Filming brings in £6m to Kent
Hugh Jackman filming Les
Miserables at Chatham Historic Dockyard
by Jo Earle
Around £6 million has been put back into the Kent economy
thanks to big Hollywood Blockbusters such as Les
Miserables and Great Expectations.
That is a record year for the county, with 2008/2009 holding the
previous record - for generating £4.5m.
Some of the scenes from Les Mis - which is nominated for several
awards at the Oscars tonight - were filmed at the Historic Dockyard
in Chatham.
Gabrielle Lindemann is from the Kent Film Office at Kent County
Council.
She said: "It's lovely to have big stars coming to the county.
In the last year the Kent Film Office has been extremely successful
in attracting some big names.
"Initially when the location managers of Les Mis came to us it
was because they were looking for marshland where Great
Expectations had filmed a few months before.
Ralph Fiennes as
Abel Magwitch in Great Expectations
"Sadly they couldn't go there as filming clashed with the
breeding season of some birds.
"The Dockside has some really special visuals that fitted into
the story really well.
"It has a large urban environment but it's also quiet for them
to get the right sound recordings.
"Kent has a huge variety of landscapes so when a film company
comes down they can film in many different environments which is
always extremely attractive.
On average the Kent Film Office generates £2 million a year into
the Kent economy, but this year that figure has risen to £6
million.
The Muppets... Again!
being filmed in the Historic Dockyard Chatham
Les Mis, Great Expectations and TV feature dramas have all
played a huge part in that.
The Kent Film Office's role is largely to attract film companies
into the county by attracting and promoting locations.
Gabrielle added: "Our relationship with a lot of UK and foreign
location managers means that they know us, know we have a certain
brand and can trust we can handle large productions.
"They initially come to us and tell us their requirements. We
put them in touch with the location's owners who will oversee the
actual day to day filming.
"Over the next year we can look forward to seeing
the dockyard feature in the new Muppets movie. They've
recently been spotted filming at the Dockyards.
"A couple of large TV dramas will also be coming out in the
summer, one of which was filmed entirely in Faversham."
Channel 4's Southcliffe tells the story of a fictional English
market town devastated by a spate of shootings which take place
over a single day.
22/02/13
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