King Lear (2018)

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Kent Film Office

Portrait shot of character King Lear sitting on a chair with his three daughters by his side in the palace. Background is black and white chequered floor with black wall panels.

King Lear and his three daughters ©BBC

Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf, Karl Johnson
Production Company: Playground Entertainment, Amazon Studios and BBC
Kent Locations Used: Dover

King Lear (2018) is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film tells the tragic story of King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) who abdicates his throne in favour of his two corrupt daughters Regan (Emily Watson) and Goneril (Emma Thompson), rejecting his loving and honest third daughter Cordelia (Florence Pugh) when she fails his test of flattery.

Director Richard Eyre has previously worked on films Notes on a Scandal and Iris. Anthony Hopkins, who plays King Lear, is best known for his role in The Silence of the Lambs and Nixon. Emma Thompson as eldest daughter Goneril, was previously in Love Actually and The Remains of the Day.

Scenes were filmed in various locations in Dover, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot’s Cliff.

King Lear (2018) aired on Monday 28 May 2018 on BBC Two.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Kent Film Office

Victor Frankenstein Poster-James McAvoy and daniel radcliffe staring at the camera with a dead body on an operating table covered by a white cloth is underneath. Victor Frankenstein reads in silver.

Victor Frankenstein Poster © Fox UK Film

Director: Paul McGuigan

Writer: Max Landis (screenplay)

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Scott, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay, Charles Dance, Mark Gatiss, Louise Brealey

Production companies: Davis Entertainment Company, TSG Entertainment

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Victor Frankenstein is a dark, contemporary twist on the classic tale of Frankenstein, told from the point of view of Igor (Daniel Radcliffe) who befriends radical young scientist Victor Von Frankenstein (James McAvoy). Together they envisage innovative research into immortality to aid human suffering, but it is not long before the experiments go too far and Victor’s ambition leads to horrifying consequences. Can Igor save them both from Victor’s creation?

The screenplay is adapted by Max Landis (Fear Itself, Me Him Her), based on the novel by Mary Shelley, written almost 200 years ago.

The film is directed by Paul McGuigan (Sherlock, Push) with a stellar cast including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, The Woman in Black) and James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Last King of Scotland), Andrew Scott (Saving Private Ryan, Spectre), Jessica Brown Findlay (Albatross, Downton Abbey), Charles Dance (The Imitation Game, Game of Thrones), Mark Gatiss (Wolf Hall, Doctor Who) and Louise Brealey (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Ripper Street).

The production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham to film some exterior scenes by the Chain and Cable store, the Tarred Yarn Store, which doubled as a hospital interior, and additional outdoor street scenes.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular filming location which offers Georgian and Victorian buildings and authentic cobbled streets. The Historic Dockyard Chatham has previously featured in Suffragette (2015), Mr Turner (2014) and Dom Hemingway (2013).

Victor Frankenstein is released in cinemas on 4^th December 2015.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Legacy (2013)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Kent Film Office

Three cast members all staring at the camera.

Legacy © Slim Productions and BBC

Director: Pete Travis

Writers: Alan Judd (Novel), Paula Milne (Screenplay)

Starring: Andrew Scott, Romola Garai, Charlie Cox, Geraldine James, Olivia Grant

Production company: Slim Film + Television

Kent Locations: Deal

Legacy is a BBC TV film based on Alan Judd’s novel of the same name which is set in 1970’s London during the height of the Cold War where a trainee MI6 spy is tasked to seek out a former friend, now a Russian diplomat with the hope of “turning” him. As both men have their own agendas, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins around a secret plan for a lethal attack within the UK.

The film is part of BBC Two’s Cold War Season and stars many familiar faces including Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Saving Private Ryan), Romola Garai (The Last Days on Mars, Amazing Grace), Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire, Stardust), Geraldine James (Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland) and Olivia Grant (Mr.Nice, Lark Rise to Candleford).

The screenplay is adapted by award-winning writer Paula Milne (The Politician’s Husband, Endgame) and directed by BAFTA-winning Pete Travis (Dredd, Omagh) and is the second time the pair has collaborated since the 2009 film Endgame.

The Legacy production team visited Deal in July 2013 where they filmed the two main characters meeting at the pier as well as scenes on the seafront where a car pulls up and a man gets out and make a call from a public phone box.

Deal is a town in East Kent situated between Dover and Ramsgate and has a wealth of independent shops, eateries and delightful seafront with a pier and maritime clock. Previous productions that have taken advantage of the area including The Tunnel (2013), Little Dorrit (2008) and Ruby Blue (2008).

Don’t miss Legacy will be shown on BBC Two at 21:00 on Thursday 28^th November 2013.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Kent's Premier Film Commission