Ingenious Film Partners

Amazing Grace (2007)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Wooden court room with cast members sat on wooden benches, a man is reading from a long scroll that rolls along the floor

Amazing Grace © Roadside Attractions

Director: Michael Apted

Writer: Steven Knight

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Romola Garai and Rufus Sewell.

Production Company: Walden Media, Ingenious Film Partners, Bristol Bay Productions,Ingenious Film Partners

Kent Filming Locations: Historic Dockyard Chatham

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.

Dockyard Church transformed into House of Commons set- wooden courtroom with stall either side of judges table

Dockyard Church transformed into House of Commons set © Chatham Dockyard
Amazing Grace House of Commons- wooden courtroom full with politicians.

Amazing Grace House of Commons © 2007 Momentum Pictures. All rights reserved

 

The church at the Historic Dockyard Chatham was transformed for the film to recreate the 18th century House of Commons.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings. It has previously been used as a film location for productions such as Call the Midwife (2012-2014),  Amazing Grace (2007) and Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows (2011).

Amazing Grace was released on 23rd March 2007 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and is now available on DVD.

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

The Golden Compass (2007)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Nicole Kidman bending down with her hand underneath Dekota Blue Richards's chin. Both staring at each other.

Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter and Dekota Blue Richards as Lyra © 2007 Laurie Sparham/New Line Cinema

Director: Chris Weitz

Writer: Philip Pullman (novel), Chris Weitz (screenplay)

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ian McKellen

Production Company: New Line Cinema, Ingenious Film Partners, Scholastic Productions, Depth of Field

Kent Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Adapted from the novel Northern Lights, first in Philip Pullmann’s best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass is about orphaned tomboy Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) lives with her uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) in a world where people’s souls manifesrt as animal companions called daemons.

When Lyra’s friend, Roger, is kidnapped by Gobblers, she vows to rescue him. Help comes in the shape of an offer from the enigmatic Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) and the priceless gift of an alethiometer, a golden compass. This device answers truthfully to any question it is asked, but first Lyra must learn how to decipher its mysterious symbols.

 

Behind the scenes image at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham- prop crates and barrels up against the building,

Behind the scenes image at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham © Visit Kent

  

Behind the scenes image at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham with props barrels and crates

Behind the scenes image at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham © Visit Kent
 

Dakota Blue Richards walking up a wooden ship plank towards the camera.

Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra at the docks © 2007 Laurie Sparham/New Line Cinema

  

Daniel Craig staring at the camera in a suit with men sat around a table behind him

Daniel Craig stars as ‘Lord Asriel’ © 2007 Laurie Sparham/New Line Cinema

The sequence The Landing of Lyra and the Gyptians at the fictional Norwegian port of Trollesund was filmed at the Historic Dockyard Chatham . When Lyra first disembarks at the town of Trollesund, she did, in fact, step straight into the dockyard, where the Mast Houses and Mould Loft were dressed to look like the town’s harbour. CGI mountains were added to the background to create the illusion that the town has a fjord setting.

The meeting between Lyra and Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot) was set in the impressive Slip 3, a great domed space built in 1838 which at the time of its construction was the largest timber structure in Europe.

Philip Pullman’s trilogy was first published in 1995 and won critical acclaim in the form of the coveted Carnegie Medal for Children’s fiction. The novels draw their inspiration from Milton’s Paradise Lost and like Harry Potter; have attracted their fair share of controversy.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham boasts a variety of buildings with period features ranging from Georgian to Victorian, right up to modern day and is becoming a popular film location and has been used by productions such as Sherlock Holmes (2009), Oliver Twist (2007) and Children of Men (2006).

The location is in the care of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, an independent charity whose task is to restore and preserve this important part of Britain’s national heritage.

The Golden Compass was released in cinemas in 2007 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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