Rebellion Studios is ready to support the UK’s next generation of young talent, and we are doing so through our film and TV studio, which we launched in 2018.
The company originally started as a video game studio and continues to operate as one, but the independent studio has since branched out on its own, developing films such as Duncan Jones' Rogue Troopers . The company has a long history of collaborating with the film industry on his VFX and motion capture, with past titles including A Monster Calls and Ready Player One, and now the team is working on even more. i am ready.
Yahoo UK was given access to the company's studios and CEO Jason Kingsley and head of film, TV and publishing Ben Smith gave insight into why the company could be the next big thing. Shared. Kingsley says the important thing is to support the players coming up. “We're very passionate about giving people a chance and giving people a chance…Ben and I felt there were some really good people who needed a chance.”
“It's important to value British talent,” Smith agrees. “British storytelling talent, British technical talent and British craftsmanship are all things we have always embraced.”
From games to movies
Founded in 1992 by brothers Jason and Chris Kingsley, Rebellion got its big start in video games, creating titles like Sniper Elite and Zombie Army. Kingsley said the reason for this venture was to focus on storytelling and deliver great stories to viewers, he told Yahoo.
“I've always been interested in stories,” he says. “I used to write new rules for board games when I was little, and that's what my education was all about…During that time, I had a background in storytelling.
“That's clearly visible in the games we make, which is a big financial driver for the company at the moment. Roughly 70 percent of our revenue is generated by computer games, and games are It's a huge industry. But what we felt was a huge gap with gaming.''What we do is tell stories on screen, and we always wanted to do that.'' I was there. ”
Through this thought process, the production of the film began and the search for a studio that could be used to bring the story to life began. They set up a factory in Didcot Parkway, Oxfordshire. This site is the former site of the Daily Mail print shop and is just a short distance from the station.
This vast studio has many facilities, including a main stage and auxiliary filming areas, as well as an Audiomotion studio where film and video game crews can perform motion capture, making it the largest studio of its kind in Europe. There is also a props workshop run by staff with over 20 years of experience.
The studio boasts a vast space with the second largest complete collection of historical military uniforms in the UK (as seen in Masters of the Air, Saving Private Ryan and The Continental, to name a few). We also have an in-house costume department. This is a spacious, well-built studio with everything you need to create.
With all of this out of the box, Rebellion hopes to become a self-funded entity, but Kingsley says film production works very differently than the games industry. I admit it. Negotiate.
“The gaming industry is very simple: we can come up with an idea that's entirely self-funded, we can take it to market via Steam, Epic, Sony, Microsoft, and the consumer will pay us.
“It's about as transparent as you can imagine. Movies and TV are a little different. You have broadcast channels, you have time zones, you have geographic channels, you have viewing styles.” For someone who comes from a gaming background, it's all very It's complicated [industry] Someone who can create something and deliver it to an audience. ”
However, the benefit of having the studio in its current location is that it attracts creative talent from across the UK, not just London, to thrive in the industry. “I think this is essential and wise because talent exists everywhere,” he added. .
“The advantage of this location is that it is also a location. We left much of the infrastructure behind. [from when it was bought] Because it makes a great place. There's a lot of science fiction, fantasy, horror movies, indie movies where you're like, “Oh, this is a nice hallway, you can just turn on the lights and you have a set.''
“It's a little more spacious, a little more exclusive. We have very good security here, we have very good infrastructure, it's not crammed. We had a very great director come here the other day, He said “I”. We have a little bit of space to do something.’ He was thinking of filming a very major series here, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen. ”
Perseverance is the key to achieving what they set out to do in the industry, and for them to become a force to be reckoned with, they have focused heavily on their back catalog of titles from their comic book company 2000 AD. I am.
Legacy of 2000 AD
Smith first joined Rebellion in 2009, home to classics such as Judge Dredd and Rogue Troopers, and launching the careers of notable artists and writers such as Alan Moore and Garth. It was to oversee the publication of the comic book company 2000 AD. Ennis.
“As we grew, that business expanded to both sides of the Atlantic, and during that time we put together this huge catalog of comic books,” Smith says. “It goes back 130 years to 1892, when the first comics called comics were born.
“I love working with the team to develop the IP and take on the responsibility of not only republishing and curating the history of British comics, but also iterating and telling new stories with interesting characters. Masu.”
One way to do that is to start working to bring these stories to wider audiences through the magic of film. “We always talk about how we bring these stories into film and television, and why there aren't as many film adaptations. People wonder how Rebellion will build on the legacy of these characters. You might expect it to be because they are very particular about what they protect.”
Kingsley acknowledged that Rebellion is “not really trying to compete with other studios,” but rather bringing its own IP to the silver screen on its own terms. “Our business, this part of the business, we run a really good studio, it’s there for us to create our own stuff.
“Frankly, we're not going to sell anything or license anything. We want the library to survive. We're going to build the library and get it. Our comics library dates back to the 19th century, which, mind you, is incredible.'' A deep back catalogue, with early works by comics greats. We are very proud to have them.
“We consider this an important cultural heritage site. What we don't want to do is sell it off and dilute it. I sometimes wonder how we can keep this from becoming trash. Sometimes I offend people who are my co-workers by asking people who are my colleagues.I might do something bad and I want to avoid it. [that] if you can.
“We cannot guarantee that we will always produce good products, but we can always strive to produce good products.”
Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd
Their pride in their existing IP is evident from the moment you step into Rebellion. There, you'll be greeted by a giant, working statue of Judge Dredd. The character appears throughout, and it's clear that 2000 AD is an important part of Rebellion's mission statement as a film studio.
But soon, Rebellion will bring another classic to the big screen. That's Rogue Trooper. Directed by Duncan Jones, the film also stars Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell, and Jack Lowden. Kingsley and Smith finished filming at Rebellion earlier this year and are excited about the project, which uses the studio's motion capture stage to bring the animated film to life.
The most exciting thing, Smith says, is the love the film's director has for the source material. “We knew Duncan Jones understood 'Rogue Trooper.' He's a long-time reader and has a love for this character, so we knew he'd never had a love for our work. 'Ambitions were different from what he wanted to do.
“We want to tell a great Rogue Trooper story. [project] It was the complete opposite of development hell, and had a very synergistic effect. ”
Mr Kingsley was keen to be involved in the project and shared: “That’s why we own our own IP, so we can get involved as we see fit. For example, Rogue Trooper [I was] I'm actively involved, and this is Duncan's movie, but we talk a lot.
”[I’d] Sometimes you throw an idea at Duncan, and he says, “Oh, that's cool, it'll work,” and sometimes he says, “No, it won't work for this reason.” It's great, he's a professional, but it's a really good conversation and it's great to be a part of it.”
The CEO hopes to one day be able to do what Judge Dredd did. The story of Judge Dredd was made into a film in 2012 starring Karl Urban and in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone.
read more: Karl Urban in talks to appear on TV show 'Judge Dredd'
Kingsley said Rebellion was “absolutely” interested in bringing the character back to the screen, adding: “We have a lot of projects going on in the background, a ton of things we're working on, and we're working on the script. Of course, there's the Dredd TV show, another movie, the list of things we're going to do includes all of that.
“I don't think anything has been announced yet, but what we have to do is find the right route to market, so we're in talks with a variety of potential partners, including Netflix. We haven't yet signed a deal. “We don't want to sell things to people, we want to work with them. We don't just want to license things to people and help them build their businesses, we want to build our own businesses. We also want to build a business.”
“I have a big company that makes computer games. We own our own IP and we want to continue owning and making things. We're working with the right partners and in the right ways.” We want to. That's the idea. We don't have it yet.' We could close one of these deals [for Judge Dredd] However, many people are interested in working with us. ”
Rebellion certainly has a bright future ahead of them, and with a second studio site set to be built at their Oxford base, things are only going to get better. Smith certainly agrees. “There's going to be a lot more to come. It's an interesting time for film and television. What I hope people can see is that we're open to all kinds of business, whether it's Hollywood or not.” Thing.”
“We hope people will see that this is the home of independent film production in the UK.”
