06/02/12

Film Production and Distribution Company

 Our Production Company - Film4

Film4 did not originally focus on broadcasting blockbusters, but nowadays broadcasts many mainstream Hollywood movies. The channel frequently has themed nights or seasons in which a number of films centred around one genre, director or actor are shown. As Channel 4 also owns a film production company, Film4 Productions, it shows many of its in-house productions.

Occasional non-film (but film-related) programmes are also shown.

Film4 was originally known as FilmFour and became Channel 4's second channel (after Channel 4 itself) when it launched on 1 November 1998. It was a subscription-only service available on satellite television via the Sky platform, digital terrestrial via ITV Digital (until the platform went into administration in 2002), and most UK cable services. It cost £5.99 or £6.00 a month (depending on platform), eventually rising to up to £7. The launch night, which was also broadcast on Channel 4, was hosted by Johnny Vaughan and the first film to be shown was What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Later, additional channels were added, FilmFour World and FilmFour Extreme which operated on a timeshare and the timeshift channel FilmFour +1. FilmFour World and Extreme were discontinued in 2003 and replaced by FilmFour Weekly, which screened four films across the week at the same time each day to make it easier to catch a film at least once. FilmFour Weekly ceased broadcasting on 19 July 2006 when the subscription service ended.

The subscription service ended on 19 July 2006 and the channel re-launched (under the slightly modified name of Film4) as a free-to-air service a few days later on 23 July. When the channel became free, it also returned to digital terrestrial as part of the Freeview brand, and became completely free-to-air on satellite television. Due to the change, the channel's availability increased from 300,000 (subscribers) to 18 million households. It also changed its broadcasting hours to 12:45 - 08:45, and commercial breaks were included during films for the first time. The first film broadcast under the new format was the British non-subscription television premiere of Lost in Translation. With the exception of Movies4Men available on a local multiplex in Greater Manchester only, Film4 remains the only free film channel available on digital terrestrial television.

127 Hours

127 Hours is a 2010 biographical survival drama film co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco as real-life canyoneer Aron Ralston, who became trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Robbers Roost, southeastern Utah, in April 2003, and was eventually forced to amputate his own right arm in order to free himself.

The film, based on Ralston's memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was written by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, produced by Christian Colson and John Smithson and the music was scored by A. R. Rahman. Beaufoy, Colson and Rahman had all previously worked with Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire. The film was received well by critics and audiences and it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for Franco.

Production

Boyle had been wanting to make a film about Ralston's ordeal for four years. Boyle wrote a treatment for the film and Simon Beaufoy wrote the screenplay. Boyle describes 127 Hours as "an action movie with a guy who can't move.” He also expressed an interest for a more intimate film than his previous film, Slumdog Millionaire (2008): "I remember thinking, I must do a film where I follow an actor the way [Darren Aronofsky] did with The Wrestler. So 127 Hours is my version of that."

Boyle and Fox Searchlight announced plans to create 127 Hours in November 2009.News of the World reported in November that Cillian Murphy was Boyle's top choice to play Ralston. In January 2010, James Franco was cast as Ralston. Filming began in March 2010 in Utah. Boyle intended to shoot the first part of the film with no dialogue. By June 17, 2010, the film was in post-production.

The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, is a British biopic about Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century, portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, but also, in her formative and early political years, by Alexandra Roach. Thatcher's husband, Denis Thatcher, is portrayed by Jim Broadbent, and Thatcher's longest-serving cabinet member and eventual deputy, Geoffrey Howe, is portrayed by Anthony Head.

The film met with mixed reviews although Meryl Streep's performance was widely acclaimed. Streep won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and has been nominated for both the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Production

Filming began in the UK on 31 December 2010, and it was released in early 2012.

In preparation for her role, Streep sat through a session at the House of Commons in January 2011 to observe British MPs in action. Extensive filming took place at the neogothic Manchester Town Hall, which is often used as a location double for films which feature the Houses of Parliament because of its architectural similarity.

Meryl Streep has said: "The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses – I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own."


Our Distribution Company - Warp Records


Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists inelectronic music.


Founded by Steve Beckett and the late Rob Mitchell from their experiences working at the FON record store, alongside record producer Robert Gordon, the label (whose name was chosen because the original name, 'Warped Records' was difficult to distinguish over the telephone) soon became home to artists who would be influential in electronic music.

Films they've distributed:

This is England

This Is England is a 2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983. The film illustrates how their subculture, which has its roots in 1960s West Indian culture, especially ska, soul and reggae music, became adopted by white nationalists, which led to divisions within the skinhead scene.

In 2010 a spin-off series set three years after the film, This Is England '86, was shown on Channel 4. A sequel, set two and a half years after the previous series, This Is England '88, was broadcast in December 2011. The third and final installment, This Is England '90, is due in 2012.

Submarine

              

Submarine has been said to have set off a new genre of film, along with television programs such as Skins. The BBC reviewed the film mentioning that 'Submarine has already received favourable reviews, with Sunday's Welsh premiere at Swansea University's Taliesin Arts Centre coming a week ahead of its UK-wide cinema release.' which shows how variable the reception can be from films that are produced and distributed by the same company/label. 

                                                                                                                                                                                     Here is a link to the film Submarine, distributed by Warp Records:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CAntLzsQ74

 Link to a review by the BBC on Submarine:

 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12718670