UK film production spend down in 2001

UK production spending fell by nearly 10% in 2001, with much of the drop blamed on the shadow cast by the threat of a summer SAG strike, according to research compiled by Screen International.

Screen International's 2001 figures - which include every feature shot in the UK or abroad produced by a UK company or involving a UK co-producer - show that 2001's total budget spend stood at $788m, a hefty drop from $863m in 2000.

This is widely attributed to a fall in the number of runaway US studio productions shooting in the UK last year. While 2000 saw UK studios house the likes of Proof Of Life, The Mummy Returns and Four Feathers - with a combined value of $368m - 2001 saw only two large-scale US productions at Pinewood and Shepperton: David Twohy's Below, and Stephen Daldry's The Hours, both backed by Miramax.

"The absence of just one of those films with a $40m, $50m or $60m budget creates a catastrophic hole," says British Film Commissioner Steve Norris.

But there were other hurdles. Many producers were working towards a June 30 deadline to beat the potential US actors' strike, creating a swell in production activity in the last quarter of 2000, traditionally a quiet period. Furthermore, the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth livestock virus shut off many countryside locations and there was a perceived nervousness by many foreign film-makers and actors to travel post -September 11.

This may yet prove a problem in 2002. "September 11 is going to have an impact on us," says Norris. "The feelings of the talent is one of the key things."

The total number of British produced or co-produced films fell to 95 from 105 in 2000, with the number of films produced and financed entirely by UK companies down to 39, from 47 in 2000 and 58 in 1999. The wholly-UK films - which included Brian Gilbert's The Gathering (Samuelson Productions, Granada Film), and Peter Hewitt's Thunderpants (Mission Pictures, Pathe Pictures) - had combined budgets of $144m. This compares with $165m in 2000. Approximately 24% of this figure is micro-budgeted films of under $720,000 (£500,000).

The number of UK films with a US co-production partner - excluding runaway studio pictures - rose to 20 in 2001, up from 11 in 2001. They included a slew of commercially-minded projects such as Robert Altman's Gosford Park (Film Council, Sandcastle 5), the Weisz brothers' About A Boy (Working Title Films) Philip Noyce's The Quiet American (Intermedia, Mirage), Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (DNA Films, Fox Searchlight) and Guy Ritchie's Love, Sex, Drugs And Money (Ska Films, Sony).

The number of UK films with a European co-production partner, such as Paul Anderson's Resident Evil (Impact Pictures, Constantin Film), dropped from 31 in 2000 to 20 last year.

The outlook for 2002 is mixed. The worldwide economic slowdown means many foreign producers will be on the hunt for bargains, with Australia and Eastern Europe sure to fit the bill for some. But the relative weakness of the pound against the US dollar, the UK's generous tax breaks - extended last year until 2005 - and the sophistication of the UK's crews and facilities, should ensure the UK stays on the international location map.

The ongoing Harry Potter shoot and MGM's Bond 20, which starts shooting at Pinewood on Monday (Jan 14), will also lend stability to what could otherwise be a jittery industry. Other mooted foreign productions include Paramount Pictures' follow-up to Tomb Raider, which could shoot at either Pinewood or Shepperton later this year.