View Full Version : LIVERPOOL'S film and TV industry
LIVERPOOL'S film and TV industry has had a record year.
Inquiries for future productions have also risen by nearly 40% and work is ongoing on the largest film project ever shot in Liverpool.
TV actor Jim Sturgess from Touch of Frost stars in Across The Universe, a romantic 60s musical told through more than 30 Beatles songs.
The Liverpool scenes, involving 150 extras, will be spliced with footage from New York featuring cameos by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker and Salma Hayek.
Merseyside filming includes scenes in Waver-tree, New Brighton and on the dock estate.
The movie will be released by Columbia Pictures later this year.
It is set against a background of anti-war protest, civil rights and rock 'n' roll..
In 2005 there were 632 days worth of filming in the region, beating the 2003 record of 612 days.
Film office staff helped with 182 productions, while future inquiries rocketed by 38% to 250.
City council leader Warren Bradley said: "We are seeing an unprecedented level of interest in using Liverpool for television and movies.
"This sustains many local businesses. It is vital we do all we can to welcome filmmakers with open arms."
Film Office manager Lyn Saunders said: "I am confident the success will continue this year.
"We are placing our database online. Producers from around the world can now see what Liverpool has to offer at the click of a mouse."
The highlights of 2005 included a romance, Beyond Friendship, starring Winona Ryder and Tom Conti, and Eleventh Hour, a sci- fi thriller for Granada, starring Patrick Stewart.
Mersey-made pop videos included those by The Coral, Ms Dynamite, Liz McLarnon and Natasha Hamilton.
Another growth area was commercials, with ads for HP Sauce and Bisto being made in the city.
RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Liverpool City Council (http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/)
Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/)
North West Vision (http://www.northwestvision.co.uk/)
http://www.liverpoolfilmstudios.co.uk/
(http://www.northwestvision.co.uk/)
LEGENDARY actor Bob Hoskins arrived in Liverpool last night to finish filming his latest movie. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16969009%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=hoskins%2din%2daction%2das%2dsparkle%2d helps%2dmerseyside%2dto%2dshine-name_page.html)
Howie
04-20-2006, 09:46 PM
See 10 TWENTY TWO CASTING (http://www.10twentytwo.com/) :slywink:
Once again, the first choice for period drama is Liverpool. Alan Weston reports
A GROUND-BREAKING "you are there" drama which recreates the horrors of an accident and emergency ward from a century ago is being filmed in the former Liverpool Royal Infirmary building, now on the Liverpool University site.
Casualty 1906 will use exactly the same dramatic format as its present-day namesake to plunge the viewer straight into the medical crises of a hospital in London's East End, 40 years before the advent of the NHS.
The choice of the Victorian building, off Brownlow Hill, for the major BBC programme is another success for a new locations database, set up by North West Vision's Liverpool Film Office to attract producers to the city.
The hospital opened in 1889 and closed in 1978, before it was taken over by the university in 1994.
However, much of it is still disused and has retained its original character, which is why it provided the perfect setting for the drama.
The hospital's long wards were designed by Florence Nightingale, and it was a pioneer in medical treatment along with London's Royal London hospital, where the drama is set.
All the cases, characters and events are taken from historical records such as nurses' ward diaries and intimate memoirs.
The 60-minute pilot will show all the drama, tragedy, and grim humour of life in the "receiving room" - the early 20th century equivalent of today's A&E department - in the days leading up to Christmas.
It will feature the decimation of the young by infectious diseases, the blatant affects of class division and social inequality, and the frustrations of some of the country's finest doctors and surgeons in the absence of modern medicines.
On the other hand, it will also show the hospital at the cutting edge of medical advances, such as the first to use radiotherapy on cancer, a pioneer of X-rays, a new treatment for TB, and a centre for groundbreaking, though hazardous, surgery.
The drama centres on four characters - a matron, played by Cherie Lunghi, an emergency room nurse, the hospital chairman, and a radiographer in the pioneering "light department", who pays the ultimate sacrifice by losing his hands and his life to the radiation damage caused by placing his hands under the primitive x-ray machine to test it each time it is used.
The programme, due to be shown on BBC1 this autumn, is being produced by Stone City Films.
Thanks to Liverpool Film Office's locations database, it was possible to send location images to the production company quickly, which led them to visit the site and filming the 60-minute pilot at the former hospital.
Liverpool Film Office manager Lynn Saunders said: "The location database allows the film officers to respond more quickly and efficiently to enquiries from production companies.
"Location managers are much more likely to come and recce a location if they can actually see it beforehand, which in turn results in increased filming activity and investment into the local economy."
Filming of Casualty 1906 started over the weekend. It is directed by Bryn Higgins, who has directed mainstream dramas for the BBC such as Silent Witness, and also produced the famous video for the 1990 World Cup anthem by New Order, which was partly filmed at Liverpool's Melwood training ground.
Mr Higgins said: "It's only our grandparents' generation yet can be a shocking, foreign world.
"Many of the diseases are half-forgotten now and the treatments fascinatingly remote.
"Setting the film at Christmas, however, gives it a touch of warmth and nostalgia.
"There's a lot of filming going on in Liverpool now, thanks to its wonderfully preserved Victorian buildings. I love the idea of bringing one of them back to life. It's going to be very atmospheric."
alanweston@dailypost.co.uk
Paul D
05-31-2006, 01:12 PM
THE Da Vinci Code has created controversy on its way to becoming the second biggest-selling book in publishing history after the Bible.
Now, hot on the heels of the blockbuster film version starring Tom Hanks, an ITV thriller with a remarkably similar theme has started filming in Liverpool and Southport.
Sumptuous settings such as the Vatican Office, the Bank of England and the medieval cathedrals and castles of Malta are all being recreated in the region for a one-off feature length pilot called The Outsiders.
The show is being produced for ITV by Mersey Television, the company started by Phil Redmond which has been responsible for a string of television hits such as Brookside, Hollyoaks and Grange Hill.
The Outsiders stars Brian Cox, star of such Hollywood blockbusters as Troy and The Bourne Identity, and Nigel Harman, the former EastEnders heart-throb whose first major role it is since his defection from the BBC late last year.
Harman, 32, stars as a member of a top-secret international espionage ring based deep in the bowels of the British Library.
His character, Nathan, becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding a bizarre claim that the 17th-century Dutch artist Rubens, a devout Catholic, tried to suppress a formula for eternal life because he feared it would undermine the existence of God.
Nathan and his fellow spies must have their deaths faked and their funerals arranged in order to ensure anonymity as they chase across the globe for clients such as the Vatican and the British Government.
Many of the locations they visit, such as the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, are similar to those in The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 40m copies worldwide.
The globe-spanning pilot episode is set in a variety of locations in Malta, Paris, Barcelona and London, which, apart from some location footage, will all be re-created in the city. Among the locations being used is The Athenaeum in Church Alley, Liverpool city centre.
Sacha Taylor-Cox, spokeswoman for Mersey TV, said the action adventure film was one of a number of new shows being created by the company, which was sold last year to London-based production group All3media by its founder Phil Redmond and his fellow directors.
Ms Taylor-Cox described the style of the show as similar to classic 1960s thriller series such
as The Avengers, with a strong undercurrent of The Da Vinci Code in its storyline.
She said: "It's a modern-day version of The Avengers, but more down-to-earth and more gritty.
"There are great things happening at Mersey TV this year with four new shows starting, ranging from six-week dramas to one-offs."
The new ITV series, scheduled to be broadcast in the autumn, has been written by Caleb Ranson, who wrote Child of Mine and the David Jason hit Diamond Geezer, with Bafta nominee Bill Boyes producing.
Mr Boyes said the script for The Outsiders was actually written before The Da Vinci Code, and any similarity between the two stories was coincidental.
He said: "We are going back to the roots of the good old-fashioned ITV action dramas of the 1960s."
If the pilot episode is successful, a six-part series will follow.
Earlier this year, a High Court judge ruled that Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown did not plagiarise an earlier book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Both books explore the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child.
LIVERPOOL'S film industry is set to pump £10m into the city's economy with a record-breaking 2006.
Experts said this year would be the busiest ever, with big productions already booked in.
Three times as many movies and TV shows were shot in the city between January and March as during the same period in 2005.
And the number of filming days more than trebled to 240 when compared with the previous year.
It is thought the movie industry brought about £5m into Liverpool's economy from January to March, with another £5m at least of projects in the pipeline.
They include two major feature films, a prime-time BBC drama series and one-off TV shows.
Liverpool is also home to Mersey Television, which produces Hollyoaks and Grange Hill.
Film Office manager Lynn Saunders said: "It has been an amazing start to 2006 and I'm confident this will be our busiest year yet.
"We have a number of big productions still lined up to film here later this year and have seen a jump of one-thirdin the number of calls we receive from producers asking about filming in Liverpool.
"We are also subsidising several productions which are filming locally, and this is helping create and sustain jobs."
Last year, Liverpool council's Film Office - part of North West Vision - attracted 180 productions to the city, generating almost £14m for the local economy.
Council leader Warren Bradley said: "Liverpool has a fantastic reputation within the film industry for providing great locations and expert support for film-makers.
"It is a multi-million pound industry, sustaining thousands of jobs and providing a vital boost to scores of local businesses.
"That is why we do all we can to assist production companies who want to film here."
Stepping back in time at Stanley Dock
IT was lights, camera, action at Liverpool waterfront after it was transformed into a spectacular Victorian-style dock.
Often deserted to river traffic, Stanley Dock was awash with colour as a film crew descended on the River Mersey.
Star of the show was old square-rigger ship the Zebu, usually moored in the Albert Dock and gazed upon by thousands of tourists.
The filming of Ruby In The Smoke is part of the BBC's four-episode series of the Sally Lockhart Mysteries being shot across the country.
Stanley Dock was turned into an East London docklands scene for two nights only with a backdrop straight from the 1870s.
Stars signed up for the drama include current Doctor Who heroine Billie Piper, who plays Sally Lockhart.
She will pit her wits against Julie Walters in the series adapted from Philip Pullman's books, which will first be shown at Christmas.
The swing bridge leading to the dock was raised for the first time in more than a decade to let the Zebu sail through.
Some of the scenes filmed in Stanley Dock included handling cargo and hauling a corpse out of the murky waters.
The rip-roaring tales are packed full of cut-throat villains and dastardly deeds.
Susan Hanley Place, chief executive of Mersey Heritage Trust, said: "The BBC are getting pretty excited about filming the Zebu.
"The quay has been dressed up and looks exactly how it would have looked around 150 years ago.
"It's a magnificent setting. "They went all over Britain and they couldn't find anything better suited than Stanley Dock.
"The combination of the Zebu and Liverpool waterfront was telling and our pulling power was obvious."
Rescue of the Zebu
THE square-rigger was built in Sweden in 1938 and sailed timber across the Baltic Sea for 30 years before retirement.
The Zebu was one of thousands of such ships built after the design was perfected in the 1680s.
In the 1980s she fell into disrepair after travelling more than 69,000 sea miles and looked likely to rot in the Welsh harbour of Conway.
But she was rescued by a team of willing Liverpool volunteers, who took six years to restore the vessel to her former glory.
Zebu returned to her seagoing career when she sailed from Liverpool to the Whitehaven Maritime Festival.
Dramas and TV series signed up for 2006
PRODUCTIONS filmed or lined up so far this year include:
* Across The Universe, starring Bono and Joe Cocker: a romantic musical film set in the 1960s and told through Beatles songs. It is the largest-scale production ever shot in Liverpool, with more than 150 extras involved in scenes shot at the docks, Wavertree and New Brighton.
* Sparkle, starring Bob Hoskins and Liverpool actor Shaun Evans: a film about an opportunistic young Scouser who moves to London and decides to sleep his way to the top.
* Lilies: an eight-part BBC prime-time drama series set in 1920s docklands Liverpool, about three girls who live with their father in a terraced house.
* Casualty 1906: a BBC1 drama recreating an A&E ward from a century ago, filmed in the former Liverpool Royal Infirmary building.
* Ruby In The Smoke, starring Billie Piper and Julie Walters: a one-off period drama for the BBC, based on Phillip Pullman's novel.
* Longford: a C4 drama based on the early political career of Lord Longford, filmed at Old Bridewell, Walton prison, St George's Hall and Canning Street.
Paul D
06-14-2006, 03:11 PM
I saw people all over that bridge in Stanley Dock the other day and was wondering what they were doing,now you've just answered that question,It's great to see Liverpool used as a location in so many films,dramas and adverts.:celb (23):
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icliverpool/jun2006/6/5/D33E3AC2-C2C4-EBC3-9C46DAD891001974.jpg
LIVERPOOL'S renaissance has been reflected on the big screen with three times more films and TV shows produced in the city this year.
U2 frontman Bono, Julie Walters and Billie Piper are among a host of stars who have starred in pictures using Liverpool as a back-drop.
The city council's film office - part of North West Vision - organised 240 filming days between January and the end of March compared to 74 last year.
And the number of productions also trebled - up from 21 to 61 in the first quarter, boosting the local economy by millions.
SCREEN legend Julie Walters took centre stage as the filming of a new BBC drama continued in Liverpool. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=17255353%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=julie%2dwalters%2dback%2din%2dliverpool %2dfor%2dnew%2dfilm%2drole%2d-name_page.html)
Various images of Liverpool on film:
http://static.flickr.com/56/131530440_a1c34003b3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131530440/)
http://static.flickr.com/45/131530439_967a66e12c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131530439/)
http://static.flickr.com/52/131530438_3d77a726df.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131530438/)
http://static.flickr.com/53/131530437_33be26b29d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131530437/)
http://static.flickr.com/45/131527500_a90eae9d8a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131527500/)
http://static.flickr.com/1/131527499_35d6c3e75e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131527499/)
http://static.flickr.com/1/131527497_91603bbbaf.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131527497/)
http://static.flickr.com/47/131527496_ca28db0f9d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131527496/)
http://static.flickr.com/52/131532043_6eb358bd3a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131532043/)
http://static.flickr.com/44/131532036_0a56e09c44.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131532036/)
http://static.flickr.com/52/131532035_1bc4aa2b25_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/131532035/)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/10/16/woolton_home_203x152.jpg
Filming
of Lilies in Woolton
The recently closed Woolton Picture House is the location for the filming of a new BBC
drama series.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/f/t.gif
http://www.bbc.co.uk/f/t.gifA south Liverpool surburban cinema has been transformed back to the 1920’s for a new BBC drama.
Woolton Picture House is one of the local locations for filming of an eight part BBC One drama Lilies written by Heidi
Thomas.
In
Pictures: Filming of Lilies in Liverpool (http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/image_galleries/lillies_filming_woolton_cinema_gallery.shtml) >
The series which will be broadcast in
2007 is set in the years after the First World War and tells the story of three catholic sisters Iris, May and Ruby Moss. 1920’s Liverpool forms the
background for the story of the coming of age of the three sisters living in a terraced docklands house.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/10/16/woolton_mid1_220x150.jpg
The drama is set in the
1920's
Garston born writer Heidi Thomas says she has got
the cast she wanted with Kerrie Hayes, Catherine Tyldesley and Leanne Rowe playing the leads “Lilies features three wonderful emerging young talents who beat
off fierce competition to win their first lead roles.
"We needed girls who
mirrored our characters: they had to be spirited, passionate, strong and pure.
"We were also looking for luminous, old-fashioned beauty. Catherine, Kerrie and Leanne have these qualities in spades."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/englandcms/f/audio.gif "It is
a city I know very well" - Heidi Thomas (http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/realmedia/features/heidi_thomas.ram) >
Audio and Video links on this page require
Realplayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/real/real.shtml?intro)
The majority of the filming has taken place around Liverpool. Heidi Thomas says knowing the area meant she was able to recommend
locations, "I've been able to say can we set this scene in the Palm House? Can we set this scene in the Walker Art Gallery looking at the picture of the
death of Nelson?
"It is a city I know very very well and hopefully that's
reflected in the variety of locations we've been able to use."
Fresh and bold
Woolton Picture House, which recently closed following the death of its owner, is one of the locations being used for filming. The front
of the cinema in Mason Street has been given a new frontage especially for the television series. Inside filming takes place amongst the period fittings of
the cinema which was opened on Boxing Day 1927, several years after Lilies is set.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/images/2006/10/16/woolton_mid2_220x150.jpg
Woolton Picture House has been
changed
The drama depicts a savage and sensual life lived on the edge of poverty,
following the fortunes of the three sisters as they pursue their different lives.
Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning says the series will bring 1920’s Liverpool to life, “"Heidi Thomas is a unique and
original writing talent, combining in Lilies a meticulous eye for period detail and resonance, and a wonderfully modern wit, emotional intelligence and
warmth.
"Her eight-part take on the 1920s is fresh, bold and entertaining,
offering a drama to BBC ONE full of energy, empathy and optimism."
Lilies is a
World Productions and BBC Northern Ireland project and will be transmitted in 2007.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/f/t.gif
THREE feature films are set to be bankrolled in Liverpool in the run up to Capital of Culture.
Backers of the ambitious plan hope the city will become Europe’s “shining light” for micro-budget filmmaking.
North West Vision has joined forces with Liverpool Culture Company, the UK Film Council and the BBC to put up £750,000 for the Digital Departures initiative, £250,000 per film.
Now they are inviting writers, producers and directors from the city and across the north west to get involved in the project.Chris Moll, head of funds for North West Vision, a film, TV and digital media development agency, said: “Liverpool is already recognised as a city of exceptional screenwriting talent and as a film-friendly location, but this new initiative will maximise the potential of the region's most talented filmmaking teams and provide a global platform.”
Tim Cagney, head of UK Partnerships at the UK Film Council, said: “Digital Departures will ensure film plays a central role in the Capital of Culture celebrations.
“We’re confident it will unearth some outstanding talent, deliver great films and become a dynamic model of micro-budget production Liverpool can export across the world.”
Each of the three Digital Departures films will be developed, shot and post-produced in Liverpool and will premiere in the city in autumn 2008. The films will then be distributed nationally and internationally across a variety of digital platforms including the UK’s Digital Screen Network.
Organisers are also planning to offer assistance to filmmakers including training.
Culture Company chief executive Jason Harborow said: “Digital Departures will usher in a new era for film in Liverpool.
“Sustainable film production in the city will ultimately come from equipping local filmmakers with the skills, self-confidence and relationships to grow into internationally successful artists.”
To find out how to get involved with the scheme visit www.digitaldepartures.co.uk (http://www.digitaldepartures.co.uk)
catherinejones@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Here's a couple of vids from YouTube:
Video Number 1: The Scouseology Awards and why they were set up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqF5LQOSbXo
Video Number 2: Going Off Big Time. Niel Fitz talks about how it was made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tA2zhJxnfc
Video Number 3: Filming Al's Lads, which contains some unique views of the Water Street Area as 1920's Chicago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfwTflepgTo
Click here to view pics (http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21449&postcount=23) I took whilst onset at various locations and film shoots, incl. Al's Lads.
AN ambitious scheme to bankroll three feature films in Liverpool has attracted more than 150 submissions. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=we%2D%2D8217%2Dll-be-capital-of-film-in-2008%26method=full%26objectid=19109773%26siteid=50 061-name_page.html)
naked lilac
06-04-2007, 08:42 PM
This is very informative for me.. being in this industry in the USA.. thanks.. hope I can obtain some work there in Liverpool as Crew for any upcoming features... that would be smashing.. well, ta ra for all the info....Now trying to send my CV off to the right peeps....:handclap:
LIVERPOOL’S film industry is on the point of a major boom – with three £250,000 feature films to be made in the run-up to Capital of Culture Year. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=film-industry-on-the-verge-of-major-boom%26method=full%26objectid=19316956%26siteid=50 061-name_page.html)
HOLLYWOOD star David Morrissey is filming his latest movie in the city.
The actor has appeared in a whole raft of blockbuster films and television shows, making him a well-known name on the big and small screen.
Best known for his portrayal of Capt Webber in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin - the 43-year-old has chosen Liverpool as the perfect location for a new film he is directing called The Pool.
The boy meets girl romance uses a number of locations in the city - including Crosby beach, Liverpool Cathedral and New Brighton.
The Kensington-born star’s film company, Liverpool-based Tubedale Films, is making the film.
The Pool stars Londoner James Brough and Liverpool-born Helen Elizabeth (who both wrote it) and is due to be screened next summer.
LIVERPOOL actor David Morrissey last night said he wants to create more films on Merseyside as he made his directorial debut in the city Read (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/10/11/liverpool-s-such-a-haven-for-filmmakers-says-star-64375-19931427/)
FILM-makers are ploughing more than £1m a month into Liverpool. Read (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/12/08/films-bring-in-10m-to-city-s-economy-100252-20220798/)
macateb
01-31-2008, 03:21 AM
'Across The Universe' is being released in the UK on Blu-ray & DVD on the 11th Feb.
naked lilac
01-31-2008, 03:40 AM
Got great reviews from some of my mates that saw it.. The music is brill..
macateb
01-31-2008, 04:21 AM
I agree. Its a great film.
The two lead actors/performers are excellent.
It introduced me to some of the lesser known Beatles songs and on the back of it I went and completed my Beatles CD collection. (which I'm sure was exactly the pitch the film maker made to the remaining Beatles to allow her to use their music)
The music from the film is already available to buy in single CD or double CD versions.
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