Working Title Films

Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London, England. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in the late 1960s. It produces feature films and some television productions. Eric Fellner and Bevan are the co-owners of the company now.

The company gained mainstream traction after the unexpected global box-office success of Hugh Grant-starrer, "Four Weddings and a Funeral". Among the company's films are Richard Curtis-scripted romantic comedies, which usually star Grant, and Coen Brothers' films, but has in recent times moved into many other types of film, such as "United 93".

In 2004 it made a profit of £17.8 million pounds sterling.Fact|date=August 2007 As of 2007, all its films are distributed by Universal Pictures, which owns a 67% stake in the company, and many of its recent films are co-productions with StudioCanal. The remaining shares are owned by the company's founders, BBC Films, and private investors.Fact|date=August 2007

The film company also has a smaller low-budget film brand, WT2 (Working Title 2) which has produced films such as "Billy Elliot" (2000) and "Shaun of the Dead" (2004). [ [http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/working_title_history/ History of Working Title] , Warwick University, URL accessed June 2nd, 2008]

List of films produced by Working Title Films

*"Shampoo" (announced) (also with 20th Century Fox) [cite news|first= Francesca|last= Martin|title= Tinker, tailor, soldier, film star|url= http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2283640,00.html|work= The Guardian|date= 2008-06-04|accessdate= 2008-06-04]
*"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (announced)
*"Lost for Words" (2009)
*"State of Play" (2009)
*"A Serious Man" (2009)
*"Frost/Nixon" (2008)
*"Burn After Reading" (2008)
*"Wild Child" (2008)
*"Definitely, Maybe" (2008)
*"Mr Bean's Holiday" (2007)
*"Atonement (2007)
*"Hot Fuzz" (2007)
*"Smokin' Aces" (2007)
*"Below the Fold" (2007)
*"Bran Mak Morn" (2007)
*"" (2007)
*"Catch a Fire" (2006)
*"United 93" (2006)
*"100 Weddings" (2006)
*"Everest" (2006)
*"Nanny McPhee" (2005)
*"Pride & Prejudice" (2005)
*"The Interpreter" (2005)
*"Mickybo and Me" (2005)
*"" (2004)
*"Inside I'm Dancing" (2004)
*"Wimbledon" (2004)
*"Thunderbirds" (2004)
*"The Calcium Kid" (2004)
*"Shaun of the Dead" (2004)
*"Double Bill" (2003) (TV)
*"Love Actually" (2003)
*"Johnny English" (2003)
*"Ned Kelly" (2003)
*"The Shape of Things(2003)
*"Thirteen" (2003)
*"My Little Eye" (2002)
*"The Guru" (2002)
*"About a Boy" (2002)
*"Ali G Indahouse" (2002)
*"40 Days and 40 Nights" (2002)
*"Long Time Dead" (2002)
*"The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001)
*"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (2001)
*"Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001)
*"The Man Who Cried" (2000)
*"Billy Elliot" (2000)
*"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000)
*"High Fidelity" (2000)
*"Notting Hill" (1999)
*"Plunkett & Macleane" (1999)
*"The Hi-Lo Country(1998)
*"Elizabeth" (1998)
*"What Rats Won't Do" (1998)
*"More Tales of the City" (1998) (mini)
*"The Big Lebowski" (1998)
*"Eight" (1998)
*"The Borrowers" (1997)
*"The MatchMaker" (1997)
*"Bean" (1997)
*"Huitième jour, Le" (1996)
*"Fargo" (1996)
*"Loch Ness" (1996)
*"Dead Man Walking" (1995)
*"Moonlight and Valentino" (1995)
*"French Kiss" (1995)
*"Panther" (1995)
*"Land and Freedom" (1995)
*"That Eye, the Sky" (1994)
*"The Hudsucker Proxy" (1994)
*"Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994)
*"The Return of the Borrowers" (1993)
*"Romeo Is Bleeding" (1993)
*"Posse" (1993)
*"Map of the Human Heart" (1993)
*"The Young Americans (film)" (1993)
*"Bob Roberts" (1992)
*"Dakota Road" (1992)
*"" (1992)
*"London Kills Me" (1991)
*"Edward II" (1991)
*"Robin Hood" (1991)
*"Barton Fink" (1991)
*"Smack and Thistle" (1991)
*"Drop Dead Fred" (1991)
*"Rubin and Ed" (1991)
*"Fools of Fortune" (1990)
*"Chicago Joe and the Showgirl" (1990)
*"The Tall Guy" (1989)
*"Diamond Skulls" (1989)
*"Paperhouse" (1988)
*"Echoes" (1988)
*"For Queen and Country" (1988)
*"A World Apart" (1988)
*"Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" (1987)
*"Wish You Were Here" (1987)
*"My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985)
*"The Man Who Shot Christmas" (1984)

1991 ITV franchise bid

In 1991 Working Title was involved in a bid for the London weekend ITV licence. Mentorn, Palace, Polygram and Working Title wanted to take over from London Weekend Television and broadcast to London under the name London Independent Broadcasting. In the event LWT retained its licence; London Independent Broadcasting's proposals were deemed by the Independent Television Commission, which was overseeing the bid process, to fail the quality threshold. [Davidson, Andrew, Under the Hammer: The ITV Franchise Battle, William Heinemann Ltd., p. 297]

External links

* [http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/ Official web site]
*imdb company|0057311|Working Title Films
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2821801.stm Profile of the founders on BBC News]

Notes and references