LipSync Productions

Living (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Bill Nighy, as Williams, stands in front of a large, grey, historic courthouse building. He is wearing a black pinstripe suit, polka dot tie, and black bowler hat. He carries an umbrella in his hand and is looking at a watch on his wrist.

Bill Nighy in Living (2022) © Ross Ferguson

Director: Oliver Hermanus
Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp
Production Company: County Hall, Film4, Filmgate Films, Ingenious, Kurosawa Production Co., Lipsync Productions, Number 9 Films
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, King’s Theatre – Chatham

Living (2022) is an English-language adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film Ikiru by Kazuo Ishiguro, set in 1950s London.

Directed by Oliver Hermanus (Moffie, Beauty), Living stars Bill Nighy (The Boat that Rocked (2009), Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)) as Williams, Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education (2021), The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022)) as Margaret Harris and Alex Sharp (The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Hustle) as Peter Wakeling.

In June and July 2021, production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham to film various scenes. The exterior of the Lead and Paint Mill doubles as the bomb site which Williams later transforms into a playground, the Ropery alley doubles for the streets of London, and the Commissioner’s House Gardens doubles for St James’s Park in London.

A historic 17th-Century dockyard spanning over 80 acres, Chatham Dockyard contains over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian Periods. It is the most popular filming location in Kent, having played host to many high-profile films and TV shows. Most recently, Operation Mincemeat (2022), The Nevers (2021) and The Phantom of the Open (2022) shot various scenes on the site.

A group of people sit in an old-fashioned cinema.

Behind the scenes at King’s Theatre, Chatham. Alex Sharp, Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood with Spotlites staff © Spotlites

Filming also took place at King’s Theatre in Chatham, where Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood’s characters watch a film at the cinema. Chatham is a historic town situated in Medway, North Kent and is known for its historic dockyard, army barracks and high street. The Last Rite (2021) also filmed a short scene in Chatham town.

Living was released in UK cinemas on Friday 4th November 2022.

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

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
My Week with Marilyn Movie poster with Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, & Kenneth Brannagh. A london skyline can be seen in the background, My week with Marilyn is written in blue

My Week with Marilyn Movie poster © The Weinstein Company

The Silver Screen Icon comes to life in this blockbuster biopic.

Directed by: Simon Curtis

Writers: Adrian Hodges (Screenplay) & Colin Clark (Books)

Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Brannah

Production company: The Weinstein Company, BBC Films, LipSync Productions, Trademark Films

Kent Filming Locations: Gibraltar Lane, Hawkinge & Saltwood Castle

Released in cinemas from 18th November, My Week with Marilyn tells the story of the infamous blonde bombshell and her love affair with Colin Clark.

My Week with Marilyn is based on true events that took place when Monroe arrived in the UK to film Sir Laurence Olivier’s The Prince and the Showgirl. At the time the actress was married to Arthur Miller. They had a famously turbulent relationship. A tragic miscarriage lead to increasingly erratic behaviour by the star and the depicted time span in her life was one of the most dramatic. Sadly the actress died five years after the film was made.

The production was adapted by Adrian Hodges (Survivors, Primeval) and directed by Simon Curtis (The Practise, Cranford), and stars Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl) and Kenneth Brannah (Valkyrie, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit).

In 2010, Kent welcomed the crew and stars of this historic Hollywood tale. Filming took place in Gibraltar Lane in Hawkinge and it was the first film to give the Kent Film Office an opportunity to use their new powers to close a road for filming.

Shooting also took place at the beautiful Saltwood Castle, still privately owned by members of the Clark family. Only rarely open to the public, the castle was also used for the BBC drama series The Alan Clark Diaries, starring John Hurt. Its earliest mention is in the year 488.

The Shepway area has previously featured in productions including The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016),  The Only Way is Essexmas (2014) and The Harry Hill Movie (2013).

My Week With Marilyn is out on DVD.

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