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Isle of Wight Film and TV Information

Films made on the Island:

• Fragile
• Mrs Brown with Dame Julie Dench and Billy Connolly
• That'll Be The Day with Ringo Starr and David Essex
• Guest House Paradiso with Ade Edmonson and Rik Mayall
• Lady Chatterley's Lover, a TV drama by Ken Russell
• Reach for the Moon, a TV drama for ITV
• Location for New Year's Day a film by Suri Krishnamma and 'The Winslow Boy' a film by David Mamet
• Featured in The English Patient a film by Antony Minghella
• Location for Crown & Country a tv series by His Royal Highness, Prince Edward

Fragile:

Fragile staring Calista Flockhart as a nurse who takes a new job at a desolate children's hospital during its closing days. She struggles to keep the kids safe and uncover the mystery behind apparent attacks of an unknown origin that hurt the kids so that they cannot leave the premises. Richard Roxburgh, Yasmin Murphy and Gemma Jones.

Mrs Brown:

Mrs Brown starring Judy Dench and Billy Connolly was based on events surrounding Osborne House at the time of Queen Victoria's reign. The film is set in and around Osborne house and is tastefully directed by John Madden and written by Jeremy Brock. Mrs Brown was produced in 1997, classified PG (105 minutes) and has appeared on national television on numerous occasions. The story is based around the period after Prince Albert's death, where Victoria is in inconsolable circumstances, and is incapable of performing her expected duties, such as the opening of State Parliament. As a result, Her Majesty's secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby, is forced to summon John Brown from Balmoral to aid the Queen in her time of grief. The film has a serious manner, however is elegantly balanced by the humorous style to which Billy Connolly portrays the character. Despite the huge rift in social stature between Mr Brown and Victoria, his support and ongoing loyalty, proves strong in creating an unyielding friendship.

New Years Day:

New Years Day starring Andrew Lee Potts, Bobby Barry, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Ralph Brown who is also the screenwriter of this film, was released at cinemas in November 2001. The film, directed by Suri Krishnamma, is based around the traumatic experiences of two boys who are the sole survivors of avalanche during a school skiing accident. Greatly disturbed following the events of this misfortune, the two schoolboys act very differently. Jake, the weaker willed of the pair, attempts suicide and Steven, a driven archaist, suggests they kill themselves the following New Years Day, but not before they embrace in a series of 12 increasingly difficult, life-affirming tasks. The film's duration is 101 minutes long and is classified 18.

The Winslow Boy:

The Winslow Boy starring Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam and Rebecca Pidgeon was written and directed by David Marmet. The film is based on the fight for justice against the Royal Navel Academy. Arthur Winslow (Hawthorne) when toasting his daughter Catherine's engagement is informed of his 13-year-old son, Ronnie's expulsion for stealing five shillings from the Naval academy. When questioned regarding the missing money, Ronnie claims innocence regarding the matter. Arthur Winslow risks prosperity, physical well-being, and his daughter's future to pursue what he believes justice. The duration of the film is 110 minutes and is classified U, released in the cinema in 1999.

The English Patient:

When Island-born director, Anthony Minghella scooped nine Oscars for The English Patient in 1997, he pronounced it "a great day for the Isle of Wight". Only his third feature film, the success of The English Patient brought worldwide renown to the director and, indeed, to his home town. Set in the Second World War, The English Patient stars Ralph Fiennes, Kirsten Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafole, Naveen Andrews and Colin Firth. It features wartime footage of the Isle of Wight as well as cameo roles for his parents Edward and Gloria Minghella. The English Patient is Classified 15, and the duration is approximately 162 minutes.

Guest House Paradiso:

Guest House Paradiso was released in 1999 and stars Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson (who also wrote and directed the film) Helene Mathieu, Vincent Cassel, and Simon Pegg. The film is based on two unemployed slackers, who have sacrificed their grotty London flat for an even grottier South Coast motel. The walls are rotting, and the location is adjacent to a nuclear power station. The light switches turn themselves off, the kitchen staff are dependant alcoholics and the children's play area hangs precariously on the edge of a cliff. The duration of Guest House Paradiso is 86 minutes and the film has been classified 15.

That'll Be The Day:

That'll Be The Day created in 1974 starring Ringo Star, David Essex, Rosemary Leech, Billy Fury, Keith Moon, directed by Claude Whatham and Michael Apted. The story is based on a working class boy desperate to leave his fairground dead- end job and become a rock 'n' role star. Abandoned as a child, Jim has a rebellious view of school and exams. By chance, he comes across a guitar and in a wave of rebellion drops school and attempts to advance his career. The film duration is approximately 87 minutes and is classified PG.

Contact information to arrange filming.

• National Trust property
• Heritage Architecture

National Trust properties on the Isle of Wight:

• Bembridge Windmill
• Brighstone Shop & Museum
• Mottistone Manor Garden
• Needles Old Battery
• Newtown Old Town Hall
• Military Road
• Easton Field, Freshwater Bay

Contacts:

For permission to film, please contact Zoe Colbeck of the National Trust on 01983 741020, with public liability insurance number and contact details.

English Heritage properties on the Isle of Wight:

• Osborne House
• Carisbrooke Castle
• Yarmouth Castle
• The Pepper Pot (an ancient lighthouse site on St Catherine's Down/Niton Down)
• Appuldurcombe House

Contacts

English Heritage, PR contact karina.archer@english-heritage.org.uk

Direct PR, contact Jane Lawrence, Christine Appleyard or Gill Buttwell, tel. 0207 407 6882, directpr@btconnect.com

TV/film crews should contact;
Sarah Eastel, 13 Abbey Churchyard, Bath, BA1 1LY, tel. 01225 460022, info@film-location.co.uk

Dave Russell - www.isleofwightlocations.co.uk

Dadina Sagger - www.islandpeople.co.uk
Tel-Fax : 01983 404275

Skandia Cowes Week:

Contacts:

PR - Peta Stuart Hunt,
tel: 01590 679621,
mobile: 07711 477 707
peta.stuart-hunt@skandiacowesweek.co.uk

www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk

Parade village - Ruth Jones, Wight Leisure, Tel. 01983 823364, ruth.jones@iow.gov.uk

Skandia Cowes Week dates: 29 July -5 August 2006
Permissions and Local contacts

Although permits are not required for filming on the Island's streets, we do ask film-makers to contact us with their proposals so that the relevant Council departments and the Police can assess safety issues and the impact on residents, pedestrians and road users.
Accommodation

We hope the Media Centre has answered your questions, and given you a broader knowledge of the Island. If you still need information please email press@islandbreaks.co.uk