PRODUCING IN THE UK ROUND TABLE


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Alison Owen


to get by. The biggest problem is lack of aspiration. You look at the fashion industry or the gaming industry, they are so much more successful. They go directly to the public, there is a real relationship between the point of sale and the manufacturer. We don’t have that connection. We all get by because we’re all pretty smart at it. But it’s what comes after that is worrisome. Alison Owen Where are all the young people, the innovators? I’d love to see more younger people involved in the process than there currently are in the industry.


Q I don’t think a teenager really knows what a producer does.


Jeremy Thomas There’s no dignity in the job because there are 50 producers on the fi lm. Anyone gets a producer credit these days. Stephen Woolley That’s the reality in Hollywood. At the studios, they have their own development department, their own production managers, casting or music departments, they don’t need you to do that. When you make a fi lm with a studio, you realise you’re the director’s mate, you’re the stars’ mate, that’s what you’re doing there. We don’t have the studio. Developing Made in Dagenham, I didn’t have a director two or three months before shooting. I look at how much it took at the box offi ce last night, we do everything. Jeremy Thomas Most of us know how to direct the fi lm, load the camera… Stephen Woolley I directed scenes in Made In Dagenham when Nigel [Cole] went off and had a baby. That’s how close we have to be to our fi lms; that’s not what you do in Hollywood. So the whole notion of what a producer means is completely mucked up by the fact everyone in Hollywood is a producer. As a producer in LA, you’re a speck of sand on the beach. Here in Europe, we can develop material we like, things we’ve been


■ 28 Screen International December 15, 2010


Stephen Woolley, Alison Owen, Robin Gutch, Nira Park, Jeremy Thomas and Screen’s Mike Goodridge


inspired by. We thrive on that. The positive thing is that there is still a possibility of us as creative producers becoming involved in our material and excited about material and excited about making fi lms.


Q Do English audiences want to see British fi lms?


Alison Owen Older ones do, I think. Younger audiences are less keen to see British fi lms. I think there is the odd exception, like Shaun Of The Dead and StreetDance. Robin Gutch I think it’s partly because the British industry don’t make enough fi lms for that audience. Kidulthood came out of leftfi eld because no-one was making fi lms about teenagers at the time. Alison Owen The teenagers I know personally are generally less excited about the idea of British fi lms. When they’ve got a little money, they would rather go see something American.


Q Nira, how did you connect with young audiences on Shaun Of The Dead?


Were you specifi cally targeting a younger British audience? Nira Park It actually previewed terribly. I don’t think Universal quite knew what was going to happen. But just through their support and the support of people we had worked with in TV, buzz screenings and getting the word out there, it worked. It was a slow burn. It was the same with Hot Fuzz. Damian Jones The industry was completely taken by surprise with Adulthood’s opening weekend and subsequent success. Andrew Eaton I remember saying to the UK Film Council, ‘If you’re going to spend public money, why don’t you do a massive piece of market research into who’s going to see these fi lms, like an advertiser would do?’ That would help us to come up with ideas. Alison Owen Even Shaun Of The Dead and


Damian Jones


‘The positive thing is there is still the possibility of us as creative producers becoming involved in our


material’ Stephen Woolley


Hot Fuzz were more a twenties demographic weren’t they? There is a big cultural reason why UK teenagers don’t go and see as many movies as American teenagers, which is the drinking age. They can’t get into bars in America until they are 21 so they go to the movies and rock concerts. They’ve got to go somewhere for a date.


Q What are the implications of having a studio-owned UK company like


Working Title? Jeremy Thomas I like to have them as a competitor. And they are a beacon of what level of success can be reached in the international marketplace. Stephen Woolley Most of us around this table have worked with them. There has always been a Working Title-type company making fi lms in the same arena as we are, whether that company be called Goldcrest or Handmade. They’re uniquely British but have a strong connection with a studio. They don’t just provide employment, they have a diverse output. They can make Shaun Of the Dead, Oscar-winning fi lms or sequels to their comedies. They are essential as part of the business we are in and one of the most important elements of making fi lms in Britain. It’s our responsibility around this table to keep Working Title or DNA alive. We want them to be successful. We all have to respect the fact that whenever one of us here has a hit movie, it keeps us all alive. Jeremy Thomas You cling on to anyone else’s success. Stephen Woolley I probably wouldn’t have been able to make a deal with Sony Classics [on Made In Dagenham] if it hadn’t been for An Education. Andrew Eaton The King’s Speech is going to help all of us. Jeremy Thomas We all produced it! [laughs] 


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