U.K.'s tax credit lures in large productions
Snaring the big Hollywood pictures
By Adam Dawtrey
Clint Eastwood, above, found many advantages to shooting much of 'Hereafter' in the U.K.
With £780 million ($1.25 billion) in inward investment, it's already a record year for foreign production in the U.K., beating the 2009 high of $1.2 billion.
Most of that money comes from big-budget Hollywood projects. The U.K.'s tax credit is particularly attractive for such films, because it has no ceiling, and it applies to all U.K. expenditure, including the salaries of American talent.
Several $150 million-plus films booked into Blighty this year. Disney's "John Carter of Mars" built giant sets at Longcross Studios, a former tank-testing base converted into a production facility. It also used Shepperton and converted a vacant warehouse in nearby Greenford into a temporary soundstage.
Snaring "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was a big coup, as none of the three previous installments shot in the U.K. It came to Pinewood this fall after location shooting in Hawaii.
Marvel's "Captain America" based itself at Shepperton, but went on location around Liverpool and Manchester.
Fox brought the Matthew Vaughn-helmed "X-Men: First Class" to Pinewood. Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" from DreamWorks has offices at Longcross but is shooting on location. Martin Scorsese's 3D "Hugo Cabret" from GK Films is in extended residency at Shepperton.
Warner Bros., traditionally the studio with the largest commitment to U.K. production, is finally coming to the end of "Harry Potter" at Leavesden Studios. Leavesden started as a temporary facility but evolved into a permanent base. Warner has taken over the site for redevelopment and will reopen it as a full-service studio and visitor attraction in 2012.
With Leavesden out of action, Warner has several current or upcoming projects booked into other studios, including "Sherlock Holmes 2" and "Clash of the Titans 2." Helmer Chris Nolan will return to his usual airship hangar in Cardington to shoot the next Batman.
Universal used Ealing Studios for "Johnny English Reborn." Tim Burton's latest stop-motion project, "Frankenweenie," backed by Disney, is shooting at 3 Mills Studios in east London, while Sony is bankrolling two films from Aardman's animation studio in Bristol, "Pirates!" and "Arthur Christmas."
Indie pics squeezed in amid the blockbusters include Madonna's "W.E," Lone Scherfig's "One Day," "The Woman in Black" from Hammer Films, Jonathan Newman's "Foster" and Tanya Wexler's "Hysteria."
Labels: Hysteria, Informant Media
Judy Cairo | Humanities & Social Science Visual &...
The Kennedy Detail Authors At Book Passage San Fra...
Simon & Schuster Releasing Enhanced JFK eBook
HYSTERICAL ALBUM
Hartford Books Examiner Interview With Gerald Blai...
Join The Thrillionaire's 2 Day Celebration of Life...
Blogger News Network Reviews AEI Clients Gerald S....
NPR Boston Radio Interviews AEI Clients Jerry Blai...
CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer Intervi...
Fox 5's Bob Barnard Interviews Clint Hill
Clint Hill's New York Times OP-ED
The Kennedy Detail Preview - Ken's Introduction
Georgetown's Artemis Kirk with Gallery Book's Mitc...
The Washington Times Reviews The Kennedy Detail
STORY MERCHANT CLIENT RON WEAVER FEATURED IN SOAP...
Jerry Blaine Reads Toby Chandler's Poignant Letter
The Kennedy Detail Book Tour
The Kennedy Detail Georgetown Preview - Political ...
AEI Clients Gerald S. Blaine and Clint Hill on MSN...
The Library Journal Reviews AEI Clients Blaine and...
Renegade lands cable projects Discovery orders 'As...
JFK's Protectors Share Firsthand Accounts
Kennedy Detail Recalls Assassination | The Hoya
The Kennedy Detail Makes 32 On The Extended New Y...
AEI CLIENT LISA MCCUBBIN AND CLINT HILL AT BOSTO...
AEI Client Royce Buckingham's Review in SLJ
The Kennedy Detail Preview - Georgetown Universit...
HARVARD COOP BOOK SIGNING
Ex-agent's book covers death of JFK GJ retiree was...
Gloria's Bookshelf Reviews AEI Client Dennis Palum...
AEI Client Royce Buckingham's Q & A on P.S. I Love...
THE KENNEDY DETAIL - SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES AD
ON LOCATION WITH JUDY CAIRO "HYSTERIA" LONDON