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News Report Page 7 of 9
Publication Date:-
2020-09-21
News reports located on this page = 3.

"Hollywood of the North" - Liverpool submits plans for 1st pop up film studios

LIVERPOOL City Council has submitted a planning application to create the City's 1st purpose built film and high end TV stages / film studios at the historic Littlewoods building. The City Council proposes to build 2, 20,000 sq ft studios, located on land adjacent to the famous building, as part of a strategy to cement the City's position as one of Europe's premier film and TV hubs. The planning application is subject to a public consultation, but if approved the Council expects to start on site in November 2020 and the sound stages to be operational by Spring 2021. In July 2021, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority approved ₤17m to support the new film and TV stages, along with the Littlewood Film and TV studios. A report will also be submitted to the Council's Cabinet next month seeking approval to appoint contractors to construct the facilities. The Littlewoods Film and TV Studios also this week announced Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) as its educational partner and has already signed up the historic Twickenham Studios, as its anchor tenants. Liverpool City Council's Film Office, which has recently launched a fund to attract productions to the City, is overseeing the scheme and is already in talks with international production companies over the use of the stages next year.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "I always like to say that our region is the country's cultural and creative capital, whether in sport, music or in film and TV. These new facilities and the wider Littlewoods Studios development will mean that we are able to offer the full package to productions, from providing stunning filming backdrops to the more technical editing and recording work. This scheme has the potential to be a real game changer for the entire region, building a 'Hollywood of the North' that will attract jobs and productions from around the world to the area, as well as providing local people with world class training and job opportunities. In years to come, I think we might look back on this as the first step in a really exciting and rewarding journey for our creative industry."

Liverpool is one of the major film locations in the UK and is currently hosting major productions such as Netflix's The Irregulars, and has previously welcomed blockbusters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Harry Potter franchises, as well as high end TV dramas like:- Peaky Blinders, The Crown, Tin Star, and The English Game. Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said:- "Liverpool's reputation in the TV and Film industry is second to none. The City's ability to double up as:- New York, Chicago or Moscow means we regularly see it on the silver and small screen. Being a world class location has opened many doors and the demand from production companies to come here has now reached a tipping point where we need to take the City's offer to the next level. These 2 pop up sound stages adjacent to the future Littlewoods Film Studios will ensure co-location to the best new facilities in the UK and transform Liverpool's ability to provide the TV and Film industry with a more all round package, enabling us to attract a more diverse range of productions which will in turn will create more jobs. Having such illustrious partners like Twickenham and LJMU means we will also have all the right ingredients to create a 'Hollywood of the North' for training, production content and talent in Liverpool. The team within our Liverpool Film Office have put together a compelling business case and have once again shown why their expertise is such an invaluable asset to the city's and the UK's creative sector."

In 2019, Liverpool Film Office hosted 324 different film and TV projects, racking up a recordbreaking 1,750 production days 363 more days than 2018 with Liverpool once again acting as a double for locations across the world, including:- New York in Das Boot, Madrid in Years and Years, London for The Irregulars and Wales in The Snow Spider.  As a result, ₤17.6 million has been brought in to the local economy; an increase of ₤1.5m on 2019; with the City acting as a temporary home to cast of stars including:- Tim Roth, Keira Knightley, Cillian Murphy, Noel Clarke, Himesh Patel, Lily James, Nicholas Hoult, Robert Carlyle and Genevieve O'Reilly.
 


Merseyside employer fears skills drain for young people in live events industry after latest ONS figures are released

AS the Government starts to wind down its furlough programme, the harsh realities are starting to hit home for young people in Merseyside, as the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that they are currently 1 of the hardest hit groups. The live events industry that employs thousands of young people to pack out summer time event bars, light, rig and install stage equipment is without Government funding to support the UK's fastest growing sector pre-COVID.  Andy Dockerty, a prominent member in the live events industry for over 35 years, has been responsible for introducing thousands of young people from Merseyside into the industry through his company Adlib, and helps get them on the career ladder through hiring and School visits. He now fears it could be detrimental to the million members of staff without extending the furlough scheme to help keep it afloat.  Are you in this industry and worried about your future?  If yes, please let us know your thoughts on this by emailing them to our news room at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.
 


Get creative on coverings competition!
Photo by Matt Thomas

A brand new competition has been launched to bring a bit of creative flair to the latest fashion trend; face coverings! The ongoing health pandemic has meant that everyone (unless medically exempt) should wear a face covering when they're out and about to keep themselves, and those around them safe; especially if social distancing isn't possible.

Liverpool residents aged from 14 to 25 years are being asked to come up with a unique design to transform this functional accessory, and the winning designs will be printed on to hundreds of limited edition coverings which will be handed out to people across the City. And to top it off, the winners will also receive ₤200 each.

Liverpool's Cabinet Member for Public Health, Councillor Paul Brant, said:- "As face coverings are now mandatory in shops and on public transport they have become a must-have fashion item; and if there's one thing scousers know about, it's fashion. There is a huge pool of creative talent in this city and it makes sense to tap in to this in order to create unique face coverings that not only look good, but also mean people are playing their part in stopping the spread of Covid19. There are no limits as to how creative people can be, so it will be fascinating to see the diversity and scope of the original artwork submitted which will then be transformed in to the must wear, sustainable accessory of the season!"

In short...

The competition will be split in to 2 categories:- 14 to 17 year olds and 18 to 25 year olds; and there will be 2 winners from each age range.

Full details of how to take part can be found online at:- UncoverLiverpool.com and the deadline for entries is midday, on Friday, 2 October 2020.

All submissions will go before a judging panel which includes Liverpool artists Kiara Mohammed and TEE, a representative from the City Council's public health department and the Open Culture team which connects artists and audiences.

TEE said:- "In this day and age where it's important to stand for what we believe in, break the mould and to be unapologetic with one's art. I think there is a massive scope of individualism, meaning and expression. I'm excited to see where the artist's pull their inspiration from and how they can transform a 'must wear' into a 'must have' accessory!"

The competition is being run by Liverpool City Council in partnership with COoL; the Creative Organisations of Liverpool and Open Culture.

 
      
 
   
 
 
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