The BBC has commissioned a miniseries adaptation of espionage drama The Night Manager, starring Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston. Based on a novel by John le Carré, author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the series will tell a story of modern crime in Washington and Whitehall.
The UK’s creative industries have grown for a fourth year to reach a value of nearly GBP 77 billion. Government figures apply to 2013 but the production industry is likely to grow for 2014 when the UK hosted The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Clint Eastwood’s true-life drama American Sniper helped boost location filming days in Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County, California. In 2014 the city posted year-on-year increases in both the number of filming permits issued and the number of overall filming days.
The BBC is set to film TV drama The Dresser on location in London with Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen. Starz, the American network which recently screened the historical, Scottish-filmed drama Outlander, will co-produce the TV movie with the BBC.
Hampshire in the south of England had a strong 2014, hosting nearly a dozen feature films and five high-profile TV shoots. Superhero sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 5 were among the biggest feature productions.
A veteran producer has described a need for more experienced crew and improved infrastructure in the Georgia city. Ralph Singleton has more than 30 years of production experience and was hired last year by Savannah authorities to help promote the Georgia city as a filming location.
A TV adaptation of part of Terry Brooks’ distant-future fantasy series Shannara will be shot at Auckland Film Studios in New Zealand by MTV Networks and Sonar Entertainment. Tommy Lee Jones’ historical feature Emperor is among the recent movies to have shot in the city.
A period set will be specially built in a former quarry in the Durham Dales of northern England for ITV’s new historical drama series Beowulf. The series will adapt the Dark Ages poem that was made into a high-profile 2007 feature with Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie.