London woos Woody away from ParisBy Dalya Alberge, Arts
Correspondent
NI_MPU('middle'); WOODY ALLEN has abandoned
plans to shoot his next film in Paris this summer and will instead come to
Britain for a third time. One of the industry’s most original film-makers
has cancelled his flight to the French capital weeks before filming was due to
begin with a cast headed by the Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams.
The budget for Paris, the producers realised, was too high and London was a far
more attractive option. Allen made Match Point — his most commercially
successful film, starring Scarlett Johansson — in London. His second London
film, Scoop, is yet to be released. Like most of his films, plot details
are kept firmly under wraps, but the abandoned Paris project was said to be
about young Americans in the city. For Williams — whom he was already describing
as his new muse — it would have been the first role since her Oscar-nominated
performance in Brokeback Mountain. One of the
producers, Gareth Wiley, who also produced the two earlier London films, told
The Times yesterday that they decided at the weekend to abandon Paris. “It was
too expensive,” he said, confirming that they would be filming “a unique story
written specially for London”. Allen sang the praises of London last year,
saying that the way of working on this side of the Atlantic was a welcome
change. He said that the insistence of Hollywood studios on seeing scripts and
commenting on casting was oppressive. Even though he did not have London in
mind when he wrote Match Point, he found himself overwhelmed by the freedom that
he was offered in Britain. He likes to be left alone to make a film. “In London
I could work that way,” he said. He also liked how London’s grey skies and
flat light “gave a colour saturation to everything that’s very rich and very
beautiful for photography”. Match Point also starred the Irish actor
Jonathan Rhys- Meyers as a tennis
professional who has affairs with two women in a love triangle that ends in
tragedy. One was played by Johansson — who made her name in the critically
acclaimed Lost in Translation — and the other by the British actress Emily
Mortimer. London had a big supporting role. Landmarks such as Tate Modern
and the Royal Opera House were featured. The capital is experiencing a
filmmaking boom. Red tape and health and safety obstacles are being relaxed in
an effort to ease the path of film-makers. Since it started two years ago,
Film London, the planning agency for film and media, has put into place a range
of initiatives. Across the city, the number of shooting days has increased by 30
per cent over the past two years. Film trailers, reviews and listings at
www.timesonline.co.uk/film
CAPITAL OPTIONS

LONDON


Locations: From contemporary buildings such as the 'Gherkin' to many classic
landmarks
Investment: Films worth £475 million shot last year


Tax break: On films with production budgets up to £20 million, the tax credit
level is 20 per cent; with budgets of £20 million and above, the tax credit
level will be 16 per cent

Recent productions: The Da Vinci Code, V For Vendetta, Basic Instinct 2

PARIS

Locations: Pristine image of the romantic past. The only site off limits to
film-makers is Notre Dame cathedral


Investment: Films worth £137 million shot last year

Tax breaks: a company investing in the Sofica scheme can write off up to 50 per
cent of tax. But eligible films must in most cases be shot in French

Recent productions: The Da Vinci Code, Marie-Antoinette, a remake of The Pink
Panther


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