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DIARY BERLIN • LOSANGELES • MILAN • FOYER • CANNES • TOKYO • LONDON PAGE13
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discover a remarkable man-made forest more than 200 yards long where some of Burton’s storybook characters come to life. Elsewhere are exterior recreations of old chandler and sail- maker buildings set in ye olde New York.
Dark explains: “The
big shows have wanted to
come here because we can
offer them exclusivity,
security, privacy and a
huge amount of flexibility. What’s been added since 1995? There’s been a continuous programme of improve- ments. Because we’ve got these huge areas we are able to create stage space without having to build state-of- the-art stages, certainly on shows that can be looped for sound afterwards.
“We are within half an hour of anything required by the industry. We can offer things at a very cost effec- tive rate because we don’t insist pro- ducers use all our stuff. It’s like giving someone a clean canvas on which to do whatever they want.
“What do I want of the place? There’s a long term plan which calls for the creation of brand new studio facilities across the board. Where we need to make improvements to the existing facility we do. But as far as big investment is concerned, that’s part of an ongoing programme we’re working through at the moment. I think there’s a real commitment to a long term future for this place. In fact, I wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t think that was the case.”
Suggesting the kind of scope of future development envisaged at Leavesden, there have been a couple
of top level appointments made dur- ing Dark’s five years at the studio. Bob McTyre, who produced Disney’s Beauty And The Beast on Broadway and was in charge of marketing at Disneyland for five years, is now exec- utive vice president and executive producer. Norm Doerges, a former executive vice president of Disneyland, is Leavesden Developments’ president
and chief operat- ing officer.
A hint of his brief came in the
press release announcing his appointment back
in autumn 1997. It stated: “His thirty years experience
with the Disney organisation will have a tremendous impact on the direction that Leavesden is heading - to be the leader in Europe for film studios, studio tours and family entertainment.” So watch this space.
Meanwhile Dark gets on with the day-to- day business of attract- ing new production to the studio. Yes, he admits, losing the next Star Wars film to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox studios Down Under was “a big disappointment... but not a big blow. They’d been 100 per cent happy here doing Episode 1 and even came back here to do re-shoots.
Who knows what the future holds? “I come from a pretty traditional
but very professional filmmaker’s background and can look at it all through a filmmaker’s eyes. The key is flexibility. At the end of the day, it’s really all about getting the magic up there on the screen.” ■ QUENTIN FALK
Phototop: FamkeJanssenandPierceBrosnaninGoldeneye.
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