Take Down unveiled as first film to receive funding from £30m Wales Media Investment Budget
2 Jun 2014 04:21 PM
The first feature film
to receive investment through the Welsh Government’s new £30m Media
Investment Budget has been unveiled by Pinewood
Studios.
Take Down, a thriller directed
by Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer), will be shot equally
between Wales and Isle of Man. Aimed at a teen and twenty-something audience,
the film follows a group of spoiled teens sent to a school for troubled
teenagers from rich families who are taken hostage and their struggle to
escape.
It is written by Alexander Ignon
(Ransom) with Sarah Ryan Black (Restoration) and Ed Elbert (Anna and the King)
producing, and Steve Christian (Belle) and Stefan Brunner (Ghost Rider: Spirit
Of Vengance) serving as executive producers. Mimi Steinbauer’s Radiant
Films International is handling worldwide rights. The two main characters are
played by Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan, Soul Surfer) and Phoebe Tonkin (The
Vampire Diaries, Bait). It will also star Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl, J. Edgar)
and rising star Dominic Sherwood (Not Fade Away, BBC’s The Cut) to the
cast.
The Welsh Government’s
£30m Media Investment Budget is available for UK qualifying film and
high-end television production, through Pinewood Pictures, Pinewoods film and
television investment vehicle. UK qualifying productions are required to
shoot 50% of principal photography in Wales. The Welsh Government will aim to
invest, on a commercial basis.
Economy Minister, Edwina Hart
said:
“I am very pleased to see
Take Down become the first feature film to receive funding through the Media
Investment Budget. Wales has a growing reputation for film and television
production and working with Pinewood Pictures we want to see even more projects
coming to Wales. Through this new fund we will invest up to £30m into
projects brought forward by Pinewood to help create growth and jobs in this
industry.”
Steve Christian, Pinewood
Pictures said:
“We are delighted to see
such immediate results which is testament to Wales as a first class filming
destination and the decision by the Welsh Government to create a £30
million Media Investment Budget. Take Down is a significant milestone which
will bring substantial economic benefits to Wales. I am delighted at the part
we have played in bringing this production to Wales.“
Producer Ed Elbert
said:
“With the combination of
such talented young actors, a screenplay by the writer of Ransom, possibly
cinemas’ most successful kidnapping thriller of all time, and the
director of one of the most iconic teen thrillers I Know What You Did Last
Summer, we believe we have the makings of a film that will thrill global
audiences."