Pound for Pound, Britain’s the Place

LONDON —  Half the names on Hollywood’s A-list, it seems, are spending this summer in the British Isles. But they’re not vacationing--they’re working.

An unprecedented number of movies, many backed by U.S. money, are currently being shot in Britain and Ireland. Several are period pieces that demand British locations. But producers were lured by attractive currency exchange rates and the fact that many highly skilled British film technicians have modified their fees following a long lean spell for the film industry here.

As a result Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere, Robert Downey Jr., Liam Neeson, Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant, Jessica Lange, Sean Connery, Emma Thompson, Glenn Close, Sam Neill and John Malkovich are all currently making movies in Britain.

Roberts and Malkovich star in “Mary Reilly,” a retelling of the Jekyll and Hyde story directed by Stephen Frears. It is being shot partly on location in Edinburgh, Scotland, and partly at Pinewood Studios, near London.

Two other movies have a strong Scottish theme. Gibson stars in “Braveheart,” the story of the popular 13th-Century Scots hero William Wallace, who led a revolt against the English. Neeson and Lange are the leads in “Rob Roy,” another heroic Scottish figure, who was immortalized by Sir Walter Scott in his 1817 novel.

The tiny Highland tourist town of Ft. William, with 20,000 population, is being used as a base camp for both movies--though the “Braveheart” crew is about to move to Ireland for the second half of production.

Downey, Ryan, Grant and Neill star along with David Thewlis (“Naked”) and Polly Walker (“Enchanted April”) in “Restoration,” an adaptation of Rose Tremain’s acclaimed novel.

It is set in the 17th-Century court of Charles II; Downey plays an irrepressible medical student who becomes Royal Physician and cheerfully partakes in the high living and low moral tone of the court before redeeming himself. Shooting takes place in London, Wales and the English south coast county of Dorset.

While Grant has a small role in “Restoration,” he is the star of “The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain,” which started shooting at Pinewood. It is about two English map-makers who, after arriving at a Welsh village in 1916, inform its inhabitants that a mountain nearby is not as high as was believed and must be removed from the map. Featured are Tara Fitzgerald (“Hear My Song”) and Ian Hart (“BackBeat”).

Stallone is the lead in “Judge Dredd,” a Cinergi film based on the comic book hero, which is filming at Shepperton Studios, west of London, for most of this year. Directing is the 25-year-old Britisher Danny Cannon (“Young Americans”).

Oscar winner Thompson stars in “Carrington” as painter Dora Carrington, a member of London’s aristocratic Bloomsbury group in the early part of this century. The film traces her unconventional relationship with writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce). Screenwriter and playwright Christopher Hampton (“Dangerous Liaisons”) makes his directorial debut, working from his own script; Hampton also wrote “Mary Reilly.”

Apart from these films, another Scottish-themed movie is due to start rolling before summer’s end. “Loch Ness” is set near the Scottish lake in which the legendary monster is said to dwell; Ted Danson and Joely Richardson are expected to be confirmed as leads.

The mini-boom in British filming may not last. Most of the above films were green-lit when the exchange rate was highly favorable--just under $1.50 to the English pound. But after a run on the dollar two weeks ago, the exchange rate slipped, reaching $1.55 at one point. On a movie budgeted at $15 million, that could mean extra costs of $500,000.

“The market’s volatile,” said one British industry insider. “You can be sure it’s causing a lot of accountants a lot of headaches.”*