Shooting begins on Sightseers
Category: News Release
3 October 2011
Principal photography begins on Sightseers, the third film from award-winning director Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace, Kill List). Sightseers is written by its stars, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram with additional material by Amy Jump. http://sightseersmovie.com
To be distributed by STUDIOCANAL in the UK, the forthcoming comedy is a Big Talk Pictures production in association with Rook Films. It is being produced by Nira Park (Big Talk Pictures) and Claire Jones and Andy Starke (Rook Films), and executive produced by Matthew Justice, Danny Perkins, Jenny Borgars and Katherine Butler. Big Talk's development of the film was funded by Film4 and the BFI Film Fund. The film is financed by STUDIOCANAL, Film4 and the BFI Film Fund. International sales will be handled by Protagonist Pictures. Shooting will take place in Derbyshire, Yorkshire and the Lake District over the next four weeks.
Chris (Steve Oram) wants to show Tina (Alice Lowe) his world and he wants to do it his way - on a journey through this sceptred isle in his beloved Abbey Oxford Caravan. Tina's led a sheltered life and there are things that Chris needs her to see - the Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, the Keswick Pencil Museum and the rolling countryside that separates these wonders in his life.
But it doesn't take long for the dream to fade. Litterbugs, noisy teenagers and pre-booked caravan sites, not to mention Tina's meddling mother, soon conspire to shatter Chris's dreams and send him, and anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, over a very jagged edge...
Katherine Butler, Film4 Senior Commissioning Executive, says: "We are thrilled to be going into production on the hilariously twisted Sightseers which brings together the prodigiously talented Ben Wheatley with the brilliant Big Talk Pictures and Ben's dynamic Kill List collaborators at Rook Films. One of Film4's big priorities is to build long-term relationships with filmmakers, so it's fantastic to be teaming up once more with Big Talk - with whom we collaborated on Attack the Block - and Rook Films, on a project we've loved throughout development."
Lizzie Francke, Senior Production Executive at BFI Film Fund, says: "Sightseers takes us on a bizarre journey through some of Britain’s most offbeat tourist destinations and in the hands of a director as talented as Ben Wheatley, it promises to be the most heady and hilarious of trips. Forget Psychogeography, this is psychotic geography. We’re delighted to once again be working with Ben and the fantastic production teams at Big Talk and Rook Films and we wish them all the best for the shoot."
Ben Wheatley's debut film Down Terrace and second film Kill List have both won numerous awards and played major film festivals throughout the world. Kill List opened this September to rave reviews. Ben's internet animations, films, cartoons, comic strips and viral ads have an international audience of over 20 million people via his website www.mrandmrswheatley.blogspot.com. Wheatley has won multiple awards for his commercials and viral work including Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions at Cannes Advertising Festival and has directed many television shows including BBC3's cult hit ‘Ideal', Channel 4's ‘Modern Toss' and the BAFTA nominated ‘Wrong Door'.
Alice Lowe is a Perrier Award winning Comedy Writer / Performer. She has played leading roles in Channel 4`s ‘Garth Marenghi's Dark Place' and ‘My Life in film' for the BBC. Her film credits include Hot Fuzz and Out of Water. Steve Oram is a regular on the Brit comedy scene and has been involved in TV shows such as ‘The Mighty Boosh', ‘Tittybangbang' as well as the film It's All Gone Pete Tong with Paul Kaye. He starred in and directed his own film Connections which was selected for the Cannes film festival in 2008. Lowe and Oram appeared in the live UK tour with Steve Coogan playing supporting roles and covering Coogan's changes. They are long time collaborators but Sightseers is the first feature they have worked on together. The lead characters in Sightseers were partly inspired by characters they originally performed live together on the comedy circuit.
For further information please contact Zoe Flower / Keeley Naylor at Emfoundation:
Tel: 020 7247 4171 / Email: zoe@emfoundation.com / keeley@emfoundation.com
Follow Sightseers http://sightseersmovie.com
Twitter @sightseersmovie / http://twitter.com/sightseersmovie
Facebook http://facebook.com/sightseersmovie
Notes to Editors:
Big Talk
Big Talk is a UK-based multi-award winning film and television production company founded in 1995. Comedy and horror provide the beating heart of its slate, often overlapping and conspiring. Big Talk's first look development, financing and distribution deal with StudioCanal and Film4 has allowed the slate to broaden to include a wider range of stories that have the potential to move us, make us laugh, or scare us. Big Talk's credits include Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Edgar Wright's cult TV series Spaced, all of Edgar Wright's films to date: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, and Greg Mottola's Paul, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with Kristen Wiig. Recently, Joe Cornish's debut feature Attack the Block was released to critical acclaim, winning Audience Awards at SXSW, LAFF and the Fantasia International Film Festival.
As well as the next films from Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, Big Talk is developing projects with some of the most original and exciting voices in the UK and the US.
Rook Films
Rook Films is an independent film company responsible for Ben Wheatley's first two feature films Down Terrace and Kill List. Rook is currently developing and producing a slate of features from a number of directors around the world.
STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL is a subsidiary of the CANAL+ Group. It is one of Europe's leading companies in the market for co-production, acquisition, distribution and sale of international feature films. STUDIOCANAL is the only studio operating simultaneously in three main territories across Europe: France, United Kingdom and Germany. The company distributes more than 50 films a year throughout Europe. Moreover, STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important libraries in the world, with more than 5,000 international titles.
The UK arm, formerly known as Optimum Releasing, has established a reputation for an innovative approach to distribution and has enjoyed success with a varied mix of film titles across all genres. A passion for film and commitment to creativity is central to all of STUDIOCANAL's activity.
2011 has seen the company enjoy its biggest ever box office returns in the UK with successes like Jaume Collet-Sera's Unknown, Duncan Jones' Source Code, and Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Past theatrical releases include Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Garth Jennings' Son of Rambow, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Armando Iannucci's In the Loop, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, Jacques Audiard's A Prophet, Roman Polanski's The Ghost, Chris Morris' Four Lions and Francois Ozon's Potiche.
Film4
Film4, headed by Tessa Ross, is Channel 4 Television's feature film division. Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the U.K., whether new or established. Film4 has developed and co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years, films like Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, Martin McDonagh's In Bruges. Steve McQueen's Hunger, Mike Leigh's Another Year, Chris Morris' Four Lions and Peter Mullan's NEDS.
Film4's 2011 releases include Kevin Macdonald's The Eagle, Richard Ayoade's Submarine, Joe Cornish's directorial debut Attack The Block, Ben Palmer's The Inbetweeners Movie which took over £14.7m in its first week of release, Lone Scherfig's One Day and Ben Wheatley's Kill List. Future releases include Paddy Considine's debut feature Tyrannosaur, Miranda July's The Future and Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea.
Film4's current productions include Pawel Pawlikowski's The Woman In The Fifth, Phyllida Lloyd's The Iron Lady, Steve McQueen's Shame, Walter Salles' On The Road, Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights, Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio and Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson. www.film4.com/productions
The BFI Film Fund
The Film Fund funds bold and exciting British films and brilliant filmmakers.
Sightseers was supported by the BFI's Film Fund. On 1 April 2011, the Film Fund moved from the UK Film Council to the BFI, which became the lead body for film in the UK.
Films backed by the Film Fund through the UK Film Council include Steve McQueen's Shame and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights, Lynne Ramsay's We Need To Talk About Kevin, shown In Competition at Cannes this year, Phyllida Lloyd's The Iron Lady, Fernando Meirelles's 360, Ken Loach's The Angel's Share, Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea, James Marsh's Project Nim, Ben Wheatley's Kill List, Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio, Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin. Recent releases include the American Academy® award-winning The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper, Joe Cornish's Attack the Block, Richard Ayoade's Submarine, Clio Barnard's The Arbor, Nigel Cole's Made in Dagenham, Mike Leigh's Another Year, Peter Mullan's Neds and Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini's Streetdance 3D.
The Film Fund has worked with a number of filmmakers whose films have been selected for the major international festivals this autumn including Steve McQueen's Shame and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights which have just won awards at the Venice Film Festival and Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea, which screened recently at San Sebastian. These films were also at Toronto alongside Lynne Ramsay's We Need To Talk About Kevin, Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, Fernando Meirelles's 360 written by Peter Morgan, Pawel Pawlikowski's Woman In The Fifth, Mark Cousins' The Story of Film and the David Cronenberg co-production A Dangerous Method. In addition, 360 and The Deep Blue Sea have been selected as the opening and closing gala premieres at the 55th BFI London Film Festival.
The BFI's ambition is to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
- Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
- Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations
- Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK
- Investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work
- Promoting British film and talent to the world
- Growing the next generation of filmmakers and audiences
Protagonist Pictures
Launched in Spring 2008, Protagonist Pictures has forged a major presence in the international marketplace with a diverse slate of films from both its shareholders (Film4, Vertigo Films and Ingenious Media) and third-party producers. Commercially minded and creatively-spirited, Protagonist is committed to forging strong relationships with film-makers, investors and distributors.
Protagonist's current slate includes Lynn Shelton's Toronto Festival hit comedy Your Sister's Sister, with Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt; Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea, based on the Terence Rattigan play and starring Rachel Weisz; Horrid Henry:The Movie, a 3D live-action adaptation of the hugely popular children's books; Streetdance 2, sequel to the original 3D dance extravaganza; Justin Kurzel's chilling first feature Snowtown, based on true events in Australia; Ben Wheatley's horror film Kill List, and Paddy Considine's acclaimed directorial debut Tyrannosaur. In production and pre-production are Nick Love's The Sweeney, Kevin Macdonald's How I Live Now and Ben Wheatley's third feature Sightseers.
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