Working Title Films is a British

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the productio ...

that produces

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s and

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

s and is a subsidiary of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, a division of

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...

, which is itself a division of

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and

Sarah Radclyffe Sarah Radclyffe (born 14 November 1950), sometimes credited as Sarah Radcliffe, is a British film producer. She began working as associative producer in the late 1970s on such films as '' The Tempest'' (1979) directed by Derek Jarman. From ...

in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions. Bevan and Eric Fellner are now the co-chairmen of the company.

Company

Working Title Films was co founded by producers Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. Radclyffe left in 1992,

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

became the company's corporate backer, and Eric Fellner, a fellow

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

producer, joined the company. The company produced a variety of films for

's London based production company,

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1 ...

. An Anglo-Dutch

, PolyGram Films became a major Hollywood competitor. In 1998,

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the ...

sold the bulk of its library of PolyGram films released up until 31 March 1996 to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. In 1999, PolyGram was sold to the Seagram company and merged with

MCA Music Entertainment MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

, to form

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. PolyGram Films was sold and folded into

in 1999. Although contractually allowed to produce any film with a budget of up to $35 million, on a practical basis, Bevan and Fellner consult with studio executives at Working Title's parent company

. Working Title is headquartered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and has an office in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, which is headed by producer

Liza Chasin Liza Chasin is an American film producer. She is the president of the American production company 3dot Productions. Life and career Chasin is a graduate of NYU Film School.

. More recently, the production company renewed its first look deal with Universal Pictures.

WT² Productions

In 1999, Bevan and Fellner launched a subsidiary company named Working Title 2 Productions, commonly known as WT². The company is an independent film production arm run by

Natascha Wharton Natascha Wharton (born 1965) is a British film producer and founder of WT2 Productions, an independent film production company, and subsidiary of Working Title Films. Biography Wharton was born in Trinidad to a German mother and Trinidadia ...

, and has produced films that include '' Billy Elliot'', '' Shaun of the Dead'' and '' The Calcium Kid''.

Television division

Working Title has been active in television production since the beginning of the 1990s. In February 2010, Working Title officially launched its television division as a joint venture with parent company NBCUniversal, itself owned by

. Since then, they have produced content for both British and American television. Notable productions and co productions developed by Working Title Television (WTTV) include NBC's '' About a Boy'', and Showtime's ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

''. WTTV has offices in London and Los Angeles.

TV productions

1991 ITV franchise bid

In 1991, Working Title was involved in a bid for the London Weekend ITV licence. Working Title, Mentorn, Palace and PolyGram 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.

Films

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Upcoming

In development

References

External links

*
Profile of the founders on BBC NewsShaun of the Dead production company Working Title to launch TV division
{{Authority control Film production companies of the United Kingdom Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1983 British companies established in 1983 Universal Pictures subsidiaries British subsidiaries of foreign companies Mass media companies based in London BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award 1999 mergers and acquisitions