News Archive
Atonement Director attends Redcar Premiere
Thursday 06th September, 2007
"The Circus has rolled into town" declared Joe Wright as he sat in Redcar on 5 September attending the Regional Premiere for his second feature film, the highly acclaimed Atonment, starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightly.
pictures by Mark Pinder.
And the Pride and Prejudice director was in his element surrounded by thousands of people who had come out to take in the spectacle on a gloriously sun soaked day in Cleveland.
Venice, London and Redcar is an unusual mix of cities and towns to visit to promote a feature film. But Wright is passionate about his need to fullfil his promise to the people of Redcar, to return once the film was completed.
"We always promised people we would come back to Redcar and now we have. We had the premiere in London last night and that was exciting. We showed the film in Venice and that was exciting too. But, to be honest I'm particulary excited about being here to bring this film back to you.
"Someone said it is great to see Hollywood come to Redcar, but I think it is more a case of Redcar going to Hollywood - and I've got to tell you, they seem to love you!"
Critics are calling the Redcar scenes 'stunning' and placing them on a par with the opening sequence of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Over 1000 local extras and 600 crew were involved in fimling the Dunkirk scenes, the centre piece of the realtively small budgeted £15m film.
"We were working 12 hour days, and the original idea had been to shoot a series of different takes and arrange them into a series of shots, arranging them in a Dunkirk Montage. Then time got tight. I went in one day and said 'we could do that steady cam shot we did on Pride & Prejudice. Paul (Webster - Producer) went white, but it was the only practical way to do it."
Recalling the day and the work of the extras, Joe said, "This was a big day and every one of those people focussed on the moment. That takes a lot of adrenalin. There was great humour in the day but when we shot the scene it was very moving. All of those people giving themselves totally to this re-enactment of this extraordinary event. You could sense a real respect for the veterans."
On the day of the premiere screening, events included a large brass and trad band, 1940's dancing and a re-enactment society. Left Luggage, a sculpture by Saltburn artist Lewis Robertson commissioned to celebrate the filming that took place on Redcar beach, was also unveiled by artist, director Joe Wright and Producer Paul Webster.
By the eveing, black tied guests arrived to attend the premiere screening itself. representatives from councils across the region, ONE North East, Business Link, BAFTA, Universal Pictures, The BBC and Tyne Tees and many others listened to speeches from the lady Mayor of Redcar, Joe and Paul and Tom Harvey, Chief Executive of Northern Film & Media, each explaing the importance of filming to the region and why an event such as a premiere screening is vital to all involved.
Tom Harvey, talking before attending the premiere screening said, "You just need to look around you tonight to see what an impact a film like this can have on a town like Redcar. There is a wondeful sense of occasion and I'd like to thank Joe and Paul for attending, as well as Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council who have worked incredably hard with Northern Film & Media and our partners BAFTA, Universal Pictures and Working Title in securing the premiere. From the very start Redcar and Cleveland understood what was needed to bring the production to the region and also how to follow up on that production, exploiting the opportunities to gain maximum impact.
"£7m is brough into the region every year by productin companies. That is £20,000 a day spent on local crews and facilities, but also in hotels, bars and restaurants. Filming impacts dircetly on a local economy. It also provides a town and its people with an unforgettable experience. Perhaps no more so than in the case of Atonement. Having spoken to a number of extras I know this experience will stay with them for the rest of their lives; they'll remember the time they were in one of the greatest shots in recent cinema and, hopefully, in 6 months, will be able to say they were in an Oscar winning movie.
"This film, and therefore Redcar, will be seen by around 100m people accross the world. If a fraction of that number come to Redcar to see where these key scenes were filmed, we will have done our job well."
Watch behind the scenes footage and further interviews with cast and crew by clicking here.