Will it be Howay for Hollywood?

Date: 2003-11-11, Publication: The Journal

Ambitious plans to establish Tyneside as a hotbed of movie-making are being launched by a group of film producers in the region.

The team, which includes established film-makers Stewart Mackinnon of Newcastle-based Common Features and Mark Lavender of Tyneside\'s RS Productions, want to put Newcastle and the North-East on the world movie map.

They believe they can do in the North-East what director Lars von Trier has for his native Denmark. Von Trier\'s Dogma production company has become renowned for distinctive films such as Breaking The Waves and Dogville, which starred Nicole Kidman.

Mr Mackinnon, who has more than 20 years\' experience in the film and TV industry, said: \"Dogma has put Denmark on the map and it is now a strong brand known around the world - it would be so exciting to make something like Dogma in the North-East.

\"I have seen how it works and there is no reason why we cannot create something like this in the North-East and harness the talent we have in the region.\"

The key concept behind the Tyneside project is to establish a studio-style movie business based in Newcastle that can produce batches of films and then sell them around the world.

A group of creative talents - two to three writers, two directors and two executive producers - will form the core of the company with sales and distribution divisions being added to capitalise on the lucrative TV rights and DVD sales markets, which can account for up to 70pc of a film\'s profits.

Mr Mackinnon says the team are looking to initially raise around £5m for a two to three-year rolling programme which would see the first package of films made, each at a cost of around £1m.

He said: \"If you have a production line system where you can make a package of three to four films at a time and then sell them as a package, it\'s much more efficient. It also spreads the risk as you\'re not relying entirely on one film.\"

The Tyneside team, which is made up of five production companies, believe that tax schemes introduced by the Government to encourage investment in film will help raise finance.

Recent figures show that every £1 of funding invested by the UK Film Council in British-made films has generated £9 worth of revenue. Even those without large-scale backing have performed well.

This Little Life, a recent film made by Common Features, was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards and is now being sold across the world from the USA to South Korea.

Mr Mackinnon is drafting a business plan which will be finalised in January and the team will then go about drumming up interest in the project, looking for backing from inside and outside the region and getting a financial manager on board. The as yet unnamed company will then be officially launched at the end of March.

While the North-East has provided the scenery for a range of major films, including Get Carter, Elizabeth, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Stormy Monday and the Harry Potter films, it has yet to establish an internationally-renowned studio of its own.

Northern Film & Media (NFM), which works to promote the region\'s film and TV industry, has part-funded the initial development of the new Tyneside venture.

NFM chief executive, Tom Harvey, said: \"This is exactly the kind of thing that we want producers to be doing, but it is just one piece in the jigsaw for the region.\"

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