From: "MaggieWalsh - on behalf of Save Twickenham Film Studios"
Twickenham Film Studios is a small, all-round film studio located in the outskirts of London. It has been a working Studio for 99 years, starting in the age of silentfilms, and most recently hosting award winning films such as ‘War Horse’ and‘My Year with Marilyn’. ‘The Iron Lady’ was based there for postproduction, and Brad Pitt is mixing his latest film at the studio.
Twickenham FilmStudios hosted The Beatles in ‘Help’ and ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, Michael Cainefilmed ‘Alfie’ and ‘The Italian Job’ there, and films such as ‘AmericanWerewolf in London’, ‘Blade Runner’, ‘A Fish Called Wanda’, and ‘Angels &Demons’ were filmed at the Studio. Hundreds of films and documentarieshave used the Studio for Post Production.
Twickenham FilmsStudios has been a small, but key player in the British Film Industry fordecades. It is a lovely, niche facility and one of the few in the country toprovide everything a film maker needs from script to delivery: offices, cuttingrooms with ISDN facilities, shooting stages, costume rooms, a preview theatre,and one of only 2 of the highest spec Dolby Premiere mixing stages – in factthe dubbing theatre is one of the largest in the country. The British Film Industry is thriving, bringing in billions of pounds in revenueto the British economy every year. Just last week, the Chancellor of theExchequer announced tax incentives specifically to keep British Films filmingin Britain.
So why is TaylorWimpey plc negotiating to buy Twickenham Studios, in order to knock them downand build high end apartments and mixed retail?
The Studios’ fortuneshave ebbed and flowed over the past decades, as one might expect. Acorner of the plot was even flattened by a bomb in WW2, but it has alwaysremained a studio. Last August, Richmond Council wrote to the StudioAccountants to confirm the fact that the Borough is short on employmentproperty, that the property was a key part of their current strategy to promotecreative industries for economic benefit to the community, and that “the lossof the Studios would seriously undermine such a strategy.” So I repeat,why is Taylor Wimpey ready to sign on the dotted line for a deal that is saidto involve a reasonable sum for purchase, with a 65% ‘bonus’ when they aregranted permission to change the use to ‘residential’?
Part of the problemis due to an unfortunate and tragic accident that occurred several years ago. Twickenham Studios was owed by a Hollywood Producer named MoustaphaAkkad. He’s known for having produced the successful franchise of ‘Halloween’films, but he also fought to produce two films he hoped would help bridge thegap between the Islamic and Western worlds to bring a greater understanding:‘Mohammed, Messenger of God’ and ‘Lion of the Dessert’, starring Anthony Quinn,Irene Papas, Oliver Reed & John Gielgud. He was putting togethera big budget feature starring Sean Connery about Saladin and the Crusades.
Mr Akkar said: "...Saladin exactlyportrays Islam. Right now, Islam is portrayed as a terrorist religion. Becausea few terrorists are Muslims, the whole religion has that image. If there everwas a religious war full of terror, it was the Crusades. But you can't blameChristianity because a few adventurers did this. That's my message.”
Moustapha Akkar wasworking with his daughter Rima, and planned to pass Twickenham Studios on toher. It is tragic and sadly ironic that they were both killed by a suicidebomber in a hotel in Jordan in November 2005.
Mr Akkar’s sons, wholive in Los Angeles, USA, took over the studios, but it seems they do not havethe same interest in running a business so far away. Investment stopped,and the business has suffered in a way typical to a distant, uninterestedowner. It has not been promoted, nor has it kept up with the latest trendsand needs for filming modern film and TV. As the business continued todecline, they have decided to sell it. One can hardly blame them forwanting the best price; that is not the concern… but the very best price wouldinvolve selling the studio to a property developer so they could knock it downand build apartments and mixed retail. THAT is a concern.
Twickenham FilmStudios sit in the heart of an area called St Margaret’s, which has a villagelike atmosphere. It’s one of the few places left in London whereneighbours know one another, and shops on the High Street are run by the peoplewho own them. But it is crowded. Traffic is already congested, andpressure on local schools is very high. Local residents do not wantanother 200 or more apartments squeezed into their neighbourhood. TheCouncil do not want residential property built on this plot of land.
More importantly, noone wants to lose an iconic, creative business. Land in London has apremium value at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we can knock down all thebusinesses to turn them into housing. Richmond Council do NOT want theallow the site to be changed to residential property, the local residents donot want more housing on that site, and those in the film industryinternationally, do NOT want to lose Twickenham Studios. There are viablebidders who want to take on the Studio to continue running it as a Studio. This is not sentimentality – it’s about long term investment in cultureand jobs, over short term return. It is a matter of preserving theinfrastructure that allows the next generation of great film, television, anddocumentary makers to continue their craft.
Please sign ourpetition if you support keeping Twickenham Film Studios. It really doeshelp!
See the Guardian article about the subject.
