London: Thriller Ponte Tower, a planned co-production project between the UK and South Africa, is in the first stage of development with Lottery funding from the UK Film Council's Development Fund.
Loosely developed from the book by German novelist Norman Ohler and shot entirely within the infamous Ponte Tower, UK director Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) and writer Michael Thomas (The Hunger, Scandal, Backbeat) are developing an uncompromising thriller set beneath the largest illuminated Coca-Cola sign in the world.
The tallest skyscraper on the continent, initially symbolising white affluence, Ponte Tower came to represent change and upheaval in South Africa, known by the end of apartheid as one of the most dangerous addresses in the world.
Gina Carter (producer on Heartlands, Bright Young Things, Snow Cake, co-producer on 24 Hour Party People) is producer on the project, along with Frank Kunster. The project is being developed on a step-by-step basis.
Previously Boyle successfully bought adaptations of two best-selling books to the big screen, Alex Garland's The Beach, and Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Gina Carter produced Heartlands, adapted from Paul Fraser's novel, Bright Young Things, adapted from Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh and co-produced 24 Hour Party People, adapted from Tony Wilson's book. Michael Thomas has written many book adaptations and dramatisations of biographical events for film including Scandal, about the Profumo affair, and Backbeat, chronicling the Beatles in Germany.
Projects adapted from books to films with support from the UK Film Council's Development Fund include Anand Tucker's And When Did You Last See Your Father?, Justin Chadwick's The Other Boleyn Girl, Nicolas Roeg's Puffball, Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, Terry Gilliam's Tideland and Metin Hüseyin's Anita and Me.
For press enquiries please contact
Chloe Lola Riess / Tina McFarling
UK Film Council press office: T: +44 (0)20 7861 7900/7901
E: chloe.riess@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk / tina.mcfarling@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Notes to editors:
The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad. We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development and export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education. Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public through:
- creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and distinctive British films;
- enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;
- imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.
The UK Film Council's Development Fund aims to broaden the quality, range and ambition of UK film projects and talent being developed, bringing together screenwriters, script editors, directors, producers and a mixture of other creative talents to increase the number of quality scripts moving to production. With £12 million to invest over three years the fund is building creatively focused relationships with a breadth of talent from 'first-timers' to experienced practitioners and is enabling British film companies to grow their businesses.
Projects supported by the fund include The Other Boleyn Girl (dir. Justin Chadwick, wr. Peter Morgan), And When Did You Last See Your Father? (dir Anand Tucker, wr David Nicholls), Becoming Jane (dir Julian Jarrold, wrs Kevin Hood & Sarah Williams), Red Road (dir. Andrea Arnold, wrs Andrea Arnold & Anders Thomas Jensen), The Proposition (dir. John Hillcoat, wr. Nick Cave); Kidulthood (dir. Menhaj Huda, wr. Noel Clarke); Anita & Me (dir. Metin Hüseyin, wr. Meera Syal); The Magdalene Sisters (wr/dir. Peter Mullan); Severance (dir. Christopher Smith, wr. James Moran & Christopher Smith); A Woman in Winter (wr/dir. Richard Jobson); The Dark (dir. John Fawcett, wr. Simon Maginn and Stephen Massicotte); Straightheads (wr. & dir. Dan Reed); Life & Lyrics (dir. Richard Laxton, wr. Ken Williams), and Sparkle (wr/dir. Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter).
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