This document summarizes information about the film production company Working Title Films from several sources: - Working Title Films is known for producing blockbuster comedies, period films, dramas, and films by directors like the Coen Brothers. It has launched the careers of many directors and actors. - The company gives filmmakers independence and low budgets to take creative risks, as with "United 93" and "Catch a Fire". This approach can lead to both artistic and commercial successes. - Run by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, Working Title has about 40 staff members and offices in London, Los Angeles, and Australia. It also has a lower-budget offshoot called Working Title 2.

1. You should familiarise yourself with the Working Title Films site. This
has plenty of good things about the company and its films. It might be
interesting, for example, to use the poster gallery and trailers to see
how the films have been promoted and the target audience that they
have in mind.
It might be useful to focus on a couple of films that you know/like to
see if you can get a more complete picture of their production history.
If you go to imdb you can look up individual films etc and then down
the left hand side are links to all sorts of things. If you click on
‘company details’ it will indicate whether Working Title produced the
film on its own or as a co-production with other company/companies
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2821801.stm
Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner have been described as the "Brit flick's twin towers of
power", Britain's "movie moguls" and "gamblers with excellent taste and instincts".
The early films were a mixture of left-of-centre independent films, such as Sammy
and Rosie Get Laid, and support for American indie productions, such as Tim
Robbins' Bob Roberts.
In 1999 Working Title signed a reported $600m deal with film giant Universal. While
the overall deal is probably exaggerated, it gave the pair the power to commission
films with a budget up to $35m without even consulting their pay masters.
Their most recent success is the launch of WT2, an offshoot designed to produce
smaller budget films.
This document summarises some of the material from the various
articles:
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/feature.jsp?id=113008
Read all of this document. On page 3, what
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952379.html?
categoryid=2299&cs=1
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952377.html?
categoryid=2299&cs=1
Though best known for the blockbuster comedies of Richard Curtis and Rowan
Atkinson, they also deliver punchy period pics, urgent political dramas, highbrow
literary adaptations, quirky family fare, cultish low-budgeters and the somewhat
uncategorizable output of the Coen brothers.

2. And they have a formidable record of launching fresh talent -- from directors Joe
Wright ("Pride & Prejudice"), Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot"), Shekhar Kapur
("Elizabeth") and Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Laundrette") to actors Cate
Blanchett and veritable house leading man Hugh Grant.
Director Paul Greengrass was given the greenlight to use a no-name cast, many of
them non-actors, and a docudrama approach for "United 93," and the risk paid
off in uniformly strong reviews for a 9/11-themed movie that was wide open to
potential charges of exploitation and the Hollywoodization of a sensitive subject.
For the upcoming "Catch a Fire," helmer Phillip Noyce cited the duo's
commitment and hand-off approach to the apartheid-era drama, which was shot
in South Africa and Swaziland. "This was a project that Tim Bevan and Eric
Fellner were determined to make," Noyce says. "They have a deal with
StudioCanal and Universal that allows them to put certain pictures into
production below a certain budget; presumably our $15 million budget qualified.
If Focus and Universal hadn't agreed, they were that determined to have it made
anyway.
"It really was a case of: 'You have $15 million, do what you like, then bring it
back. Call us when you need us.' They were very supportive."
But the true measure of Working Title is its bottom line. Because of
its tight budgets, even modest theatrical results can be highly
profitable. "United 93" was clearly an artistic triumph, but with a
budget of $15 million and worldwide box office of $75 million, it's
also a commercial one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/apr/16/business.hayfilmfestival2
005
Their offices are in Oxford Street, London, with about 40 staff (the
same number as in 1992) working on the development, marketing and
legal sides - though when separate companies are formed for
individual projects, they could have hundreds, even thousands of
people on the books. They have offices in Australia and Los Angeles,
plus a low-budget offshoot, Working Title 2, responsible for films such
as Billy Elliot and Shaun of the Dead.
http://www.skillset.org/film/stories/production/article_3457_1.asp
In terms of production, a strong emphasis is placed on development. Six people work sourcing,
developing and honing projects in the UK, with another three in the US and one person in

3. Australia.
The production department itself is six strong, and comprises two senior production executives,
backed up by four staff, and is responsible for overseeing Working Title's films. This involves
managing a film's budget and keeping the shoots on schedule.
Other key departments include a legal and business affairs team, headed by company chief
operating officer Angela Morrison who is responsible for financing Working Title films and sorting
out legal issues. She works with three full time lawyers on her team.
How does Working Title choose which films to make? Fellner says projects get championed by
individuals in the development department and these 'percolate' their way up to the top. Bevan
and Fellner then both take the decision on what to greenlight.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyan
dtelecoms/2783016/Working-Title-plans-TV-shows.html
Working Title, the British-based film production company, is understood to be in
discussions with NBC Universal to launch an international television business.
NBC Universal already holds a majority stake in Working Title Films, and has been
looking to create a European TV studio in London.
The intention is to create big-budget British productions on a par with such US hit series
as Heroes or 24.
The company will seek commissions from broadcasters, with NBC putting up a
significant part of the financing.
In return, the US group would carry Working Title shows on its collection of
international pay-TV channels or sell them on to other networks, and take a cut from
DVD sales.