Working title

A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game development, or music album.

Purpose

Working titles are used primarily for two reasons – the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon, with the working title being used purely for identification purposes, and the second being a ruse to intentionally disguise the real nature of a project.

Examples of the former include the film Die Hard with a Vengeance, which was produced under the title Die Hard: New York and the James Bond films, which are commonly produced under titles such as Bond 22 until an official title is decided upon.

Examples of the latter include Jurassic World, produced under Ebb Tide, Return of the Jedi, which was produced under the title Blue Harvest; 2009's Star Trek which was produced under the title Corporate Headquarters; and the Batman films Batman Returns, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, which were produced under the titles Dictel, The Intimidation Game, Rory's First Kiss and Magnus Rex, respectively.

Working Title Films

Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London and owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions. Eric Fellner and Bevan are now the co-chairs of the company.

Company

Working Title Films was co-founded by producers Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. In 1992, PolyGram became the company's corporate backer. Radclyffe left Working Title, and Eric Fellner, a fellow independent film producer, joined the company. The company produced a variety of films for PolyGram's London-based production company PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. An Anglo-Dutch film studio, PolyGram Films became a major Hollywood competitor. In 1999, PolyGram was sold to the Seagram company and merged with MCA Music Entertainment, to form Universal Music Group. PolyGram Films was sold and folded into Universal Studios in 1999.

Although contractually allowed to produce any film with a budget of up to $US35 million, on a practical basis, Bevan and Fellner consult with studio executives at Working Title's parent company NBCUniversal. Working Title is located in London. The company also has other offices located in Los Angeles and Ireland.