Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade
Production Company: American Empirical Pictures, Netflix Studios
Kent Locations Used: Maidstone Studios
Various sets were built at the Maidstone Studios and production based at the nearby Powerhub.
Just 45 minutes from London, Maidstone Studios is the UK’s largest independent studios. They are classed as a regional studio facility and have been home to some of the industry’s best-loved television programmes over the years. Most recently, it played host to Season 2 of This Time With Alan Partridge (2021), Series 2 of The Split (2020) and Series 2 and 3 of Hetty Feather (2015-2020).
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) will be released on Netflix on Wednesday 27th September 2023.
Writer: Will Sharpe, Simon Stephenson Director: Will Sharpe Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Aimee Lou Wood, Toby Jones Production Company: Amazon Studios, Film4, Shoebox Films, StudioCanal, SunnyMarch Kent Locations Used: Botany Bay, Kingsgate Bay, Deal, Walmer, Kingsdown Leas
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022) is a biopic of the English painter who rose to fame at the end of the 19th century. Known for his unique paintings of anthropomorphised cats, Wain suffered from poor mental health in his later years and was hospitalised when his family could no longer care for him.
Botany Bay in Thanet is a popular filming location in Kent. The sandy bay is set against a beautiful white cliff backdrop which is popular with tourists. Previous productions to have made use of this stunning location include Sulphur and White (2020) and Series 2 of Humans (2016).
Kingsgate Bay is a small sandy bay surrounded by chalk cliffs that connects at low tide through Whiteness cliff arch to Botany Bay. The Victorian Kingsgate Castle is perched on top of the sea defences; it has since been turned into private residences. Other productions to have filmed at Kingsgate Bay include True Things (2022), Mr Selfridge (2013-2016), and Bhikari (2017).
Deal is a town on the south coast of Kent with a long naval history as one of the major Cinque Ports. Deal’s seafront has a large green, promenade, small fishing fleet, huts, sailing boats, lifeboat station as well as an extensive pebble beach. Liar Series 1 & 2 (2017 – 2020) and Baptiste (2019) both recently filmed here.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain was released in UK cinemas on Saturday 1st January 2022.
Writer: Michael Mitnick Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Nicholas Hoult Production Company: Weinstein Company Kent Locations Used: Swale
The Current War (2019) is an upcoming historical feature and depicts the infamous race between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, deciding which form of electric current will be powering the modern world.
The Current War features the Kentish location of Home Farm in Swale, a colonial style weather boarded villa. The exterior doubling for Edison’s residence.
Doctor Strange is a feature film based on the Marvel comic about a neurosurgeon who is injured in a car accident that ruins his career. As the Doctor (Benedict Cumberbatch) sets out on a journey of healing, he instead finds himself protecting the world from inter-dimensional threats.
Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Day the Earth Stood Still) directs and also co-writes the screenplay with C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Sinister 2).
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game) stars as Doctor Stephen Strange with a supporting cast including Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook), Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, The Hunt), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Chronicles of Narnia), Benedict Wong (The Martian, Prometheus) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Children of Men Luke).
The Doctor Strange production team visited Northfleet where the industrial shoreline land was used to stage the stunt sequence at the beginning of the film where Dr Strange loses control of his car.
Northfleet a town North West in the Gravesham Borough of Kent and has excellent transport links being close to the M25 and Ebbsfleet International Train Station. The Gravesend area has previously welcomed filming from The Interceptor (2015), Don’t Tell the Bride (2013) and Canterbury Tales – The Seacaptain’s Tale (2003).
Doctor Strange is released in cinemas on 25th October 2016.
The Hollow Crown returns to BBC Two with a second series, The Wars of the Roses that include adaptations of three more historic plays by Shakespeare – Henry VI Part 1 & 2 and Richard III. The series is part of the BBC’s Shakespeare Season commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes, The Imitation Game) stars as Richard III and Tom Sturridge (The Boat That Rocked, Far from the Madding Crowd) plays Henry VI.
The supporting cast includes a wealth of talented actors, including Judi Dench (Philomena, Skyfall), Jeremy Irons (Eragon, The Lion King), Keeley Hawes (Doctor Who, Upstairs Downstairs), Sophie Okonedo (Doctor Who, Criminal Justice), John Mackay (Doc Martin, Casualty), Stanley Townsend (Cars, Ripper Street) and Ben Daniels (Locke, Madaline).
The first series aired in 2012 and featured Richard II, Henry IV, Part I and 2 and Henry V. The latter of which was also partly filmed in Kent; at Penshurst Place and Squerryes Court.
The second series of The Hollow Crown filmed in Kent where Leeds Castle‘s Barbican and moat to depict scenes at the Tower of London, Penshurst Placedoubled as the exterior of the Palace of Westminster’s Great Gates and Dover Castle features as The Tower of London as well as Anjou’s Palace and Joan’s Chambers in Rouen in Part 1 and a French Prison and St Alban’s Chapel and Market Place in Part 2.
Rich in history, Leeds Castle is set in 500 acres of beautiful parkland and formal gardens. The castle has opened its doors to a number of film productions over the years including Gadget Man(2014), Henry VIII(2003) and Lady Jane(1987).
Dover Castle is one of the most iconic of all the English fortresses, guarding the gateway to the realm for nine centuries. With its beautiful medieval interior, secret wartime tunnels and set overlooking the English Channel, Dover Castle is a popular film location having previously welcomed productions such as Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Into the Woods(2015) and To Kill a King(2003).
Penshurst Place is a 14th Century Manor House with preserved interiors, including the unique medieval Baron’s Hall as well as 11 acres of Elizabethan walled gardens. Wolf Hall (2015), Merlin(2008) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) have previously filmed at Penshurst Place.
The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses also features in the Kent Film Office Tudor(ish) Trail which celebrates Kent’s Tudor history and film connections.
Don’t miss The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses:
Henry VI part 1 will air on Saturday 7th May 2016 on BBC Two at 21:00.
Henry VI part 2 will air on Saturday 14th May 2016 on BBC Two at 21:00.
Richard III will air on Saturday 14th May 2016 on BBC Two at 21:00.
Parade’s End is based on Ford Madox Ford’s novels written between 1924 and 1928, with the screenplay adapted by renowned English playwright and screenwriter Sir Tom Stoppard. The costume drama features a stellar cast and is set in the midst of the First World War with a love triangle threatening to question everything lead character Christopher Tietjens stands for.
Shown in five parts, at the centre is English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Warhorse, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) who enters a turbulent relationship with socialite Sylvia played by Rebecca Hall(Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Town, The Awakening). After Sylvia falls pregnant, Christopher decides to follow his morals and marry her, even though he is uncertain if the child is his.
The couple have a rocky relationship but Christopher vows to stay faithful to his wife, however when he meets strong willed suffragette Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens – X-Men Origins: Wolverine) he finds himself falling in love with her. With his morals questioned, will he follow his heart, or stay with his wife?
The Parade’s End crew came to Kent last year to film scenes for the drama at the isolated and historic St Thomas A Becket Church in Fairfield, Romney Marsh, which also featured in the 2011 BBC adaptation Great Expectations (2011) starring Gillian Anderson and David Suchet.
Dorton House is a school in Sevenoaks run by The Royal London Institute for the Blind and caters for pupils with visual impairments. The Grade-II listed building saw its dining room transformed into a gentleman’s club, with the library serving as the Cabinet War Office and the Wedgewood Room as the bedroom of Valentine Wannop.
Dungeness and St Mary’s Bay also briefly feature in the programme, in scenes with a girl cycling past. Dungeness is a unique expanse of shingle beach with cottages and lighthouses and is a popular filming location having previously welcomed Doctor Who, Countrywise Kitchen and photo shoots for Vogue and Harrods Magazine. St Mary’s Bay is a delightful coastal village between Dymchurch and south to Littlestone and this is its big screen debut.
Parade’s End was shown from Friday 24th August 2012 at 21:00 on BBC Two and is now available to buy on DVD.
The screen adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s best selling novel The Other Boleyn Girl is a dramatic story of love, passion and ambition set in the cut-throat court of Henry VIII. Mary (Scarlett Johansson), considered the more beautiful sister, gains the young king’s (Eric Bana) attention and, though married, becomes his mistress. When it becomes politically adventageous, Mary is cast aside for her dazzling young sister Anne (Natalie Portman) and can only watch as Anne’s ruthless pursuit of the crown propels her towards her doom.
The Boleyn family had extensive connections with Kent; the family lived in Hever Castle while Henry VIII adored Knole. With this connection in mind, filming took place at three fantastic locations across Kent.
Filming in Kent began atKnole in Sevenoaks, a grand house set in a deer park that Henry VIII was so impressed with; he demanded that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer give it to him. In the film, Knolewas the setting for many of the film’s London night scenes and the inner courtyard doubles for the entrance of Whitehall Palace where the grand arrivals and departures were staged.
Production then moved to Penshurst Place near Tonbridge, which was also once owned by Henry VIII and where the unspoiled estate and gardens still bring the Tudor era to life. The Baron’s Hall was transformed into the interiors of Whitehall Palace to film the scenes of Henry’s extravagant feast. The Tudor Gardens were also used for the scene where Anne (Natalie Portman) and the King (Eric Bana) talk about their relationship.
As England’s oldest fortress at the shortest sea crossing to Continental Europe, Dover Castle was a vital strategic centre in the Tudor era and able to provide the ideal setting for the final and climatic scenes in The Other Boleyn Girl. Dover Castle was transformed into the Tower of London for the execution scenes of George Boleyn (Jim Sturgess) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman).
To celebrate the cinematic release and the locations that were used in the film, the Kent Film Office and Kent Tourism Alliance in association with Universal, National Trust, English Heritage, Penshurst Place, Hever Castle and the Heart of Kent released a movie map in 2011 to highlight the Kent locations to the world! You can download your own The Other Boleyn Girl movie map and to find out more about the Kent Campaign at: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/austens-in-kent/
The Other Boleyn Girl features in the Kent Film Office Tudor(ish) Trail, released in May 2016, celebrating Kent’s Tudor history and film connections.
The film was released on 7th March 2008 and is now available on DVD.
Amazing Grace follows the journey of idealist William Wilberforce as he manoeuvres his way through Parliament, endeavouring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
Directed by Michael Apted (Chasing Mavericks, The World is Not Enough) from an original screenplay written by Academy Award nominee Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Dirty Pretty Things). Ioan Gruffudd (Titanic, Fantastic Four) leads a cast including Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Good Shepherd), Albert Finney (Ocean’s Twelve, Big Fish) and Rufus Sewell (Hercules, The Illusionist).
The film portrays how Wilberforce, supported by his confidant John Newton (Albert Finney) and William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), England’s youngest ever Prime Minister, spoke out against slavery and fought for the freedom of others.
Tipping the Velvet is a BBC television drama serial based on Sarah Waters best-selling novel of the same name. Set in the 1890’s, the story focuses on the lesbian love affair between male impersonator music hall star Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes) and Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling).
The series stars manyfamiliar faces including Rachael Stirling (Snow White and the Huntsman, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), KeeleyHawes (Death at a Funeral, The Bank Job), Anna Chancellor (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Dreamers), Sally Hawkins (All or Nothing, Layer Cake), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Hugh Bonneville(Downton Abbey, Iris).
The production team visited Whitstable which doubled as the coastal village where Nancy Astley (Rachael Stirling) lives with her family before she leaves for London and The Historic Dockyard Chatham which was used for the London street scenes.
Whitstable is a traditional seaside town renowned for its Oysters, which are integrated into its rich history and culture.Whitstable has been used previously for other TV and film projects such asVenus (2007).
