Institutions

Working Title Films

Working title films was founded in 1982.The key people in the company

• Tim Bevan
  
• Sarah Radclyffe
  
• Eric Fellner
  
• Hilary Bevan Jones
  
• Liza Jones
• Debra Hayward.

The Company's History

"Bevan had founded Working Title in 1984 with Sarah Radclyffe and in 1992 went looking for a corporate backer. Polygram was the one, and Fellner came on board, Radclyffe having left. According to Bevan: "Before that we had been independent producers, but it was very hand to mouth. We would develop a script, that would take about 5% of our time; we'd find a director, that'd take about 5% of the time and then we'd spend 90% of the time trying to juggle together deals from different sources to finance those films. The films were suffering because there was no real structure and, speaking for myself, my company was always virtually bankrupt"

-The guardian

A key element in the company's working methods has been its attention to marketing, striking deals with American and European companies, thus ensuring world-wide distribution for its products. A frequent observation of the company's methods is the inordinate amount of time spent on developing scripts and extensively working on re-writes. Despite its access to high finance, Working Title is also committed to low-budget films with new writers. Such was the case with Billy Elliott

(d. Stephen Daldry, 2000).

The company produce feature films and some television productions in both the American and Britain .Films which have been critically and financially successful include both British and American films.Working title make films of all genres.

How films get chosen

"How does Working Title choose which films to make? Fellner says projects get championed by individuals in the development department and these 'percolate' their way up to the top. Bevan and Fellner then both take the decision on what to green light"-

Skillset

Audience

"The Working Title philosophy has always been to make films for an audience - by that I mean play in a multiplex. We totally believe in this because we know it is the only hope we have of sustaining the UK film industry."

(Lucy Guard & Natasha Wharton)

Some popular Films by Working Title

• About A Boy
• Ali G indahouse
• Billy Elliot
• The Bridget Jones films
• Drop Dead Fread
• Four Weddings and a funeral
• Nanny Mcphee
• Shaun of the dead
• Notting Hill
• Wild Child
• Atonement
• Love actually
• Mr Beans Holiday
• Nanny Mcphee
• Wimbledon
• Bean
• Elizabeth

Films coming soon...

• Hippie Hippie Shake
• A serious man
• A green zone

Films currently in production by Working Title Films

• Nanny Mcphee and the Big Bang
• Paul

Films on DVD release

• The boat that rocked

• The soloist