Hit UK TV series Skins getting feature film version

Production will begin in the autumn on the feature film version of UK hit television series Skins, to be scripted by series’ writer Jack Thorne.

Company Pictures, Stormdog Films, CinemaNX and Film4 are developing the feature, which will be produced by Skins producer Chris Clough and directed by Charles Martin, who was responsible for several episodes of the E4 drama series.

The series is an eye-opening look at the often wild lives of contemporary English teenagers.

Shooting will take place in Bristol and the Isle of Man, with the film being scheduled for a summer 2011 release.

Thorne is writing the script in collaboration with series creator Bryan Elsley.

Casting is yet to be announced, although executive producer Steve Christian, of CinemaNX told Screen that “it is likely we are going to see a couple of characters from series one and two, probably some more from three and four and some new faces as well. If we are going to bring back characters back it would have to be the same guys playing them.”

The budget for the film is “a work in progress, but for a British film, it is a very significant. It is certainly not going to be done on the cheap, that’s for sure,” added Christian.

Christian revealed that the project first got off the ground towards the end of 2009. “We started talking about it towards the end of last year. We had worked with Company Pictures on several TV dramas before, and they mentioned Skins to us. It was something that we leapt on because we are always looking for something different and a move version of Skins was right up our street. There is such a depth of quality in it, from the writing to the acting to the production design.”

“Given the huge amount of support from the ever expanding fan base of the series, we feel that we can go much further and produce yet another unique Skins experience,” said Charlie Pattinson of Company Pictures.

Tessa Ross, controller of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama added: “It is very exciting to be migrating across from E4 to Film4, this extraordinarily talented team from Skins who have successfully grown such a wonderfully loyal audience over the course of the last four series.