(2024) Steven Knight and Richard Parker talk about future film district plans

Express & Star

Steven Knight from Peaky Blinders thinks. we can create an amazing film culture here in the midlands.

Transcript

00:00So great, thanks for coming today. I just want to use this opportunity to restate my

00:22priorities for the next four years, building on my campaign messages and the key content

00:29of my manifesto, and those key priorities are set out on these boards behind me. I'll

00:35take each of them in turn on jobs. We've got some real issues in this region. We've got

00:41around a quarter of the workforce in West Midlands without the skills to get better

00:47paid jobs, and as most of you will know, we've got twice as many young people out of work

00:53than the national average, and some parts of the region, the figure's even worse than

00:59So my key focus is on getting investment and skills, particularly to our young people,

01:04so we can give them access to the skills and training they need to get better jobs and

01:09better paid jobs, the fabric to turn this region around, and giving young people in

01:14this region, particularly, opportunities to succeed and thrive in the future. On homes,

01:21we've got around 46,000 families living in temporary accommodation, poor quality, high

01:30cost accommodation without security or tenure. It's shocking, it's a terrible impact on the

01:39knowledge quarter. Those investment zones we should believe will attract around £500

01:46million in investment and create 30,000 jobs. My responsibility and my commitment is ensuring

01:51those jobs go to people in this region, and particularly our young people. As I've said

01:56before, too many of our young people from the poorest backgrounds have been overlooked

02:00and left behind for too long. Finally, when we get to our transport system, we've got

02:06now the first stage in place to take our buses back into public control, and I hope we'll

02:12be able to deliver a franchising system that they've got in Manchester, a franchising system

02:17that will allow me and other leaders in this region to take control of our bus network.

02:21It's critically important, 80% of the people in this region that use the public transport

02:26use the bus network, and it's failing our communities. Currently, people in this region

02:30can't get to work, can't get to college, can't get to the shops, and can't get to the doctors

02:36and hospitals because the buses do not serve our communities. So our plan is to franchise

02:40the bus network, bring buses back into control, and deliver a bus network that meets the needs

02:45of all of our communities. And if we do that, if we deliver jobs, growth, homes, and a transport

02:52system, and as it says up here, allow them to get journeys and connect across this region.

02:58For the first time in 15 years, we can give people in this region hope. Hope that their

03:02lives can be better, hope that their family's got a better future here, and hope that the

03:07places where they live have a better future too. Thank you.

03:11A friend of mine who's made a fantastic investment in this place, and Stephen's going to say

03:15a few words about his plans for Digleth Lock and the region. And what I'd like to just

03:20say before I do that, I'll be working really close with Stephen about some work we're going

03:24to do on a joint production office, but I'll hand over to Stephen now who's going to set

03:28out some of his very important plans that are going to help us transform this industry

03:32and creative sector in Birmingham and West Midlands. Thank you.

03:35Thank you. First of all, many apologies that I've arrived late. I've been banging the drum

03:41for Birmingham and Digleth at the Royal Television Society this morning. The journey here was

03:47interesting to say the least. But anyway, we're here now. And eight years ago, I thought

03:55it would be a great idea for there to be a film and television studio in Birmingham.

04:00It was sort of before lots of regions were doing that, before the idea of a film and

04:05television studio became quite a normal thing. We're now at a stage where we have made incredible

04:15progress to take what I think is a beautiful place like this, the beautiful Victorian architecture,

04:26the warehouses that are here, the canal system you can see behind, is to take that space

04:34and do with it something that probably no other industry could do with it. You know,

04:40when a film producer, television producer comes and sees that great big warehouse there

04:46with a leaky roof and no columns in the middle and a flat concrete floor, that is gold dust

04:54to a film producer because that's what we need. So these big buildings that we have

04:58in plenty in the Digleth area, it looks, as soon as I came here, it looked like film production

05:06in the world. And so we are making the most of the fact that we have been given this legacy

05:13by our wonderful Victorian predecessors.

05:16There isn't, in this city, there isn't any money. No, I don't mean just in the council.

05:23There is not any money in terms of grants for us. I have to give a mention to Homes

05:29England who have been fantastic. Homes England own this place a lot. But they've been great

05:35and they have been forthcoming. But we have to operate on the assumption that we have

05:40to do it ourselves, which is fine, and that's what we're doing.

05:43I thought St. Richardshead was really interesting about that there are people investing in Birmingham

05:47yourself. Knighthead with Birmingham City, I mean we saw a star-studded game last night,

05:51I don't know if you saw it. That's why my voice is like that, honestly.

05:55So you know, there is this international interest in Birmingham already, so do you think we're

05:59not promoting ourselves properly? Well we're beginning to, I think. You know,

06:02I think that stuff like, and this is the interesting thing, is that things that people think are

06:06a bit of a laugh and sort of peripheral and not important really are. So, for example,

06:11last night that game was broadcast live across the United States. I don't know if this is

06:18all true, but a Wrexham game gets the same viewing figures as a Man U game. So this is

06:25Wrexham Blues, Blues win, Tom Brady's us, David Beckham is us. So an American audience

06:31is going to sit up and take notice of things like that. So that's what we've got to do.

06:36I think in the past, because we're from Broome, we don't want to get too show-offy and big

06:41for our boots, but I think the time's come where we've got to actually put the word out.

06:46We've heard quite a bit from you about the idea for the studio here and all that.

06:51It just keeps going on and on. But I really like the analogy about the village

06:55that you were talking about just then. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

06:58Well, if we do it right, we get the studios here and we get the production pipeline coming

07:03through, which means that someone can live in this neighbourhood and be a carpenter or

07:08a spark or a driver and can be confident that this place will be their place of employment,

07:15whether it's, I don't know, Star Wars or whatever, some television show. There's something

07:20going on. We need to keep that. Otherwise, no-one is going to live here and move here

07:26knowing that they're only going to get work three months of the year. So we've got to

07:30make sure there's a proper pipeline. Things like Masterchef are gold, because they're

07:34shooting, I think, 48 weeks of the year, which is incredible. So the more of that stuff we

07:39can get, I'm putting together what I hope will be a returning series about university

07:45students, which will be shot here. So what we need is those continuing series to keep

07:52the employment. We don't want any noise. We don't want loud noises. But yeah, that's what

08:00we need, is a production pipeline. And the village idea is that people live here, they

08:05walk to work, they cycle to work. And so this becomes like a media. Media's the wrong

08:12word. A sort of creative environment.

08:15And we're doing a lot in a day's time, which is exciting.

08:19Well, we start off on location, actually, but then we're here.

08:22Obviously, you've filmed a series in and around this area before, but how much does it mean

08:28bringing the movie to the production studios here that you've back-sown to Tommy?

08:32Well, I mean, in truth, the TV series, we shot a lot of it in Manchester, against my

08:40will, because I always said we should be shooting here. But the common, and this is the thing

08:45about film, the common wisdom was the locations are not there, because they all got bombed

08:50or they got torn down. The film location people have come and they've found some amazing locations.

08:58So a lot of the location stuff will be here. Of course, we'll be using the Black Country

09:04Museum again, and we'll be building sets at the top of the studios.

09:12Pleasure to meet you. You talk so passionately about Digberth. What do you think the future

09:17will look like for the arts and culture sector here in the city?

09:20You know, we've got to do stuff that identifies the city and gives it its own identity.

09:27So you're committed to the sector in the city?

09:29Totally, yeah. I mean, it's too late to pull out now.

09:32Stephen, I'm not sure how much you meant to say about it, but the hotel that you've mentioned...

09:36Oh, God, I shouldn't be talking about that.

09:38Why is it that you want a hotel here? How much can you tell us at this stage?

09:42Well, let me just say, I want there to be accommodation within walking distance of the

09:47studios, so that people are not getting into cars. I want it to be very green. You know,

09:51I'd prefer them to get in a boat than have to drive. Why not, you know? And the idea

09:58would be either have people living close by and working, or have people in. The appeal

10:05to crew and actors and people, they finish work probably at midnight or one o'clock in

10:13the morning, and they walk to their room. They don't wait for a cab to go to some criminal

10:18When can we expect to hear something about that?

10:21Have you said too much already?

10:23That's all from me, thank you.

10:27Are the locations in the Black Country to have potential to be important in the Port

10:30of the Centre?

10:31Listen, I went with the location people along the canals into the Black Country, and they

10:38have found some places that are like cathedrals. They're absolutely amazing. The thing is,

10:43I loved the Black Country. I used to go there with my dad. You'd go into nail-making yards

10:50and horseshoe-making yards and things like that. Amazing people. I loved the Black Country

10:56and the sense of humour was great.

10:58We're great.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended