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Lacock Abbey and Christ Church College, Oxford to create the exterior of Hogwarts Castle.

Craig says that although Hogwarts is “impossibly big”, there is an architectural reality and solidity about it. Which is a pretty good way to sum up what a production designer does.

Stuart Craig, production designer

Leslie Tomkins, set designer

Ask any filmgoer to name a film that has the best sets and locations there’s a good chance they’ll say “Harry Potter!”. The man responsible for creating Hogwarts and the other haunts of the trainee wizard is renowned production designer Stuart Craig. Potter has brought Craig to attention, including an OBE in 2002 and a BAFTA award for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2006.

Set designer Leslie Tomkins’ list of collaborators is a mini “Who’s Who” of directors. He worked on David Lean’s last film, A Passage to India, made four films with Stanley Kubrick and currently has clocked up four titles for Tim Burton.

Craig’s extensive list of credits includes Ghandi, Dangerous Liaisons and The English Patient, all three of which brought him Academy Awards for Best Art Direction & Set Decoration. In addition to designing the interiors of the wizard school on

Tomkins started out in the business 40 years ago in the blueprint room at Pinewood Studios, working his way up to junior draughtsman before going freelance and becoming an assistant art director, art director and finally production designer. His credits are eclectic, including Papillon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

ENT M P I U EQ S S E C + AC R U O LAB

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and even a few Carry On films.

For Kubrick, Tomkins designed Barry Lyndon, and The Shining, which he estimates was 95 percent designed and built. For Full Metal Jacket he turned Beckton gas works into Vietnam and for Kubrick’s last film Eyes Wide Shut, recreated Greenwich Village, New York on the back lot at Pinewood. His films with Burton are Batman, Sleepy Hollow, some scenes on Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Tomkins calls Charlie a “very enjoyable film”, despite the “enormous amount of work” it generated for the art department, including a large exterior street in front of Willie Wonka’s factory. That was enhanced by model work based at Shepperton and some CGI. To draw up a design Tomkins has two to three meetings with the director and then gets into the research and references necessary to create a creditable set.

Not without justification does Tomkins call production and set designers “architects for the film industry.”

Our list of credits include Disney Channel - Good Morning Raoul Silent Witness The Corpse Bride

G N I G IG R

The Lost Prince

D T L

The Lion King Bad Girls Dream Team Madonna Robbie Williams

STAGING + DRAPES + SCAFFOLDING + TRUSSING For more information please contact: Paul Skipper on

07931 377502

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or fax 01634 326949 blitzrigging@blueyonder.co.uk

FILM FINANCE

Pounds, Dollars and $ense John Graydon at Tenon Media reports on a favourable tax regime change in the UK. In recent weeks, the UK Government has released much needed and useful details of the new tax credit regime for films. Although further detail is still necessary, the industry has generally welcomed the news. What the tax credit provides is a significant incentive for filmmakers throughout the world to shoot in the UK.

How do films quality?

Films must pass a cultural points test, administered by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Any film that achieves 16 or more points (out of 32) will pass this test.

Points are divided into three sectors: 1. Cultural content, which looks at the setting, characters, and subject matter.

2. Cultural hubs, which looks at where the film is made.

3. Cultural practitioners, which looks at the individuals who make the film.

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For details of the cultural points test visit: www.culture.gov.uk/creative_industries/film/revi sed_schedule1.htm Expenditure in the UK must account for at least 25% of the total “core expenditure” of the film.

Core expenditure comprises, broadly speaking, the budget of the film less a few items, for example, financing, insurance, and development costs, amongst others. UK spend

is measured in terms of activity taking place in the UK – the nationality of individuals or suppliers being of no consequence for this calculation.

This is a significant change from the old regime and it means that fees payable to foreign personnel, Brad Pitt for example, for services performed in the UK will qualify for the tax credit.

The film must be made by a company subject to UK corporation tax. This would normally be a UK registered company, although foreign companies with an established presence in the UK may also be acceptable in certain circumstances.

There is also a requirement that, at the inception of the project, it must be the intention to release the film on a commercial basis theatrically.

The new regime’s incentive to shoot in the UK is good news for UK based companies as well as for producers who habitually use UK studios and locations maximum of 20% of the total core expenditure.

For larger budget films it is worth 20% of the UK core expenditure up to a maximum of 16% of the total core expenditure. In practice, accepting that development, finance, insurance and other “non-allowable” costs are an unavoidable part of filmmaking, the credit will be worth up to 1718% of a film’s total budget for smaller budget films, and up to 14-15% for larger budget films.

The highest benefit is achieved on films with UK core expenditure accounting for 80% or more of the total core expenditure. For films achieving less than this the benefit is reduced accordingly.

How to claim?

The tax credit will be released to the production company following submission of a corporation tax return in which the company swaps an enhanced portion of its tax-allowable costs incurred as of that date for a cash repayment now. For each corporation tax return submitted, the production company must submit full financial statements as well as, depending on whether or not the film is complete, an interim or final British film certificate, obtained from the DCMS. Essentially, producers will deal directly with the Government, in the form of HM Revenue and Customs and the DCMS.

What will it mean?

What is it worth?

For films with total core expenditure of less than £20m, the credit is worth 25 pence for every pound of UK core expenditure, capped at a

Given that this represents a significant change over the way things have worked for the last decade or so, inevitably some will be better off than they were before while others will be less

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FILM FINANCE

well off. The demise of the film sale and leaseback relief mechanism also takes with it many of the other opportunities for private tax-geared investment in films.

At present, there is little that is positive in the new incentive for films shot overseas, even those employing chiefly British cast or crews, because the use of UK individuals while filming abroad will not attract any relief. Films such as critically acclaimed The Constant Gardener, which was necessarily shot significantly outside the UK, would be much worse off under the new regime, possibly receiving little or no benefit at all. The UK film industry is currently lobbying HM Treasury on these and other significant matters and it is hoped that, given the UK Government’s positive regard for domestic and inward film production, that there could be some re-consideration of these areas.

The tax credit provides a significant incentive for filmmakers throughout the world to shoot in the UK At the other end of the scale the new regime’s incentive to shoot in the UK will be good news for UK based companies integral or peripheral to the film industry, as well as to producers who habitually use UK studios and locations. It is also hoped that the Government’s recent enhancements to Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes (“VCT” and “EIS”) will encourage increased private investment into film production companies. Such schemes offer tax incentives for private investment in unlisted British trading companies, which would include film production, and this extra tax-gearing could combine well with the new tax credit, given the right circumstances.

Better than the rest

John Graydon, heads up the film unit for Tenon Media, providing specialist advice on accessing film financing opportunities in the UK and overseas. He has substantial experience in working on tax structures for both co-productions and Schedule 1 British qualifying films, and was a leading industry representative throughout HM Treasury’s review of the UK film tax breaks system.

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Overall, the new tax credit is a worthy successor to the erstwhile and much-abused sale and leaseback system. Born of a desire to remove “middlemen”, the overhaul of the system has brought the benefit mechanism entirely within the control of the film producers and their usual professional advisors, while offering increases in benefit to many – good news one would argue. On the international stage the level of benefit also compares very favourably – almost all other countries providing film incentives do so proportionate to the level of expenditure in the home territory, and few at the generous rate now on offer here in the UK.

POST AND INNOVATIONS

Framestore feature animation studio starts with mouse tale Founded with the aim of becoming London’s premiere permanent feature animation studio, Framestore Feature Animation has – in partnership with Universal Studios – commenced work on its first project, The Tale of Despereaux. Based on the award-winning children’s novel by Kate DiCamillo, the film is being directed by Sylvain Chomet, writer and director of the Oscar-nominated Les Triplettes de Belleville.

The project’s producers are Allison Thomas and Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville).

Heading the new venture is David Lipman, who joined the company as managing partner after eight years at Dreamworks Animation, where he was co-executive producer on the Academy Award-winning Shrek, and producer on Shrek 2, the highest grossing animation movie to date.

Framestore CFC is a leading visual effects and computer animation studio, with numerous Technical Academy Awards, BAFTA, EMMY and VES awards. Recent film credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Nanny McPhee, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Constant Gardener, plus the DI grading on V for Vendetta.

LEM delivers mobile HD rushes for 007

Audio mixing with Pinewood Shepperton Post Production

Along with providing the digital editing and infrastructure technologies for Casino Royale, the next feature in the James Bond 007 series, hire company London Editing Machines (LEM) has also developed a mobile HD dailies viewing theatre.

2005 was a busy year for the audio mixing facilities at Pinewood Shepperton Post Production, starting with Kingdom of Heaven in the Korda Theatre at Shepperton and finishing with V for Vendetta at Pinewood. In between, the company also worked on Batman Begins, These Foolish Things, Nanny McPhee, Valiant, Goal and Festival, which was nominated for a BAFTA award.

During pre-production in 2005 LEM worked closely with the film’s editorial team, led by editor Stuart Baird, and London reseller Root6, to design a workflow that would assist the film’s international production schedule taking place in Czech Republic, Italy, the Bahamas and the UK, with post production moving between Prague, the Bahamas, Pinewood Studios and London’s Soho.

The initial provision of equipment required the shipment of more than 60 cases of editing equipment, with an Avid network installed

by LEM’s technical support team. Along with the film’s producers and Bell Theatre Services, LEM has also established an HD rushes theatre. Using Rushplay software, the disc-based system eliminates the need for expensive HD tape decks and can be quickly set up at any location, providing high-quality viewing facilities for the crew including director by Martin Campbell and cinematographer Phil Méheux BSC.

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Lipman commented, “The talent pool in the UK and Europe is second to none, and we are looking forward to building an extraordinary team.”

As might be expected, the development of Framestore Feature Animation will involve a large scale recruitment drive by the company, with up to 200 new staff expected to join as The Tale of Despereaux gears up through 2007.

“With HD dailies the hot topic right now, such portability and convenience is likely to be highly attractive to filmmakers, and we see this type of service expanding rapidly,” said LEM’s managing director Peter Watson. Casino Royale is scheduled for release in November 2006. Recent features supported by LEM include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Derailed, Cashback, Alien Autopsy, Sunshine, The History Boys and Lassie.

2006 promises many UK projects, along with films from the US, France, Spain and Russia. Already this year Pinewood Shepperton Post has worked on: The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Stormbreaker, Fade to Black, Mayo, It’s a Boy Girl Thing and Goal 2.

There are sixteen mixing, preview, Foley and ADR theatres across the two sites at Pinewood and Shepperton, with substantial investment in the latest digital audio mixing and post production technologies. Theatre Three at Shepperton has just been re-equipped as a Pro-controller room and has just mixed FIFA’s Guide to the World Cup 2006.

Men from Mars add DI Visual effects studio, Men from Mars, located next to Ealing Film Studios in west London, has added Digital Intermediate (DI) to its facilities. The company has installed Filmlight’s Baselight 4 system, capable of HD, 2K and proxy-based 4K grading, and to date has completed the DI on Derailed, Stoned, An American Haunting and Fade To Black, working with leading DPs including John Mathieson BSC, Peter Biziou BSC and the late Adrian Biddle BSC.

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POST AND INNOVATIONS

Abbey Road celebrates 75 years On 12th November 2006, London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios will celebrate 75 years of making music. The anniversary will coincide with the completion of significant upgrades to the studios’ film scoring rooms and equipment.

Film projects have already been quick to make use of the improved recording environments and equipment. Marco Beltrami recently recorded the score to Omen 666 in Studio 1 on a newly installed AMS-Neve 88RS recording and mixing console. The desk was uniquely customised to Abbey Road’s specification. Marc Streitenfeld has also recorded his score to Ridley Scott’s A Good Year in the upgraded studio, with additional recording in Studio 3, plus mixing and editing in the newly refurbished Penthouse studio with Peter Cobbin, one of Abbey Road’s team of skilled engineers.

The control room has been re-designed to improve the overall sound of the room, and a brand new AMS-Neve, DFC Gemini digital desk has been installed – the largest digital mixing desk in the UK.

INNOVATION

Sohonet connects to Fotokem

Swivel on this

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Media services company Sohonet has just completed a deal to connect Fotokem in Burbank to its expanding global user community.

Sohonet provides a range of secure network services enabling companies in the media and film industries to communicate and exchange digital assets.

Alien Revolution, wheelie inventive

Generating a lot of attention in the camera department is MK-V’s Alien Revolution camera stabilisation system, modelled here by its inventor Howard Smith. The all-new product automatically maintains a level horizon and can also be rotated in-shot to create a variety of effects, and making possible a whole new range of shots. The system enables Steadicam operators to move the camera from floor level to a lens height of seven feet. Alien Revolution can work on or off a traditional camera stabilisation system, or as a handheld unit.

Abbey Road modernises and celebrates

In addition to its London network, that includes all of the high-end post companies in Soho, plus studios such as Pinewood and Shepperton, the company has been building out substantially overseas, and has full services available to Rome, New York, Los Angeles, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Warner Bros. in Burbank, already uses Sohonet to download from its various London productions on a daily basis.

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POST AND INNOVATIONS

Thrilling the world

Cinesite explodes London for Vendetta at Shepperton The team behind many of the effects in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also created the convincing and controversial visual effects sequence in V For Vendetta, where famous London landmarks including The Houses of Parliament and The Old Bailey are blown to pieces.

The work, completed by Cinesite’s model unit, involved weeks of architectural research and extensive tests using different strengths of explosives, prior to construction and detonation of the 30ft high, 10th scale models on Shepperton Studios’ 30,000sq.ft H stage. Cinesite supplied all of the visual effects for the film, directed by James McTeigue. Cinesite has also completed visual effects for X-Men: The Last Stand, Omen 666 and Stormbreaker.

LipSync Post expands LipSync Post has announced a £1m expansion of its visual effects, graphics and digital grading departments. The Soho facility has acquired an additional 3,000sq.ft of floor space above its Wardour Street facility to house its expanding visual effects and graphics teams, and has bought an array of new compositing systems and infrastructure hardware. It has also expanded its DI facilities by becoming the first post house in the UK to acquire two Quantel iQ4 Pablo 4k grading systems.

The company recently completed visual effects on Paul Greengrass’s 9/11 feature, United 93 for Working Title. The twenty shots included greenscreen-keying, digital matte painting compositing and set repairs.

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But, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Britain has a long tradition and world-class reputation for special effects and model making. Historically the UK pioneered many of the SFX techniques employed around the world today. Films like Star Wars and the James Bond series pushed the boundaries ensuring the UK remained home to some of the world’s finest special effects technicians.

From large-scale floor effects and pyrotechnics to intricate animatronics, prosthetics and miniature work, the UK provides a large pool of skilled technicians and every imaginable material to fulfil the most obscure requests quickly and effectively. Recent home grown special effects-laden productions include Batman Begins, The Brothers Grimm, The Harry Potter franchise and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to name just a few. The investment and the imagination continue apace, creating images that thrill the world.

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V for Vendetta © 2006 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Visual effects is, without doubt, the fastest growing sector of the global film industry. In London alone the capacity to handle visual effects work has quadrupled in the last few years, writes UK Post chief executive Gaynor Davenport.

POST AND INNOVATIONS

Pepper grades Guantanamo

Pepper has extended its long-running relationship with BAFTA awardwinning director Michael Winterbottom, completing post on the director’s latest film The Road to Guantanamo, for which he and co-director Matt Whitecross won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Shot in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran on DV-Cam, the film mixes drama with archive material plus interviews with the real-life ‘Tipton Three’ friends whose trip overseas for a wedding turns in to an epic journey

Technicolor’s transAtlantic projects

taking them through Pakistan, Afghanistan and eventually to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Pepper created a uniform look from the source footage, applying a warm grade at the start of the movie to contrast with a cooler look as the drama moves towards Camps X-ray and Delta. Uniquely, The Road to Guantanamo was the UK’s first simultaneous cinema, DVD and online release.

One Post gets sexy

Technicolor Digital Intermediates has recently completed several trans-Atlantic projects between its facilities in Los Angeles and New York.

On North Country, the negative scanning and online conform were completed in Los Angeles. However, as the director was based in LA, and the DP Chris Menges BSC was booked on a recce in England, Technicolor’s globe-shrinking infrastructure meant that the project could be graded in London by Menges and then viewed by the rest of the production in LA almost immediately afterwards. The only transfer required was the colour decision list, which is small enough to e-mail rather than having to transfer the entire high resolution files from facility to facility.

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This same approach is regularly used for creating digital negatives in multiple territories. For The Chronicles of Narnia, the main DI was completed in Burbank with identical digital negatives for Europe created in London.

One Post has completed a full DI on Scenes of a Sexual Nature, the new film from BAFTA-nominated director Ed Blum. Described by Blum as a film about the emotional and sexual underbelly of North London it comprises seven interlinked stories, featuring some of the UK’s best-known actors, including Ewan McGregor, Hugh Bonneville and Sophie Okonedo.

A low-budget film, Scenes of a Sexual Nature was shot entirely on location at Hampstead Heath, North London on Super 16mm. Following a tight three-week production schedule, the film was given the DI treatment at One, with Blum working closely there with his DP David Meadows and editor Joe McNally to overcome changeable weather conditions on the shoot. This was achieved by isolating parts of the picture and colour grading within those areas, creating a consistent radiance throughout.

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POST AND INNOVATIONS

VTR does Glastonbury

VTR and TMR, both part of VTR Group, completed the post production on Julien Temple’s Glastonbury. The film documents the world’s biggest and longest-running festival of music and arts, and comprises 33 years of personal testimonies using footage from a wide range of formats. TMR and VTR handled restoration, telecine, titles, effects work and DI for the project. The main technical challenge involved creating a consistent look whilst jumping between the decades and footage ranging from HD, 35mm, 16mm mini DV to VHS. The work on Glastonbury follows on the back of a number of feature film projects completed at VTR. These include Keeping Mum, Vera Drake, Rag Tale and The Upside of Anger. VTR also recently completed post production on Reg Traviss’ World War II picture Joy Division.

MPC sinks Poseidon Moving Picture Company (MPC) has created a range of explosive effects for Poseidon, the Warner Bros.’ remake of the 1972 disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure, directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Along with creating CG environments and digital set extensions, a large portion of MPC’s work involved the simulation of water and fire. To achieve this MPC exclusively licensed the fluid simulation software Flowline from Munich based Scanline AG. The main sequence to utilise the software is the inverted lobby sequence, where the ship has capsized and the passengers are fleeing over a makeshift bridge above turbulent water and a flaming column of fire.

Another key scene takes place in the ballroom where water crashes through the windows. Other 2006 releases to receive treatment at MPC include The Da Vinci Code, XMen 3 and Sunshine, with The Golden Age and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix currently in post.

Physical Effects For Spyglass Entertainment’s Reign of Fire, British model maker and effects specialist Artem built the head, body and 120ft-long wing of a dragon, giving physical form to the film’s CG dragon, and enabling an actor to ride under its wing and slash into the dragon’s womb to extract a slime and blood-covered egg. Artem was also responsible for all of the floor effects, pyrotechnics, prosthetics, mechanical rigs, action props, animatronics and wirework for Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm, and is currently working on Hot Fuzz.

For Polish film With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i Mieczem), a grand drama set in 17th century Poland during the Cossack uprising, London’s Machine Shop created animatronic heads for a gory decapitation scene, an animatronic horse that drowns, plus bullet hits and mutilations from spikes and swords. The company has also made miniatures, props and did the floor effects for hairdressing romp Blow Dry.

INNOVATION Joe Dunton Cameras, the London camera-hire company known its for pioneering inventions, has collaborated with United Image Systems to develop an updated version of its On Set Pre-Viz system as first used on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The system lets low resolution CG characters and environments be seen through the camera on the set whilst shooting. It follows camera moves in real time and a laptop computer generates the 3D image, seen by the operator through the viewfinder and a video monitor. The result is that the actors can be seen within a virtual CG set. The system works with encoded grip equipment such as a dolly with track or a Technochrane. JDC is now in talks with leading facilities in San Francisco and New Zealand who want to harness the new technology for their visual effects production.

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In-camera on-set pre-viz

INTERVIEW WITH THE RT HON TESSA JOWELL MP

What are your top three films of all time?

The English Patient, American Beauty and Powell and Pressburger’s A Canterbury Tale.

What makes you go to events like the Frames, Cannes and London Film Festivals?

I’m not only a champion for the UK film industry within Government, I also promote our film industry to other Governments and key players around the world. Festivals tend to be places where a lot of filmmakers do business, so they provide the opportunity to promote the UK’s talent and locations. It’s important to be present at major events so we can keep track of how the UK is fairing on the global stage and learn what more might be done to support our industry.

What are the most famous films or broadcast productions shot in your constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood?

Reese Witherspoon filmed part of Legally Blonde at Dulwich College Boys School. Tomb Raider also featured a shoot there. And Poplar Road in Herne Hill starred as the site of the family home of Martine McCutcheon in Richard Curtis’ Love Actually.

“Come and make your film here - we have some of the best facilities and talent in the world” The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP Tell us about your role in bringing the new tax laws to fruition?

The new film tax system is lead by the Treasury, but my Department has worked closely with them to ensure that the new relief can help to create a sustainable British film industry.

Together we have sought to develop a tax regime that is internationally competitive, but where the money is directed at film production companies. We also worked very closely with the industry and are grateful for their help in developing the new relief.

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With the tax laws in place, how much more film-friendly do you think the UK is now, as compared to two years ago? And as compared to other European countries?

The UK has always been a film-friendly place having had tax relief for film production since the 1980s. The new tax relief for film production offers a generous tax relief to both small indigenous producers and the US studios where they choose to base filming within the UK. The level of benefit compares very well with that on

Tessa

Jowell MP

If ever there was a film-friendly government in the UK, it’s the present regime. And who better to pitch our Q&A to than… The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. As Culture Secretary she champions the UK film industry within Government, and is one of the leading players who helped usher in the widely welcomed new tax laws.

offer elsewhere in European and beyond. Small budget films will be entitled to claim a tax credit worth 20 per cent from Government where most of the filming takes place in the UK, whilst large budget films will be able to claim a credit worth 16 per cent. The value of the relief will be even more where producers use it to offset against profits in the UK, thereby encouraging long-term investment decisions, which in turn will enable the creation of a properly sustainable film industry in Britain.

What’s your hope now for the UK film industry? What sort of films would you like to see being made here in the future?

I believe we have laid the foundations for a strong, sustainable film industry here in the UK. We’d like to see every sort of film being made here. From big budget films, such as The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and V for Vendetta to smaller budget films including Vera Drake, Tristan & Isolde and Pride and Prejudice. All are welcome.

What message do you have for US filmmakers thinking about shooting in the UK? Simple. Come and make your film here. We have some of the best post-production facilities and film making talent in the world.

We can also offer production crews help and advice if they want to come and film here - the UK Film Council being an excellent first port of call to anyone who wants to get the cameras rolling on British soil. And in London – the undisputed capital of film production in Europe

– we not only have world class studios, facilities, locations and crew, but we also have the London Filming Partnership. This aims to help facilitate all filming needs in the capital, including a specialist film unit within the Metropolitan Police.

What about the work you are doing with the UK Film Council?

My department works very closely with the UK Film Council to develop and deliver the best policy structure to underpin a sustainable British Film Industry. For example together we are negotiating five new co-production treaties (with China, India, Morocco, Jamaica and South Africa) which, once signed, will bring economic and cultural benefits to the UK. I’ve also asked the Film Council to do a film policy MOT, looking into how we can attract big budget films, support UK production, improve distribution and improve film culture.

Have you been to one of the new UK Digital cinemas?

I haven’t been able to get to one yet, but James Purnell, the former films minister recently went to the Wakefield Cineworld – one of the first 50 digital screens in the UK. He was incredibly impressed by the quality of the picture as were John Hillcoat and Cat Villiers, the director and producer of The Proposition, with whom he went. As The Proposition has been distributed digitally, it has been seen more widely than it could have been if it was distributed on film, which is an immediate bonus for small budget films.

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LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Hyde Park, London:

Stormbreaker was shot in Hyde Park With 142 hectares of parkland, over 4,000 trees, a lake and a meadow, Hyde Park is one of the largest green spaces in central London and one of eight Royal Parks in the capital. A popular location over many years, the park has provided a backdrop to numerous films including The Ipcress File, Johnny English and The Mother.

by Anthony Horowitz, stopped the traffic around Hyde Park Corner for the biggest single continuous chase sequence ever staged through London.

Alex the 14-year-old hero hired by British Intelligence to save millions of lives, is pursued across the park by the entire Household Cavalry on horseback.

Last year, filming on Stormbreaker, the adaptation of the Alex Rider novel

Film London worked closely with the Royal Parks and the production to carefully co-ordinate filming, liaising with numerous agencies and Westminster Council to plan and manage this unprecedented shoot. The Royal Parks will launch new filming protocols in July 2006 to offer an even better service to filmmakers.

Courtesy of London Development Agency

Canary Wharf, London:

Basic Instinct 2 used Canary Wharf

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Canary Wharf, in the heart of London’s Docklands, is home to major banks and media firms, and offers a futuristic waterside cityscape.

Redevelopment of the old docks area started in the 1980s and construction continues apace; the area now boasts the UK’s three tallest buildings as well as the architecturally award-winning Canary Wharf underground station.

Productions to film in the area include Layer Cake, 28 Days Later and this year’s Basic Instinct 2, which used the setting for its dramatic opening sequence in which Sharon Stone speeds through Canary Wharf in a sports car before plunging into the Thames. The stunt was achieved with the help of Film London who brought together the many stakeholders involved including The Canary Wharf Group, British Waterways, Tower Hamlets Council, the Metropolitan Police and London Underground.

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LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

The biggest-ever indoor film set for Warner Bros.’ Batman Begins was erected at Cardington Airship Hanger in Bedfordshire.

The floor area of the hangar alone is the size of 16 Olympic-size swimming pools and Warner Bros.’ largest studio in Burbank in Los Angeles (Stage 16) could fit into the hangar six times over.

Surrey doubles for war-ravaged Germany in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator One of the most striking sequences in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is without doubt the visceral opening sequence - the war-ravaged Germanic countryside, huge catapults, flaming arrows, and Roman Legionaries standing poised to crush the last vestiges of resistance.

You would never know that it was shot just 45 minutes away from central London, in the refined Surrey countryside. The production had begun scouting Eastern Europe, despairing of finding anything that would fulfil such a demanding brief in the UK, let alone be in easy reach of the facilities based at close by Shepperton Studios. But they had not counted on the Forestry Commission, and in particular, Colin Palmer, whose brief includes helping find

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locations for productions. Bourne Wood turned out to be perfect, with one square mile of land that had recently been felled, and a natural amphitheatre.

And so the battlefield was constructed, along with a Roman camp, along with the facilities needed to house up to 700 extras with weapons, plus the 300-strong crew. They even recruited local men to fill the sandals of the Legionaries.

Colin now regularly helps productions looking to shoot in the UK, and has facilitated The Man Who Cried, Highlander: End Game, Children of Men, plus the shoots for The Golden Age and Stardust.

The location was sourced directly from Screen East’s locations library, the screen agency was instrumental in helping to secure the site for filming and obtaining the necessary planning permissions. Michael Murray, Production Manager on Batman Begins, said: “Nothing seemed to faze Screen East when you asked for their help and advice – they help to solve many problems thrown at production companies.”

Batman Begins © 2005 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Cardington Airship Hangar, Bedfordshire:

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Bourne Wood, Surrey:

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Black Park, Buckinghamshire:

With the extensive facilities of Pinewood Studios just minutes away, the amazing diversity of Black Park makes it adaptable to almost every location requirement. With a 14acre lake, over 500 acres of pine forest, large open clearings, native woodland, trackways and rides, and a variety of different The set of Agent Cody Banks 2 buildings, Black Park can be wherever you want it to be. Access throughout the park is excellent with well-surfaced tracks providing easy access for even the largest of units. There is direct access to Black Park from Pinewood Studios, allowing for vehicles and props to be transported directly into the Park without having to use any roads, which is particularly useful for nonroadworthy vehicles Over the years many films have used the park transforming it into every conceivable location. Rural France was recreated in the park for Charlotte Grey and Harry Potter has made several visits too. James Bond has also been a frequent visitor - Goldfinger, Octopussy, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day have all featured the park, as have the more recent productions of Stage Beauty and The Phantom of the Opera.

11 Lyon Road, London SW19 2RL Tel: 020 8545 2140 Fax: 020 8542 8694 Email: info@woodhallcatering.com

• Conveniently located for Pinewood and Shepperton Studios

Bad Girls shoots at 3 Mills Studios’ prison set

3 Mills Studios: If you’re looking round for a prison to shoot in, then look no further than the purpose built, three-storey jail at 3 Mills Studios, London.

• Purpose built kitchens and refrigerated support vehicles • 60 vehicle fleet to service any size production • Provide on-site restaurant, stage and location catering at 3 Mills Studios • Isle of Man registered to take advantage of the islands special tax status • Only UK location caterer with 3 operational depots: London, Manchester & Southampton • Newly opened Manchester depot, offering location catering and facilities vehicles • Through our facilities arm we are able to give Producers, Line Producers and Production Managers a one-stop shop for catering and facilities

Wood Hall Catering is the leading location caterer supporting the UK Visual Production Sector. Please view our extensive credits at: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0164952/

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w w w. w o o d h a l l c a t e r i n g . c o m

The set has been used by Shed Productions for prison drama Bad Girls, now in its eighth year, and was recently the backdrop for Rachel Stevens recent music video I Said Never Again (But Here We Are).

Close by the jail cells, prison kitchen and governors office, is a prison hospital wing.

Externally, imposing prison gates with razor wire were recently added.

Adjacent to the main prison set is a three-story storage facility block for housing wardrobe, make-up, assistant directors, locations department and dressing rooms.

The location at 3 Mills Studios has other advantages. The whole of metropolitan London is close by, including the diversity of the East End, Canary Wharf, The Docklands as well as Soho. 3 Mills Studios’ lot often doubles as a police station, hospital, nightclub and airport lounge, with cobbled streets, car parks, roads, walkways, rivers and canals all within a stone’s throw.

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LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Inner Temple, London: Located in Central London, The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple is one of the four Inns of Court responsible for the selection, training and regulation of barristers (trial lawyers) in England and Wales.

An attractive location for film and television productions, Inner Temple is the last remaining location in London to have working gas lamps and offers a wide selection of 17th century buildings, courtyards and gardens as well as Temple Church, which was partly constructed by the crusading Knights Templar in the 12th century, as well as an unspoilt period street, Kings Bench Walk.

The site also boasts a range of interior locations including a banqueting hall, library and smoking room. Inner Temple has proved popular with literary adaptations including Vanity Fair, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, as well as legal and detective dramas, while more recently key scenes for The Da Vinci Code were filmed in the Inner Temple and inside the Temple Church.

Kings Bench Walk, a cracking location for The Da Vinci Code

Deepdale Farm, Norfolk: Deepdale Farm in Norfolk, lies near the coast, north east of London. With its big open skies and flat landscape, Deepdale successfully doubled for a North Korean paddy field for Die Another Day, the 20th film in the James Bond 007 series, in which Bond discovers the connection between a North Korean terrorist and an adventurous diamond broker.

EON productions decided that the open fields of Deepdale Farm would be an ideal substitute for the Far East. The dramatic sequence involving a Lamborghini sports car appears near the end of the film.

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Deepdale Farm has much to offer the filmmaker and has clearly proved it can facilitate any requirements. Deepdale is an arable farm of a thousand acres. Part of the farmland is flat with water filled ditches and springs. Outbuildings include barns that can be used for construction or storage.

WHO’S SHOOTING WHERE?

Who’s shooting where?

Alien Autospy at Ealing Studios

Principal photography utilised the sound stages at Ealing Studios plus locations around London and LA. The film was lensed by DP Simon Chaudoir, with editing by Oral Norrie Ottey using systems provided

by LEM.

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Basic Instinct 2 © 2006 Intermedia Films / Sony Pictures. All Rights Reserved

Alien Autopsy is based on a true story of friends Ray and Gary who, on a trip to the USA, stumble upon a top-secret military film that will change the way mankind perceives its place in the universe forever. Realising this is their one chance at the big time they borrow money from an eccentric drug baron and crop circle fanatic, Voros, and return to the UK with the footage. Fate deals them a disastrous hand - the film has disintegrated and as a result, Ray’s life is on the line. What happens next proves, once and for all, that truth really is stranger than fiction. Also shooting at Ealing Studios is the feature comedy I Want Candy, Fallen Angel, the story of a serial killer told in reverse, and Paradise starring Charlotte Rampling and Sam Neill.

Basic Instinct 2 at Pinewood “I really enjoyed working at the studios; Pinewood is such a legendary place,” said Sharon Stone at the premiere of Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction at London’s Leicester Square.

The film follows best-selling crime novelist Catherine Trammell, played by Stone, re-locating from San Francisco to London where she finds herself on the wrong side of the law.

Following the death of a top sports star, Dr. Michael Glass (David Morrissey), is brought in by Scotland Yard to perform a psychiatrist profile of Tramell.

Set in contemporary London, Dr. Glass’ office was situated in the famous 30 St Mary Axe (aka The Gherkin) that overlooks the city of London.

Filming took place inside the actual building on an empty floor; the offices were then recreated at Pinewood Studios, where the production shot for 15 weeks.

One scene called for a Spyker sports car to plunge into the Thames in London’s famous Docklands. The submerged car was then filmed in Pinewood’s state-of-the-art Underwater

Above left: Sharon Stone and David Morrissey in Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction Above right: filming the submerged car at Pinewood’s new Underwater Stage

Stage. Opened in 2005, Basic Instinct 2 was the first feature to take advantage of the new facility, where ultra-violet filtration creates crystal clear water and a comfortable environment for cast and crew, and also eliminates “red eye.”

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Alien Autospy © 2006 Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

As well as providing facilities to the production industry, Ealing Studios is an independent British Studio, producing feature films for international distribution. In the summer of 2005, together with Warner Bros., Qwerty Films and N1 Produktions, Ealing Studios produced Alien Autopsy. Starring UK TV stars Ant and Dec, directed by Jonny Campbell (Phoenix Nights, Shameless) and written by Will Davies (Twins, Johnny English) the film was released by Warner Bros. in April 2006. Producers were Barnaby Thompson and Will Davies, with Michael Kuhn, executive producer.

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHERE?

Hogfather at

3 Mills Studios Sky One and RHI Entertainment’s commission of Terry Pratchett’s worldwide best-selling fantasy fiction novel, Hogfather, is underway at 3 Mills Studios, London, and nearby locations.

The 2 x 120-minute HD television feature, is being shot by DP Gavin Finney BSC using the new ARRI D20 cameras, and will feature lots of bluescreen live action and CGI. Releases Christmas 2006.

Set on the semi-medieval but strangely familiar Discworld, the Hogfather, who delivers presents to the kiddies at the midwinter festival of Hogswatch, has gone missing. Will Death step in and ruin things? Hogfather is Sky One’s biggest drama commission to date and the first to be shot on HD. It stars David Jason (Only Fools and Horses, A Touch of Frost, The Darling Buds of May) as Albert, Terry Pratchett directed by Vadim Jean (Leon the Pig Farmer), and produced by Rod Brown (Dream Team, Goal) and Ian Sharples (The Virgin of Liverpool). Elaine Pyke, commissioning Editor Sky One is executive producer for Sky One and Robert Halmi Sr (Dinotopia) is the executive producer for RHI Entertainment. Hogfather is produced by the award winning production company, The Mob Film Company.

Casino Royale: the 21st film in the successful James Bond 007 franchise.

Monsieur Le Chiffre, “the cipher”, is a money launderer for terrorists, running a poker game at a Madagascan casino to raise operational funds.

Directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Anthony Waye, Michael G. Wilson, Matthew Stillman, Davie Minkowski and Barbara Broccoli for MGM/Columbia Pictures. Stars Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffery Wright and Judi Dench. Shooting on several stages and the tank at Pinewood Studios, plus a six month build on The Albert Broccoli 007 Stage.

Releases November 2006. Cinematography by Phil Méheux BSC.

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Death At A Funeral: two brothers attend their father’s funeral with the support of friends and family. But their day does not go as smoothly as they would have hoped. Live action comedy directed by Frank Oz, produced by Diana Phillips, Share Stallings and Larry Malki. An Ealing Studios / Sidney Kimmel Entertainment production, starring Rupert Graves, Ewen Bremner, Matthew Macfadyen, Andy Nyman, Peter Dinklage and Keeley Hawes.

Shooting summer 2006 at Ealing Studios and London locations.

The Golden Age: the sequel to Elizabeth, is an exploration of the complex relationship between Elizabeth I and the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.

Directed by Shekar Kapur, and produced by Tim Bevan, Jonathan Cavendish and Eric Fellner for Studio Canal / Working Title. Starring Cate

David Jason

Blanchett, Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush. Started shooting at Shepperton Studios, plus locations in the London Plus region. Cinematography by Remi Adefarasin BSC. Fade To Black: it’s 1948 and Orson Welles touches down in Rome to star in Black Magic. Still smarting from his split with Rita Hayworth and his fallout with Hollywood, Orson is looking for relief and finance for his next movie, but gets involved in a conspiracy that goes right to the top. A live action thriller, directed by Oliver Parker and produced by Barnaby Thompson, Jonathan Olsberg and Massimo Pacilio.

An Ealing Studios, Fragile Films and Dakota Films production in association with Odyssey Entertainment, Thema Productions, Endgame Entertainment, Isle of Man Films, Movieweb and Film 87. Stars Danny Huston, Diego Luna, Paz Vega and Christopher Walken. Shooting summer 2006, at Ealing Studios, Rome, Isle of Man and Belgrade.

Flawless: Michael Caine and Demi Moore star in the movie based on a jewellery heist in 1960s London, when a janitor teams with an American businesswoman to steal from his irksome employers. Directed by Michael Radford, produced by Michael A. Pierce and Mark Williams Studio / Prod Co: Future Films Ltd. Pierce/Williams Entertainment. Shooting

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHERE?

Sunshine: it’s fifty years from now, the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it.

Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of men and women with a device to breathe new life into the star. But their mission starts to unravel, leaving the crew fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity too.

This Fox Searchlight sci-fi thriller, releasing October 2006, was shot entirely at 3 Mills Studios, London. Directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Andrew Macdonald of DNA Films, it stars Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh.

Cinematography by Alwin Kuchler BSC, editing by Chris Gill, with editing kit provided by LEM. Wood Hall Catering dished up over 300 meals daily for eight months. Rigging services provided by From left: Chris Evans, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, and Rose Byrne in Sunshine. Photo Credit: Alex Bailey Blitz and LGH.

Hot Fuzz: follow up to the cult classic Shaun of the Dead, based around the uncoolest of global cops – the British bobby. A London cop is seconded to deepest, darkest Somerset, only to discover a series of grisly accidents amongst the garden fetes and neighbourhood watch meetings. Directed by Edgar Wright, and produced by Tim Bevan and Nira Park for Big Talk Productions / Working Title. Stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Bailey, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan, Timothy Dalton and Martin Freeman. Shooting at Park Street Studios, Bushey Campus, Copped Hall, Hatfield House, Hillside Studios, The Corus Hotel, Wards Hurst Farm. Special physical effects by Artem.

Releases February 2007.

Reverb: a musician discovers a voice hidden in an old record - one that sets into motion a series of horrific events. Directed by Eitan Arrusi, produced by Frank Mannion for Swipe Films, starring Stephen Lord and Luke de Woolfson.

Shooting across South London.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not: picks up with Ripley at the time when he gained celebrity status through a “Believe it or Not” column that chronicled his search for the greatest oddities in the world. Directed by Tim Burton and produced

by Kenneth Atichity, Sean Daniel, Derek Frey, Jim Jacks, Chi Li Wong and Richard D. Zanuck for Paramount Pictures. Jim Carrey stars. Shooting summer 2006 at Pinewood Studios.

Releases 2007.

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Seven Seas: the story of a Bangladeshi woman and her personal struggle to reconcile her married life in England with the memories of her life in Bangladesh. Directed by Sarah Gavron, produced by Alison Owen & Chris Collins. A Ruby Films, Film Four, Ingenious, and UK Film Council production, shooting summer 2006 at 3 Mills Studios, London.

Stardust: in a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. Fantasy, directed by Matthew Vaughn, produced by Neil Gaiman for Di Bonaventura Pictures for Paramount Pictures. Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Mark Strong star. Currently shooting at Pinewood Studios, stages and back lot, as well as locations around England, Scotland and Iceland.

Cinematography by Ben Davis. Releases June 2007.

The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard: when a couple of local politicians make a spectacle of themselves outside her shop, Yorkshire greengrocer Ros Pritchard, decides to stand for election herself and winds up in Westminster. Six-part comedy TV series, starring Jane Horrocks, directed by Declan Lowney, produced by Alison Jackson, Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins for Kudos Productions. Shooting at Shepperton Studios and locations across London.

The Lift: documentary filmmaker Marc Isaacs’ full-length version of his documentary short Lift, that won at Clermont Ferrand. Shot almost

entirely of a lift in a Tower Block in London’s East End. Produced by Belinda Giles for Dual Purpose Productions.

The Mutant Chronicles: a 23rd century soldier Major Mitch Hunter leads a fight against an army of underworld NecroMutants. Directed by Simon Hunter, with producers Stephen Belafonte, Alessandro Camon, Steve Christian, Tim Dennison, Charles Finch, Peter La Terriere, Fredrik Malmberg, Pras, Edward R.Pressman, Peter Sederowsky, for Paradox Entertainment.

Thomas Jane and John Malkovich star. Shooting in Isle of Man, and Shepperton Studios.

The Walker: a high society murder story which centres on a chaperone who accompanies rich women to parties that their busy and bored husbands don’t want to attend. Directed by Paul Schrader, produced by Deepak Nayar for Kintop Pictures. Starring Lauren Bacall, Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ned Beatty, Moritz Bleibtreu, Willem Dafoe and Lily Tomlin.

Cinematography by Chris Seager BSC. Shooting at Pinewood and locations in the UK Viewfinder: five years after his rookie short The Dreamer sparked a Hollywood bidding war over the remake rights, British director Miguel Sapochnik is making his feature debut with a contemporary political thriller set in London, exploring the unseen world of government approved killers and espionage. Produced by Keith Bell for Northmen Productions, with Sophie Okenedo and Kevin McKidd starring.

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in an around London. Cinematography by Richard Greatrex BSC.

LONDON PLUS NEWS

Batman would pass new cultural test All films applying for the new tax incentives will need to pass the “Cultural Test for British Films”. The new test focuses on three core areas: Cultural hubs – are the production and filming based in the UK? Cultural practitioners – do the cast, crew and/or producers come from the EEA (European Economic Area)? And cultural content – is the film set in the UK, are the characters British?

The first-ever Metropolitan Police Service Film Unit (MPSFU) was launched recently by Lord David Puttnam CBE, and Commander Shabir Hussain of the Metropolitan Police.

Now, a team of police officers, fully-trained in filming issues and associated police procedure, will provide a single point of contact and an integrated service for filming requests that requiring police assistance across the capital.

The new system will allow producers to clock up points if they use UK content, facilities and personnel. And the whole production sector will benefit from the increased incentives to use British content and facilities.

The MPSFU was set up following recommendations from the London Filming Partnership Executive Task Force, which looks at ways to make filming in the capital easier. The new unit will liaise with all police departments, from traffic and transport to property services, and provide advice to filmmakers for particularly complicated shoots requiring police assistance across several boroughs.

One thing the Cultural test is not, however, is an attempt to dictate the content or subject matter of films. Vera Drake and Ratcatcher could have qualified. And so too could Batman Begins – based in fictional Gotham City, but filmed in the UK, employing Brits and using British facilities.

You can read all about the UK’S new tax regime in “Pounds Dollars and Sense” on page 12.

Batman Begins © 2005 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Pinewood’s Underwater Stage Europe’s only studiobased, underwater filming stage opened at Pinewood Studios in 2005.

Permanently filled, the new addition compliments several other water facilities available at the studios, including numerous stages with tanks incorporated into the floors and an exterior tank with a large blue screen backing.

“We don’t believe there is anything like this in the world," said Nick Smith, Pinewood Shepperton’s sales and marketing director. "It is specifically designed to make underwater productions logistically easier and less expensive.”

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Dedicated police team to assist filming in London

The new Underwater Stage is 20ft deep, 66ft long and 33ft wide and is permanently heated to 90 degrees. Ultraviolet filtration provides crystal clear water. There are also three viewing windows, a fulllength lighting gantry, in-water blue and green screens, a wireless hydrophone communication system plus changing rooms and showers. Underwater filming specialists, Diving Services UK, managed the stage are available to assist shoots.

The Metropolitan Police recently assisted with several high-profile film shoots including V for Vendetta which involved hundreds of extras storming Parliament and closed Whitehall for four nights, and Children of Men which saw Woolwich town centre transformed into a future vision of London.

Record year for filming in London Film London recently announced a recordbreaking 18% increase in filming in the capital during 2005, marking an upturn in London’s filming fortunes for the second successive year.

The figures, which include films, TV and commercials, are collated by each of London’s 33 boroughs. They confirm the capital’s importance as a filmmaking centre and consolidate London’s place as the third busiest production centre in the world.

In 2005, the total number of shooting days in London was 12,655 compared to 10,683 in 2004. This brings the average number of crews shooting every day in the capital to 35.

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Conch awards recognise audio talent Plans have just been revealed for a new awards scheme that reflects the contributions made by UK facilities, sound editors and dubbing mixers to the art of audio post production in film, TV and commercials.

The Conch Awards are being organised and promoted by trade body UK Post with the idea having been borne out of the experiences of UK Post board member Dennis Weinreich, managing director of Videosonics and Graham Hartstone, formerly head of post-production at Pinewood Studios.

Weinreich and Hartstone reasoned that an awards programme dedicated to celebrating and rewarding UK audio talent at all levels was missing and, after many discussions, The Conch Awards was formed. The call for nominations begins this month, with a deadline of 22nd June, for details visit www.ukpost.org.uk/conch. The awards ceremony and party will take place on 21st September in London at the Radisson Edwardian Mayfair, which will have a new 200-seat cinema to showcase the craft and talent.

New help and incentives for film crews Production office space is the latest in a range of new services from Film London, aimed at welcoming crews to the capital.

Fully serviced hot desks and office spaces are now available in Film London's new Shoreditch premises. Location information can be sourced from the extensive locations libraries of Film London, Screen East and Screen South which between them contain over 25,000 location records. Also available are directories with details of skilled freelancers working in the film and TV industries.

The London Plus Partnership has developed a series of deals and incentives to help reduce the cost of filmmaking on the ground.

These include the services of an experienced location manager to provide an initial script breakdown and locations search, as well as a vehicle and driver to transport key crew on provisional recces. Also available are special discounted rates on mobile phones and accommodation; London Plus also has established special rates with a range of hotels and serviced apartments.

A large proportion of the planned maintenance and development programme at 3 Mills Studios was brought forward last year to accommodate the occupancy and shooting schedule for Danny Boyle’s latest film Sunshine. These include electrical improvements to several Stages, new dressing rooms and make-up facilities, an enhanced paint shop, as well as improved machinery and ventilation for its construction workshops. 3 Mills Studios has also refurbished The Still restaurant, and added additional parking.

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Upgrades at 3 Mills Studios

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