Record £52.7m spend on film and TV production

Film and TV producers spent a record £52.7 million shooting in Scotland in 2015, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop revealed today.

This record production spend figure- an increase of almost £7 million compared with 2014 - demonstrates the continuing interest and appetite from major film and high-end TV producers to use Scotland as a backdrop for their productions and take advantage of its highly skilled crews, talent and production incentives.

The announcement follows the Scottish Government’s work through Creative Scotland to support large scale international productions and Scottish producers to anchor their productions in Scotland in recent years, including Trainspotting T2, Outlander, Churchill, Calibre, Hush, Etruscan Smile, In Plain Sight (formerly Muncie), Loch Ness, Tommy’s Honour, Sunset Song, Macbeth and current productions like The Wife.

Ms Hyslop announced the record production spend figure today after meeting crew of The Wife while filming on location at the National Museum of Flight. During the set visit, the Cabinet Secretary met with Evonne MacRitchie (Costume Trainee), Caroline Peberty (Make Up Trainee), and Ruaraidh Macleod (Camera Trainee) who are Scottish trainees working on the film. Producer, Piers Tempest, gave Ms Hyslop a tour of the set and discussed why Scotland is the ideal location to film The Wife after his experience of filming Churchill earlier this year.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “This record spend shows that all eyes are on Scotland as the ideal place to base production. Our uniquely beautiful rural areas to bustling urban cityscapes provide excellent backdrops and our highly skilled crews are in hot demand.

“I met local crew members, Evonne, Caroline and Ruaraidh as well as the Producer and Director on The Wife, who were not only enthusiastic about what Scotland has to offer the film sector, but what the film sector is doing for Scotland and our trainees.

“2015 has been a record year and I am determined to keep working with our agencies to support and grow Scotland’s screen sector.”

Producer of The Wife and Churchill, Piers Tempest said: “With the support of Creative Scotland and the Production Growth Fund, we had an extremely positive experience filming Churchill in Scotland earlier this year, and it really felt like the natural place to bring our next film The Wife, which is currently in production Glasgow. "

Natalie Usher, Director of Screen at Creative Scotland said: “We’re delighted to see that the production spend figures published today show a significant increase on previous years. This proves that Scotland’s talent, crews, facilities and award winning locations continue to be of huge attraction to major international productions.

“In the last year we have seen Sony Starz maintain their commitment to a large scale production base at Cumbernauld, we welcomed Jason Connery’s feature film Tommy’s Honour, and it was great to see our wonderful capital city double for Victorian London in the landmark BBC series, The Secret Agent.

“Together with the UK’s beneficial film and tv tax reliefs and the additional incentives provided by Scotland’s Production Growth Fund, we fully expect the 2016 figures to show a further and significant increase.”

Notes to Editors

Scottish Production Spend figures by year since 2007:

• 2007 - £23.0 million
• 2008 - £28.0 million
• 2009 - £24.0 million
• 2010 - £21.5 million
• 2011 - £29.3 million
• 2012 - £27.0 million
• 2013 - £33.6 million
• 2014 - £45.8 million
• 2015 - £52.7 million

These figures are an accumulation of those supplied by the Scottish Locations Network plus information from Creative Scotland’s production enquiries database.

The Wife

Based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer and directed by Golden Bear winner Bjorn Runge, from a screenplay by Jane Anderson.

Produced by: Meta Sorensen, Rosalie Sweden, Claudia Bluemhuber, Piers Tempest and Jo Bamford. Financiers: Tempo Productions are partnered with Anonymous Content, Meta Films, Spark Film and TV, Film Vast and Creative Scotland.

International Sales: www.embankmentfilms.com

Synopsis:  Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) is a still-striking beauty with impeccable credentials, the perfect alpha wife. Forty years spent sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to fan the flames of her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his skyrocketing literary career. Ignoring his infidelities and excuses because of his “art” with grace and humour.

Their fateful pact has built a marriage upon uneven compromises. And Joan’s reached her breaking point. On the eve of Joe’s Nobel Prize for Literature, the crown jewel in a spectacular body of work, Joan’s coup de grace is to confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and secret of his career.

The Wife is a poignant, funny and emotional journey; a celebration of womanhood, self-discovery and liberation.