Back in 2006, I received a call from Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) about a television commercial that was anything but ordinary.
Channel 4 was preparing to relaunch Film4 as a free-to-air television channel, making it available to millions of viewers across the UK for the first time. It was a huge moment for the broadcaster and they wanted a campaign that reflected the scale and ambition of the relaunch.
Then I heard who was involved.
The commercial was to be directed by Kevin Spacey, photographed by legendary cinematographer John Mathieson BSC, with John Beard as Production Designer.
As if that wasn’t enough, Kevin had persuaded several of his friends to appear in the commercial, creating one of the most remarkable casts I’ve ever worked with on a television commercial.
My brief was to find a series of memorable locations across London and the Home Counties that would provide the backdrop for each scene.
It sounded straightforward.
It wasn’t.
Bringing the Script to Life
Every page of the storyboard introduced another famous face and another completely different location.
Over the following weeks I found myself criss-crossing London and the surrounding counties, trying to stay one step ahead of an ever-changing schedule whilst securing locations that could accommodate one of the most impressive casts ever assembled for a commercial.
One of the first locations we secured was Brent Cross Shopping Centre Car Park, where Ray Winstone and Christian Slater were filmed erecting a giant Film4 billboard.
A quiet residential cul-de-sac in Denham became home to Rhys Ifans, playing an unforgettable and rather annoying door-to-door salesman.
Just a few minutes away, Denham Airfield provided the perfect setting for Lucy Liu, who appeared flying a light aircraft.
Meanwhile, Gael García Bernal found himself in Doon Street Car Park, frantically chasing after a leaflet that had blown onto his windscreen.
Then there was Covent Garden, where Willem Dafoe and Mackenzie Crook became hopelessly trapped in London’s traffic—a situation that probably felt familiar to anyone who has ever driven through central London.
And then came the sequence I’ll probably never forget.
Trafalgar Square
One morning I found myself standing in Trafalgar Square, watching Ewan McGregor, dressed as an enormous tomato, chatting between takes with Dame Judi Dench, who was wearing an equally enormous lobster costume.
It’s one of those moments that sounds completely ridiculous when you describe it afterwards.
At the time, though, it somehow seemed perfectly normal.
That’s advertising for you.
Filming in Trafalgar Square is never straightforward, but seeing one of London’s most iconic locations transformed into something so wonderfully surreal made all the planning worthwhile.
A Cast Like No Other
Looking back, it’s hard to believe quite how many internationally recognised actors appeared in the campaign.
Alongside Dame Judi Dench and Ewan McGregor, the commercial featured:
- Ray Winstone
- Christian Slater
- Lucy Liu
- Willem Dafoe
- Gael García Bernal
- Rhys Ifans
- Mackenzie Crook
Trying to coordinate locations around so many different schedules presented almost as much of a challenge as securing the locations themselves.
Fortunately, that’s exactly the sort of logistical puzzle that makes location management such an enjoyable job.
Looking Back
Nearly twenty years later, this remains one of the most enjoyable television commercials I’ve ever worked on.
Not just because of the extraordinary cast, but because every single day brought a different challenge.
One day I’d be standing in a shopping centre car park with Ray Winstone.
The next I’d be at an airfield with Lucy Liu.
Then I’d find myself in Trafalgar Square watching Ewan McGregor dressed as a tomato talking to Dame Judi Dench dressed as a lobster.
Only in the film and television industry could that be considered a perfectly normal working week.
When Film4 finally launched as a free-to-air channel in July 2006, millions of viewers were introduced to a campaign that celebrated cinema in a wonderfully imaginative way.
For me, it remains a reminder of why I fell in love with location management in the first place.
No two productions are ever the same.
Production Credits
Client: Film4 / Channel 4
Production Company: Ridley Scott Associates (RSA)
Director: Kevin Spacey
Director of Photography: John Mathieson BSC
Production Designer: John Beard
Location Manager: Steve Mortimore
TV Commercial:
