Feature Films

Rupert, Rupert and Rupert (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Rupert, Rupert and Rupert Film Poster showing a montage of three extreme close ups of Sandy Batchelor’s face as Rupert, lying sideways with Rupert standing in the middle, waist up. Rupert Rupert Rupert is written in blue

Rupert, Rupert and Rupert Official Film Poster © Substantial Films

Writer: Mick Sands
Director: Tom Sands
Starring: Sandy Batchelor, Daisy Keeping, Adam Astill, Ben Porter
Production Company: Substantial Films
Kent Locations Used: Streets in Royal Tunbridge Wells: Brook Road, Gusta Café, alleyway between Prospect Road and London Road in Southborough.

This comedy follows the life of Rupert (Sandy Batchelor), a struggling actor with multiple personality disorder and his three identities that compete for control after he earns the lead role in a West End play and meets Stevie (Daisy Keeping), the production’s makeup artist, who shows a romantic interest in him.

Rupert, Rupert and Rupert was written by Mick Sands (Nazi Vengeance, The Holly Cane Experiment) and directed by Tom Sands (The Holly Cane Experiment, False Witness) and stars Sandy Batchelor (The Fall of the Krays, False Witness), Daisy Keeping (Neverlake, Humans (2016)), Adam Astill (All The Money in the World, World’s End) and Ben Porter (School for Seduction, Somers Town).

Areas in Royal Tunbridge Wells were used for filming, including Brook Road, where Stevie lives and holds a garden party. The exterior of Gusta Café is shown when Rupert’s agent walks out with a coffee. The alleyway between Prospect Road and London Road in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells was also used for filming.

A historic town with a lot of character, Royal Tunbridge Wells has also been used for filming for the musical Half a Sixpence (1967), specifically The Pantiles, a parade of shops with old-style Georgian architecture. Gusta is a popular Italian café and restaurant in the busy town centre.

Rupert, Rupert and Rupert was released on Friday 26th April 2019 and can be streamed on Amazon Prime.

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

Yardie (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Amel Ameen in Yardie leans against a car with a graffiti wall behind. He wears a leather jacket.

Amel Ameen in Yardie (2018) which makes its world premiere 20 January 2018 at the Sundance Film Festival © Alex Bailey

Writer: Brock Norman Brock, Martin Stellman
Director: Idris Elba
Starring: Amel Ameen, Akin Gazi, Mark Rhino Smith, Fraser James, Naomi Ackie
Production Company: BFI Film Fund, BFI, Wrap Films, Studio Canal
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Yardie is the film adaptation of Victor Headley’s novel of the same name. When a young boy witnesses the murder of his brother in Jamaica in 1973, a powerful don offers the boy a home and new life. Ten years later when he moves to London,his past catches up with him.

This feature is the directorial debut of Idris Elba (Luther, Thor: Ragnarok)  and was written by Brock Norman Brock (Bronson) and Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia). The Yardie stars Amel Ameen (The Maze Runner, Sense8), Mark Rhino Smith (Zootropolis, Creed), Fraser James (Holby City, The Loch) and Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who, The Five).

Several scenes, including high-paced car chases set in London, were actually filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham doubling up for East London in the 1970s. The Dockyard also features as the wider area where Rico’s (Stephen Graham ) club is located and D.( Aml Ameen ) is chased through the streets and over the roofs at night by Rico’s men. Thanks to its old Victorian and Georgian buildings the Dockyard is a popular filming site for crime dramas set in London such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mr Holmes (2015).

Amel Ameen talking to director Idris Elba on set stood in front of a white van

Amel Ameen (D) and Idris Elba in his directorial debut in Yardie (2018) © Studio Canal

Yardie makes its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 20th January 2018 and is due for UK release on 31st August 2018.

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

 

 

 

The Escape (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Gemma Arterton staring at the camera with a plain brown background behind her,

Gemma Arterton in the escape (2017) © Improvised Films LTD

 

Writer: Dominic Savage

Director: Dominic Savage

Starring: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper

Production Company: Shoebox Films, Lorton Entertainment

Kent Locations Used: Dartford, Gravesham

The film The Escape follows the story of a young woman (Gemma Arterton) at a crossroads in her life, as she struggles to chase her dreams alongside her responsibilities as a mother and a wife. She decides on a change and heads off to Paris to find herself.

Director, writer, Dominic Savage, has previously worked on BBC films Born Equal and Freefall. Gemma Arterton has starred in high-profile films such as Hansel & Gretel: Witch-Hunters and Clash of the Titans. Dominic Cooper has been credited in Captain America: The First Avenger and Mamma Mia! .

Scenes were filmed in and around the Gravesend area, including Northfleet Nursery which was used as Tara’s son’s day centre. Imperial Business Park also features, as Tara’s local place for shopping.

Production also filmed in and around Dartford, at a property in Caspian Way which features as the family’s home. Crayland Primary School features as Tara’s daughter’s school and the park off of Broomfield Road is visited by the whole family at the weekend.  As well as filming at a nearby kids’ playground in Swanscombe, and Ebbsfleet International Station, where Tara (Gemma Arterton) watches the trains on one occasion and later leaves for Paris.

The Escape was released in the UK on Friday 3rd August 2018.

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

Doctor Strange (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with a light effect through his hands

Dr Strange © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK

Writer: Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill

Director: Scott Derrickson

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Production Company: Marvel Studios

Kent Locations Used: Northfleet

Dr Strange film poster

Dr Strange © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK

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.

Links:

For more information about filming in Kent please contact: filmoffice@kent.gov.uk

For more information on the film visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1211837/

For more information on Gravesend: http://www.visitgravesend.co.uk/

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/moviemap-live-2/

 

Genius (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actor Guy Pearce wearing a beige top siting on a sofa smoking, looking away from the camera. Drinks and books can be seen in front of him.

Guy Pearce in Genius (2016)

 

Writer: John Logan (screenplay) A. Scott. Berg (writer)

Director: Michael Grandage

Starring: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Guy Pearce, Dominic West, Vanessa Kirby

Producers: James J. Bagley, A. Scott. Berg, Tim Bevan and James Bierman

Production Company: Desert Wolf Productions, Michael Grandage Company, Riverstone Pictures, Ingenious, Pinewood Pictures

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Genius is a drama about the complex transformative relationship between the world-renowned book editor Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth), who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, and the larger-than-life literary giant Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law).

The film stars: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech/Kingsman: The Secret Service), Jude Law (Dom Hemingway/Spy), Nicole Kidman (Grace of Monaco/Paddington), Laura Linney (The Big C/Mr Holmes), Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3/The Rover), Dominic West (Burton and Taylor/Testament of Youth), Vanessa Kirby (About Time/Jupiter Ascending). The film was directed by Michael Grandage (The Madness of King George/Bugs). The film was written by John Logan (Skyfall/Spectre) and A. Scott. Berg (The Colbert Report/Facing the Nation).

The bustling docks and streets of 1920s New York were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham. The scenes mostly revolved around where Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) lived in New York. The Dockyard is a popular location for period dramas due to it’s Georgian and Victorian buildings and cobbled streets. The Dockyard has previously featured on screen in a number of early 20th century dramas including The Crown (2016),  Suffragette (2015) and Downton Abbey (2013).

Genius was released in cinemas on 10th June 2016.

Genius trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCvcD3IBSlc

 

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