FOCUS, the international location event running Dec. 5/6 in London, has unveiled its free-to-attend program of panels, workshops and presentations. Variety is one of the event’s media partners.
It kicks off with an onstage interview with Andy Noble, co-producer of “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” which stars Annette Bening, and was produced by James Bond production company Eon Productions. The discussion will look at the project’s genesis and development, and the details of the shoot in Liverpool and London.
This is followed by a discussion about high-end TV that includes “Knightfall” writer Dominic Minghella, Carlo Dusi, head of business and commercial affairs at Scott Free, and an executive producer on Tom Hardy’s “Taboo,” and Robert Jones, CEO of the Fyzz Facility. The title of the discussion, “Do the Clever People Now Work in Television?,” is prompted by a Jane Campion quote: “The really clever people used to do film. Now the really clever people do television.”
Another discussion focuses on the challenges facing location managers, with participants including Charlotte Wright, whose credits include “Doctor Strange” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and Harriet Lawrence, whose credits include “My Cousin Rachel” and the 2018 release “Entebbe.” There will also be a case study about Woody Harrelson’s directorial debut “Lost in London,” with David Broder, the film’s location manager as well as a producer in his own right.
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The FOCUS program also includes a presentation by Andrew Barnes, associate director at Olsberg:SPI, based on the company’s research, titled “The Ripple Effect: How Film and TV Drama Productions Grow the Creative Industries,” and a panel discussion on sexual harassment in the advertising industry.
Click here for the full lineup.
