PI: Hot prospects for 2017

2016 has been another super-busy year for the UK production industry, with Hollywood blockbusters and international TV co-productions battling it out for studio space with home-grown features and high-end dramas. 

 

2017 shows no sign of slowing, with a plethora of productions gearing up to film. With the help of our online subscriber database Production Intelligence, we take a look at some of the projects that are preparing to shoot next year.


Revenue generated by inward investment is a huge part of the positive economic impact made by the creative industries, and 2017 has some bumper US projects lined up. So we start with film, and Hollywood’s deep pockets in particular. 


FILM

More bang for your buck – US films heading for UK production in 2017
 

Mary Poppins Returns 

Emily Blunt The most famous nanny in the world is due to make another big-screen appearance as Mary Poppins Returns gears up to shoot in the UK in 2017 with Emily Blunt in the title role. 

The Disney film sees Mary re-visiting the grown-up Banks children with Rob Marshall calling the shots from David Magee’s screenplay. It shoots in early 2017: head to PI for studio details and key UK HoDs. 

 





MI: 6 – Mission Impossible 

tom cruiseHaving filmed some of the Mummy in the UK, Tom Cruise is due back in the UK next year to reprise his role of Ethan Hunt in the latest in the Mission: Impossible franchise, a series which has grossed more than $2bn worldwide to date. 

PI subscribers will have seen that several key UK hires were confirmed on our site in mid-October, including the UPM, production designer and location manager. 



 

Untitled Jurassic World sequel

Jurassic World The dinosaurs are heading this way as the sequel to the phenomenally successful Jurassic World sets up for a UK shoot

We first listed this monster project on PI back in April and returned to update all those subscribers following the project with the studio details in June. 

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return as lead cast in this follow-up, which we can confirm is not due to film in Wales as many press reports have suggested. 


 

Tomb Raider

Alicia Vikander Alicia Vikander is stepping up as the archaeologist adventurer Lara Croft in Warner’s reboot of the computer game adaptation. Filming begins in South Africa before moving to the UK next spring with Norwegian director Roar Uthaug at the helm.

PI subscribers should follow Tomb Raider as we will return with more specifics as they are confirmed. 






Han Solo anthology film 

Harrison FordThe juggernaut that is Star Wars and its spinoffs continues with the next in the sequence of accompanying anthology films, to be released after Star Wars: Episode VIII. 

The franchise has made a huge impact in terms of inward investment in the UK, and at Pinewood Studios in particular. With Star Wars: Episode IX also eyeing a 2017 shoot, the pattern looks set to continue for some time. 



 


Paul Thomas Anderson fashion film

Paul Thomas Anderson Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson is busy in pre-production on his next film, set to star Daniel Day-Lewis. Much of the project is under wraps, but PI subscribers will have already seen details of the line producer and production co-ordinator on our site.  








Home-grown delights for 2017 

Keepers


Gerard Butler To home-grown projects now, and a Gerard Butler-starrer called Keepers. From Mad as Birds Films, the feature based on the Flannan Isle mystery of 1900 in which lighthouse keepers from the Flannan Isles off the coast of north-west Scotland disappeared in mysterious circumstances.

Peter Mullan and Joe Alwyn also star. We’re looking forward to more news on this one including location details. 






Disobedience

Rachel Weisz Rachel Weisz is among the producers on Disobedience, a feature film gearing up for an early January start. Based on the novel by Naomi Alderman about a young woman who returns to her orthodox Jewish home when she learns of the death of her estranged father, it stars Weisz and Rachel McAdams. 

A round-up of key HoDs has been on PI since mid-October on this one, which films in north London.  



 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2

Fantastic Beasts The second in the series of Harry Potter spin-off films is gearing up to shoot in 2017. Originally intended as a trilogy, JK Rowling confirmed in October that she has planned a total of five scripts over which to tell the story of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.


Filming is due to be underway in the summer, so make sure you’re following the project on PI as we will be confirming HoDs very soon. 


 

Untitled Alexander McQueen biopic

Jack O'Connell Jack O’Connell is to take on the role of the late Alexander McQueen in a film from director Andrew Haigh. The feature will focus on a specific period in the celebrated designer’s life: the months leading up to a major show, which he staged in 2009 and dedicated to his mother. 

McQueen committed suicide the following year, a few days after his mother died. Damian Jones produces for Pathe; PI subscribers can log in for more including the co-producer on board


 

Funny Cow 

Maxine PeakeFunny Cow is a film set against the backdrop of the northern comedy club circuit and is set to star Maxine Peake. We have been following the project on Production Intelligence for over two years, but now we can confirm that key HoDs are on board and an anticipated shooting schedule is in place.






 

Swimming with Men

Rob Brydon The world of men’s synchronised swimming is at the centre of Swimming with Men, a comedy feature due to film next year with Rob Brydon attached to star. A late spring start is on the cards with Oliver Parker directing from a screenplay by Aschlin Ditta.

The line producer and casting director are among the names listed on PI; the film is based on the acclaimed documentary Men Who Swim. 

 




Untitled Simon Weston biopic 

Simon WestonWales is set to double for The Falkland Islands in a new film about the life of soldier Simon Weston. The British Army veteran was horrifically burned when the RFA Sir Galahad was bombed by Argentinian forces during the Falklands War in 1982. 

The project comes from Salon Pictures’ founders and producers Nick Taussig and Paul Van Carter, whose recent feature credits include the period drama Churchill, which stars Brian Cox as the eponymous statesman.  


 


Gypsy Boy 

Morgan MatthewsGypsy Boy is a big-screen adaptation of Mikey Walsh’s memoir about a young boy growing up in a Romany community. Dee Koppang is among the producers; filming is anticipated for spring with Morgan Matthews (pictured) attached to direct. 

There is plenty of information still to come on this one, so subscribers should make sure they’re following the project on our site for updates.



 

Stan and Ollie

Steve Coogan Steve Coogan and John C Reilly are preparing to portray two of the silver screen’s most iconic comedians, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Stan and Ollie comes from Faye Ward’s Fable Pictures and centres on the pair’s final tour in 1953 when they played at variety halls around the UK. 

BBC Films is also on board the feature, which is currently eyeing a spring shoot. Jon S Baird (Filth) directs. 





These are just some of the highlights of film projects on Production Intelligence set to shoot in 2017 – and it’s a list that’s growing every week. To request a free online demo, click here.  
 

Production Intelligence
 

Alicia Vikander photo via Getty Images Ent/Pascal Le Segretain.
Emily Blunt photo via Getty Images Ent/Dimitrios Kambouris.
Tom Cruise photo via Getty Images/WireImage/Samir Hussain.
Harrison Ford photo via Getty Images Ent/Dave J Hogan. 
Paul Thomas Anderson photo via The Weinstein Company.

Gerard Butler photo via Getty Images Ent/FilmMagic/Paul Archuleta.
Rachel Wesiz photo via Getty Images Ent/Film/Magic/Bruce Glikas.
Fantastic Beasts photo via Warner Bros. 
Jack O'Connell photo via Getty Images Ent/Pablo Cuadra.
Maxine Peake photo via Getty Images Ent/Angela Weiss. 
Rob Brydon photo via Getty Images/WireImage/Karwai Tang.
Simon Weston photo via Getty Images/WireImage/Mike Marsland. 
Steve Coogan photo via Getty images/WireImage/Karwai Tang

Morgan Matthews photo via Getty Images Ent/Tim P Whitby. 

 

 

 



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