London film industry 'booming' as blockbuster filming restarts in the capital

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London's film and television production industry is “booming” again because of the “huge appetite” for new material with filming restarting for blockbusters including The Batman and Jurassic World: Dominion.

Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London, said people being stuck indoors with “little to do but to eat up content” had led to the industry being “busier than ever”.

He said there was also a “backlog” of filming for blockbusters including The Batman — starring Zoe Kravitz, Robert Pattinson and Colin Farrell — the new Jurassic World film and television shows such as The Witcher.

Tim Bevan, the head of production company Working Title Films, behind movies including Love Actually, Baby Driver and Pride And Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, said: “Filming in London [has started up again], it’s huge. All the studios are full.”

Mr Wootton, who is also head of the British Film Commission, said the industry was a “beacon of positivity — we have got people back to work and got them back safely... There was a massive backlog of projects that were paused in March.”

The UK film industry generated a turnover of £14.8 billion in 2017 with £1.3 billion of inward investment in London in 2019. The capital is home to 4,000 production companies with a combined turnover of £2 billion.

Mr Wootton added: “Over the past few months all people have been able to do is eat content — television, film, streaming services. Subscriptions have gone through the roof for Amazon, Disney+, Netflix. There is a huge appetite for it, so production companies are commissioning and making things at a great rate.

“It is good for London business. Last year we had a nine per cent growth rate. I don’t think we’ll beat it this year due to lockdown, but we will be back to those levels soon. We are a beacon of positivity.”

The positive news came as the annual London Film Festival draws to a close on Sunday. London-made films including Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, which was the festival’s opening movie, were among the highlights.

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