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FOREVER EALING -
FOREVER EALING -
T or a while, things back then did not look too hope-
ful for Ealing Studios. When it was put up for sale by the National Film & Television School the prime west London site
seemed more likely to fall into the hands of property developers than anyone keen to protect this important part of Britain’s cinematic heritage.
All that changed in 1999 however, with the announce-
ment that a consor-
tium comprising
Fragile Films, The
Manhattan Loft
Corporation and
high technology
experts, The Idea
Factory, had put in
a bid. Finally acquir-
ing the facility last
year, the first full year of operations under the new management is now under way – and is filled with opti- mism. But it was still a tough deal to broker, as Fragile Films’ Uri Fruchtmann explains.
“It’s a big commitment. But we had used it on Spiceworld – The Movie and An Ideal Husband, so we realised the opportunities it offered. And being filmmakers ourselves obvi- ously helped. Making the decision wasn’t all that difficult, although the process itself was.”
With Bookings Manager Jenny Musitano and long serving Site Manager Chris Jenkins sharing studio management duties there is, despite the new ownership, a feeling of conti- nuity ‘on the ground’. “It’s all much more settled now than it was,” says
Musitano. “But the nice thing is it that we do have this continuity, and hope- fully we will see the studio evolve into something bigger, better and newer. It’s an exciting time for us, and it will be nice to see the changes as they happen, and to be a part of that.
“Our new owners are going to invest a lot of money into the studios which is good news. The plans have been put in and once they go through they can start cracking on with it. It
also means we’re going to continue as we have been in commercial pro- duction for film and television.
“The fact that Manhattan
Loft Corporation
areapartofit helps. They’re obviously going to
oversee the property side of it, and make better use of the space that we have on the acreage here, so we’ll have more facilities on the same space.”
Another key element to the new Ealing is the prospect of a community being established there, where indus- try professionals can work on all aspects of production in an atmos- phere of convivial creativity.
“I was at Paramount for six years,” explains Fruchtmann’s partner Barnaby Thompson, “and I like the feeling you get on a studio lot. There I had people like Steve Zaillian on one side, Mace Neufeld and Bob Evans on the other. You soon get to meet peo- ple and rub shoulders with them and know what everyone is doing.
“We sort of had that in Soho, but that’s getting very expensive now. Ealing is close enough to the centre of town, and it has that wonderful histo- ry. The thing for me that is the big draw, where Pinewood and Shepperton are great facilities they’re just that – facilities. Ealing stands for a certain kind of filmmaking.
“If we can build up a community, and parlay that into some kind of set up where we have financing to make
movies, gathering together a group of like minded people then that seems an interesting thing to do. That essentially existed under the Michael Balcon peri- od. I think filmmak- ers like a home, and I think there’s an enormous affection for Ealing amongst people out there. You can feel the his- tory is in the walls.”
“What we also want,” adds
Fruchtmann, “is for
creative people to
be able to work next
to each other in the
field of film, televi-
sion and visuals, and
newer technologies.
Some areas will need
to be upgraded,
there will be exten-
sive building work at
the studio and everything we build will have optimum connectivity.
“That will enable anybody here to be able to connect directly and easily to Soho and other places, and work within the modern work envi- ronment of the new century.”
To date, since the new manage- ment has been in place, productions shot at and/or based at Ealing include Other People’s Children, Lorna Doone, Bob Martin, Nicholas Nickleby, Trial and Retribution IV and the new series of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). David Blair’s Tabloid,
Bookings Manager
JENNY MUSITANO
The future of a great British studio is anything but fragile
Photos: Recent productions including Nicholas Nickleby, Tabloid with John Hurt, Lorna Doone, High Heels and Low Lifes, Notting Hill with James Dreyfus
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