UK producer Iain Smith (in Venice with two competitionfilms, The Fountain and Children Of Men)is in advanced negotiations to bring Wanted,a big-budget studio feature, to the UK. The project is beingfinanced by Universal. Adapted from a comic book, it is set in a contemporary US city. The director willbe from Timur Bekmambetov, thedirector behind the cult Russian epic franchise Nightwatch.

"Hopefully,we'll be moving ahead in the next month or so," Smith said. "I need to bereassured that we are not going to be faced with quite the same complexities aswe were before."

Underliningthe attraction of the UK for big-budget filmsunder the new tax credits, several other big-budget films are also booking upBritish studio space, among them His DarkMaterials and Tim Burton's SweeneyTodd. However, Smith has warned that the studios may not be able to copewith demand.

"Alreadywe're seeing capacity problems. The studios are filling up and that means nomore films can come into Britain," Smith said.

Headded that the new tax credit works well "if you're filming inside the UK. Where it is not souseful is when the British film industry travels. If the British crew orfacilities go outside the UK, they're no longer incentivised."

Topics