Welcome To The Punch: Making our pitch

By Giles Broadbent on March 14, 2013 3:34 PM |

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Sat in the boardroom on Canary Wharf's 30th floor in January 2011, it was crunch time for the production team of Welcome To The Punch.

Producer Rory Aitken remembered the moment. He said: "We had to go and pitch to Canary Wharf.

We went thinking it would just be a coffee with the guy there but we went up to the top floor of One Canada Square and there was this board room with about 40 seats down either side and they all trooped in and said, 'What's your proposal?'"

Just a few months later streets around the estate were closed off for a daring motorbike race. The film-makers had their permission.

Company secretary John Garwood said Canary Wharf Group received a number of requests throughout the year to film on site and, to avoid too much disruption, the company had to be selective.

He said: "We were particularly keen to support this because Eran Creevy is an Isle of Dogs resident, we knew it was a strong cast and the team reassured us their aim was to show Canary Wharf in a glamorous, gleaming way.

"They wanted to show London in a different light because often it's portrayed as shabby."

The filming took place two years ago and includes scenes shot in the heart of the estate and in Wood Wharf.

The opening sequence makes it seem like the estate was empty - but that was down to fine logistics.

"There was just a couple of streets closed over two nights but a huge amount of work went on to minimise disruption despite a group of motorbikes racing down South Colonnade," said Mr Garwood.

"We have a lot of people working shifts here so we have to make sure they don't come out of work while this is going on. We work with the tenants to ensure that."

Using the estate as a backdrop is not new. Other shoots include 28 Days Later, Basic Instinct 2, Johnny English, two Bond movies and a recent Bollywood hit.

The shoot was not a moneymaking exercise for the company - the group puts the funds to good causes.

Mr Garwood said: "While we do charge for the use, we give 50 per cent to charities and 50 per cent to a fund getting youngsters engaged in filmmaking. So who knows? Maybe out of that we'll find the next Eran Creevy.

"As for the film it's great to have a touch of Hollywood set in the East End."

Producer Rory Aitken said: "I think in the end they were happy. We made it look pretty cool."
Rob Virtue

THE PUNCH PITCH

■ Welcome To The Punch is the second feature from Shifty writer-director Eran Creevy and producers Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh.

■ The film focuses on the relationship between detective Max Lewinsky and ex-criminal Jacob Sternwood, whose son is involved in a heist gone wrong, forcing him to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway.

■ This gives Max another chance to take down the man he's always been after, a man who has physically scarred him.

■ With the two men set on an unremitting collision course, they come across a deeper conspiracy that they will both need to solve in order to survive.

■ The film stars James McAvoy, Mark Strong and Andrea Riseborough along with Peter Mullan, David Morrissey, Daniel Mays and Johnny Harris.

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Read our review of the film