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Warp Films is an independent film production company based in Sheffield & London, UK, with a further affiliated company Warp Films Australia based in Melbourne, Australia.^[1]

History[link]

Warp Films was established by Warp Records founding partners Rob Mitchell & Steve Beckett. It was initially created with financial support from NESTA and had a remit to produce a number of short films. ^[2]

After the unfortunate death of Rob Mitchell in 2001, Beckett decided to continue with Warp Films and enlisted the expertise of Sheffield friend Mark Herbert (who had just produced the critically acclaimed first series of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights for Channel 4) to run the company.^[3]

The first film Chris Morris' My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 was shot in 2002. It won the award for Best Short Film at the 2003 BAFTA Film Awards and became the first short film DVD single in the UK market. ^[4]

Through the star of My Wrongs; Paddy Considine, Herbert met director Shane Meadows and asked them to generate an idea for a film. Herbert raised the funding and the result was Warp Films debut feature, Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Shane Meadows in 2004. ^[5]

Shot in 22 days on a tight budget, and produced from Warp Films’ Sheffield office (at that time a shed in Herbert’s garden), it earned a BAFTA nomination, was nominated for a record eight British Independent Film Awards, won the Hitchcock D’or at the Dinard Festival, and won the Southbank award for Best Film. It received strong critical acclaim and has been hailed as a landmark in British cinema. ^[6] It was ranked #27 in Empire magazines list of the best British films ever

In 2005 Warp Films produced Rubber Johnny, an experimental short and 42-page book by director Chris Cunningham, featuring music by Warp Records artist Aphex Twin. To this day it continues to shock and amaze audiences. ^[7]

Warp Films biggest success to date came with Shane Meadows’ This Is England, the story of Shaun, a boy who is adopted by a local skinhead gang after his father is killed in the Falklands war. Since its release in early 2007 it has gained many awards including the Best Film at the British Independent Films Awards, the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and Best British Film at the BAFTAs. ^[8]

At the same ceremony Warp Films received it’s third BAFTA as Paddy Considine’s directorial debut Dog Altogether won the Best Short Film award. ^[9]

In 2004, Warp Films made a significant expansion in its capacity. Robin Gutch joined Mark Herbert to devise the Warp bid for the Low Budget Film Scheme tender put out by Film4 and UK Film Council. The Warp bid was backed by Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire and EM Media. Warp won the tender against stiff competition and Warp X was formally set up as Warp Xin 2005 as a low budget digital ‘studio’ to develop and produce films with focus on new talent and commercial potential. ^[10]

The first projects under the new label were Chris Waitt’s A Complete History of My Sexual Failures and Olly Blackburn’s Donkey Punch, which were both launched at the Sundance International Film Festival in 2007.^[11]These were followed by Mark Tonderai’s Hush ^[12]Paul King’s Bunny & the Bull ^[13] (Toronto International Film Festival 2009^[14] , BIFA award for Best Production Achievement 2010^[15] ) , Xiaolu Guo’s She, a Chinese ^[16] ( in collaboration with Tiger Lily Films) which won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival^[17] ) .

Another Warp X production was 2009 documentary All Tomorrow’s Parties, covering the history of the All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival. The film was created using footage generated by the fans and musicians attending the events themselves, on a multitude of formats including Super8, camcorder and mobile phone. ^[18]

In 2010 Warp Films produced Chris Morris’ debut feature Four Lions. A satirical comedy drama following a group of homegrown Islamic terrorists from Sheffield, England. The film was a critical and box office success, achieving impressive numbers at the box office on its opening weekend, generating the highest site average of all the new releases (£5,292) and making a total of £609,000. As of 8 August 2010, Four Lions grossed £2,932,366 at the UK box office.^[19]The film was nominated for 2 BAFTA awards, it won the ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer’ BAFTA award for Chris Morris. ^[20]

During the Richard Ayoade’s debut feature Submarine starring Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010^[21] and was released in the UK during March 2011 by Optimum Releasing. It was distributed in the US by The Weinstein Company.^[22]

The film was met with high critical acclaim, and featured original songs by Arctic Monkeys front man, Alex Turner, in his first effort as a solo artist. Submarine has won many awards worldwide, including the Best Screenplay award at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards. Richard Ayoade was nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards ^[23]

Warp Films 2010 television production for Channel 4, Shane Meadows' This Is England '86 was a continuation from the 2006 film. It aired over 4 weekly episodes and received numerous plaudits, including a BAFTA award for leading actress Vicky McClure. ^[24] It achieved record viewing figures for Channel 4. ^[25]

Warp X production Kill List was released in the UK on 28 August 2011. ^[26]Directed by Ben Wheatley, the film stars Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley and MyAnna Buring. It has gone on to win several awards internationally, including a British Independent Film Award for supporting actor Michael Smiley. ^[27] Kill List has received strong critical acclaim, with Total Film declaring it ‘Outstanding’ and giving a 5 star rating.^[28]It was released in the US by IFC films.^[29]

Tyrannosaur, also produced through Warp X, was released in 2011. Directed by Paddy Considine, it was an exploration of how love and friendship can be found in the darkest of places. Tyrannosaur stars Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman and Eddie Marsan. ^[30]It has received strong critical acclaim and won the BAFTA for ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer’ for director Paddy Considine & producer Diarmid Scrimshaw. ^[31]

2011 also saw the world premiere of Justin Kurzel’s Snowtown in Semaine du Critiique at the Cannes International Film Festival.^[32] In 2008, Warp Films had established Warp Films Australia in Melbourne, headed up by Anna McLeish. ^[33] The film has received widespread acclaim and won numerous awards internationally, including four awards at the Australian Academy Cinema Television Awards. ^[34]

Warp Films Australia are currently in pre-production on Shopping, the debut feature film from filmmakers Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland.The film is being produced by Warp Films Australia producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw (Snowtown). ^[35]

This is England ’88, the sequel to the 2010 television series This is England ’86, aired on Channel 4 over three consecutive nights from 13 December 2011.^[36] Set two and half years after ’86, it received strong critical praise. The series had high viewing figures, with 2.5 million people tuning-in to watch the first episode. ^[37]

Warp Films / Warp X productions, Tyrannosaur, Kill List and Submarine were nominated for a total of 18 awards at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards. ^[38]

Warp Films successfully ran a crowd-funding campaign to fund four short films shot at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival by Vincent Moon, using the website Kickstarter.com. The project reached its funding goal on 15 October and the films are currently in post-production. ^[39]

Warp Films produced three 30-minute television dramas for the Sky Arts Playhouse Presents season. These were The Minor Character, written by Will Self and starring David Tennant (which was Sky Arts highest rating commission on the channel^[40] ) The Snipist directed by Matthew Holness, and The District Nurse starring Gina McKee. ^[41]

The Midnight Beast, a new comedy series for E4 begins in May 2012 ^[42]

Warp Films is currently developing several television projects with Channel 4, the BBC and Sky. Warp Films' development slate currently includes projects with Shane Meadows, Chris Morris, Tony Grisoni, Paul Fraser, Gregory Burke, Paul Wright, Yann Demange, Tom Kingsley & Will Sharpe, The Sheeps, Peter Strickland, Olly Blackburn, Paddy Considine, Mikey Please and Shynola amongst others.

Productions[link]

Other[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Warp Films
• Warp Films facebook page
• Warp Films twitter page

Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.

Background[link]

Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop. His father discovered the body of child murder victim Susan Maxwell and was initially considered a suspect in the murder case, which led to Meadows being bullied and shunned by other children.^[1] He attended Picknalls First School, Oldfields Hall Middle School and Thomas Alleyne's High School. At weekends, he sold fruit and veg on a market stall in Uttoxeter market. His love of cinema was fostered by regular trips to the Elite Cinema.

Meadows left school shortly before reaching his GCSEs, and soon turned to petty crime. He moved to Nottingham when he was 20. While living in the Sneinton area of Nottingham, he made roughly 30 short films with the friends he met there. He could not show these films to anyone because there were no film festivals in his area. His friends started one in the local cinema which became popular within the city.

Career[link]

Meadows enrolled on a Performing Arts course at Burton College, where he first met friend and future collaborator Paddy Considine. Amongst other things, they formed the band She Talks To Angels (inspired by a Black Crowes song of the same name), with Meadows as vocalist and Considine as drummer. Lead guitarist in She Talks To Angels was Nick Hemming, who was also a member of the Telescopes and now fronts the Leisure Society.

The vast majority of Meadows' films have been set in the Midlands area. They recall the kitchen sink realism of filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Much of the content of his films is semi-autobiographical and based on his experiences in Uttoxeter. Twenty Four Seven was inspired by his youth, both at a boxing club, and also playing in a local football club. Despite some huge losses, the club's coach never lost faith in them. A Room for Romeo Brass was also inspired by his youth. After Paul Fraser — his best friend, neighbour and future writing partner^[2] — had a bad accident and was bound to his bed for two years, Meadows instead hung around with some of the town's more undesirable characters. Dead Man's Shoes is based on the more unpleasant side of his youth in Uttoxeter. It was inspired by a close friend who had been bullied, developed a drug problem and then committed suicide. He said "I couldn't believe that, going back ten years later, he had been totally forgotten in the town — it was as if he had never existed. I was filled with anger against the people who had bullied and pushed the drugs on him, and with despair at what drugs had done to that small community".

Five of Meadows' films were shown at the 2007 Flourish Festival, held annually in Uttoxeter, to mark the release of This is England (a film set in 1983).

His second feature-length film, Twenty Four Seven, won several awards at film festivals, including the Douglas Hickox award at the British Independent Film Awards and Best Screenplay at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Dead Man's Shoes, his sixth film, and third starring Paddy Considine,^[3] was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film. His seventh film This is England, won the British Independent Film Awards 2006 for best British independent film. Shane was presented with the award by Sylvester Stallone and used the occasion to announce that he was to be a father. This is England also won a BAFTA for Best British Film.

The film has since had a series of sequels adapted into television serials, the first being This is England 86 (set in 1986 aired on Channel 4 in September 2010).^[4]A second series, This is England 88 (set in 1988) was aired in December 2011. A third and final series, This is England 90 (set in 1990) is due to be aired some time in 2012.^[5]

His shortest film, The Stairwell, was shot on a mobile phone and is just 40 seconds long. It consists solely of a man and woman, played by Meadows regulars Andrew Shim and Vicky McClure, violently bumping into each other on a stairwell.

He is widely regarded as a big fan of Notts County F.C., with several references included in his films by way of imagery and background shots.

Filmography[link]

Feature films[link]

• Small Time (1996)
• Twenty Four Seven (1997)
• A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)
• Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
• Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
• This Is England (2006)
• Somers Town (2008)
• Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009)

Short films[link]

Television[link]

• This Is England '86 (2010) (four 60 minute episodes with Meadows directing episodes three and four)
• This Is England '88 (2011) (three 60 minute episodes)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shane Meadows at the Internet Movie Database
• Biographie et Filmographie du réalisateur Shane Meadows — French Shane Meadows website ShaneMeadows.fr
• Directors: Shane Meadows — profile, biography and filmography Alt-Flix.co.uk

Mark Herbert is a UK film producer and the head of the Sheffield-based production company Warp Films. He produced: Four Lions, Dead Man's Shoes, and Phoenix Nights (TV comedy).

He was born in Doncaster, and studied Film Studies at Sheffield Hallam University (1991–94).^[1][2]

References[link]

The Midnight Beast, sometimes abbreviated as TMB, is a British comedy music group from London, perhaps most famous for their YouTube cover-parody of the 2009 single TiK ToK by American pop artist Ke$ha.^[1] The group currently consists of its three founding members, Stefan Abingdon, Dru Wakely and Ashley Horne.

Book[link]

The group released a semi-autographical book titled Book at Us Now on 27 October 2011. The book included interviews with the band members, the history of The Midnight Beast, as well as exposition on the groups videos and songs. The group held book signings around the country in a promotion titled the Book at Us Now Tour.^[2]

Sitcom[link]

In 2011, it was announced that the band would star in its own, self-titled, sitcom, The Midnight Beast. The show is currently set to be broadcast in 2012 by E4.^[3] The series will consist of 6 episodes, and follow fictionalized version of the band members as they attempt to become successful musicians.

Reception[link]

The Midnight Beast have over 290,000 subscribers and a combined 40 million views on their YouTube channel alone, as well as over 300,000 Facebook fans as of September 2011. The group's songs often appear on iTunes music charts,^[4] and their accompanying music videos routinely reach over 1 million views on YouTube. On Christmas Day 2009, the "TiK ToK" parody was featured on the front page of MTV.com,^[5] and the group have made videos in collabaration with BBC Comedy and MTV Rocks.

The group has also garnered praise from artists that they have parodied. Both Ke$ha and Jay Sean have tweeted positive reactions to the group's parody of their respective songs, TiK ToK and Down, with Ke$ha stating "holy. shit. this is better than my version",^[6][7] and Jay Sean posting "Hahha brilliant. Someone should mix this with 'pants on the ground.'"^[8]

The group has also attracted minor controversy with its music. In an online post from February 2011, Metro, a British newspaper, raised issue with the lyrics of "Use Ya Head", a sexual education-themed skit made for the Marie Stopes International charity's Have A Larc organization, which promotes safe sex. The paper cited the lines "One up the bum and it’s no harm done" and "One up the bum and you won’t be a mum", stating that it appeared that the group was suggesting anal sex as a birth control method. It also quoted unnamed critics who mentioned that the video failed to point out that anal sex could still lead to the transmission of STDs.^[9]

Discography[link]

EPs[link]

Singles[link]

"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that country.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Midnight Beast on Facebook

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Craig Roberts (born 25 January 1991) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Oliver Tate in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film Submarine, and for playing the character Rio in The Story of Tracy Beaker.

Life and career[link]

Roberts was born in Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly, Wales.

He has appeared as the vampire fanatic Robin Branagh, in two seasons of the television show Young Dracula. He has also appeared in Care and Casualty.

Roberts appeared in the pantomime 'Snow White' in Worthing, where he played the evil queen's sidekick 'Drax' in January 2009. In 2008 he worked with Y Touring Theatre Company where he played the part of 'Ryan' in a UK national tour of 'Full Time' which was a play that explores issues of racism, sexism and homophobia in football. He also appeared in the BBC Three television show Being Human and the online spin-off series Becoming Human as Adam.^[1]

Roberts starred in the 2010 film Submarine^[2] which also stars Paddy Considine and Yasmin Paige.^[3][4]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00y5m86
2. ^ Henry Barnes (2011-03-15). "'I love deadpan': Richard Ayoade and Craig Roberts on Submarine | Film | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/15/richard-ayoade-craig-roberts-submarine. Retrieved 2012-03-15. 
3. ^ White, James (2009-11-06). "Paddy Considine starring in Submarine". TotalFilm.com. http://www.totalfilm.com/news/paddy-considine-starring-in-submarine. Retrieved 2012-03-15. 
4. ^ "Submarine stars Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige: Q&A". Film4. http://www.film4.com/features/article/submarine-craig-roberts-yasmin-paige-interview. Retrieved 2012-03-15. 

External links[link]

• Craig Roberts at the Internet Movie Database

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