29/11/2011

Ed Vaizey (pictured), UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, is on a visit to Los Angeles to promote the UK to the US film industry. He is accompanied by British Film Commission and Film London CEO Adrian Wootton and will visit senior representatives from LA’s top studios and production companies.

Vaizey said, “Now that the film tax relief has been confirmed, this is an important opportunity to meet with the studios who invest over $1 billion a year in the British film industry. Industry leaders here are in no doubt about the quality of British films – last year The King’s Speech [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tom Hooper
film profile] dominated the awards season and there’s huge anticipation on both sides of the Atlantic ahead of the opening of The Iron Lady [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile]. So I look forward to productive discussions about how we can continue to forge closer relationships that will lead to more investment in the UK.”

Wootton said, “The film industry in LA is hugely important to us and it is fantastic Ed Vaizey is able to promote what the UK has to offer. In producing big-budget features in the UK, these productions benefit from our excellent facilities, the unrivalled experience of our crew and of course the tax relief, which helps make the UK a cost effective option. In return, their investment drives our industry forward and plays an important role in ensuring we maintain our global competitiveness.”

Recent US productions that recently shot in the UK include Rupert Sanders’ Snow White and the Huntsman starring Charlize Theron, Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer starring Ewan McGregor, Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity starring George Clooney, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus starring Michael Fassbender and Marc Forster’s World War Z starring Brad Pitt.