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Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Directors
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The recent runaway
smash Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has been
widely hailed as 'a British Pulp Fiction', but it might never
have been made without the involvement of Davenport Lyons
partner Leon Morgan.
A triumph of low-budget, independent film making, Ska Productions'
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has taken over
£11m in three months on UK release, making it the sixth
highest earning British film ever. It has already won Best
British Production at the Independent Film Awards in London
for producer Matthew Vaughn, while its writer/director Guy
Ritchie was voted 'best director' at the Tokyo International
Film Festival. The innovative casting features some outstanding
young British talent including Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher
and Nick Moran, as well as Sting and the much publicised Vinnie
Jones.
Matthew and Guy, the two directors of Ska Productions, came to Davenport Lyons partner Leon Morgan in early 1997 for legal advice and for general business advice on the film industry. Leon was impressed with the pair's energy and enthusiasm and particularly by the darkly comic script, which had yet to be filmed. He therefore agreed to help secure financing for what would naturally be seen as a risky venture, investing in a film by two relative newcomers in their 20's not being widely recognised as a good way to make money. The team explored every possible financial avenue, reaching what they thought was an agreement with an American bank following negotiations at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1997. Once pre-production had begun, however, the bank's written terms bore no relationship to the terms discussed and work on the film had to stop while new financing was arranged.
Davenport Lyons and Ska ultimately negotiated loans and equity finance with an impressive group of investors: Stephen Marks of French Connection, whose support in the early stages was critical; well-known LA producer Steve Tisch; Peter Morton of the Hard Rock Café; Angad Paul and the Caparo Group; Trudie Styler; Jason Flemyng, and several friends and supporters of Matthew and Guy, who together financed the production. Almost everyone concerned deferred fees, and while its true budget exceeded £2m, the film would eventually be made for an astonishing £1m.
The six week shoot began in November 1997 and was beset by
almost every conceivable difficulty, including the arrest
of star Vinnie Jones on his first day of filming. With editing
nearly complete four months later, further disaster occurred
when the parent company of the film's proposed distributors
went into receivership. It became clear that the distributors
would be unable to pay the agreed advance, and the distribution
agreement was terminated. It was by now apparent that Lock
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was a hot commodity, which
made it somewhat easier to strike a quick deal with PolyGram
Films for distribution in the UK. At the 1998 Cannes Film
Festival, one year on from their first financing discussions,
Leon and Ska reached an agreement with LA based Summit Entertainment
for distribution throughout the rest of the world. These two
deals enabled Ska to complete the film just in time for its
UK release.
By this time, Davenport Lyons' involvement in the production
had extended to include the legal side of the film's soundtrack.
Wherever a song appears in a film, the rights to use that
song must be obtained both from its composer (or publisher)
and from the owner of the recording (usually a record company).
Similar though not identical clearance also needs to be obtained
to include any song on the soundtrack album of a film. A last
minute departure from the original Lock Stock music supervision
team meant that Davenport Lyons' music
department had to spend the weeks leading up
to the film's release in a flurry of eleventh hour negotiations
and faxes. This was well worth the effort, however, with the
soundtrack album selling strongly and receiving widespread
praise in the music press.
Matthew and Guy were extremely grateful for Leon's help throughout the production, giving him a generous credit at the end of the film in a shortlist of people without whom 'this film would not have been made'. According to Matthew: "Guy and I think that Leon is the 'main man'; without him the film probably wouldn't have happened. We look forward to hounding him for years to come." High praise indeed for one's lawyer!
The month prior to the film's release saw media interest and
advance publicity reach fever pitch, with Vinnie Jones's imposing
'hard man' look (plus or minus shotguns over shoulders) staring
out from billboards, newspaper articles and magazine covers
alike. Unlike many of the summer's Hollywood 'blockbusters',
however, 'Lock Stock' was able to ride its pre-release buzz
onto an enduring wave of critical acclaim and universal popular
appeal. More than three months later, the film is still showing
at cinemas throughout the UK. We are immensely pleased to
be associated with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
and to have been involved in so many aspects of the film's
production. We wish Matthew and Guy every possible success
with their next film.
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