To coincide with the 75th Birthday of the biggest and best movie studio in the UK (nay, the world), today they have announced that their new movie in collaboration with the BFI, Future Films/2B Pictures, Pathé and NDF International ‘Last Passenger’ has begun shooting at one of their sister studio, Shepperton from today. The film stars Dougray Scott and Kara Tointon and and is written and directed by Omid Nooshi.
Last Passenger tells the story of Lewis Shaler (Dougray Scott), an overworked doctor and devoted single dad heading home with his young son on the last train from London. When he strikes up a relationship with a beautiful and flirtatious stranger, Lewis believes life is finally looking up. But events then take a dark turn when he discovers the guard has mysteriously vanished and the brakes have been sabotaged. Unknown to the handful of remaining passengers, a vengeful sociopath has taken control of the train and is hell-bent on crashing it, taking his passengers with him to the grave.
Check out the full press release below and join us in congratulating Pinewood on 75 wonderful years!
Last Passenger Speeds into Shepperton
The BFI and Pinewood Studios, in association with Future Films/2B Pictures, Pathé and NDF International, is delighted to announce the commencement of production on Last Passenger.
The film, starring Dougray Scott and Kara Tointon began shooting today at Shepperton Studios and marks the first tie-up between the BFI and The Pinewood Studios Group – which recently announced a new initiative that will see it invest in a number of British independent films each year.
Last Passenger is written and directed by Omid Nooshin and produced by Ado Yoshizaki Cassuto and Zack Winfield. It is a claustrophobic suspense thriller in the Hitchcockian-Spielberg tradition of the everyday man thrust into an extraordinary situation. The film has a relentless momentum and genuine heart to get audience pulses racing – at 100 miles per hour.
In order to realise their ambitions for the project, the director and producers had to think of innovative ways to secure the backing they needed. The answer was to produce an incredible ‘dummy’ trailer that captured the suspense and action of the film – and they did so for a mere £500. On the back of this trailer, Pathé, which had approached the team to handle worldwide sales for the film was able to secure nine territories including Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Portugal and Indonesia at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
Zack Winfield and Ado Yoshizaki, Producers of NDF International comment: “On the back of the trailer the project gained incredible momentum. To attract talented actors like Dougray Scott and Kara Tointon, as well as exceptional partners such as the BFI, Pinewood Studios, Future Films and Pathé is hugely exciting and we now can’t wait to get started.”
Stephen Margolis, CEO of Future Films comments: “Last Passenger is an excellent example of the work we like to do: finding the right price and structure for a film and turning the film-makers dream into reality.”
Chris Collins, Senior Production Executive at the BFI Film Fund comments: “The BFI are delighted to support the debut feature of Omid Nooshin. Omid is an exciting talent, part of a new generation of young British filmmakers who are pushing the boundaries of expectations in genre work and who have the skills to make films with high value at low cost. He has attracted a great team – including his producers Zack Winfield and Ado Yoshizaki Cassuto – and we wish them the best of luck with the shoot.”
Nick Smith, Commercial Director at The Pinewood Studios Group comments: “Last Passenger is an exciting step forward for Pinewood Films and is exactly the sort of project we had in mind when we launched the initiative earlier this year. We are thrilled to be supporting some exciting and creative British filmmakers and wish the entire cast and crew every success.”
Last Passenger tells the story of Lewis Shaler (Dougray Scott), an overworked doctor and devoted single dad heading home with his young son on the last train from London. When he strikes up a relationship with a beautiful and flirtatious stranger, Lewis believes life is finally looking up. But events then take a dark turn when he discovers the guard has mysteriously vanished and the brakes have been sabotaged. Unknown to the handful of remaining passengers, a vengeful sociopath has taken control of the train and is hell-bent on crashing it, taking his passengers with him to the grave.
